“How do you know when a threat is something you’re imagining, and when it’s real?”
Back in May 2023, we did a book review of C.M. Ewan’s gripping psychological thriller, The Interview. In it, we said we loved his formula of taking an everyday situation like a job interview and turning it into a hellish battle for survival through a series of dark twists and turns. And whilst we weren’t huge fans of the all-out action scramble the book turned into in the second half of the story, this formula stuck with us enough to want to pick up another one Ewan’s books, The House Hunt, when we saw it on a Waterstones shelf. So, how did this tale about the world’s worst house viewing stack up? Join us today at What We Reading for our The House Hunt review to find out what we thought about the book, how it compares to The Interview and whether or not we would recommend adding it to your own TBR pile!
Date Published: 2023
Author: C.M. Ewan
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 432
Goodreads Rating: 3.69/5
The House Hunt Summary
The House Hunt by C.M. Ewan is a psychological thriller about a young couple, Lucy and Sam, who have painstakingly designed the perfect home and are looking to sell it. One day, Lucy receives a call from her estate agent saying that she’s running late and whether she can start a viewing of her home without her. The man, Donovan, arrives, but it doesn’t take long for the house viewing to start feeling strange. And, when Lucy finally decides that she has had enough and asks Donovan to leave, he refuses to do so.
Elsewhere, Sam, a psychology professor, is running a group therapy session for people with phobias. He won’t be home for hours to help Lucy out. But, are there also dangers lurking closer to Sam within his own group?
What Worked
C.M. Ewan once again delivers a chilling premise with The House Hunt, building a rising sense of dread that makes this book a seriously gripping page-turner. The story taps into another universally relatable experience – house viewings – and twists it into something sinister and unsettling, much like he did in The Interview. The first half of the book is particularly effective in establishing tension and keeping readers hooked, eager to uncover the mystery.
The house itself plays a crucial role in the story, vividly described and perfectly embodying the dream home that Lucy has spent months and months designing. As a setting, it enhances the atmosphere and helps to add to the sense of unease.
Another standout feature was the exploration of fears and phobias, especially through Lucy’s backstory and Sam’s therapy sessions. It wasn’t something we were expecting, but definitely added a unique depth to the story. The phobias were woven into the plot in a way that felt both natural and essential to the narrative. Interestingly, we found that the sections focusing on Sam and his group, whilst brief and secondary to the main plotline, actually stole the spotlight at times with their emotional depth.
What Didn’t
Unfortunately, The House Hunt feels so much like a carbon copy of The Interview, mirroring its pacing, structure and overall formula. Like we said with that review, the first half of The House Hunt, with its slower pace and psychological tension, is compelling, whereas the second half devolves into a chaotic action sequence. The shift to all-out action – complete with constant wrestling, chases, stabbings, fires and all the usual set-pieces – undermines the chilling atmosphere, making the final sections a real slog to read through.
The characters didn’t stand out. While Donovan stands out as a decent antagonist, the protagonist, Lucy, falls into many of the same bland pitfalls as other characters in Ewan’s previous works, failing to make a lasting imprint on us.
While the twists and revelations do enough to push the plot forward, they lack the punch we would come to expect from a bestselling thriller. Many aspects of the story are easy to predict, and there are noticeable plot holes and overly convenient explanations used everywhere. Even the twists that we didn’t expect didn’t land with much impact.
Ewan’s writing style also detracts from the experience. The book’s 432 pages are padded out with short paragraphs – sometimes only a sentence or even a single word long. While this technique does sometimes help to build the tension, it often feels like a cheap way of stretching out the book’s length, detracting from the suspense rather than enhancing it.
Check Out Our The Interview Book Review
Verdict
Despite what our paragraphs above might lead you to believe, we genuinely did enjoy The House Hunt. C.M. Ewan has really perfected the art of establishing a tantalising premise around everyday scenarios going awry that lends itself so well to the thriller genre, and we’re certain this won’t be the last book of his we read.
The House Hunt is so similar to The Interview in so many ways. From the premise, the pacing, the formula, the characters, and the writing style, there are so many similarities that anyone who has read an Ewan book before will pick up on. If you didn’t enjoy books like The Interview, you’re not going to have much fun with The House Hunt.
Once again, we didn’t enjoy all the action set-pieces towards the end of the book, feeling that they take away from the intense psychological drama that Ewan does so well in establishing with his premise and gradual build-up.
However, despite our grievances over some of the reveals, characters, style choices and action sequences, we would say The House Hunt is a decent enough page-turner if you’re looking for a quick read that will keep you decently hooked and entertained, especially if you’re a newcomer to C.M. Ewan’s books.
Our Rating: 3.5/5
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
