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    Our House: A Novel
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    Our House: A Novel
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    Our House: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Our House: A Novel

    Written by Louise Candlish

    Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden and Elliot Hill

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From an internationally acclaimed author, a disturbing and addictive novel of domestic suspense where secrets kept hidden from spouses cause shocking surprises that hit home...

    There's nothing unusual about a new family moving in at 91 Trinity Avenue. Except it's her house. And she didn't sell it.

    When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she's sure there's been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern coparenting arrangement: bird's nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.

    Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona's children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram's not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 7, 2018
    ISBN9780525595922
    Unavailable
    Our House: A Novel
    Author

    Louise Candlish

    Louise Candlish is the internationally bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Other Passenger, The Heights, and Our House, which won the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. It is now a major four-part TV drama starring Martin Compston, Tuppence Middleton, and Rupert Penry-Jones, available to stream on CBC Gem. Louise lives in London with her husband and daughter. Connect with her on Twitter @Louise_Candlish, Facebook @LouiseCandlishAuthor, and Instagram @LouiseCandlish.

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    Reviews for Our House

    4/5

    158 ratings40 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was like a rollercoaster ride, sometimes scary, sometimes hilarious, sometimes jolting. I'm so glad I stayed till the end.
    • 5/5
      What an absolute triumph of a book - picks you up on page one and takes you on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride. Some bits seemed implausible but when the story is this good, who cares. Written with unobtrusive brilliance and designed to entertain. One of my reads of the year for sure.
    • 5/5
      Cleverly plotted thriller around the premise of a house being sold without the owner's knowledge and arriving home to discover new owners moving in. Behind that plot strand is another complex plot which has lead to the situation arising, essentially a series of increasingly larger lies which escalates out of the control of the perpetrator. The story is set in an affluent street in suburban London, capturing the minutiae of the residents' lives well and creating interesting characters.
    • 3/5
      I did enjoy this story but like many here, i would say it could have been tighter and more concise. It did drag on a bit. Lots of good twists and turns though to keep the reader motivated. I liked the writing style and the format. I loved the karma aspect but was left a little empty with the ending. Would read this author again.
    • 2/5
      Wow, this book has gotten a lot of really stellar reviews - I'm sorry that I cannot join in. My main problems with this book are: 1. It was about 100 pages too long and just dragged on and on. 2. It would have been better if told in real time rather than the two main characters looking back and telling their stories later. 3. The characters (Fiona and Bram) seemed like cut-outs, and I felt little empathy for either one of them. The best part of the book were the last two pages which added a delightful demonic twist to the story and saved this review from being totally negative.
    • 3/5
      This book started with so much promise -it was a new type of criminal activity for me!However, it started dragging about a third of the way in.How perfect can our main character/female Fiona/Fi be before she becomes a caricature? How stupid can our male main character Bram get before you just want him dead? And he is VERY stupid IMO!I admit there was a clever twist, actually several, at the end (which felt like it took forever for me to get there BTW!) but the book does end on a very sour and abrupt note leaving the reader with many questions unanswered.ARC provided by the publisher.
    • 3/5
