REVIEW: The Perfect Housemate by Lorna Dounaeva

The Perfect Housemate by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Domestic thriller

Read: 26th March 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 28th March 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

You let her in. You shouldn’t have…

I was so nervous about someone new joining our house share; after everything that happened with my parents, my friends are like my family. Our imperfect but well-loved house is the only place where I can be myself. But when Poppy knocks on our door, blonde hair, wide eyes and a friendly smile, we all agree she’s a perfect fit. I just wish I could shake the feeling that I’ve seen her before…

At first, everything runs smoothly. But one day, Poppy arrives home with my housemates in tow. She says she ‘forgot’ to invite me to the movie. My stomach drops. As she sidles up to my friends, I’m gripped by a familiar panic. If Poppy is from my past, will she turn my friends against me? Will she tell them the secret I’ve so carefully buried?

I feel like Poppy’s watching my every move. My home used to be the place where I felt most comfortable. But as she places a delicious home-cooked meal in front of me, I don’t even feel safe eating here.

I have to find out who she really is, and what she wants.

And when I do, will she realise too late which one of us is truly dangerous?

An absolutely gripping page-turner about the dark secrets harboured by the people closest to us. Fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and Sally Hepworth won’t be able to put down The Perfect Housemate!

MY THOUGHTS:

You let her in...you shouldn't have...

A delightful domestic thriller with an air of toxicity that just reels you in. This is a quick and easy read that I devoured in one sitting, despite its rather annoying characters.

June and her housemates - Tamsin, Kimmy and Flick - are struggling to make the rent, pay the bills and feed themselves in their spacious Clapham house. So they decide to advertise for a fifth housemate.

Enter Poppy. Almost at once she falls in love with the house and the basement room they have prepared for her. June had painted it a sunny yellow that she found welcoming but soon after moving in Poppy had gone over the walls with a deep aubergine colour. The effect was rather creepy but somewhat stunning coupled with the fairy lights she adorned the room with.

It isn't long before strange things begin to happen though everyone thinks that June is just being paranoid as she seems intent on the fact that Poppy has taken an instant dislike to her. From her missing library card to to her stolen bike to her profile being added to random datig sites, June is sure Poppy is behind the incidents. And then when the entire household goes down with gastroenteritis after eating June's beef stew, except Poppy of course who refused to eat it on the grounds she hates mushrooms, June begins to wonder if Poppy had somehow poisoned the stew that made them all ill. But no one wants to hear June's accusations.

Then Kimmy comes home excitedly sporting an engagement ring after her boyfriend Ralph had popped the question. Soon she begins planning her wedding and she insists all the housemates are her bridesmaids. But first, the hen do...which turns out to be a week in Mykonos!

But June won't be going to the Greek island with them because she will have met a fate that will preclude her from the event. But as she hears her housemates start the day and ge ready for their holiday, she tries to alert them to her whereabouts...but will they hear her in time?

OK so most of the characters were pretty annoying and not many had any redeeming qualities. And yet it was pretty clear that the most obvious suspect wasn't the one behind it all. I kind of had it figured out but it still didn't ruin my enjoyment.

An addictive read from the start with several twists to keep you guessing.

I would like to thank #LornaDounaeva, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #ThePerfectHousemate in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 19th February 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 19th February 2024

★ 1 star

DESCRIPTION:

I have the life I’ve always dreamed of… but how long will it be until the past catches up with me?

I can’t believe how far my husband, Hayden, and I have come. I never expected that one day I’d be sipping a steaming coffee over our marble countertop or finishing off a humid summer day with a dip in our sparkling pool. But even though we’re living in paradise, I’ve never felt so distant from my husband. I’m certain he’s hiding something from me. Before, I would have confided in my friends and family but in this new life of ours, I’m terrified to trust anyone…

Now, with Hayden out again, my evening is quiet. From our floor-to-ceiling windows, I watch the pool water ripple under the raindrops. But I swear I see movement beyond the garden hedges. I try to shake my fears away, I must be imagining things. That’s what Hayden would say.

But then I find the hand-delivered note and my heart pounds in my chest as I scan the neat words.

You don’t deserve this life.

My blood runs cold. I thought I’d kept all my secrets well hidden, but now as I look out to the still night, I realise it’s only a matter of time until my past catches up with me – a past my husband still has no idea about. I know what I have to do to protect my perfect new life, but those around me have no idea how far I’m willing to go to keep it…

Utterly gripping and full of jaw-dropping twists, fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell and Daniel Hurst will be completely hooked by The Wife’s Mistake!

