Release date: February 25, 2025
Publisher: Lake Union
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis:
Driven by past traumas and present hardships, two women face off over home turf in this twisty psychological thriller from Rebecca Hanover, author of The Last Applicant.
Emily Hawthorne lives in the well-heeled Noe Valley of San Francisco…but just barely. With less work than she would like at the yoga studio, a pile of debt, and a fraught past, she can no longer afford her tiny condo. When she meets the charming Penelope “Pip” Stone and her young daughter, also beset by financial woes, she agrees to take them in as roommates.
But Emily’s stroke of luck turns out to be another twist of the Pip is a professional squatter who has no intention of paying rent. And Pip doesn’t want to share the condo.
She wants the whole thing.
Their domestic standoff only intensifies when a downstairs neighbor is murdered. Both women become suspects, not to mention each other’s mistrustful alibis.
Emily feels the walls closing in. Is she trapped with a vulnerable grifter—who, like her, may have good reasons for making bad decisions—or is Pip just a cold-blooded killer?
Review:
I love when a book takes a seemingly mundane situation and adds a twist to it and that’s exactly what the author did here. Getting a new roommate shouldn’t be dangerous but it is when Emily allows Pip into her home. Forget the danger, the thought of someone being at my house and never leaving sounds like my worst nightmare as an introvert and I felt so awful for Emily. Yes, she was a little frustrating at times, her decision making skills were lacking and I don’t think I agreed with her choices one time, but no one deserves what Pip put her through. I don’t want to go further into the plot because this developed in ways I didn’t see coming and I love a good surprise. If you like unsettling books with unlikable characters and fast pacing try this!
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
Novelgossip 