The Guest Room: a gripping psychological thriller debut C444868680517

'Sylva skilfully illustrates an unmoored character completely consumed by a spiralling, unrelenting grief' - Kirkus Reviews

'This story is taut and unsettling with a brilliant ending!' - Candis

'Creepily claustrophobic' - New York Times Book Review

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Careful what you look for. Careful what you find.

After the mysterious death of her beloved sister, Tess is grief-stricken and lonely. She's forced to BnB Rosie's old room to pay the bills.

With strangers in her home, Tess discovers a distraction: their possessions.

Tempted into the room while they're out, she goes through her guests' things, imagining the stories they hold. These forbidden glimpses into their lives and the chance of being caught are a momentary thrill - the only thing she can feel through the numbing pain of her loss, and the so-far fruitless police investigation.

When handsome and inscrutable Arran takes the room, Tess finds his diary. The entries are about an unnamed woman. Crush or obsession? Slowly, his writing takes a darker tone, and Tess can't stop reading.

In her compulsion to know, to uncover the truth, there's something Tess fails to notice.

She's being watched.

Everyone has their secrets. This one is closer to home.

Tasha Sylva is an aspiring small-scale farmer, with a focus on regenerative agriculture, community, and localisation. She is currently based in the southwest of England, after time in London, Scotland, and southern Spain. For her, the power of story is fundamental, as is the power of language. She regularly asks: How can we foster curiosity and imagination? And, importantly, human connection to each other, soil, plants, and all threads of our environment. When not writing, she can be found swimming in the sea or watching birds. The Guest Room is her debut novel.