Saturday, 19 August 2017

Simon Lelic - The House


Rating: 4/5

Review:
A very good psychological thriller



I thought The House was a very good psychological thriller.  It is well written and very gripping.

The plot concerns Jack and Syd, a young couple who manage to buy a house which they didn't expect to be able to get.  Things then become a little sinister and gradually a series of events means that their lives begin to unravel completely and past trauma starts to emerge.  It's a tense, well developed plot which is pretty plausible until the very end, which I did find pretty unlikely.  However, it is so well done that I can forgive that.

What makes this so good is the very engrossing plot structure, which kept me very involved, and the two narrative voices.  The book is in the form of a diary or blog kept by Syd and Jack which, by mutual agreement, they write both as messages to each other and to get a clear record of what has happened.  I found the two voices completely convincing and engaging in their own ways, and Syd and Jack's relationship and how they behave under extreme pressure seemed very real to me.  By the time I got to a rather less-than-plausible ending I was completely hooked, so I didn't really mind.

In short, The House is an enjoyable, gripping read which is a cut above your average psychological thriller.  Recommended.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

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