The Family Guest by Nelle Lamarr
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 13th September 2023
Published: 21st September 2023
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
I’ve never met her before, but I know who she is. Because our new guest is the spitting image of the daughter I lost. Long blonde hair. Sparkling dark eyes. Perfect pearly-white teeth. And that’s exactly why I invited her into our home.
From the moment our exchange student Tanya arrives, I feel like my daughter has come back to life. With her brown eyes and slender frame, she looks so much like Anabel that sometimes I can almost pretend she didn’t die in that tragic accident.
Tanya really is the perfect guest – kind, polite, and always happy to help me in the kitchen. At last, a member of the family who compliments my beautiful house and enjoys my homemade dinners. And when she asks questions about my life, I feel I’ve finally found someone I can confide in.
My younger teenage daughter, Paige, isn’t so happy about our guest. She thinks it’s strange that Tanya looks like Anabel, and she hates it when she wears her sister’s old clothes. And now she’s convinced herself that Tanya isn’t who she says she is.
But I learnt a long time ago that it’s best not to ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.
And while I’m growing suspicious that our new guest has a secret, I’m certain that it’s nothing in comparison to mine…
The absolutely unputdownable, page-turning and twisty psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the very last page. Perfect for readers who love gripping suspense and fans of Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid, The Girl on the Train and Colleen Hoover’s Verity.
MY THOUGHTS:
She's in your house...but do you know why...?
Ooooh, sometimes it's the characters who make your blood boil are the most memorable. I'm not sure if I will remember this one...I hope I don't because she's just, well, makes my blood boil. And to be honest, there are enough of those in fiction.
From the first moment we meet Tanya, we know she's up to no good. It's blindingly obvious that this cuckoo in the nest is going to create merry havoc with the Merritt family if they're not careful. And of course, they aren't. Nat and Matt (I know, I couldn't make up this stuff) are naturally blind to the gushing Tanya but sixteen year old Paige and her twelve year old brother Will are not. Normally, I am not a fan of teenagers, their moody broodiness and stroppy attitude have me reaching for a pack of valium, but these two cluey kids show more maturity than their parents and see could see right through the fake foreign exchange student from the UK...in a town where fakeness makes a living!
Tanya is adept at manipulation and she had me tearing my hair out on more than one occasion. I even felt like DNFing because she annoyed me that much. But I ploughed on. But boy, what a bumpy journey we had along the way.
So Tanya arrives at LAX fresh off the plane from London for a year's exchange student program. The Merritts are hosting but didn't quite know what they were letting themselves in for. It didn't take Paige and Will long to see through her...and take steps to uncover the truth about their family guest. So many times Paige smugly threw a grenade at Tanya and relished watching her flounder whilst Tanya was oblivious. Driving on the other side of the road? How difficult it must be getting used to the opposite side? Blank stares. Any my favourite...
...I turned to Tanya, who looked bored and totally zoned out.
"Tanya, do you like Harrods?"
She jolted. "Huh? I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
I repeated my question.
She squirmed in her seat. "Um...yes."
"What's your favourite floor?"
"Papa and I like to stay in the penthouse whenever he's in town."
Both my mom and Trevor shot her a perplexed look. I wished my grandma could have heard that one. Every Brit in the world knew that Harrods was London's famous department store, not some five-star hotel...
Why no one didn't call her out on it then, I've no idea. And why Nat and Matt weren't immediately suspicious upon hearing that, I've even less idea. Those two were seemingly too wrapped up in their own lives to see anything else. Nat was still obviously grieving for her eldest daughter Anabel whom they lost tragically two year before. And why she then put Tanya into her favourite daughter's shrine of a bedroom...words failed me.
Honestly, Tanya was a rude, self-obsessed bitch. She had an agenda, that much was clear but what it was we were yet to find out. Stick around long enough and you'll piece it together too. The first half of the book was Tanya beguiling the Merritts and manipulating them to her will, not to mention the spoiled brat drama she induced. But then things ramped up a notch or three when she began to show her true colours. Just what secrets were they trying to hide?
By the end, things were neatly wrapped up...all except for one thing which I felt was a moot point if it wasn't going to go anywhere. And it didn't. So why mention it? All I will say is it was to do with a fling in London two decades before. It never grew legs so I didn't see the point of it even being in the story. I did figure out one of the major plot twists as it was fairly obvious to me.
THE FAMILY GUEST is a sinister tale that is twisted in so many ways. Be warned, there is the poisoning of the family dog but I am happy to report that he survives the ordeal. I have no qualms including that as part of my review because I for one want to know if anything happens to any pets in a story and will not read it if it includes an untimely death of one.
Not a bad read. Compelling and page-turning enough to keep you hooked, even with the eye-rolling amounts of drama taking place.
I would like to thank #NelleLamarr, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyGuest in exchange for an honest review.
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