As you know, I love to read a great psychological thriller and “The Visitors” by Miranda Rijks was one that peaked my interest immediately which is always a good sign!
In the prologue the story starts with someone being body searched in prison as they have been arrested for murder.
Move on to chapter one and you have returned two weeks to the start of the saga and events leading up to this point.
The Visitors is a book about Hannah, who is an ex music teacher and gave up work to please her obnoxious husband, Daniel. The book paints a chauvinistic picture of the consultant cardiothoracic who insists on having a stay at home wife, mother and housemaid. Daniel grudgingly allowed Hannah to pursue some private music lessons and to renovate an otherwise derelict barn on their property next to their large house into a holiday home.
Unfortunately, Hannah’s lack of confidence in her own ability, seems to stem from being intimidated by Daniel over the course of their 10 year marriage, which is both heart-breaking and frustrating at the same time.
So when Mike and Nadia Jones, book the barn as a weekend break, all seems well. Until they become the holiday visitors from hell, staying at the impeccably made up barn. This is where Hannah’s weak character is both frustrating and slightly understandable, as she tries to prove that she is worthy of being a business woman as well as a mother and wife.
However, it’s hinted almost from the beginning that the Jones’s are con artists which makes Hannah’s character all the more annoying. The Jones’s try to con their way into extra cash from a personal injury claim and a free holiday, by citing problems with the perfect holiday home.
Hannah’s blind-sided by wanting the business to be such a success that she can’t see she’s being played. As the story unfolds, the more Nadia’s background story becomes apparent and the more helpless you feel Hannah is becoming.
During many incidents that occur during the telling of this story, its obvious that Hannah’s character is both vulnerable and extremely naïve.
After Mike’s body is found, having been bashed over the head with one of Daniel’s wine bottles, the book continues with Hannah trying to prove his innocence.
Hannah’s persistence and inner strength starts to become visible as she finds the evidence she needs to free her husband. But there is a twist of fate, which turns her world around, for the better in this case and the book ends on a sweet and happy note.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I also found it quite frustrating as some of the sequences of events were so obvious to rectify that it made some parts unbelievable.
Although I loved the easy flowing way the author Miranda Rijks wrote this book and it was an enjoyable read overall, I did find a few areas of the story disappointing. Personally for me as much as it was an entertaining book to read, I wouldn’t class “The Visitors” as a gripping psychological thriller.
Other books written by Miranda Rijks are “I Want You Gone”, her first psychological thriller and a three part thriller series of books called Fatal Fortune, Fatal Flowers and Fatal Finale featuring her character Dr Pippa Durrant.
These books sound interesting to read and will definitely be on my future book wish list as I did genuinely enjoy reading this book.