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House of Chains
House of Chains
Nov 7, 2025 8:56 AM

Author:Steven Erikson

Reviews

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girlfriends pack for their holidays this summer

—— Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

—— The Times

This debut should be on every summer reading list... THE GIRLS OF SUMMER explores consent, the power discrepancies in relationships, control, and the intoxication of lust in a gripping read that is visceral and raw. Buy it

—— Glamour

Reminiscent of HBO's hit The White Lotus... The obvious read-alike is My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, and the plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense

—— Booklist

A mesmerising, unsettling and gripping debut

—— Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of RUN TIME

Lures you in then shakes you up. A very timely read about consent and control. LOVED IT

—— Nikki May, author of WAHALA

Thought-provoking, timely and gripping, The Girls of Summer is the book of the summer

—— Sarah Turner, author of STEPPING UP

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is visceral, deeply sensory and urgent. An unsettling and vital book

—— Hazel Barkworth, author of SUNSTROKE

Atmospheric and powerful, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is a propulsive examination of the line blurring trauma and love in a relationship, a distinction which - in a post #MeToo world - is more important than ever

—— Carola Lovering, author of TELL ME LIES

Smart, tense and on-the-nose about shame and coercion and the way we force our own painful histories into a narrative we can live with.

—— Tammy Cohen, author of THE WEDDING PARTY

An absolutely scorching debut deftly mixing the glamour of an island holiday with shadows of coercive control. One of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year

—— Alice Clark-Platts, author of THE FLOWER GIRLS

Such a clever, subtle, simmering read of a sun-drenched summer romance that is not all it seems. Timely, powerful, and must-read material around consent and buried trauma

—— Claire Daverley

This promising first novel is a timely exploration of the way predatory older men seduce and manipulate young women...Bishop's unflinching dissection of male abuse and power and the strength of female solidarity deserves attention.

—— Publishers Weekly

Dark, timely and thought provoking. It's a must-read

—— The Sun

Brilliant debut

—— Hello!

Pacy and readable, it's set to be a big summer hit

—— The Independent

A taut, tense novel... The Guest is a strong follow-up... Her [Cline's] prose is limpid and propulsive, sustaining an atmosphere of dread.

—— Economist

[An] arresting observational eye

—— Alex Clark , Financial Times

Cline has a crime writer's gift for revelatory storytelling, ramping up tension like an HBO pro

—— Big Issue

A searing portrayal of the precariat? Or a slick summer thriller? The answer is: both . . . you won't be able to look away

—— Laura Battle , Financial Times

Supremely readable... propulsive

—— Markie Robson , Tablet, *Novel of the Week*

A dream-like, foreboding novel and worthy follow-up to the sensation The Girls

—— i

The talented Ms. Cline . . . Her prose is drifty and wire-taut, easy on the eye, with an awful undertow of unease that never lets up. The pathology brilliantly observed by The Guest would not feel so edgy if it were not perilously close to an aspirational ideal

—— GEOFF DYER

I loved every moment of The Guest: the intensity, the control, the atmosphere, the psychological escalation, the astonishing social observation, the profound and devastating visions of the void achieved with flicks of the wrist, the way it lets nobody off the hook and yet is not without deep humanity

—— SAM LIPSYTE

Heady scent of hotsummers and dark secrets

—— The Times 'Best Books of 2023'

The wealthy clique depicted in Cline's unsettling second novel is by turns boorish and menacing - but you won't be able to look away

—— Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

A beach read that ticks all the boxes

—— Stephanie Cross , Daily Mail

[The Guest’s] atmosphere is equally apprehensive [as The Girls] and Cline’s eye for the fragility of insider-outsiders is as gimlet-sharp as before

—— Financial Times, *Books of the Year*

The Guest… [is] as relentlessly spellbinding as her debut

—— New Statesman, *Books of the Year*

Raw, funny, real and sad, this is storytelling at its best

—— Marie Claire

Blisteringly good

—— Sun

This truly beautiful story made us laugh, smile and sob like a baby - you simply have to read it

—— Closer

Entertaining, immersive and moving

—— Sunday Times

Dazzling

—— Sunday Express

Moyes somehow manages to break your heart before restoring your faith in love

—— Sunday Express

A genuinely entertaining book, a really cracking story

—— Stylist
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