The Housewarming cover art

The Housewarming

A Novel

Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Housewarming

By: Kristin Offiler
Narrated by: Jordan Claire McCraw
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £22.99

Buy Now for £22.99

About this listen

In a haunting novel of psychological suspense, a summer getaway gone wrong rips apart a group of lifelong friends, thrusting their story into the true crime spotlight—and potentially their secrets, too.

For five friends vacationing on Block Island, it was a summer to remember. How could they forget it when only four made it back to the mainland?

Now, half a decade after Zoe Gilbert’s unsolved disappearance, Callie Sutter invites estranged friends Meg, Tess, and Lindsey—the last to see Zoe on that fateful trip—to reunite on the anniversary of the mystery that tore them apart. Back on Block Island, Callie reasons, they can come together again, memorialize Zoe, allay old resentments and recriminations, and put the past to rest. But it won’t be so easy. Patricia Adele, a true crime podcaster who once made a name for herself by casting suspicion on Zoe’s surviving friends all those years ago, is most eager for the reunion. She’s resurfaced with a book proposal claiming to expose them all as cold-blooded liars and conspirators in a crime once and for all.

Driven by self-preservation, the women must reckon with their long-held secrets and shared history if they’re to find out what really happened to Zoe on that hot August day. But will the truth set them free or condemn them all? No one is prepared to find out.

©2025 by Kristin Offiler. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Disappearance

Critic reviews

“Original, exceptional, complex, brilliant, and an inherently fascinating, compelling read from start to finish, The Housewarming clearly demonstrates author Kristin Offiler’s genuine master of the psychological suspense thriller genre.”—Midwest Book Review

“Like a thunderstorm on a summer evening, The Housewarming is equal parts enchanting and ominous. Kristin Offiler’s debut crackles with fierce honesty about the intricacies of female friendships and the dangers—and freedom—of long-held secrets coming to light. Sharp, suspenseful, and completely spellbinding.”—Caitlin Mullen, author of the Edgar Award winner Please See Us

“Kristin Offiler’s slick and sizzling debut is that rare treat of a thriller: one replete with both unforeseen twists and complex, multilayered characters, characters who will just as soon break your heart as they will shock and scandalize you. Read this one with a signature Block Island-inspired cocktail at the ready and be prepared to not put it down until the final, gut-wrenching, saltwater-scented page.”—Christa Carmen, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Daughters of Block Island

All stars
Most relevant
Probably a "me" problem as the actual premise was interesting, however maybe it's a set way of speaking in the area of the US it's set in but I found the narration incredibly monotone. I kept realising I'd switched my brain off and having to rewind and relisten. Eventually gave up. Better luck to others more used to that vocal type possibly!

Sadly did not finish - narrative was so monotone I kept zoning out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.