The Family Guest – Nelle Lamarr

Summary

I’ve never met her before, but I know who she is. Because our new guest is the spitting image of the daughter I lost. Long blonde hair. Sparkling dark eyes. Perfect pearly-white teeth. And that’s exactly why I invited her into our home.

From the moment our exchange student Tanya arrives, I feel like my daughter has come back to life. With her brown eyes and slender frame, she looks so much like Anabel that sometimes I can almost pretend she didn’t die in that tragic accident.

Tanya really is the perfect guest – kind, polite, and always happy to help me in the kitchen. At last, a member of the family who compliments my beautiful house and enjoys my homemade dinners. And when she asks questions about my life, I feel I’ve finally found someone I can confide in.

My younger teenage daughter, Paige, isn’t so happy about our guest. She thinks it’s strange that Tanya looks like Anabel, and she hates it when she wears her sister’s old clothes. And now she’s convinced herself that Tanya isn’t who she says she is.

But I learnt a long time ago that it’s best not to ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.

And while I’m growing suspicious that our new guest has a secret, I’m certain that it’s nothing in comparison to mine…

Review

3.5 rounded down solely because I only liked 1 character in this!
Listen, I love me some generally unlikable characters or downright villains but everyone here was annoying, especially one of the main characters that we were supposed to be rooting for.

We follow 2 main POV’s: Natalie, the matriarch of the family, and Paige, Natalie’s daughter. We are supposed to be rooting for the family against the possible threat of Tanya, their new exchange student guest, but I just found Paige wildly unlikable and could only (most of the time) root for Natalie.

I definitely found it a level better than a run-of-the-mill popcorn thriller, good writing, good pace, and definitely a great example of the correct usage of red herrings!

Definitely recommend this best for people that are still introducing themselves to mystery-thrillers.