      When Fiona Lawson finds strangers moving into her house . . . the house she did not sell . . . she’s certain someone has made a mistake. She spends a few nights each week in the house with her two young sons; her husband, Bram, spends the other nights there with the children. After this alarming discovery, things quickly turn from bad to worse; Fi cannot track down the error and the people moving into the house are adamant about their ownership of the home. Struggling to find answers, Fi is further mystified with Bram disappears.And then the money disappears.The book with the gorgeous cover offers readers chapters told from Fiona’s viewpoint alternating with chapters told by Bram’s viewpoint. Unfortunately, this results in a great deal of repetition that tends to make the narrative drag. The opening grabs the reader’s attention, but that absorption often wanes when the reiterations fill the page. The characters are credible, although Fiona is terribly naïve [or perhaps just plain gullible], and often takes on the role of victim. Bram is self-centered and far too willing to take advantage of Fiona’s goodness. Readers are likely to wonder how a husband and wife who “have it all” can become so self-absorbed that they destroy the family and the lifestyle they’ve worked so hard to establish.Although the premise seems a bit far-fetched, it is a cunning plot and there are some intriguing twists and turns along the way. But the clever format, using Twitter comments and a podcast to tell the story, doesn’t lend itself to the quick pace that would be a boon to the telling of this tale. And the overused offensive language doesn’t endear the reader to the story that’s slowly spinning itself out with less than gripping revelations. Overall, it’s not a bad story, but readers are likely to be disappointed that it’s not a can’t-put-it-down suspense-filled tale.
    • 3/5
      After reading all the 4 and 5 star reviews it got moved up in by TBR pile. The story started out pretty good - Wife comes home from a trip to find strangers had moved in and claim to have bought the house from the owners! Wait! She is the owner and she never sold her beloved home to anyone! This is told by each the husband and wife, story-lines parallel and toggling back and forth. Fairly easy to follow. Then came the middle...bogging down enough to lose my interest to (almost) putting it away. (To be fair there was a lot going on in my life so the distractions helped the lag.) Finally getting back on track the story does pick up! And I am so glad I continued. There were twists you knew were coming and some that came out of left field...I never saw them coming!My rating ran the gambit from 4 stars to 2 stars to 3 stars. So I'll settle on a solid 3+.I received this copy for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I heard about this book on Goodreads, and decided it might be worth a try. I enjoyed this book. It was laid out quite differently for a a thriller. The story is in two parts - the story of Fi is laid out like a podcast; the story of Bram (her husband) is told as a computer word document, that is actually a suicide note. Fi and Bram are having trouble in their so-called perfect marriage. They live in a very desirable section in London. They have two small sons and both are working and to all appearances, making things work in their family dynamics . But then Bram gives in to his baser instincts, and has an affair with a neighbour, and Fi has caught them doing it. This is the beginning of Fi's world coming down to earth with a bang. The secrets that Bram has been keeping, along with some very bad choices that he has made recently, have made him a prime target for blackmail. I found that I wasn't really enthralled with either Fi or Bram. They were annoying rather than hateful though. It was fascinating to see how easily it is these days to find yourself on the wrong end of stick in this world today, and how easy it is to lose everything because of wrong choices you've made, that would never have seen the light of day even 10 years ago. The book is worth a read just because of the very different premise.
    • 4/5
      Actual rating: 3.5 StarsMy TakeawayWhat initially grabbed my attention about the book was its stunning cover (so pretty). Our House was an entertaining and intriguing read for the most part. I felt the middle part of the book was dull and too slow. Nevertheless, it was quite a bizarre story. Imagine going home and finding strangers moving into your house! Oh, and that was just the beginning! Things only got worse. I liked how Candlish offered several perspectives such as Fiona’s podcast narration (which included hashtags and comments), Bram’s word document, and past and present snippets. There were a few twists I figured out, but the biggest surprise was at the end of the book. Although Candlish has published several books in the UK, this was her US debut.Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. You guys rock!
    • 5/5
      Louise Candlish's "Our House" is an electrifying work of psychological suspense that should come with a warning label. This unsettling book raises the age-old question "How well do we know ourselves, much less those closest to us?" Candlish's wickedly twisted plot centers on Bram and Fiona Lawson, who live in London, and have two sons, Leo and Harry, both in primary school. One day, forty-two year old Fiona discovers, to her astonishment, that two strangers are in the process of moving into her home. She feels utterly betrayed when she concludes that Bram, from whom she is separated, has sold their beloved house behind her back. She and their boys will likely pay a high price for his deceit.

