**Spoiler Alert**

Okay, I didn't this story. However, that's not to say it's a bad book and for the most part it was suspenseful...ish, keeping a somewhat tenuous hold on my interest. It's very much a plot-driven story, told from the POV of our protagonist, Lisa, who is the newest tenant of the "Spare Room". A room that somehow connects her past to her present. A past she can only vaguely remember.

Ideally, and in my opinion, a suspenseful thriller must create an atmosphere of impending doom, multiple layers of conflict, a convincing villain, high stakes, sustained suspense, but more importantly, the reader must care about the main protagonist. While most of these elements are present in this book; unfortunately, DS Mitchell missed the most important one.

Why should I care about Lisa, or in her quest for answers? And for that matter, why was there even a quest in the first instance. Quite frankly, the entire premise (and conflict) of the story could have been resolved with one conversation with Lisa's parents and since they really were not culpable or party to the "mystery", all they needed to say was: "you're adopted, and this is why?". I'm not quite sure of their motivation for withholding this life-impacting information. It was inexcusable, made no sense; and even after finishing the book, I still don't buy Mitchell's spin.

Had that conversation happened, Lisa would have

a) Gotten proper psychiatric care
b) Not rented the spare room, ergo, no psychological trauma or impending doom thereby making the premise redundant.

Predominantly, the biggest issues I had with this story were the one-dimensional characters (even Lisa, whom I might consider multi-dimensional, was little more than the archetypal female protagonist that litter this subgenre), wise the excessive foreshadowing that made the plot twists impalpable.

Ultimately, and even though I think this was mostly generic, I'll definitely read other books by this author. Uhtred296 18

A somewhat anomalous book, a psychological thriller, a little Alfred Hitchcock’s style, where nothing happens but you have the feeling that something scary will happen. In short, it would seem the real suspense, the dream of every lover of thriller books. Here, however, it lasts a bit too long, in the sense that for 330 pages there is all this expectation and then in the last 20 pages the mystery is solved and we realize that it was not such a big mystery. All the stubbornness of Lisa (the protagonist) that we struggle to understand for much of the book, then turns out to be based on her feeling that in her childhood there was some important and obscure fact. At the end of the book we discover that this feeling was well-founded, but the "twists" that reveal the mystery are quite banal and very exploited in the thriller genre. The mysterious house has nothing paranormal about it; the mysterious garden turns out to be just the cover of a small cannabis grow; the cannabis grower was not a ferocious serial killer, but just a normal asshole; the massacre of Lisa's childhood is due to a story of marital betrayal: in short, a fairly insipid book, which can be read, but it is certainly not one that does not make you detach from the pages, especially because it is written with a style quite heavy, with the protagonist who for pages and pages distresses us with all her paranoia and her confused flashbacks, with long moments of pause, with her nightmares. The idea could have been interesting, there are question marks that stimulate reading to know how it ends, but it is not supported by a narrative style suitable for dramatic moments. The style is sloppy, muddled and the author has exaggerated in digging into Lisa's altered psyche and failed to emphasize the climaxes of the narrative. In a Psychology essay it might have been fine, in a thriller definitely not. I am sorry that a great writer Lee Child has accepted to write on the back cover that this is "The Scariest, Most Exciting and Best Thriller You Will Read This Year": this book has nothing scary or exciting. Two stars.40 s lisa walker43

Stupid

Sorry but what have I just read. This was just awful. Unrealistic and just plain bad...... kept hoping it would get better. It got even worse.39 s The Book Review Café756 209

4.5 ??
Dreda Say Mitchell is one of my favourite gritty crime thriller authors, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of her latest book Spare Room. I must admit I picked up this book with some trepidation as the author has moved away from her normal genre and written a psychological thriller. I’m thrilled to report that not only has the author written a corker of a psychological thriller, it’s one that makes you question everything you read. Mitchell has incorporated all the elements that make for a fabulous read, unreliable narrators, a complex plot that makes you question every characters part in this deliciously, dark creepy tale, that becomes more disturbing with each turn of the page.

