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Buyer Beware

The gripping and addictive new mystery thriller from the #1 bestselling author

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Buyer Beware

By: Catherine Ryan Howard
Narrated by: Ayoola Smart
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Get ready to be addicted to the page-turning mystery thriller from the #1 bestselling author of The Trap and 56 Days, in which two women's shattered lives come crashing together around a house whose secrets could bury them both.

If these walls could talk, they’d scream…


When Ellie moves into 1 Delaney Row, all she has to her name is the house, a small suitcase and the terrible secrets she’s desperate to keep. But what she doesn’t know is that her new home is already hiding someone else’s secrets – and the people determined to keep them are watching her.

When a grim discovery prompts Ellie to find out more about the house’s past, she unwittingly puts herself on a deadly collision course not just with her new home’s history, but with her own as well…

Inspired by so-called ‘stigmatised properties’ – houses with dark and violent pasts – Buyer Beware is an intricate puzzle-box of a thriller with a pulsing emotional heart, from an author at the very top of her game.

Praise for Catherine Ryan Howard

‘Sharp, clever and wonderfully tense – an outstanding one-sitting read, I adored it’ -- Andrea Mara, Sunday Times bestselling author of Someone in the Attic

'The perfect thriller' -- L. V. Matthews, author of the Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Twins

‘[An] ingeniously twisted, intriguing and entertaining mystery. Bravo! -- Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond

'A masterclass in suspense, utterly addictive, intelligently crafted, and impossible to put down' --Clémence Michallon, bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant

'This is one red hot thriller that boasts a vivid, true-crime authenticity at its molten core' --Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

© Catherine Ryan Howard 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Crime Thrillers Domestic Thrillers Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Fiction Thriller Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

An intricately plotted, intelligent thriller – every page vibrates with emotion. A masterpiece. Catherine Ryan Howard has done it again – her best novel yet.
Buyer Beware but reader, delight: Catherine Ryan Howard has crafted another perfect thriller. The satisfyingly twisty narrative will keep you baffled and on the edge of your seat right up to the gripping end. Intensely relatable, astute and funny, Buyer Beware draws on our worst fears and vainest hopes to tell a story that's full of contemporary Irish resonance but effortlessly universal. A triumph from one of Ireland's very best writers.
Oh boy! This book was a wild ride. We all want a roof over our heads but maybe not at 1 Delaney Row. Masterfully told in two timelines, the occupants of this home have so many skeletons in their closets, and some of them are screaming to get out. Beautifully written, brilliantly entertaining, and brutally terrifying, this is Ryan Howard's best book to date and that is saying something. Highly highly recommended
Non-stop tension-filled suspense, clever, compulsive and surprisingBuyer Beware is a perfect read
Catherine never disappoints and Buyer Beware is no exception. It's the perfect blend of chilling discoveries, red herrings and shocking twists. The pay off was a chef's kiss.
In Buyer Beware, Catherine Ryan Howard proves once again that she is one of the most intelligent voices in contemporary suspense. A sharp, controlled and deeply unsettling novel which constructs its tension brick by brick. A hugely clever premise that evolves into a plotline that you'll never see coming. This is a brilliant, psychologically piercing thriller that I found impossible to put down.
Creepy and compulsive, BUYER BEWARE is another bitingly smart thriller from the extremely talented Catherine Ryan Howard. Pick it up for the nightmarish premise, stay for the outstanding writing, sharp plotting and compelling characters. Just be careful you don’t suffer whiplash from the twists.
Sharp, twisty, and full of surprises. BUYER BEWARE is another knockout from Catherine Ryan Howard, a true force in suspense
Darkly propulsive, and utterly unexpected, Catherine Ryan Howard's cast of wicked characters will keep you guessing to the very last disturbing page of Buyer Beware. As you meet each creepy, clever, twist, the ground shifts revealing that nobody is quite what they seem. A brilliant read from a master storyteller
Chilling and captivating. Catherine Ryan Howard is a master at taking a crime and cracking it open in ways you never see coming.
All stars
Most relevant
Best book since The Trap. Can’t turn it off. So gripping. Excellent narration too. Really enjoyed.

So good

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I found this story very difficult to follow. Ending seemed rushed in an attempt to tie up loose ends

confusing story

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