Under Her Roof by A. A. Chaudhuri

It seems too good to be true…

When struggling writer Sebastian finds a room to let in a palatial Hampstead residence he cannot believe his luck. The rent is ridiculously cheap and he immediately feels a connection with his beautiful widowed landlady, Adriana.

It is.

Things take a dark turn when he finds out what happened to the last lodger. Could this be why the house is a fortress of security, and why Adriana seems so fragile? Adriana doesn’t want to talk about the death and sadness that seem to follow her wherever she goes and Sebastian has secrets of his own.

Now someone is watching their every move and there is nowhere to hide.

This house of light becomes a dark nightmare as the threat ramps up - what does the watcher want? And how far will they go to get it?

A gripping, twisty thriller perfect for fans of B.A. Paris, Shari Lapena and Lucy Foley. If you were hooked by Netflix series You or The Watcher you'll love this.

Review

After reading and loving ‘The Final Party’ I was very excited to see the author was releasing a new book and it did not disappoint! ‘Under Her Roof’ is a beguiling mystery full of secrets and lies, layers of tension with nuanced and interesting characters.

Right from the beginning you are pulled into a world packed full of mystery and nothing is what it seems. Seb needs somewhere to live and when he sees an advert for a room in a mansion for peanuts he jumps at the chance even though there are numerous conditions. He isn't allowed into one room in the house, no overnight guest and he is to stay away from the neighbours at number 6! It also doesn't help that his landlady is drop-dead gorgeous. Seb is soon questioning his choices especially when he learns about the last tenant Ethan…

I flew through this book at hyper-speed as it gripped from attention from the opening chapters. Despite the cliche term, it was a frightfully good page-turner. The differing POVs help to layer the tension, especially as we learn more about Seb and his landlady Adriana and their childhoods. The tension was all prevailing and I was questioning every character and their motives. Did I figure out the mystery? Partly, I guessed the right person but not the details behind it. It was clear that the author had done the relevant research and treated this vein of the narrative with empathy and respect.

Let me know if you pick this one up!