“Beautiful single room to let to a single person” an innocent ad, or so you would think, but as any psychological thriller lover will know this doesn’t bode well for a prospective lodger, in this case Lisa who has so many issues a psychologist would rub their hands with glee. I wondered if this book would be similar to Single White Female, but it soon becomes clear that this book is very different in every way. When Lisa takes a room with live-in owners Miranda and Jack, life appears to be good, but when Lisa finds a suicide note hidden in her room from a previous tenant, things take a very disturbing turn, one where appearances can be deceptive, and the adage “trust no one” comes into play.

I love an unreliable narrator and they don’t come more unreliable than Lisa, her story is not one than can be taken at face value, she appears unstable and deluded at times, but it’s this untrustworthiness that makes Spare Room such a twisted read. I really felt for Lisa there’s a sense of malevolence and manipulation from those around her, or is this what she wants us to believe? Only by reading the book will you know. There were other characters in this book I detested for reasons I will not go into here (no spoilers) but they added tension to the overall plot.

Mitchell manipulates the reader at every turn, as I finished each chapter the tone of the book grew darker and yet I needed to read on, to sort the truth from the lies, the good from the bad. Spare Room is full of twists I did not see coming, which always add to my overall enjoyment of a read, there’s nothing worse than guessing correctly the direction a read is taking. Mitchell takes familiar subjects such as deception, manipulation and buried secrets and incorporates them into an assured psychological thriller that’s both compelling and original in its telling. Highly recommended

All my can be found at http://thebookreviewcafe.com 21 s Sue1,365 5

SPARE ROOM by Dreda Say Mitchell is a stand-alone dark psychological thriller that will suck you in right from the beginning. I had to keep on reading to figure out what was going on. I am so glad I read this book, because I had to know what happened! This was a winner!

Beautiful double room in wonderful large house in North London to let to single person.

“Lisa, a troubled young woman with a past, can’t believe her luck when she finds a beautiful room to rent in a large house. The live-in owners are a kind and welcoming couple. Everything is fine until she finds a suicide note hidden in her room. But when the couple insist this man didn’t exist and that Lisa is their first tenant, Lisa begins to doubt herself.”

Lisa is a troubled young woman who suffers from terrible nightmares, has physical body scars and the nightmares cause her to sleep walk, so she ties her leg to the bed post every night.

The live-in owners, Martha and Jack want Lisa to be very happy in their home. Lisa will be living in a place that’s not really her own. A place already occupied by the people who own it: two strangers!

Lisa is determined to uncover the truth…to undercover the secrets of the man who lived in the room before her. Then, disturbing incidents start to happen. Is someone trying to cover up the truth?

To reveal more, would disclose spoilers. Let’s just say things are not what they seem!

If you love psychological thrillers then I highly recommend this novel. You won’t regret it.

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books via NetGalley for my digital copy.
bloodhound-books british-literature kindle-paperwhite ...more22 s Natalia Luna296 145

Sin ser una maravilla, engancha bastante. La protagonista cree que se está volviendo loca, sueña con cosas que cree haber vivido pero no recuerda y su estabilidad mental hace aguas. Alquila una habitación en una enorme casa y a partir de aquí todas las piezas encajan.
Libro sencillo pero bastante adictivo, no está mal.reto-202321 s Montse #SeguiréLeyendo534 134

Y soy muy generosa con las 2 estrellas.
Qué puto despropósito.
Y predecible hasta decir basta.20 s5 comments Sara Andrade57

It kills me not to finish a book, but I couldn't get past 18%.

It's becoming clear to me that authors don't know how to write women. Either we're crazy, or drunk, or possessive or submissive or complete assholes - as was the case of our main character here. Lisa was rude, entitled and judgemental (I knew I would hate this book when, right on the first pages she bashed tattoos, cigarette smokers and botox).

Nothing made sense in this story: who the hell wants to stay in a house where the landlord (WHO LIVES THERE) corners them in their own room with a clear intent to rape or hurt them? And then he and his all-knowing, enabling wife tell her to leave and she still refuses to go!?

If this was real life and I saw that woman on the street I would throw my Kindle at her face.

