I couldn't follow all the characters - between the two timelines and the changing names and the secrets, I just couldn't do it. ( )

Star and a half. This didn't live up at all to the hype it got. Having felt deprived of good books for a few days, I quickly placed this one on hold, figuring the hype would mean something. Part of the draw of this book may have been that parts of it are set up like a book version of the movie "Clue," which itself is based on a board game. The movie "Clue" is a dark comedy, though. Here, it's drama and murder mystery all the way, but--not dark. For some reason, the author can't do dark. She tries, and I wanted her to succeed. The novel starts out in 1988, with a girl being dropped off at someone's house. That is one story, and it never made sense to me. There were -tons- of plot-holes and -so- many things were unexamined. The second story is set in 2019, and this is where it looks like a living board game of "Clue." Sadie is the POV character in 2019. The third story is not so much an actual story, but the author trying to write a third character creepily and use those as chapter transitions. They're pages of italics, even. This book was really annoying and bland. I'm not sure how the author could have made it interesting, even. No character is ever fleshed out. There's too many characters to properly empathize with anyone. Nobody is realistic. The motives, when they do exist, are vague, flimsy, or stupid. The author couldn't even write one-dimensional villains properly, and coming from me, that is a -harsh- insult. I wish I could say it was uncalled for and apologize for my rudeness, but I can't. Enormous cliches pile out the final third of the novel. I was too bored to be annoyed. Nobody's relationship to anyone is ever made clear until the last ten pages. I had to draw character maps to figure out who was related to who! Who was doing what and why! Who was how old, and what the timeline was! This was bad writing! Some of the imagery was nice, though, and parts of the book had me wanting to read more, so I did. ( )

Why didn't The Perfect Guests work for me? This has all the elements of a good suspense novel, and even the elements I particularly like (Falling-down estate, Is this a game or not?, Oh no! We've been cut off from civilization! etc. All my favorites!).

I think it's because the first half of the book is everyone just wandering around being ominous and creepy. There aren't any real hints at secrets, besides that the house is creepy and something weird is going on. I felt a dispiriting lack of progress in the beginning, once we've established that something weird is going on, the tension doesn't quite grow from there. The second half is shocking revelations coming fast and thick, some of which were fun twists but many were weirdly unsatisfying, relying on people who knew each other at some point not recognizing each other, or characters we met 5 seconds ago suddenly revealing a deep secret.

The real mystery for me was not the secret of Raven Hall, but why a book with everything I like in it fell so flat.

Thank you @Berkley for including me in the book tour for The Perfect Guests, providing me with a digital copy to review and give my honest opinion. I'm still not sure where to begin writing my review, but I'll do my best.

Emma Rous wrote a fabulous thriller, one where the end was very unpredictable. Told in various view points and timelines, Emma still made it quite clear which character and which story was being told.

In the 80's, Beth moves to Raven Hall to live with the family there, always unsure of her place and whether she'll be turned out or not. In modern day, Sadie, an struggling actress, is invited to Raven Hall to perform in a murder mystery weekend.

First, I felt rather old that the 80's was the "historical" time period. I don't want to admit that I'm as old as I actually am. Second, I was absolutely unsure how these two narratives fit together.

Without giving anything away, the "crash" of the timelines was beautifully executed. For anyone looking to dive into thrillers, this is a great read as it's not scary as much as creepy and it definitely gives the reader some great thrills. ( )

I loved reading The Au Pair by Emma Rous in 2019, and I was really excited to read The Perfect Guests this year, hoping for more buried family secrets, plot twists and flawed characters.

In 2019, Sadie is a struggling actress and receives an invitation to play a role at a murder mystery event at Raven Hall. In 1988, Beth is a 14 year old orphan sent by her aunt to Raven Hall to be a companion to a girl the same age, Nina.

The dual narrative in The Perfect Guests keeps the story flowing although I preferred Sadie's coming-of-age timeline at Raven Hall and the sinister undertones in the complex relationships between the characters.

I was worried the murder mystery setting might have been to cliche for my liking, but it totally worked and was the perfect platform for the 'reveals' at the end. I didn't guess at any of the character connection reveals or twists, and they were cleverly written and satisfying to uncover.

Just as in The Au Pair though, the cover design for The Perfect Guests wasn't representative of the novel for me. It's a scene from the book, however the UK cover design totally nails the atmosphere and setting and I wish this had been the cover chosen for the Australian market.

Raven Hall almost feels like a separate character, and once again, the author was able to bring the manor house and grounds to life in the way Stacey Halls does in Mrs England, and other authors like Laura Purcell and Kate Morton do that keep me coming back for more.

The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can highly recommend it. ( )