Our House

I was so fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy of Our House by Louise Candlish. This book is published by Berkley and hits stores on August 7th, although you can pre-order now. Huge thanks to Berkley publishing not only for the book copy but for all the work you do!

This book is set in England, where a couple with two children live a nice life in an area where real estate values have dramatically increased. Their home is now worth substantially more than they paid for it, in fact more than 2 million pounds. One day the wife, Fi, (short for Fiona) comes home to find her husband, Bram, (short for Abraham) in the backyard inside the children's playhouse. The kids are in bed asleep but Bram isn't playing alone in the little house, he is with one of their female neighbors. Shortly after this infidelity, Fi and Bram Lawson separate.

One day, when Fi is going out of town, she pops back to the house to discover someone else moving in. She confronts the intruders to discover that all her and the children's belongings are gone and indeed, the house has not only been emptied but has been legally sold. The money paid for the home is missing, but the deed has been transferred. The act complete, her house is gone. Fi tries in vain to reach her estranged husband, who now has a disconnected phone and is nowhere to be found.

I don't want to say anything more about the plot, but suffice it to say I love the plot. In fact, this could have been one of my all time favorite thrillers. Could have been. Sadly, for me, this book's pacing is way too slow. The facts learned by page 150 could have easily been told in 20 pages.  As the story progresses past the half way mark of this over 400 page book, the pacing increases slightly.  I'll give you an example, something happens to Fi, you as the reader witness it. Then Fi tells the neighbor what happened, instead of just saying that she explained the occurrence to the neighbor, no, the author retells every detail. Then the neighbor retells someone else....again....geez. I really liked the story but don't want to read the same portion retold over and over. This is what holds up the pacing. The plot has all the makings of a blockbuster thriller, I mean it is a really interesting idea, it should be a page turner. My eyes should be bloodshot from reading without sleep because the story drives forward so quickly. Instead I kept putting the book down, yelling at it to just move on. Then there is the end. The end is abrupt and completely unsatisfying. I guess you could say it is ironic, but I was left saying "What, that's it?".

Now, please keep in mind I read a lot of thrillers that move very quickly. I have never read anything from Louise Candlish before, maybe this pacing is her style and something I am just not used to. Remember every book simply cannot be for every person. While this book was too slow for me, the plot was wonderful and the pacing maybe perfect for you. I hope you love it.