A tremendous THANK YOU to NetGalley and Forge Books for my advanced reader copy of The House Guest! Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest novel is available anywhere you buy books on February 7, 2023!

The Story

The House Guest is another diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller from Hank Phillippi Ryan—but which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

My Thoughts

This is now my third Hank Phillippi Ryan novel. I absolutely DEMOLISHED The Murder List, which is when I fell in love with her as an author. The next book let me down a bit, but The House Guest gave me a little bit of hope for her novels again!

It always amazes me how many ways there are to describe mysteries and the different setups. I mean, we have locked-door mysteries and now cat-and-mouse mysteries?

The House Guest unfortunately is another novel where copious amounts of alcohol aid in the mystery of the entire novel. If people just drank less, I’m pretty sure these books would be shorter. I don’t think it’s a quality tool for authors to have in their arsenal.

With this being said, this book kind of bored me. I really appreciated the ending. However, it was hard to read an entire book where a woman had been so completely traumatized, terrorized, and gaslit.

The House Guest didn’t blow me away, but I’m also not upset that I read it. While I strive to read books that I love, I can also handle books that don’t make me mad for reading them (I’m looking at you, Ember by Brock Adams. I still loathe your book.).

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