Guest Review: The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet
Series: standalone
Published by Pamela Dorman Books on May 22, 2018
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 294
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
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Rating:

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Be careful who you let in . . .
When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap--from their city flat to a townhouse in a leafy, upscale London suburb--they jump at the chance for a week away from home, their son, and the tensions that have pushed their marriage to the brink.
As the couple settles in, the old problems that permeate their marriage--his unhealthy behaviors, her indiscretions--start bubbling to the surface. But while they attempt to mend their relationship, their neighbor, an intense young woman, is showing a little too much interest in their activities.
Meanwhile, Caroline slowly begins to uncover some signs of life in the stark house--signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music might seem innocent to anyone else--but to her they are clues. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone who knows her, someone who knows the secrets she's desperate to forget...

The idea of a couple swapping houses with a stranger and slowly realizing that this stranger is something more was intriguing and I was all in. I’ve noticed a few reader buddies enjoying domestic thrillers lately so thought I’d pick one up and try one out for myself.

The House Swap was a fast read and moved along at a good, steady pace. I was curious about blending the elements of a married pair along with the mystery and how I’d like that. Turns out that I found this mesh to work well. The thriller part was subtle particularly at first with the marriage issues of the pair taking the lead. The story was told in both the past and present so the reader experiences the current situation and how it got there. This worked to help with building suspense and revealing the secrets in a jaw-dropping way. I actually worked out several of the reveals before they came, but there were still a few shockers.

Now, in truth, this book was something of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the thriller aspect and a bit of how the flawed marriage was meshed with it. However, I really didn’t like Caroline, the main character. To be fair, the reader isn’t meant to like her as far as I can tell. The whole situation is pretty much her own doing. She claims she wants to renew what has been lost in her marriage, but it takes little for her to slip back into her old ways. She snarls and prods, keeps secrets that affect them both, and lies to her husband who is bending over backwards to make this house swap and vacation week work. I think what did it for me was that she wasn’t over her ex. He ended the affair and its obvious that she’d fall right back into it if she could. I really wanted to see Francis just snatch their son, walk away, and keep going.

So, my first domestic thriller was alright. It did leave me eager for more. I thought the author wrote a good twisting plot so I’ll watch for more of her work. This is for those who don’t mind flawed characters and a soft thriller paired together.

My thanks to Penguin-Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.