MY THOUGHTS:

Even inside your dream house you can't hide from your past...

This book might be about the wife's mistake - of which there are many, she made so many stupid and dumb decisions throughout - but unfortunately in this case this one is my mistake. Try as I might I just couldn't get into the story which bordered on ridiculous, in my opinion. I tried to give Natalie the benefit of one too many doubts but I just felt like banging my head against a brick wall. And I've so enjoyed some of the author's other thrillers too! But this one just wasn't for me.

For a start, I just didn't know what was going on with the first chapter. Some dinner party where an engagement and promotion is announced but what was the point of it? And then we rewound to Natalie's first bad decision which lead to plenty more that swiftly followed. OK, so she's in a job where she is under appreciated by a dragon boss and spends most of her days either bantering with the customers or daydreaming about her own coffee shop she dreams of opening.

So when she absently buys a lottery ticket she never thought in a million years - 12.5 million - that she would ever win! But she did. And soon she began dreaming of how she would spend those millions. Ditch her dead end job, buy premises to open her own cafe, step off the rental treadmill and buy a home for her and hubby Hayden.

And then she discovers a text on his phone. From someone called Vivienne. Seemingly intimate messages. Is Hayden having an affair? So what does Natalie do? Confront Hayden, like any normal wife? No. She stalks him. First she takes a glimpse of Vivienne to grasp her competition, who is a Megan Fox lookalike (whom Hayden has a secret crush on). Then she dresses herself up in dowdy women's wear, wig and glasses and follows Hayden up to Manchester for a business conference. What on earth does she hope to achieve? I'm not sure because she lost me there and I binned the rest of the book. It was ridiculous and made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I really hate leaving negative reviews because I know this is an author's hard work but at the end of the day we can't like every book we read. It's a shame because I have read and enjoyed Lorna's thrillers before but this one just wasn't for me.

I would like to thank #LornaDounaeva, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWifesMistake in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

EXTRACT: The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

 

The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 19th February 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 19th February 2024

DESCRIPTION:

I have the life I’ve always dreamed of… but how long will it be until the past catches up with me?

I can’t believe how far my husband, Hayden, and I have come. I never expected that one day I’d be sipping a steaming coffee over our marble countertop or finishing off a humid summer day with a dip in our sparkling pool. But even though we’re living in paradise, I’ve never felt so distant from my husband. I’m certain he’s hiding something from me. Before, I would have confided in my friends and family but in this new life of ours, I’m terrified to trust anyone…

Now, with Hayden out again, my evening is quiet. From our floor-to-ceiling windows, I watch the pool water ripple under the raindrops. But I swear I see movement beyond the garden hedges. I try to shake my fears away, I must be imagining things. That’s what Hayden would say.

But then I find the hand-delivered note and my heart pounds in my chest as I scan the neat words.

You don’t deserve this life.

My blood runs cold. I thought I’d kept all my secrets well hidden, but now as I look out to the still night, I realise it’s only a matter of time until my past catches up with me – a past my husband still has no idea about. I know what I have to do to protect my perfect new life, but those around me have no idea how far I’m willing to go to keep it…

Utterly gripping and full of jaw-dropping twists, fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell and Daniel Hurst will be completely hooked by The Wife’s Mistake!

EXTRACT:

PROLOGUE 

The wind howled. It sent chills down the police officer’s spine as he approached the pool. A cherry-red Ferrari stuck out of the water like it had been dropped out of the sky. He shone his torch down into the vehicle and was met with a gruesome sight. A pale face, head thrown back against the seat; eyes that bulged with terror and mouth contorted in a silent scream. The woman’s clothes clung to her body, swollen from the force of the impact, and underneath her puffy eyelids he made out faint bruises in the shape of broken blood vessels. 

Her fingers had frozen around her seatbelt in a deathly grip and all around, hundreds of bank notes drifted like snowflakes from the shattered glass house behind. 

An eerie sound carried through the air, like maniacal laughter, perhaps the sound of someone howling in the distance. He glanced over his shoulder. He had the feeling someone was watching from the window, even though he couldn’t see a soul.  

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva

The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Suspense

Read: 8th December 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 4th December 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Prudence welcomed Zoe into her home. Now she’s fighting to survive.

Two simple words shatter Prudence Ahern’s world - “I’m pregnant.”

Her son Nathan is only eighteen when his new girlfriend Zoe drops that little bombshell. Prudence feels she has to support her son and asks Zoe to move in with them.

