The Perfect Guests, Emma Rous
The Perfect Guests, Emma Rous
2 Rating(s)
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

The Perfect Guests

Author: Emma Rous

Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden, Candice Moll, Steve West

Unabridged: 8 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 01/12/2021


Synopsis

The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel—about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.

1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she's truly part of the family...until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same.

2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It's strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she'll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose. 

In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she'd imagined—even with damage from a fire decades before—but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone...including her.

About The Author

Emma Rous is the USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair. She grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a small animal veterinarian for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons, and she now writes full time.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on September 28, 2021

This book is one sit, captivating, twisty reading. You may see some twists beforehand and but some of them were still surprising that you won’t see them coming. Especially when I try to solve the complex relationships between characters I got a little lost. Several times I asked myself who was relat......more

Goodreads review by Michael on November 01, 2020

Raven Hall...a grand manor with history. In 1988, Beth is an orphaned teenager whose aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall with the Averells family. The parents are looking for someone who can befriend their daughter, Nina. Beth and Nina instantly hit it off and are more like sisters. Things change w......more

Goodreads review by Holly on January 19, 2021

This is the second book from the author of The Au Pair which I loved, but this one was a bit of a struggle for me to finish. After reading the description of two timelines, a grand estate and a sinister game with guests, I couldn't wait to dive in. While I did enjoy the concept of the book, it just d......more

Goodreads review by Bridgett on November 24, 2020

I stayed up until nearly five o'clock this morning finishing this book. This is my first foray into Emma Rous' work, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The Perfect Guests flawlessly weaves three separate timelines, and three separate points of view...all without muddying the story. Th......more

Goodreads review by NZLisaM on January 05, 2021

4.5 ‘Just think of it as – a little game.' Raven Hall – A beautiful stately, yet gloomy, isolated mansion, complete with turrets, situated deep in the marshlands and fields of eastern England. 1988 – Recently orphaned 14-year-old Beth is thrilled to escape the children's home and spend the summer a......more


Quotes

The Perfect Guests is an engaging, unsettling tale of suspense, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley”―BookReporter

"Clever and engaging. Rous creates the ultimate house party mystery. A room full of strangers—or are they? Whispers of an old tragedy—or is it? An elaborately plated dinner—until one by one the guests fall ill. Old secrets and new dangers collide in this deliciously thrilling tale."
Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A richly atmospheric time-slip mystery with the pulse of a thriller, The Perfect Guests is deliciously evocative and absolutely spellbinding. Set up like a game of Clue, the story alternates between two narratives, one in the past, the other in the present, each chapter winding the tension higher as you discover the pieces you need to solve the puzzle. With vividly drawn characters, gorgeous prose, and an electric sense of place and time, I was sucked in from the very first page. [A] fun and immensely satisfying treat!”
Christina McDonald, USA Today Bestselling Author of Behind Every Lie

“Anyone yearning for a page-turning gothic story with a big house - and a shocking family secret - at its heart should gatecrash The Perfect Guests immediately.”
Eve Chase, author of The Glass House

“This will keep you turning those pages. The characters are still playing on my mind.”
Jane Corry, bestselling author of My Husband's Wife

"The Perfect Guests is a Gothic mystery with an intriguing sense of place and a story that slowly unfurls with sinister tension. This page-turning novel, where games are always dangerous, takes on a life of its own."
Lisa Ballantyne, Richard & Judy bestselling author

“Twisty and gripping, with a deliciously sinister murder mystery backdrop, The Perfect Guests had me utterly hooked, from its intriguing start right up until its heart-in-mouth ending. Dark, thrilling and expertly layered with secrets and suspense, it's a story you'll find impossible to put down.”
Holly Miller, author of Richard & Judy bestseller The Sight of You

"Stunningly written, simmering with secrets and tension, I cannot recommend The Perfect Guests highly enough."
Jenny Ashcroft, bestselling author

“A fabulously atmospheric setting, a cast of intriguing characters, and layer upon layer of mystery - this is a brilliant read.”
C. J. Cooper, bestselling author of The Book Club

“A large, old house with a tragic past; a murder mystery weekend turning sinister; strange games of pretend being played within a family . . . What's not to love? Gripping from start to finish.”
Helen Cooper, author of The Downstairs Neighbour

“A page-turning tale full of suspense, secrets and shocking revelations . . . The Perfect Guests is a deliciously compulsive read.”
Saskia Sarginson, bestselling author of The Twins

“Twisty and utterly engrossing, I raced through it in one sitting and didn't stop until I reached the jaw-dropping ending.”
Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look

“As seductive but secretly treacherous as Raven Hall itself, this novel delivers devour-in-a-day diversion.. Rous has upped her game with this one.”—Publishers Weekly

“The reader must carefully shuffle the puzzle pieces into a perfect fit until the very end and one more visit to Raven Hall, when the entire board is undone. This is a party suspense fans are advised to crash.”—Booklist (starred review)