I'm sad because I wanted to know what happened in that house, with the suicide guy, but this was pure torture.

dnf19 s Cathryn243 6

So I really hated this. a lot. I’m fed up of unreliable female narrators and “dramas” that could have been resolved with a few simple conversations.

2019 bleh drama ...more18 s Nicki623 2

Spare Room is a sinister,enthralling thriller about a very troubled young woman named Lisa. Haunted by terrifying nightmares about a horrific event that happened in her past,an occurrence that left her mentally and physically scarred. Lisa can't believe her luck when she finds a beautiful room to let in a large house. The live in owners Martha and Jack are kind and welcoming and Lisa swiftly moves into their attic room. But sinister things start happening after Lisa finds a suicide note in her room and feels compelled to uncover the secrets of the man who was the room's previous tenant. A person who Martha and Jack insist never existed.
As the four walls of the house and its secrets begin to close in on her. Lisa begins to struggle deciphering what is real and what isn't as she claws her way towards the truth.

A devastating secret that someone is prepared to go to any lengths to stop Lisa uncovering.

Lisa was a able protagonist who I couldn't help rooting for as the story unfolded and she struggled with her doubts and anxieties. She really did have some major mental issues but didn't let them or the danger that she knew she was putting herself in stop her in her almost obsessive quest to uncover the truth. It appeared that almost every person in her life seemed to go out of their way to obstruct her search for answers. Sometimes using very devious and unethical methods to stop her. Interspersed throughout the book were chapters that were voiced by the man who was previously in Lisa's room but who was he? And why was Lisa so obsessed with uncovering his identity? My favourite characters were Lisa's ex boyfriend Alex and Patsy,the stubborn but loveable elderly neighbour who.lived next door to Martha and Jack. Many of the vivid characters in this book were untrustworthy,a couple were definitely not who they appeared to be. I was also surprised to find that by the end of the book,I ended up liking a character who I had previously disd.

Spare Room is a well written,twist packed,page turner,a chilling tale of secrets,lies,deceptions and manipulation that had me hooked in from the very first page,totally enthralled by Lisa's chilling story. There was a genuine jaw dropping,omg moment that almost made me drop my kindle in shock.This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most definitely will not be my last. Very highly recommended by little old me.

Many thanks to Emma Welton (damppebbles) and BloodHound Books for a arc of this book and the opportunity to take part in the Blog Blitz16 s Book Addict Shaun937 313

I am a huge, huge fan of Dreda Say Mitchell as an author, a speaker, a person, the lot. I have loved all her books, interviews I’ve watched on YouTube (I highly recommend the Writer’s Corner interview on Words of Colour and the Writeidea Festival video from 2011, one a fascinating insight into her writing with Tony and as a black author and one a brilliant insight into Dreda’s history and life and being an author) and also debates that she’s had over Brexit. Fanboying over we can get onto this review. Having now written books in the crime genre and the thriller genre, I was very excited to read Spare Room which sees Dreda writing a psychological thriller, and it does not disappoint.

Spare Room is a psychological thriller in every sense of the word and oh my word was it twisted. I always find it hard to summarise what these books are about without spoiling it but it’s essentially the story of Lisa who finds a room to rent in a large house in North London. Upon moving in alarms bells immediately start ringing when the couple who live in the house begin acting strangely, and when Lisa finds a suicide note in her bedroom, the strange happenings continue when the couple insist that she is the first person to have rented a room from them. From there we are treated to a delightfully twisted plot that had me frantically pressing my Kindle screen as I couldn’t read quick enough. Lisa is an incredibly complicated character, one who at times seemed almost unstable but then as the story began to progress, I completely understood why she was the way she was, and why she was so determined to find answers. For the most part I don’t think that she was an unreliable narrator where others have said that she was, she was a fascinating character that I believed in and along the way on her journey I was completely by her side wanting her to find the answers that she wanted so badly.

