Book review

Some Books Claim to be Thrillers but This One Actually Is

My favorite genres, the ones I always come back to, are thrillers and mysteries, psychological thrillers being my magnet.

In my most sincere yet humble opinion, a psychological thriller should have the following elements:

• Not too many settings. For example, if it was on a stage, they’d change the props once, maybe twice at the most.
• The main characters have secrets, scary and unusual ones.
• Readers believe they’re in the know, but things aren’t always as they seem.
• There’s a basement.

This book has all of the above:

You Shouldn’t Have Come Here By Jeneva Rose Published April 2023

The story

When Grace Evans needs to get away from her hectic NYC life, she spins the globe and points to someplace random, then she books an Airbnb and takes a vacation, alone.

This time her destination is a ranch in the sticks of Wyoming.

The ranch owner, Calvin Wells, seems to be the perfect host. Notice that his name (Wells) sounds positive and gives the reader a good vibe.

Also, Calvin is tall, confident, and rakishly handsome. I looked up rakishly just to be sure, and they said to think of Don Juan.

So, while our host Calvin is showing Grace around the property, he glosses over the door to the basement. Mmm hmm, this should be her first red flag.

Grace puts it on the back burner, she’ll sneak down there later. After all, she’s the Airbnb guest of the house, not just her bedroom.

There’s no cell service. Grace tells herself she came here for peace and relaxation, so being offline will help with that. Of course it will — for three hours, maybe!

On day two, she heads out to explore around town and her car doesn’t start. What are the odds?

Oh well, she’ll go on foot; who doesn’t enjoys a good run along a country road? Alone.

In town, Grace senses the cold shoulder from shopkeepers and when she investigates, she gets told she doesn’t belong here. Not only that, Calvin’s ex-girlfriend takes it upon herself to try and run Grace out of Wyoming, or kill her, either option will do.

Grace interrogates Calvin’s brother who shows up for a BBQ at the ranch. She’s becoming obsessed with knowing the ranch's history, and wonders who Calvin really is, underneath his congenial facade.

The more questions she asks the more conflicting stories she gets.

Meanwhile, Grace and Calvin are becoming attracted to each other. No kidding! A beautiful guest, who happens to like traveling to remote locations alone, and a handsome cowboy is the Airbnb host, the writing was on the wall.

Calvin wonders where she’s been all his life, or at least since his last wife mysteriously died.

My eyes are getting tired from all the rolling.

And just when we’ve asked ourselves if there could be any more red flags, the Sheriff drops in to ask Calvin if he had booked an Airbnb guest who failed to show up. Either way, her family has reported her missing. We saw it coming — Calvin denied all knowledge.

As they count down the days remaining of Grace’s vacation, Calvin wonders if he can persuade her to stay longer.

We can’t forget about the basement, Grace hasn’t forgotten either.

So, here’s what I mean about elements for the perfect psychological thriller:

The main character is vacationing alone in a remote location. A suspiciously handsome cowboy whose last wife died and ex-girlfriend wants to kill the main character. No cell service and the guest’s car won’t start. Another woman traveling in the area has gone missing. And, there’s the basement!

What I didn’t like about the book

I thought Grace was much too curious for a guest, she was supposed to be relaxing so why is she investigating Calvin and the ranch? It seemed implausible in a storyline. Also, who is so naive as to stay in a house after so many red flags?

But in fairness to the story, we do get answers later in the book.

The supporting characters are not interesting or likable.

What I liked about the book

It was impossible to put down. I hated it, loved it, and loved hating it.

The suspense was relentless and the ending was worth five stars. The story is Michael Douglas and Glenn Close's style of crazy; remember Fatal Attraction?

Would I recommend this book?

Yes, if you like a thriller that will make you roll your eyes and yell out loud at the characters. Don’t start reading the book in the evening unless you’re willing to risk being up all night.

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