I've been lost in yesterday: SOMEBODY'S HOME.

Somebody's Home by Kaira Rouda
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Julie Jones finally musters the courage to leave her wealthy but inattentive husband, Roger. She and her daughter Jess move across town to a new house in a different part of Oceanside. The old owners, Doug and Sandi, have moved out. However, they have left someone behind, their eldest son, Tom. Tom lives in the guesthouse and he hates his father and stepmother with a passion. For Doug, the feeling is mutual. Tom is supposed to vacate the guesthouse by the end of the weekend, but he has other plans. Ones that will change the lives of all involved by the time the weekend is over.

"Somebody's home, and he isn't supposed to be there."

This book starts off creepy, letting us know that someone has invaded a home and shouldn't be there. But then it flashes back several days later, leading up to the days before the event and truly goes sort of off course. The premise is interesting--a man refuses to leave his childhood home--but the story heads off in so many directions: Julie's marriage; a scandal with Jess and her friends; a scandal with Roger; a scandal with Doug, a pastor (sense a thread here)...

Each character tells their story from their point of view and it's a bit boring and repetitive at times. There is certainly an impending sense of doom at times and some good twists, but more needed to happen. Every person repeats their feelings over and over, instead of progressing the story forward. Worse, many are hateful, and it's hard to care about them or their motivations.

Overall, this one has its creepy at moments and some story threads are interesting, but it didn't work very well for me as a thriller. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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