Caroline and Francis, a married couple in Britain who have a young child, take a vacation a few hours away from home as part of a house swap through a website. Their relationship had weathered some rough times in the past few years as Francis battled an addiction to pills and Caroline became enamored with a co-worker. Caroline and Francis stayed together, but their relationship was still somewhat fragile; they hoped that this vacation for just the two of them would help.The house they stayed in was oddly barren of personal touches, but there were a few things that started creeping out Caroline, including a bottle of the same aftershave that Carl, her ex-lover had used, which was hidden under the bed, and a lone photo on the wall, which showed a place that she and Carl had gone to together. Who house were they staying in? Who was in their house? Was the house swap a coincidence or was something odd at work here? Why does Amber, who lives across the street from the vacation home, persist in showing up at strange times and asking questions?
Alternating points of view tell the story from the perspectives of Caroline, Francis and the person occupying their house/the person whose house they are occupying. The story also pivots in time from when Francis was an addict and Caroline was starting her relationship with Carl, to the present time. I usually shy away from suspense, but this novel gripped me. Each time I thought I was starting to understand something, I found there were still layers of unknowns yet to be revealed.
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