The other characters are too difficult to talk about without giving away spoilers but the cast here is so well-created that I was caught off guard numerous times as I read. When the story began to near its conclusion I became fixated on something that I thought was going to be a twist but which ultimately didn’t come to fruition. It really is a story where you don’t know who or what to trust. There’s a real undercurrent of fear throughout the whole book, it’s almost a little bit menacing in places and I never knew just what was coming next as I shut out the world and read the closing chapters with no idea of what was going on around me. Spare Room was one of those books that sucked me in and it was only when I finished it that I realised I’d been reading nonstop for the past hour and a half. In terms of believability I found this story to be believable, that is there wasn’t anything too outlandishly ridiculous, if wasn’t one of those over the top psychological thrillers with a silly ending but instead it was an ending absolutely packed full of emotion, I just found myself marvelling at where this story went and what an intricately woven tale it turned out to be at the end. It seems there’s no end to Dreda’s talent as a writer, she is one of my absolute favourite storytellers and I will continue to shout about her books and she remains one of my all-time favourite authors. I hope to one day meet her and I hope to be reading her books for many more years to come. If you are yet to read one of her books then I cannot recommend them enough.

12 s Alisonbookreviewer603 57

4 stars
Not so much a thriller for me. More a very sad story. A young girl rents a room in house figuring it has something to do with her nightmares and bizarre thoughts.
I first thought ptsd or something along those lines but it turned out entirely different.
Characters were well written as well as the story. psychological-thriller12 s Denise2,081 91

"We project one thing to the world but inside there's hurt, there's pain, there's memories chasing us that will never go away."

Lisa Kendal has scars. And we're not just talking about the ones on the outside that everyone can see though she keeps her body completely covered. She's got some serious emotional and psych issues, a past "incident" that was ly a suicide attempt, and many questions about her past. When she can't get straight, honest answers from her parents (Edward and Barbara), she takes matters into her own hands and rents a room in a beautiful house in North London. Despite the near constant nightmares and the crazy rules that the home owners hold her to, she feels drawn to the place. When she finds a handwritten letter at the back of a bedside cabinet, the urge to find out more about its author intensifies leading to quite the roller coaster ride of a story! NO SPOILERS.

I read this in one sitting in a couple of hours because I had to find out all the secrets. I felt the synopsis was a bit misleading, but probably necessary to avoid giving away the real plot. In order to appreciate this crazy tale, you're probably going to have to use every ounce of effort to suspend disbelief and just go along with the spins and twists. A pet peeve of mine is when I am forced to read about a character's dreams, but I was able to gloss over the many times that Lisa's nightmares were related and get on with it. I can't say I d any of the characters and found it pretty easy to figure out where it all was going, but it was a fun read and I'm sure the author had a blast writing this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the e-book ARC to read and review. 10 s Sue Gerhardt Griffiths943 52

4.5 stars

Spare Room is one heck of a story!

Filled with suspense, plenty of tension and twist after twist after twist.

A creepy old victorian house full of dark secrets, and scary owners you’d want to steer clear of particularly at night.

If you’re after renting a spare room, I’d say give it a miss.

Loved every single bit of this book.

Well done to Kristin Atherton for excellent narration. 2021-books audiobook10 s Patricija || book.duo669 457

1.5/5

Kartais net papras?iausia istorija gali ?traukti taip, kad vos sp?ji or? gaudyt skaitydamas. O kartais autoriai priraito vingrybi?, taip kišdami patys sau koj?, dramatiškai gri?na, parklupdo d?l efekto ir veik?jus, šaudo fejerverkus vidury dienos ir bando net mažiausioje smulkmenoje ?žvelgti intrig? ir dram?. Laisvas kambarys, kad ir kaip tik?jausi pirmo varianto, vis d?lto tapo antruoju. Ir nors skai?iau iki pabaigos, nor?dama sužinoti, ar mano sp?jimai pasitvirtins, jiems visiems ? vietas sukritus kaip tik taip, kaip ir nusp?jau, o kitur susid?liojus taip, kad mano akyse prasilenkia su visais logikos ir nuoseklumo d?sniais, belieka džiaugtis, kad knyga tokia greitai skaitoma ir trumpa, prigr?sta dialog? ir nenutr?kstamo žaibiško tempo, kad ilgai neužtruksit.

