The House Sitter by Ellery Kane
Published: June 14, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 298
Genre: Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Ellery Kane is a forensic psychologist by day and a novelist by night; she has been writing–professionally and creatively–for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real-life is stranger than fiction, and her day job often inspires Ellery’s writing. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she’s heard her fair share of real-life thrillers. Ellery lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, a picturesque setting that provides the backdrop for many of her novels. If you don’t find Ellery interviewing murderers behind prison walls or pecking away at her latest novel, she is probably at the gym landing a solid jab-cross to a punching bag; riding bicycles with her special someone; or enjoying a movie the old-fashioned way–at the theater with popcorn and Milk Duds.
Most days we live in perfect harmony, but today Iris is confused. She thinks we moved in uninvited. I pass her a tablet from the medicine cabinet, knowing she’ll soon calm down and remember how lucky she is to have found us.
Later that night, the police arrive to find Iris’s perfect house turned upside down, the telephone lying on the floor, its cord severed. They walk through each room, calling out, but the house remains totally silent.
You will think you know what happened that night, but when the police discover something unexpected hidden amongst the wreckage in Iris’s bedroom, you’ll find you don’t know a thing.
“Some people go their whole lives without looking up.”
Iris has lived quite the life, her mother abandoned her at a young age, but in the orphanage, she made friends with another lost soul. Their friendship sparked generations, and when Dolores died of an apparent suicide, Iris knew that was wrong. Lydia and Seth are down on their luck until they meet a kind old lady who needs help. Their paths crossed at the right time to save each other.
This was a very twisted story from page one. I enjoyed how this story was told. Between alternating timelines and narrators, the story unfolded dramatically and efficiently.
The characters were well done. Deeply complicated, and all deal with trauma from the past: secrets and devious plans, and ulterior motives.
I enjoyed how this was almost like a story within a story, but with everything connected and intertwined in some way.
The last five or so chapters are absolute game changing. As things start to settle and the picture becomes clear, the twists start to unravel in a way you will never see coming.