THE SPARE ROOM

A woman’s pandemic-inspired lifestyle change might just become a nightmare.

Kelly Doyle moved to Philadelphia for her fiance’s job, and it’s been miserable. She hasn’t been able to find a job or make new friends, and after a fight, her fiance wants to pump the brakes on the wedding. So when Sabrina Lamont, a school friend she recently reconnected with over Instagram, invites her to stay in her spare room for a break, Kelly makes her way to the D.C. suburbs. Sabrina and her husband, Nathan, live a seemingly blessed life, she a bestselling author of erotic thrillers and he high up at the Department of Defense; their beautiful mansion is also a perfectly private fortress. As Kelly adjusts to her new life in their guest room, she finds herself moving on and falling for both of her hosts. But just as the two open their marriage for her, Kelly discovers that their last partner went missing. Is this a sexy new beginning or a terrible mistake? Bartz is known for her thrillers, and there’s a constant thread of tension as Kelly ignores red flag after red flag in favor of her new and exciting relationship with her hosts. At times it all becomes slightly unbelievable, as Kelly seems to almost willfully wave off the most dire of warnings. Though some plotlines ultimately go nowhere and there are a few too many small twists that will throw you off rather than pull you further in, readers looking for steamy sex scenes with their suspense will have plenty to look forward to. Unfortunately, though, the mystery itself is melodramatic and ultimately does not live up to all the groundwork laid out for it.

A thriller with plenty of sex but little sense.