I read The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous in one day – partly because it is not a long novel and partly because I really wanted to find out the mystery at the end before I went to bed! The gothic house in the novel is named ‘Raven Hall’ and it is the one constant between the characters and the different generations. Ms Rous used dual timelines in her story – 1988: Beth, a 14 yr. old orphan, comes to live with the Averell family at Raven Hall; and 2019: Sadie, a struggling actress in her 20’s, is cast to help publicize a ‘mystery murder game’ that a new company is hosting at Raven Hall. Beth comes to love her ‘nice’ life with the Averells, but some things in the family just don’t seem right to her . . . Sadie is so excited to have a well-paying job for the weekend, but then people begin to disappear and strange things happen in the house . . .
I enjoyed the slow build-up in the plot of the story. As more information was revealed in the timelines of each chapter, I started to suspect some characters and wondered who might be lying. (There are quite a few characters, so I did go back and reread a paragraph or two when I needed to clarify exactly who or what had happened. If you love to try and solve mysteries – make sure to pay attention to details from the very beginning!)
There are loads of twists and turns in The Perfect Guests – some which I saw coming and others completely surprised me! I liked the characters of Beth and Sadie – their stories might be a little far-fetched, but still intriguing and definitely kept my interest. I would definitely recommend this book if you like mysteries!
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