      Fiona is a fundamentally decent person and a devoted mother. When she learns that Bram has been unfaithful, she informs him that they will separate and eventually file for divorce. For the time being, however, she suggests a trendy living arrangement known as "bird's nest custody." Each parent takes his or her turn living in the house with the children and spends "off-days" at a nearby flat. Doing so enables Leo and Harry to stay in familiar surroundings. Unfortunately, Bram commits another far more serious transgression, and he makes matters worse by allowing a treacherous, sadistic, and greedy predator to cruelly manipulate him. Even as Bram senses that "the ledge beneath his feet [is] crumbling," this selfish, immature, and impulsive man cannot seem to avoid making a bad situation worse.

      "Our House" is a satire of upwardly mobile people who are fixated on owning beautiful and expensive properties in desirable neighborhoods. In addition, it is a compelling domestic drama about a disintegrating marriage, and a suspenseful crime novel. Fiona, meanwhile, meets Toby, who is handsome, attentive, and easygoing; will she have another chance at romance now that she has resolved to cut Bram loose? The author uses flashbacks effectively; includes humorous tweets in which the public comments on Fiona's plight; and adeptly draws us into this intricate and ingenious story, alternating between Fiona and Bram's points of view. The complications steadily pile up; the surprises are breathtaking; and just when we hope that everything may finally be resolved, the final bitterly ironic paragraph changes everything. Prepare yourself for a dark and disturbing thriller in which people's actions have unforeseen and tragic consequences.
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars. This is an amazing psychological thriller. Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into the house she was sharing with her estranged husband. The story is told from Fi's point of view via a podcast called The Victim as she shares what happened to her marriage and how her home was sold without her consent and it is also told from her husband Bram's point of view via a Word document he is writing. There were a lot of surprising little twists and a jaw dropping ending. I received an ARC from FirstToRead.
    • 5/5
      Fiona and Bram separate after he is unfaithful to her, but arrange for their sons to stay in the family home all the time, while they alternate between nights at home and nights in a rented flat, depending on whose turn it is to have the boys. Fiona goes away for a couple of days with her new boyfriend, and returns to find the house empty of all the furniture, a new family in the process of moving in, and Bram nowhere to be found.This is told in different timelines and from different perspectives: the “present” of Fiona trying to work out what has gone on, Bram writing a “confession” of sorts explaining what he has done and why, and Fiona’s words from a podcast she subsequently records for a true crime programme. The twists and turns were initially very intriguing, flagged a little in the middle, but then the ending was excellent. Whilst Bram was not exactly a likeable character, the parts from his perspective led the reader to feel some sympathy for him. Fiona was also hard to identify with entirely - she is frank about the fact that it is the loss of the house which is the overriding tragedy here.Highly recommended.
    • 1/5
      DNF @ 65%. I just can't read any more of this. It pulled me in right away and kept me really turning pages for about the first 30%, but since then I am just forcing myself to keep reading because it's just so boring. It's just two POV's back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. I kept reading hoping there would be a twist of some kind, but alas, I will never find out as I just don't have the stamina to keep going. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest opinion.
    • 4/5
      This book grabs you in the beginning and pulls you in. It is told in a different format than most, and includes podcast transcripts with comments. To me that was great. What an inventive way to tell parts of this story. The story itself is enough to keep you there, but the manner of telling enhances the effect for sure.I was so intrigued by some of the methods used by this couple to keep their relationship together for their children. What a concept. I was surprised by some of the things that happened, and the author did a brilliant job of misdirection to keep some little secrets that turn up out of nowhere and grab you.I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I liked the story, I loved or hated the characters, all of the emotions were triggered, and I would recommend it to anyone.
    • 4/5
      What a thriller! I have to admit it's been a while since I've read a book with so many twists and turns, it kept me totally off balance.Fiona thinks she's doing the best for children while she and her husband Bram are going through a divorce. She's convinced herself she doing the right thing when in fact she's setting herself up for a total nightmare.Just when I think I know where this is going it's shifted to something entirely different, I loved the way the author weaved this nightmarish situation into something that is truly believable.Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a galley of this book in exchange for my honest review.
    • 5/5
      My house? Your house? Whose house is it?Seeing someone moving in is no big deal in this neighborhood, but someone moving into YOUR house IS a big deal.Fi had no idea that the morning she came back from a business trip there would be a moving van in the driveway and all of her belongings would be gone. Where did everything go and what was going on? Another puzzling fact is that she was not able to get in touch with her husband.We go back and forth in time and find out the circumstances leading up to the unknown sale. Bram had a shady past and secrets, but how could this have happened?The situation was very tense, and hopefully can’t happen. Having your house sold right under your nose without signing anything or knowing anything about is frightening. Both the house situation and what the characters were doing was truly unbelievable and hopefully not something that could be done.Each chapter leads us to more and more about what was going on with the situation and the characters. I didn’t find one character that was likable in this book, but that didn’t take away from the excellent story line.OUR HOUSE is one of the most creative suspense books I have read.If you like to wonder what makes people do what they do, and you like to keep guessing at it, OUR HOUSE is a must read this summer.OUR HOUSE is bizarre, nerve wracking, and unbelievable, but oh so good. That last line is WOW!!Enjoy if you read this book. 5/5This book was given to me as an ARC by NETGALLEY and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
