The House Sitter by Debbie Howells #review

Book cover of The House Sitter by Debbie Howells

Title: The House Sitter
Author: Debbie Howells

Publisher: Avon Books

Synopsis:

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My review:

The House Sitter is a novel full of deceit, unlikeable characters (which I always enjoy reading about!) and some really horrible family members!

We’re told the story through multiple perspectives, adding intrigue to the narrative, but we start the novel with an elusive ‘house sitter’ who travels through Europe “looking after” people’s homes whilst they’re away – but in fact stealing from them and much worse… This sets a mysterious feeling to the story, as we wonder who this person is and how she links with the story. We then swing back to the UK, as Katherine, Oliver’s wife, and his mother Jude discover Oliver has died in a car accident that seems increasingly suspicious. But both women – and Oliver’s brother Joe – discover that Oliver has been leading a secret life…

The plot moves between the house sitter’s chapters and the people mourning Oliver’s death. I don’t want to give too much away about the storyline but the reader soon begins to unpick the reality of Oliver’s situation. There were some parts which felt a little too convenient and far-fetched to me – mainly with the housesitter storyline if I’m honest – but it’s still an enjoyable, fun read!

I liked that the characters in this novel didn’t refuse to believe the evidence right in front of them, as often happens in novels, and each of them had their flaws – in fact, there wasn’t really anyone who could be said to be perfect (or hugely likeable) in this novel! Again, for me, this is a positive and feels much more realistic.

Despite the twists, I did guess some of how the book would end but it didn’t hamper my enjoyment. It’s a really fun read which kept me wanting to read on, and I’d recommend it.

My rating: 3.75/5

Many thanks to the publisher, Avon Books, for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest review.

The House Sitter is released in the UK on 5 January 2023.
Pre-order on The Book Depository or Amazon UK.

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