Book Review: The Perfect Guests | Emma Rous

This absolutely stunning follow up to Emma Rous’s debut book The Au Pair proves that she was certainly no one-hit wonder!

I love a well-executed dual timeline mystery, and Emma Rous’s The Perfect Guests knocked it out of the park. Following two different stories linked by an opulent manor named Raven Hall, this book is captivating, twisty, and brilliant!

About the Book

1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game–and nothing is ever the same.

2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.

In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined–even with damage from a fire decades before–but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.

Reflection

Before I read this, my friend Berit had said it was a read-in-a-day book because it is that hard to put down. She wasn’t kidding! I did have to break for sleep and work, but every spare moment I had I was devouring this book until the very final page.

Now that I’ve read two outstanding mysteries by Rous, I think I can say that there are a few things that really define what makes her books so compelling. The first is that she chooses mysteries with a strong tie to the past, and she explores those links through time as the mystery unfolds. Expertly, she drops clues in both timelines so that neither can fully resolve without the other, though they seem separate.

Second, she writes outstanding settings. In both of her books, the house (or two houses in the case of her first book), feels more like a character than a setting. Here, Raven Hall is as important to the plot as an character, but finding out why and how is the fun part! Finally, there is always a hint of folklore and an atmospheric gothic quality. Everything always feels so vivid—I can picture it all as she describes it. With her stories, there is always a touch of lore, and I find that so compelling!

In 1988 we meet Beth, a 14 year-old who is sent by her aunt to stay at Raven Hall and be friends with their daughter Nina. Having lost her parents in a tragic accident, Beth initially feels grateful to be part of the family at Raven Hall. But she always feels a bit on edge. Like if she isn’t perfect, she’ll get sent back to her aunt who doesn’t have time or interest in keeping her. And then one day Nina falls ill and her parents ask Beth for a small favor…

In 2019, struggling actress Sadie is barely able to make ends meet month after month. So when she gets an offer to play a role for a weekend at an old manor to photograph for a mystery game experience, she leaps at the chance. When her costume arrives, she slips right into character, enjoying the luxurious fabrics of her ivory costume pieces. But soon after she arrives at Raven Hall it becomes clear that there is more going on than she realizes. And whoever the host is has set up a game they didn’t know they were playing.

Both stories are compelling in different ways, and I was puzzling over how everything would resolve. What an ending! I can’t say too much but there are lots of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. Compelling, brilliantly crafted, and atmospheric!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.