Amazon Blurb

On a bright morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought on Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it’s your house. And you didn’t sell it.

FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE.
When Fi Lawson arrives home to find strangers moving into her house, she is plunged into terror and confusion. She and her husband Bram have owned their home on Trinity Avenue for years and have no intention of selling. How can this other family possibly think the house is theirs? And why has Bram disappeared when she needs him most?

FOR RICHER, FOR POORER.
Bram has made a catastrophic mistake and now he is paying. Unable to see his wife, his children or his home, he has nothing left but to settle scores. As the nightmare takes grip, both Bram and Fi try to make sense of the events that led to a devastating crime. What has he hidden from her – and what has she hidden from him? And will either survive the chilling truth – that there are far worse things you can lose than your house? 

TILL DEATH US DO PART.

My Review

I was hooked on this from the beginning – what a great opening to a book. It would have to be one of your worst nightmares, coming home to find someone else moving into your house. Of course at this stage we don’t know what has happened, whether Fi is telling the truth or whether she’s mistaken/confused and I defy you to not want to stick around to find out.

The story that unravels is told from the viewpoints of Fi and her husband Bram. Fi’s is told after the event through her appearance on The Victim, a true crime podcast, while Bram reveals all via a Word document being written to an initially, unidentified reader. It’s a clever construct, that allows commentators on the podcast to voice some of our thoughts on Fi’s story; while Bram’s story means we are party to exactly what is going on and why, while Fi remains in the dark. Though that doesn’t mean there aren’t twists in the tale, or the telling. I have no intention of regaling any of the plot, that pleasure is all yours to discover for yourself.

This is a dark domestic drama (and no that isn’t a euphemism for abuse), that quickly spirals out of control as each error compounds the one before. The characterisation is very well done, and the format means you really do get inside of  both Fi’s and Bram’s heads. Heads which at times I wanted to knock together, hers for her unending (and to my mind, at times, unbelievable) reasonableness and his for … well that would be telling.

It’s a very modern tale, not just in it’s telling, but also in its themes. While at times I thought the plot implausible, a quick look at any newspaper report of frauds and scams would reveal virtually anything is possible, and most of them work, exactly because no-one believes anyone would do such a thing. Despite all the warnings to the contrary, we all want to believe the best and take people and things at face value. This book is a very cautionary tale about not doing just that.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but based on this outing I’ll definitely be reading more. This was definitely a thrilling read, that kept me gripped, on edge and Oh! that ending …

I received an unsolicited copy of this book from the publisher that I decided to read and offer my thoughts on.