The Housewarming
Ratings4
Average rating3.5
Spoiler ahead:
Such a sad, tragic story about the death of a little child. I hated what happened, but couldn't stop reading. I suppose hope kept me reading...at first, that everything would be okay. Then there were such twists and I wanted to know how such a thing could go as far as it did. Horrible!!!
I loved The Housewarming! It's a smart and suspenseful British thriller that follows a woman suffering from the tragic loss of her 2 year old daughter. The timeline switches between the day she disappeared and present day (one are after the tragic event) in a dissociative and wandering way that adds to the atmosphere. Although I predicted one of the major twists, there were plenty more at the end that caught me by surprise and left me shocked. Additionally, I love when a thriller has a message, and this one definitely does. Yes, the drama, intrigue and twists are all accounted for... but themes of grief, forgiveness, family and morals are also explored in a meaningful and authentic way. Overall, 4 stars for a suspenseful and true to life thriller!
Plot Details
Ava and Matt's daughter Abi has disappeared. Ava was only upstairs for a few minutes, but when she came back down, Abi was gone and the front door was opened. After days of searching, Abi still was nowhere to be found with no explanation of what happened.
One year later, Ava and Matt's neighbors are having a housewarming party to show off their expansive new kitchen and house renovations. Everyone is happy, a bit drunk, and some details start to pop up a bit more about the day that Abi went missing. What really did happened? Does someone know something and isn't telling?
My Thoughts
I liked the premise of this book, but I thought it started out really slow. The first 25% of the book was really just about Abi's disappearance and the little that was known about it, which wasn't much. It covered a lot of Ava's thoughts over and over, I felt like, and started to drag a bit. The last half of the book did pick up some, and I liked the conclusion and the way it played out. The book had a bit of a message to it, which I enjoyed. It was just a very slow burn and hard to get through. I would've rated it 3.5 stars if I could, but to me it didn't quite make it to 4.
Merged review:
Plot Details
Ava and Matt's daughter Abi has disappeared. Ava was only upstairs for a few minutes, but when she came back down, Abi was gone and the front door was opened. After days of searching, Abi still was nowhere to be found with no explanation of what happened.
One year later, Ava and Matt's neighbors are having a housewarming party to show off their expansive new kitchen and house renovations. Everyone is happy, a bit drunk, and some details start to pop up a bit more about the day that Abi went missing. What really did happened? Does someone know something and isn't telling?
My Thoughts
I liked the premise of this book, but I thought it started out really slow. The first 25% of the book was really just about Abi's disappearance and the little that was known about it, which wasn't much. It covered a lot of Ava's thoughts over and over, I felt like, and started to drag a bit. The last half of the book did pick up some, and I liked the conclusion and the way it played out. The book had a bit of a message to it, which I enjoyed. It was just a very slow burn and hard to get through. I would've rated it 3.5 stars if I could, but to me it didn't quite make it to 4.