When Louise Candlish came up twice at the same Gliterary Lunch event, once recommended by a publisher and once by a guest, we knew we had to find out more. Our House is her eleventh novel and it had me riveted. It opens with the premise that Fi Lawson returns home after a weekend away to find a removal van parked outside and strangers are moving into her house. Her husband and kids are nowhere to be seen, all her belongings are gone and the family have paperwork to prove they are now the rightful owners. It appears her husband, Bram, has sold the house without her knowing but how, why and what happens next unfolds at such a pace that you are in a permanent state of tension. The perspective fluctuates between Bram’s ‘Word Document’, Fi’s podcast and a third person narrative as the layers of the story build. Aghast, you want to shout STOP as the characters make irrevocable choices that take them deeper into the tangled web they are weaving. Step by carefully plotted step, the twists take you by surprise right to the final page. Being just close enough to possible with characters just close enough to plausible, this is a book that seeps into your thoughts when you are doing other things. Conveniently, the chapters are broken into short chunks which allows for easy dipping in – I found myself snatching a few pages over my porridge and looking forward to train journeys. It also means that you allow yourself ‘just a few more pages’ long after you should be asleep. Louise Candlish will be telling us more about the inspirations behind this novel at the Leeds Gliterary Lunch on 17th May.