Ashley Smith – a bright-eyed American studying in London – has unexpectedly been invited by her classmate Emma Chapman to spend Christmas at her family’s Cotswolds manor house, Starvewood Hall. The holiday is a true English fantasy: woodland walks, charming pubs and elaborate dinners at the manor, with the added romantic potential of Emma’s twin brother, Adam, who feels like Ashley’s wildest dreams come true. But is there something strange about the old house, both stately and rundown; what could the true motives of the mysterious Chapman family be; and what may lie beyond the pages of her diary? Swept up in her own story, can Ashley see the horrors that may be about to play out?
The Christmas Guest
£8.99
5 in stock (can be backordered)
5 in stock (can be backordered)
Description
9780571378791
Faber & Faber
Paperback
144pp
Faber & Faber
198×129
Peter Swanson Faber & Faber FH Paperback 2024
Delicious . . . I defy you to stop reading once you've begun . . . The twist will make you rethink everything.
New York Times Book Review
[A] clever little stocking filler from Peter Swanson . . . it pulls off the slickest of twists.
Times, ‘Thriller of the Month’
Swanson is a genius, and this is one of those stories that will remain embedded in your memory forever as it's funny, clever, sinister, and extremely gripping.
Irish Independent
The nights are drawing in, holidays are coming, and I just devoured this seasonal treat from Peter Swanson in a single sitting. A chilling gem that's going to make a perfect stocking filler this Christmas. Loved it.
Mark Edwards
A punchy thriller . . . Swanson has plenty of knockout twists up his sleeve . . . This is a perfect introduction to one of the cleverest talents in contemporary genre fiction.
Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
That master of the gently perverse, Peter Swanson, does not let us down . . . Swanson has a mischievous knack for twisting expectations . . . I love the way Swanson displays an affection for all the classic mystery writing tropes and then gleefully subverts them. Short but sweet and one to relish.
Crime Time
Swanson elegantly constructs his story to keep us on edge to the end, in suspense and constantly second guessing what is to come . . . The shifts in the narrative are genuinely thrilling and a tad disturbing [He] mischievously subverts expectations and outcomes.
Crime Fiction Lover
