The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson
The Blurb:
The next gripping domestic thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Obsession
SHE HAD THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. UNTIL HER MOTHER-IN-LAW MOVED IN… Saffron vowed to love Miles no matter what life threw at them both. But when her mother-in-law moves into their happy family home, Saffron’s shiny life begins to tarnish. Even as Caprice’s barbed comments turn to something more sinister, Saffron hopes the new nanny’s arrival will shield her from the worst of it. She’s starting to feel paranoid in her own home. Little does she realise that Caprice longs for a new daughter-in-law – and she’ll do anything to make that happen…
About Amanda Robson:
After graduating, Amanda Robson worked in medical research at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
and at the Poisons Unit at Guy's Hospital where she became a co-author of a book on cyanide poisoning - a subject which has set her in good stead for writing her dark and twisting novel about love affairs gone wrong. Amanda attended the Faber novel writing course and writes full-time. Obsession is her debut novel. www.amandarobson.co.uk
My Review:
I have been privileged to receive an advance review copy of 'The Unwelcome Guest' by Amanda Robson, an author that for me, has never failed to cook up the perfect recipe to satisfy my hunger for a good psychological thriller.
I must say I was not disappointed.
Miles follows his dream of a career in academia as a professor of philosophy, whilst his wife Saffron, mother of their two children, Ben and Harry, owns a Belgravia law firm for select billionaire clients, which meant that she could not be at home with her family as much as she would like, hence the need for a nanny.
Hayley a pretty nineteen year old from New Zealand who had previously been living in a squat with her boyfriend Jono, felt she had landed on her feet when she secured the position of nanny at the couple's opulent home.
It would have been all too comfortable if Mile's doting widowed mother Caprice hadn't been added to the mix and living in the home. She served to be a proverbial wedge in this blissful relationship. Over the years, Saffron has found Caprice increasingly impossible to like, whilst Caprice had made her mind up on day one, that her daughter-in-law would never be liked and never be good enough for her son.
This is a tale of the mother-in-law from hell who continues to plot and scheme to discredit her daughter-in-law and ultimately separate her from her son, and there are no limits to the lengths she will go to.
There is no explanation as to why Caprice loathes Saffron with so much venom, but for me, this makes the story all the more credible, reflecting everyday life where everything is not always clear for us to understand. In my own experience, I can think of people who I have been friends with, but for some inexplicable reason, they do not like each other. It happens, and it's good that it happens in this book The Unwelcome Guest.
Some people may say that it's unlikely that a man of Mile's intelligence, is blind to his mother's hostile behaviour. But I would argue that it's not unusual for some individuals from a scholarly background to have limited social experience, hence less likely to sever maternal bonds in adult life.
In summary, it's a clever plot with unexpected twists and turns.