Siužetas vystosi taip autorei patogiai, kad patik?ti juo beveik ne?manoma nuo pat knygos pradži?: viskas tobulai sukrenta ? vietas tada, kai jai prireikia, o siužeto pos?kiai ne tik nusp?jami, bet ir ? priek? varomi netikroviškai, kartais pritemptai, o kartais tiesiog per prievart?, tarsi reik?t? numatyt? pabaig? prilipdyti prie pradžios, tarsi bandant ne ? savo viet? ?gr?sti puzl?s gabaliuk?. Laisvo kambario veik?jai plokšti, dramatiški ir maž? mažiausiai keisti. Ir visai ne ger?ja prasme. T?vas, trenk?s dukteriai ? veid?, reaguoja absurdiškai, sakydamas: „Juk žinai, niekada nesu tau sudav?s.“ Na, nelabai tiesa gi, k?? Atrodo, kad autor? priverstinai bando dram? laužti net ten, kur niekaip neišeina net žiežirbos ?skelti, k? jau ten bekalb?ti apie fejerverkus. Veik?jai r?kia ir draskosi bene per kiekvien? pokalb?, daug k? ?vardija ten, kur tikri žmon?s niekada to nedaryt?, pavyzdžiui dukrai aiškina: „Na, žinai, tavo mama, Barbara“. Aha, žinau, b?t? keista, jei nežino?iau, k?? Kitur veik?jai imasi kalb?ti beveik Wikipedijos straipsniais, smulkmeniškai, apie keis?iausius dalykus, kad autor? sutaupyt? laiko ir, neduok Dieve, neparašyt? kokios ilgesn?s pastraipos NE DIALOGU.

Tekstas vietomis toks keistas, kad net neina suprasti: autor? ?ia grybauja, ar kas kitas? Pavyzdžiui, „Neprieštarau?iau ? j? ?sliuogti. Ar sutiktum, kad jis tapt? tavo medžiu?“; „Dvi jaunesn?s mergait?s buvo vadinamos angl?mis, nes daug juok?si ir žaid?.“ Vietomis kalba tokia negrabi, o dialogai tokie isteriški, kad j? analiz? ir bandymas suprasti kod?l kiekviename žingsnyje reikia šitiek DRAMOS, galiausiai išvargina ir nukreipia d?mes? nuo siužeto, kuris, nors ir turintis neblog? potencial?, visgi lieka neišnaudotas ir dings atmintyje per ateinan?i? savait?.
nepakeliami-nusivylimai11 s Sarah2,722 195

From page one, I was well and truly gripped to this novel only putting it down to go to sleep and picking it up the next morning to finish it.

Right from the start it’s obvious that something has happened in the house that Lisa finds herself renting a room in. I was as intrigued as her when she uncovers a suicide letter and wanted to know more about the man who felt he obviously had no other way out other than to take his own life.

Lisa is a slightly unstable character who has had mental health issues in the past. I was just as intrigued about her and her past. As the reader gets further into the story, the more things start to unfold with some very unexpected turns.

Spare Room is an enthralling and addictive read that I couldn’t get enough of. To say this isn’t the authors usual genre, really doesn’t show as she writes with a wealth of experience and one that is certainly going to appeal to lovers of psychological thrillers. A highly exhilarating, nail biter of a read.fiction9 s Adele Shea537 16

Lisa needs a place to live and decides to rent a Spare Room in Martha and Jack's. When sinister things start happening and she finds a suicide note in her room of a mysterious man, she wants to get to the bottom of it.

When I start reading this book I just kept thinking "why doesn't she just move out?" but then bam the story makes sense. There are some twisted things that have happened in Lisa's life that she needs to remember and come to terms with. Great read.9 s Abigail T219 11

Far too far fetched for me



The title grabbed me and I thought this book has got some original potential here..I was wrong. It's extremely far fetched to the point of being laughable ... Dropping an lsd to confront a psycho ...really! 10 s Teresa1,744 17

Okay, this is not a horrible book, but it’s far from a good one.

