The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

THE HOUSE SWAP

by REBECCA FLEET 

When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap--from their city flat to a townhouse in a leafy, upscale London suburb--they jump at the chance for a week away from home, their son, and the tensions that have pushed their marriage to the brink.

As the couple settles in, the old problems that permeate their marriage--his unhealthy behaviors, her indiscretions--start bubbling to the surface. But while they attempt to mend their relationship, their neighbor, an intense young woman, is showing a little too much interest in their activities.

Meanwhile, Caroline slowly begins to uncover some signs of life in the stark house--signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music might seem innocent to anyone else--but to her they are clues. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone who knows her, someone who knows the secrets she's desperate to forget...

Well I am enjoying this new genre in psychological thrillers - I think it's known as crib lit - yes apparently it is a thing! Whatever the hashtag, novels about sharing properties, swapping houses, or inviting strangers into your home can not fail to appeal to readers! Whether it plays on our deepest fears or satisfies our voyeuristic nature, there is something very appealing about thrillers set in houses which have been shared, swapped or stolen from their owners.

Rebecca Fleet's novel certainly satisfies that itch to see behind the facade of a smart house and what happens when you live in someone else's home. She's combined two intriguing ideas - not only is there the strangeness of living in another person's property and discovering more about them, but also how you can't escape your past or your secrets simply by swapping your location. I love a good domestic noir novel and this is definitely one such book! 

Fleet has come up with a brilliant premise and a very eerie hook. The House Swap is well written with a plot that is well controlled and well paced. She allows plenty of time to build tension, to create an atmosphere and to develop her characters. We readers generally  have a shameful sense of voyeurism and this is satisfied twice over in this novel as not only do we get to see inside another home, we also get to see inside a marriage. Again, this is what makes this book interesting. The characters are well drawn and Fleet is obviously interested in exploring the dynamics within the family and the fragile foundations on which the marriage is surviving as much as the foundations of the physical building around them. It's a slower paced novel to allow that characterisation to develop fully and it works. 

Dark, unsettling, complex and well judged, this is an pleasing debut and an enjoyable thriller. 

The House Swap is published by Random House on 3rd May 2018. 

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.