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simonic13's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
saskia0703's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
justjoe444's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cahoki's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
courtney153's review
I really struggle to give negative reviews to any book because even the worst reads have some good times. This wasn’t a bad book, the story line was intriguing and it was easy to get through. The peep hole story line was interesting, it seems this is a real concept. I also loved that it was set in New Zealand. I just think this style of writing isn’t for me. I found the characters unlikeable and the female lead character was very unrelatable. There were chapters of ramble then twists would come all of a sudden in a matter of sentences. I am starting to think I enjoy more of a slow burn. I have heard rave reviews about this book and it’s possible my expectations were just too high. I do think it’s worth the read, as it is a quick read with some interesting story lines, It’s just not one of my favourites.
erin__'s review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hazeyjane_2's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What to say about Pomare that I haven't said before? I am usually not a fan of non-police procedurals, but the writing here is head and shoulders above that of most thrillers, and there is a proper mystery instead of the entire book being about dangling a secret over the readers' heads.
It is a suspenseful and, if you have ever stayed in a hotel or Airbnb, downright scary book. The life of a small town in NZ is evoked well and it is always a plus having Maōri characters as we don't see enough characters of colour in mysteries. I liked this less than In The Clearing as the characters and story seemed a bit more... I don't know, movie-like? Perhaps that is just me and my preference for police procedurals, though.
It is a suspenseful and, if you have ever stayed in a hotel or Airbnb, downright scary book. The life of a small town in NZ is evoked well and it is always a plus having Maōri characters as we don't see enough characters of colour in mysteries. I liked this less than In The Clearing as the characters and story seemed a bit more... I don't know, movie-like? Perhaps that is just me and my preference for police procedurals, though.
kcfromaustcrime's review
5.0
J.P. Pomare won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel with his debut CALL ME EVIE. Since then he's carved out a name for himself when it comes to precisely plotted, atmospheric, tense psychological thrillers populated by cleverly constructed characters, designed to keep readers guessing, disconcerted and utterly fascinated.
In THE LAST GUESTS he's combined high technology and human frailty to create a plot that takes readers into a careful examination of morality, via the avenues of voyeurism, trauma, exposure, trust, and the things we will (and won't do) for love. Through the interesting lens of the current day short term holiday rental craze.
Although, the twist here is that newlyweds, Lina and Cain, who are struggling financially, eventually agree to renting out her family's weekender house after lots of persuasion from him. She's reluctant - the house means a lot to Lina and her family, but it's all the rage at Lake Tarawera now, with their neighbours there already signing up renters.
Relations are strained between Lina and Cain - he's a returned soldier, struggling with many demons, hiding a lot of secrets some of which are very personal. She's not short of secrets of her own, and it's these secrets that threaten to come out, when in the process of readying the house for guests, a shadowy presence lurks, watching. The strange things that start to happen, end up in a deadly twist, and Lina starts to feel threatened and very vulnerable.
Pomare has never been frightened of taking on some tricky issues in any of this books thus far. Conflict, trauma, addiction and obsession are areas he's delved into before. In THE LAST GUESTS he's pushing those right into the strains that can happen in a marriage - adding infertility and financial pressure to the mess. Overlay the whole thing with cyber-voyeurism and the creepy feeling that comes from the idea that it could be so easy for somebody to stalk or spy on you these days, it's not going to be surprising if some readers will be carefully checking their houses whilst reading this novel.
In this outing, in particular, though, Pomare's provided readers with a real possibility of playing detective, although the diversions, red herrings and potential outcomes list is pretty big, and became all a bit too much for this reader, who quickly opted for a bit of "go with the flow" and frankly "I'm a bit too tense to be ticking boxes and creating incident boards" here.
If you're new to J.P. Pomare's work (CALL ME EVIE, IN THE CLEARING and TELL ME LIES are his earlier books), then you're fine to leap in here - they are all standalone stories. They are all also very good, and if you get THE LAST GUEST then you'll undoubtedly be searching out the earlier works.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/last-guests-jp-pomare
In THE LAST GUESTS he's combined high technology and human frailty to create a plot that takes readers into a careful examination of morality, via the avenues of voyeurism, trauma, exposure, trust, and the things we will (and won't do) for love. Through the interesting lens of the current day short term holiday rental craze.
Although, the twist here is that newlyweds, Lina and Cain, who are struggling financially, eventually agree to renting out her family's weekender house after lots of persuasion from him. She's reluctant - the house means a lot to Lina and her family, but it's all the rage at Lake Tarawera now, with their neighbours there already signing up renters.
Relations are strained between Lina and Cain - he's a returned soldier, struggling with many demons, hiding a lot of secrets some of which are very personal. She's not short of secrets of her own, and it's these secrets that threaten to come out, when in the process of readying the house for guests, a shadowy presence lurks, watching. The strange things that start to happen, end up in a deadly twist, and Lina starts to feel threatened and very vulnerable.
Pomare has never been frightened of taking on some tricky issues in any of this books thus far. Conflict, trauma, addiction and obsession are areas he's delved into before. In THE LAST GUESTS he's pushing those right into the strains that can happen in a marriage - adding infertility and financial pressure to the mess. Overlay the whole thing with cyber-voyeurism and the creepy feeling that comes from the idea that it could be so easy for somebody to stalk or spy on you these days, it's not going to be surprising if some readers will be carefully checking their houses whilst reading this novel.
In this outing, in particular, though, Pomare's provided readers with a real possibility of playing detective, although the diversions, red herrings and potential outcomes list is pretty big, and became all a bit too much for this reader, who quickly opted for a bit of "go with the flow" and frankly "I'm a bit too tense to be ticking boxes and creating incident boards" here.
If you're new to J.P. Pomare's work (CALL ME EVIE, IN THE CLEARING and TELL ME LIES are his earlier books), then you're fine to leap in here - they are all standalone stories. They are all also very good, and if you get THE LAST GUEST then you'll undoubtedly be searching out the earlier works.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/last-guests-jp-pomare