    • 4/5
      When divorce is eminent and the best interests of the children are paramount, the bird’s nest custody agreement seems to be a solid decision. Everything is going exceptionally smoothly…until you arrive at your home to see another family moving in, all your worldly possessions missing, and your estranged husband and your children are nowhere to be found. Such is the start of the exceptional tale of Fiona Lawson and her soon-to-be ex, Bram. I thoroughly enjoyed the innovative layout of this novel, as Fi’s portion is told as a podcast and Bram’s is told as a Word document. There were moments while reading this that I audibly exclaimed “No way!” The twists and turns were wholly unexpected and moved the story along thoroughly yet swiftly to a satisfying conclusion. I give this book four and a half stars for an inventive storyline unlike anything else I’ve read recently and realistic characters (some of which you’ll love, some you will hate, and some will have your feelings turning on a dime!). This would also make a fantastic movie, in my opinion. A huge thank you to BookBrowse, Lousie Candlish, and Berkley Publishing for providing me with a paperback copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Can you imagine coming home and finding strangers moving into your home? That is what happens to Fiona Lawson one day. She knows she has not sold the house, she along with her husband do the co parenting thing, meaning that even though they are separated, they maintain the house for their kids and they switch off living in the house while keeping a separate flat for them to live in when they are not at the house. This arrangement works for a while until Fiona comes home on that fateful day. Not only does she come home to strangers moving in to her home, her estranged husband, Bram and her children seem to be missing. The story is told in a unique point of view, in each Fiona's and Bram's voice via a website called The Victim, an acclaimed crime podcast where each episode tells the true story of a crime that happens to the victim. Each episode continues the story of what happened to get the couple to where they are. Because of something Bram did, Fiona's life is escalating into a devasting secret that could cost her more than just her home.I love a good psychological thriller and this is one of the best I have read in awhile! A story that kept me wanting more even after the last page! I highly recommend it!
    • 5/5
      Imagine yourself coming down the street fresh from a weekend with a new boyfriend. You get closer to your house and see what looks like a moving van in front of your house. As you get closer, you see that it is a moving van and furthermore all of the belongings in your house are gone and replaced by furnishings that aren’t yours. And your estranged husband! He is nowhere to be found, his phone is disconnected. This is the beginning of Fi’s nightmare. What a brilliantly clever book, I loved it! The whole thing was a carefully thought out plan that layer by layer, we discovered more. Some things I guessed, some not. This story, from the viewpoints of Fi and her ex Bram twisted and turned. What I thought was a more simpler story was more complex and the plot thickened as we got deeper and deeper into the how and whys and twists. I did sense a couple of logistic possible problems but didn’t care, this story engrossed me right to the last page. And while I found Bram to be a really despicable person and I had little sympathy for him as he got deeper into a trap, it didn’t make me enjoy the story any less as it sometimes can when a character isn’t likeable. It is said that you can’t judge a book by its cover but that beautiful house on the cover is what drew me to this book. This was the first book I have read by this author and I am looking forward to reading others I have already downloaded by her.
    • 5/5
      Fiona Lawson has returned home to find strangers moving into her house. Fi and her estranged husband, Bram, have bird's nest custody - each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons in the prized family home to maintain stability for the children. Bram's not at the house, neither are the children, or any of their possessions. The house has been sold to a young couple but Fi did not agree to sell their house.This book was good right from the start. It has an interesting and unique premise where this coveted house on Trinity Avenue has been sold while Fi was away for a couple days. She knows absolutely nothing about what's going on. Her husband has been keeping things from her and everything ends up snowballing until every messy detail comes out. It's realistic, too, to have one thing happen after the other and before you know it you've dug yourself into a hole and you feel like it's too late to come out of it. This whole book is solid and hard to put down. The characters, their relationships, their situations are real. Lots of lies, loss of control, deceit, manipulation, hiding. Everything was great especially the ending - loved it!I won a copy through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for a hardcover copy.
    • 4/5
      Fiona Lawson arrives in South London to find moving trucks and strangers moving into her house. She immediately tries to contact her estranged husband, Bram, but his phone has been disconnected. Perplexed after her short vacation, Fiona is forced to investigate these strange events. She quickly discovers that Bram is missing and her name was forged to facilitate the sale of her home. Fi decided to end her marriage after repeated indiscretions by her husband. Their split was amicable and they decided to co-parent their two boys while maintaining their house. Given their past, Fiona lacks a clear motive for Bram’s actions. She decides to dig deeper into his past to unlock clues about his disappearance.This was a twisty novel by Louise Candlish which is presented with alternating points of view from each spouse. This leads the reader along a mysterious path which unveils some shocking truths. Our House kept me engaged well past my bedtime!
    • 2/5
