When Elle rents her house out on Airbnb for two weeks she's naturally concerned it might feel odd to go home when a stranger has stayed. But on her return she's surprised to find the whole atmosphere of her home feels different.
As bizarre things start to emerge Elle becomes highly suspicious. She tries to tell herself, she's letting her imagination run away with itself. After all, she is a best selling author imagination is her craft.
But when things start to become more personal Elle starts to question whether someone from her past may have come back to haunt her.
It took me a fair while to get into this book, I kept putting it down and doing other things and because of this I don't really feel like I developed a connection with Elle. The writing is extremely vivid, which is typically Clarkes style but this novel felt different to her previous titles. Although the suspense was created by the reader being unsure whether to trust Elle's version of events, I thought the outcome seemed obvious from fairly early on. I kept hoping I was wrong, and there were times when I doubted myself only to come right back round to realising I wasn't.
The story was written from three perspectives; present day Elle, teenage Elle and the person who stayed in her house. I found the chopping and changing more tedious than tension building. Instead of thinking 'just one one more chapter' I kept thinking 'that's a good place to stop'.
I love this author, and feel horrible writing this review but sadly this book just didn't hit the spot for me. However, this won't stop me eagerly awaiting her next novel.
** Thanks to HarperCollins UK, via NetGalley, for this ARC **