The Open House- Book Review

The Open House by Sam Carrington

Publication Date: 10th Dec 2020
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

3.5 stars

The blurb talks about the open house event (an attempt by the heroine, Amber) to sell the house our heroine, Amber, and her two kids live in. She is separating from Nick, her husband, and plans to relocate to another city to live with her boyfriend, Richard.

So thirteen people enter the house during the event, and only 12 go out. What happens to the 13th person? Are they responsible for the strange occurrences in the house? Are they the same person who will do anything to make sure that the house doesn’t get sold?

Isn’t that an interesting premise? Coupled with the cover picture, I requested the ARC of the book immediately.

Three people narrate the story, with Amber having the maximum share. The other is Barb, her MIL, and the third person is a stranger/ killer(?).

What I Like:

The character development is good. Even if I don’t relate to any of them, I can visualize the characters enact their roles. The author sets up layer after layer of suspense, building it high and high. The narration is steady (even if not seems to be happening at times). There are too many characters. But somehow, all of them contribute in one way or another. I could deduce some and was surprised by others, so that’s balanced.

The chapters are short, which made it a relatively easy read. It’s 384 pages, after all (and no, I wasn’t aware of the page count until later). For me, to touch 100 pages in 70-80 minutes means that the book is a fast-read.

What I Felt Lacking:

The climax wasn’t as impactful as it should be. It ended up more as an info-dump about the past rather than create any lasting effect on the reader. Too much was withheld until the last 20%, where it was unleashed on the reader in rapid succession.

Amber blabbers quite a lot. Yes, she is stressed and under a lot of pressure, but we could do with a little less rambling.

There are a lot of subplots. They are solved and interlinked, but not in a satisfactory manner. The biggest issue is, of course, the ending. It fell flat after all the high hopes. Talking more about it would reveal the story, so no more.

Overall, this is a decent thriller that could have been paced better (in terms of sharing information with the readers). A must-read? Nope.

I got an ARC from NetGalley and Avon Books UK.

#NetGalley #TheOpenHouse