Our House Blog Tour: Review

Our House
Author: Louise Candlish
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Berkley

Description:

On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue.

Nothing strange about that. Except it is your house. And you didn’t sell it.

When Fiona Lawson arrives home to find strangers moving into her house, she is plunged into panic. She and her husband Bram have owned their home on Trinity Avenue for years and have no intention of selling. They’ve put everything into this house and have become staples in the up-and-coming neighborhood, even in the wake of an extramarital affair.  

Though they are separating, Fiona and Bram are resolved to maintain stability for their two sons and attempt “bird’s nest” co-parenting. The boys stay in the family home, while Fiona and Bram rent an apartment a few blocks away. Each parent trades off staying with the children in a carefully scheduled method before trading off every few nights.

Everything seems to be working, until Fiona comes home and sees another couple moving in. Bram has disappeared and so have their children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and even after years of marriage how many secrets were being kept.

Narrated by Fiona via a podcast called The Victim, the story of what happened to Bram, the house, and their family coalesces into a story about how sometimes the mundanity of life can root out some of our deepest insecurities. And demons. Check out www.OurHouseTheBook.com to get more info and to listen to the first installment of The Victim podcast that frames Fiona’s narration in OUR HOUSE. 

 

Our House is domestic thriller as well as an in-depth look at what goes on behind closed doors, secrets we keep from those closest to us, and what someone is willing to do and how far they will go to keep these secrets from coming to light. I've read several domestic thrillers and generally enjoy them, although I have to admit that I've never read anything quite like this novel. The premise is a horrifying and scarily realistic one that could actually happen to someone, which is the point behind most of the stories in this genre. I loved the way the author wrote the book - by using excerpts from a podcast that our main character, Fi, takes part in to tell her story, along with excerpts from a Word document by Bram, her husband, explaining his side of things. We also get snippets of the past and present in the third person to put all of these other parts in perspective. It's an intriguing and unique way to tell a story and one that definitely sets it apart from others like it. Honestly, it's one of the things I liked best about it. The rest just didn't seem to grip me - the plot didn't pull me in and have me forming theories and I don't think I connected with the characters like I should have. Please note these are my opinions and don't say anything about the book itself. I know others are sure to love this novel and find it amazing. It just didn't have that certain pull for me and without that, I can't get lost inside the world the author creates as much as I need to for books like this. I do recommend it for fans of domestic thrillers, mysteries, contemporary fiction, and suspense.

'If 2018 brings a better book than OUR HOUSE I will eat my hat' --No. 1 bestselling author Clare Mackintosh

Louise Candlish studied English at University College London and worked as an editor and copywriter before writing fiction. OUR HOUSE is published in the US by Berkley in August 2018 and is out now in the UK, published by Simon & Schuster.

Louise is the bestselling author of eleven previous novels, including THE SWIMMING POOL and THE SUDDEN DEPARTURE OF THE FRASERS (Penguin, 2015), which has been optioned for TV by Hartswood Films.

Louise lives in South London with her husband and daughter. Follow her day to day on Twitter at @louise_candlish or get updates at www.louisecandlish.com

(Author bio and pic taken from Goodreads)