A ridiculous storyline that could have been settled with one conversation between Lisa and her parents. Plus Lisa is a flat unable character. 10 s Jeilen566 27

Hasta el 60 % estaba muy bien construido. Luego se me estiró demasiado el final que se veía venir.9 s pelaio224 55

Otra vez que me la han metido doblada. Que si "la maestra del suspense", "la tensión está por las nubes"...
Pues no voy a decir como tengo la tensión pero...
Nada, ni chicha ni limoná.
Como dice mi hija..."aporta o aparta".9 s Lel Budge1,397 28

MY REVIEW

So here goes:

Lisa Kendal is a mess, she takes antidepressants ad hoc, she has night terrors, sleep walks and is a little paranoid to say the least.

Lisa rents the Spare Room in Martha and Jack’s beautiful home, there are very strict house rules, which seem a little over the top but she is determined to stay and find out what happened to the previous tenant. She has found a suicide note and writings on the wall and is certain something bad went on in that house...

Oh my.....what a story, Dreda Say Mitchell has created a taut tale that just bristles with tension. CLICHE ALERT.....but I really couldn’t put it down, I had to know, was Lisa having a breakdown ? Is Jack violent ? What secrets are being kept from Lisa, by her parents, Doctor and Martha ? Who is John and what terrible event happened in that house?

This truly gave me goosebumps, that shivery tingle down my spine with the final, marvellously horrific reveal. A masterpiece of tension, brilliant and a must read for lovers of psychological thrillers.





Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to read this and for A free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. 8 s Manjish Naik63

What a stupid idiotic story and written so horribly. If there’s some writing on the wall in a language you don’t know, just take a god damned photo next time instead of all the freaking theatrics to sneak a translator into a forbidden place. Ugh. Stupid stupid crap!

I predicted the story halfway through. The so called “clues” were so damn obvious. Still I struggled through it and managed to finish it.

This book makes doctors seem mobsters. Getting rid of bodies without anyone noticing. Don Corleone here with known undertakers, randomly hiding dead children. Even Don Corleone didn’t do that to Amerigo Bonasera. 9 s Debra272 2

This was not a good book. One of my quirks is, once I start a book I have to finish it, this book took me a week to finish. I kept waiting for the drama, the intrigue, the suspense, it never came. Large parts of the story wasn't realistic, the character development wasn't that good, I never connected with any of the characters or the story. I'm glad this book was on Kindle Unlimited, I would have been very upset had I paid for it.9 s Jocelyn761

3.5

You know that ‘crazy-what-is-going-on’ feeling you get right before puzzle pieces start falling in to place, and the book gets really interesting and answers just breed more question? Yeah, this never got to that point, it was just confusing until the end. It was entertaining and I d it overall, but at some point, it’s ok to start connecting dots. 2021 britt-lit thriller9 s Nikki338 5

Extremely unbelievable. It is a short book but I am so glad it is over.

*spoiler*
The main character chooses to drop lsd to confront a possible killer... wtf?
I hate when the plot revolves around an issue that could be solved with a simple conversation.suspense-thriller8 s Jill McGill 228 179

This dark and twisted psychological thriller was a winner for me! This pulled me in right from the start... I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Looking forward to reading more from this author!fiction kindle-unlimited mystery-thriller ...more8 s Neringa Cikanait?40 4

3.5
Pati id?ja faina, skait?si ?domiai,bet nepatiko pagrind? veik?ja. Jos poelgiai vietomis buvo vaikiški, kaprizingi ir nelogiški. Buvo viet? kur autor? apraš? tiesiog ne?manomus atsitikimus, na neb?na taip tiesiog. Ir vietomis trugd? vertimas, vienas kitas žodis iš mušdavo iš viso teksto, nes reik?davo kelis kartus perskaityt ar gerai supratau,deja tai nepagyvino teksto kaip tik?tasi, ta?iau tai trugd?, nes toki? žodži? nesu nei gird?jus vartojant nei žinojau, kad išvis toki? b?na. Atrod?, kad tai korekt?ros klaida su ne ištaisyt? žodžiu
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