      This one was a tad confusing and slow moving. Hard to really get into, oh well.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book. The beginning set up the story really nicely. Just think, you come home to find movers in your driveway with a new couple that has moved in that is not you. Your homeless and your ex has gone missing. This is what happens to Fiona. Her ex, Bram has gone missing and sold the house. I would classify this book as a psychological thriller but not one that is bold with in your face moments that leave you gasping or on the edge of your seat. This book is more of a quiet, drawn out thriller. Bram is the one that readers hate. He left Fiona and seems to be living the high life. Although, as the story plays out there is more than meets the eye. The ending is fine. I didn't hate it. Since this book is more slow and quieter in the delivery; I want to feel a strong bond to the characters. In this case, it didn't happen. I was indifferent if you will about Fiona and Bram. However, the author did weave a nice story with this book. I am interested to see what the author comes out with next.
    • 3/5
      The beginning draws the reader in, it is such a strange happening. When Fi returns early from an out of town trip, she is surprises and confused, to find a new family inhabiting her house. Going out of her way to be fair in regards to her cheating husband, aware of his love for his sons, she had agreed to share custody, and to retain the family home. The parent would move in and out, with the children having a stable environment. So how and why could this happen?Secrets, intirgue, and a format using a television show and Twitter to tell the story. We sleep hear from the husband in alternating chapters. Twist after twist. One would expect this to be a quick moving story, but I found it anything but. I felt it dragged, read extremely slow. Plus, hearing the story from both viewpoints created much unwelcome repetition. I appreciate how this story was put together, not sure if it was particularly realistic but the twists were entertaining and clever. Never felt any affiinity to the characters either, so I ended up thinking this was good, okay, but not more.ARC from Edelweiss.
    • 5/5
      Fiona (Fi) Lawson and her husband Bram have separated but are trying a "Bird's Nest" custody agreement in order to have shared parenting of their two boys. One parent is at an apartment while the other parent has their time with the kids at their enviable home in a well-known suburb. This way the kids are always at the house and the effort for stability is enforced as each parent takes turns between the house and the apartment. They try their best to keep everything together in a civil manner for the kids. That is until everything fell apart.One day Fi comes to the house for her turn with the kids but someone else is moving into her house and her husband and children are nowhere to be found. How can everything turn upside down in an instant? When the rug gets pulled out from under you by those you trust. This story is told through alternating perspectives between Fi in a podcast transcript format and Bram in a Word document. It was a unique way to read a story that I had not experienced before but once I got used to it, I enjoyed it. I honestly can't decide if I liked the comments that were added at the end of each segment of Fi's podcast with usernames and comments but they did eventually grow on me as the comments became funnier. It kind of reminded me of the comedian Jim Gaffigan and how he imitates what he thinks the audience thinks of him during his skits. It also reminded me somewhat of Shakespeare's use of the chorus as a character in some of his plays. Although some of the surprises were predictable, there is so much going on as the complex plot builds that it is almost a relief to have the main character, Fi, discover these secrets. The storyline accelerates as the pieces begin to fit together so, as a warning to my fellow readers, it is increasingly harder to put down the further into it you get. This is a twofold story about loyalty: between spouses and between friends. A balance between renewed faith and betrayal. I highly recommend it for adult readers that enjoy a thrilling plot and betrayal.For those who may be sensitive/triggered: there are themes of violence, murder, road rage, manipulation, fraud, adultery, sexually suggestive scenarios (mild), bullying, suicide, and alcohol abuse.Please note: an electronic ARC copy of this novel was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This book was addictive from the first page. I especially loved how the author had the 2 main characters each sharing their view points of the events. Fiona comes home to discover another couple moving into her very exclusive home in a London suburb. We hear her side of the story as told thru a popular radio station podcast. Bram, her husband, who is blamed for selling the family home and then disappearing, tells his side of the story via a suicide note. We also flashback to the day Fiona discovers her house is no longer hers. With an intense plot, twists and turns and a stunning ending, this was a fun book to read. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      I almost didn't read this book. Then I went back to it and listened to it, enjoyed most of it and disliked the ending. Not to say it was a bad ending, just abrupt. Fiona and her neighbors are so proud of their homes and neighborhood, but there are all sorts of things going on that are not prideworthy. She trusts her husband who totally shafts her and then goes on to get into even more trouble (both of them).
    • 4/5
      I would have given this 5 stars, except I thought the book could have been shorter by 50-100 pages.
      I thought it was intriguing the way the author told the backstory in alternating voices - Fi in the form of a radio podcast and Bram via a word document.
      The premise is interesting, Fi comes home one day to the home she loves and has decorated lovingly, to find a couple moving in. Surely, there must be a mistake, as she has not put the house on the market. What unfolds is a sophisticated scheme. Then, when you think it all makes sense, you read the last page. Unbelievable twist to the storyline! Well done!
      Thanks to Penguin Random House and Read It Forward for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

      #OurHouse #LouiseCandlish #PenguinRandomHouse #ReadItForward
    • 4/5
      I was reading this book twice a day while my little Havanese ate her meals. Today, I brought it into the family room and finished it! Very good