Right from the start, Prudence knows something isn’t right. When Nathan is around, Zoe is sweet and funny but as soon as it’s just the two of them, she becomes menacing and sullen.

Worse still, Prudence becomes the victim of a series of increasingly dangerous accidents which begin soon after Zoe moves in.

She tries to warn her son that something is wrong with Zoe, but he refuses to listen, so it’s left to Prudence to figure out what's going on. Who is the mysterious Zoe? What exactly does she want from them? And whose child is she really carrying?

Filled with shocking twists and diabolical secrets, The Family Trap will keep you up all night.

If you loved Gone Girl, The Silent Patient and The Girl on the Train, you will devour this utterly addictive thriller.

MY THOUGHTS:

**Trigger warning - pet death (dog)**

When "home" is no longer a haven...

Single mother and nurse, Prudence has reached that point in her life. Time for herself, her dog, her hobbies, swimming and relaxing. Her son Nathan is now an adult and studying engineering at university and she is taking early retirement. Her time is now. 

But she is in for a surprise when her son and his newish girlfriend Zoe announce that Zoe is pregnant. All at once the hopes and dreams she had for her son have dissipated knowing how hard it is going to be for the couple to raise a baby...let alone study. She isn't sure why but she feels like Zoe has trapped him.

Despite her misgivings, Prudence decides to invite Zoe to live with them and be on hand to help as best she can. Nathan thinks it's a wonderful idea as does Zoe...moreso than her mother Alana, who was expecting that Zoe would move back home to Cheshire with her. But she's won over by Prudence's heartfelt acceptance of her daughter.

At first, everything is running smoothly. Zoe is happy to help out but Prudence soon discovers that's only the case when Nathan is around. Then, Zoe is a joy - all smiles and laughter. But her attitude soon changes, alternating between menacing and indifference, when no one is around. And a series of near fatal accidents occur with Prudence narrowly escaping each time...and which only began after Zoe moved in. Prudence becomes suspicious of Zoe and her motives but when she tries confiding her fears she is dismissed as being paranoid or overthinking. To make matters worse, Zoe is the life and soul of the party when people are around...which only serves to make Prudence a liar. But she knows that there is something not right about Zoe. But worse still...whose child is she really carrying?

Things go from bad to worse within a few months when tragedy strikes. And everything is turned on its head. Everything you thought you knew is wrong and turns about-face as Prudence finds herself in a race against time to save herself and the lives of those she loves. But can she uncover the truth before it's too late?

THE FAMILY TRAP is twisted tale of domestic suspense with a wicked sting at the end that you will either love or hate. It's filled secrets, lies, deception and toxic dysfunctional families. Everything that makes a domestic suspense work and keeps readers turning the pages. It's addictive, absorbing and pageturning with it's short snappy chapters that keep the pace moving at a steady rate making this a quick entertaining read that I almost completed in one sitting...shy of the last few pages.

The characters were incredibly complex and interesting. I hated Zoe from the off...but is she really who she appears to be or is there something more to her? I liked Nathan but boy he was blind when it came to Zoe who could do no wrong in his eyes...but did he know something Prudence didn't? And Prudence - I really felt for her. No one, not even her best friend, believed her when she confided in her about what she perceived Zoe to be doing to her. It annoys me when a character who knows someone for as long as and as well as Heidi knew Pru and only knew Zoe for five minutes, yet she always gave Zoe the benefit of the doubt, thereby disbelieving Prudence. Why was she so quick to disbelieve her best friend and see Zoe as a ray of sunshine? Surely she would know her friend enough to know she wouldn't be making this up. 

As for the story, the reader is pulled right in from the beginning, hooking us right from the start. And it had just enough backstory to keep things moving at an even pace without long and boring character building that would put readers to sleep before anything remotely interesting happened. But the author keeps us engaged throughout, building the tension and keeping us guessing.

The ending was a bit weird for me, though not unsatisfactory. It just felt a little unfinished, I guess. Some things I felt were not entirely explained leaving things up in the air as to what the point had been to those occurrences. The one thing I didn't like was the death of Bob, the dog. I feel that authors don't need to keep readers interested by killing off a beloved family pet and, while I'm thankful it was not an overly graphic death, it still happened and I found it unnecessary. That story arc could have just gotten him lost and maybe turning up at the end when it was all over. I don't feel it was warranted and for me, it always spoils the story slightly, and therefore affects my rating.

Overall, THE FAMILY TRAP is a fast paced addictive read that is sure to keep domestic thriller fans engaged throughout.

