She thinks she knows the truth. But what if she’s wrong?
Laila and her husband arrive for a week’s holiday in Greece in desperate need of a reset.
As Laila sits by the pool, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort.
Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently.
Five days later their worlds will be blown apart by a horrifying event.
Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she’s seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear.
And what if she’s got it wrong?
I’m a big fan of Heidi Perks’ novels, and have been since reading Now You See Her in 2018. I was thrilled to be offered early access to her latest novel, The Other Guest, via Netgalley, although I have to admit that while I liked it, I didn’t love it as much as her earlier novels.
The Other Guest focusses on Laila, on holiday with her husband, James, at a luxurious Greek resort. Their holiday is a chance to get away and relax, but also an opportunity to rekindle their relationship after several failed rounds of IVF has left them feeling strained and at odds with each other. Laila – desperate for a child at any cost – wants to keep trying, while James thinks that they’ve been through enough, both physically and emotionally, and is ready to accept that it’s just not going to happen for them.
I have been watching the other guests. Not obsessively as my husband, James, accused me of last night, just peoplewatching around the pool since we arrived on Saturday.
The reader soon learns that Laila likes nothing more than observing those around her, and these opening lines of the novel immediately raise the question of just how intently she’s been watching them. Is it the harmless observation that so many of us are guilty of from time to time, or is it, as her husband complains, obsessive behaviour on her part? I have to admit that while it’s an amusing and usually harmless trait, Laila does seem to take it to extremes, using her observations to infer information and to judge those around her, eager to immerse herself in the lives of strangers. It is perhaps a way of escaping from her own situation, but I have to admit that it doesn’t paint her in a good light, particularly as the question of what’s she’s seen comes to the fore.
While this holiday should provide Laila and James with the perfect opportunity to relax and reconnect, their relationship remains strained. While they seem to be a golden couple, Laila is starting to become suspicious of James’s behaviour, believing that he’s keeping secrets from her and acting oddly although he denies it when challenged. He’s also been drinking more than usual. We know that they argue, although the reason for this isn’t immediately revealed, and it does raise suspicions as to what’s going on between them and what James might be hiding, particularly as other revelations are made.
The novel moves back and forth in time, and so the reader knows early on that tragedy strikes the resort, although the details don’t become apparent until later in the novel as the information is drip-fed to the reader. It works to increase the tension as various questions are raised, although I did also find it to be a little repetitive at times. We hear multiple times about their relationship and James’s inconsistent behaviour, Laila’s desire for a child, and her jealousy of those around her without these elements moving the plot along significantly until later in the novel. It made the first section a little drawn out for me, although the pace picks up later in the novel.
I think that The Other Guest is an easy read that contains a few surprises as the novel progresses. It would make an excellent holiday read, although you might start to wonder whether anyone is paying you more attention than they should be! While it started a little slowly for me, I did find myself intrigued as the novel got underway and as things started to happen, and I liked the ending that was – to me – quite unexpected.
The Other Guest will be published in January by Century. Huge thanks to Rachel Kennedy for the early copy via Netgalley.
Disclaimer – I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.
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Jo's Book Blog 
Fab review Jo! I’m not sure I could read this on holiday as I’m sure I’d end up being really paranoid! 😂 x
Or wondering what you were witnessing…? Thank you! x