Today I’m joining the blog tour for The Guests. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and to Orenda Books for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

It started with a lie…

Married couple Karin and Kai are looking for a pleasant escape from their busy lives, and reluctantly accept an offer to stay in a luxurious holiday home in the Norwegian fjords.

Instead of finding a relaxing retreat, however, their trip becomes a reminder of everything lacking in their own lives, and in a less-than-friendly meeting with their new neighbours, Karin tells a little white lie…

Against the backdrop of the glistening water and within the claustrophobic walls of the ultra-modern house, Karin´s insecurities blossom, and her lie grows ever bigger, entangling her and her husband in a nightmare spiral of deceits with absolutely no means of escape…

Simmering with suspense and dark humour, The Guests is a gripping psychological drama about envy and aspiration … and something more menacing, hiding just below that glittering surface…

Review:

I love a novel that’s set in Norway and The Guests is no different. Agnes Ravatn has a very understated, but beautiful way of writing and I enjoyed reading as this story unfolded. Her description is wonderful and took me straight to this remote area of Norway and all the atmosphere surrounding it. I was immersed in The Guests from beginning to end.

The protagonists of The Guests are Kai and Karin, and they are a very intriguing couple. Agnes Ravatn has created a fascinating dynamic between them and it’s interesting to see how their relationship develops over the novel. I definitely related to them on some level and I wanted to know how things would work out for them. Their friendship with Per and Hilma is also intriguing and they are interesting characters themselves, which really adds to the story.

Although The Guests is a relatively short novel, it certainly packs a lot into it, especially in terms of themes and emotions. The plot itself is probably best described as a slow burn, but there is always something simmering away under the surface and it is this that kept me reading. Agnes Ravatn has given us a masterclass in how to write the perfect psychological thriller.

The Guests is available from Amazon.

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