I would like to thank #LornaDouvaena, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheFamilyTrap in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

REVIEW: The Perfect Family by Lorna Dounaeva

The Perfect Family by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Domestic Suspense, Psychological thriller

Read: 27th April 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 24th April 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Victoria has the perfect life. And she’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.

For Victoria, image is everything. And on the surface, she has it all - a big house, a successful husband and two beautiful children.

But behind the scenes, things are very different. Because Victoria and her husband have a dark secret and she lives in terror of it being discovered, of her perfect facade being shattered forever.

Under massive stress, but still desperately trying to keep up appearances, this is a family that is falling apart. Husband Kit is unable to work. Teenage daughter Anna grows ever more rebellious. And nine-year-old Joey seems increasingly different from other kids.

Victoria realises she has to act now or she will lose everything. And that’s when she has to ask herself - how far is she willing to go, how much is she willing to do, to preserve her perfect family?

The answer is beyond shocking and will plunge them all into a nightmare from which they may never wake.

The Perfect Family – the gripping psychological thriller ideal for fans of K. L. Slater, Mark Edwards, Daniel Hurst.

MY REVIEW:

No family is perfect but this one certainly wasn't. Desperate to keep up appearances, Victoria tries her level best to maintain the "perfect family" facade...not matter the cost, it seems. For her, image is everything. She has so much going on with a husband who works long hours down in London, a rebellious teenage daughter and a son who is clearly showing signs of autism that Victoria continually ignores so that Joey won't be segregated and her family ostracised. Because clearly, the town in which they live is full of shallow people who thrive on the keeping up of appearances...oh, and money.

But on top of all this turmoil, Victoria harbours a dark secret that, if it got out, her life, her goals and her dreams for her family will be ruined. But Joey knows...and he is struggling with his knowledge and how to make logical sense of it.

The bulk of the story is of Victoria trying to maintain the facade of a perfect family. She refuses to believe that there is anything wrong with her son Joey, citing that he is just brilliant and advanced for his age. But even I could see from early on that he displayed signs of ASD. You'd think that any parent would do anything for their child; anything that would help make life easier for them. But not Victoria. Although, she actually thought that everything she was doing was for them, as she stated many times "Everything I do, I do for you" (and I would have Bryan Adams singing those same words as she uttered them...lol) And then there was Anna, her fourteen year old daughter who evolved into this rebellious person overnight, it seemed. But even she begins to struggle with her own moral compass. And her husband Kit, who came across as weak in some ways compared to Victoria's strong personality. Everyone was struggling with this secret...except Victoria.

And then along comes Belinda Solomon and her son Ricky, who have the propensity to throw Victoria's world into an even bigger chaos. She wants nothing to do with her, but Belinda will not take no for an answer as she pleads with Victoria to take on Ricky for piano lessons. Victoria wants to scream no but finds herself agreeing to teach him. How can she get out of it? But it seems fate has other plans as Joey, who has no friends or social tendencies, and Ricky seem to hit it off and flee up to Joey's room to play. Joey even asks if Ricky could stay for tea. How could Victoria refuse when Joey has never asked for a friend to stay? And in the midst of this chaotic tale, Belinda begins to see Victoria as a true friend. Oh the irony.

It was difficult to feel any sympathy for Victoria. She was vain and shallow and cared only for appearances. She had this dream that worked her poor husband to the bone whilst denying her child's special needs, all to see them have the biggest most beautiful house one day. She cared far too much about how others saw her and her family rather than what was truly important. Her refusal to accept that Joey needed help, despite meltdowns that she saw as tantrums, she dismisses others' concerns. But Joey has been keeping a secret diary into which he pours his own logical set of emotions. But can he articulate the secret he knows his mother is hiding?

THE PERFECT FAMILY is anything but. It is certainly not a family I would care to be a part of of, that's for sure. A thriller that verges on the edge of domestic suspense there is no real mystery here but there are a few tense moments. Told through the eyes of Victoria, Anna and Joey's diary, the story unfolds in perfect synchronicity with a gamut of emotions from shock, horror, sorrow, anger and surprise throughout. The ending was a bit of a surprise but I think it was a fitting one all the same.

Overall, THE PERFECT FAMILY is an engaging domestic tale of suspense where none of the characters are really all that likeable but the story was enjoyable just the same. This is my first by this author but the premises to some of her others are just as compelling. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I would like to thank #LornaDounaeva, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #ThePerfectFamily in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads