Book: The New Home
Author: Chris Merrritt
Pub Day: Sept 7th 2021
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
About the Book:
You never know what’s happening behind closed doors…
Freya loves her new home on a quiet suburban street. And her beautiful neighbour Emily is everything she’s ever wanted in a best friend. Finally, she has somebody to share her secrets with over a glass of wine. But as Freya watches her new friend setting the table for dinner one evening, she sees something shocking that makes her think that Emily’s life might not be as perfect as it seems. Days later, Emily and her daughter vanish…
When you meet Emily’s husband, you will think you know what he’s hiding.
You will ask yourself whether Emily and Freya really did meet by chance.
You will think you know what happened to Emily and her little girl the night they went missing.
But when you discover the truth, it will shake you to your core and you will lie awake at night wondering if you can ever really trust the people in the house next door…
Fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell will love the gripping tension and unexpected twists of The New Home. Once you start reading, you’ll be hooked!
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The New Home' by Chris Merritt.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Chris Merritt, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 7th September 2021.
This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Knock Knock' and 'Who's Next?' which I highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell will love the gripping tension and unexpected twists of The New Home.' I am a huge fan of Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Chris and if this is half as good as 'Knock Knock' and 'Who's Next? ' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists 59 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Surrey, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. The fact that this book is based in England is even better as I have been on holiday in England many times so may even recognise some places Chris has set the book around.
This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonists being Freya and an unsub. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
'The New Home' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Chris discusses/includes mental health, miscarriage and domestic abuse.
Wow!!! Well done Chris on yet another unputdownable psychological thriller!!
The storyline itself is a must read!!! It is packed with suspense, lies, mystery, sadness, friendship, love, loss and red herrings!!! It is very fast paced and I was absolutely hooked throughout. There is so much going on and it constantly leaves you guessing, thinking you've worked it all out and then BOOM an ending you would never have guessed!!! I was absolutely addicted and it left me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing biting my nails. The ending was absolutely explosive and one I did not consider at all. A huge well done Chris on this as it is getting harder and harder to shock me with all the books I read but you managed to completely blow my mind!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your books past and future!!! If you are planning on reading this then clear your schedules as it is completely unputdownable!!
The characters are all strong and realistic. All of the main characters were well developed with alot of history. I became completely invested in Freya and was intrigued by the unsub trying to work out who it was and was shocked when I discovered the truth. I enjoyed watching Freya's relationship with Emily develop and it was lovely to see such a string friendship grow in a short time. I wasn't sure how I felt about Jack, a bit of a mix really but for the majority of the time he really annoyed me with his attitude. I actually just write how I felt about him by the end but deleted it as don't want to give anything away!!! In fact it's quite hard to say how I feel about any of the characters without giving anything away so will just say how I felt about them at the start. Cathy was a really sweet lady and I felt really sorry on her, I'm glad that Freya became so close to her and looked after her as if she was her Gran. I didn't like Michael from the start as I just found him to be blunt, rude and sexist. Although Duncan and Patrick only came along at the end they seem like characters I would love to get to know more. Overall a great mix of characters that worked perfectly in the storyline.
Congratulations Chris on another absolutely addictive read!!! Welcome to my favourite author list and here's to your next book!!! 🍻
Overall an absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller with an explosive ending!!
Genres covered in this novel include Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Noir Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Gone girl, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell.
302 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@ChrisMerritt @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio
Chris Merritt is a British author whose crime thrillers combine psychology, suspense, and characters you care about. All his novels are set in London, where he lives. He began writing fiction in 2014, after previous careers as a diplomat, based in Iraq and Jerusalem, and later as a psychologist working with victims and perpetrators of crime. He specialised in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which sparked his interest in telling stories about how people cope when faced with extreme adversity. Now, he spends most of his time writing novels and drinking coffee while *thinking* about writing novels. When he's not writing, he loves climbing and playing basketball.
Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drcjmerritt
Website: https://www.cjmerritt.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjmerritt81/
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0953LNBJNcover
Apple: http://ow.ly/ec2A50EP84U
Kobo: http://ow.ly/7Og450EP813
Google: http://ow.ly/ZEm950EP86M
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