Bath Haus - book review
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Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon - book review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
A somewhat claustrophobic thriller in which on of the main characters finds his world crumbling through a choice of infidelity turned sinister in this cat & mouse game.
Oliver finds his perfect world threatened and his secrets in danger of coming out after a visit to a gay bath house turns deadly and he almost dies.
Hiding his infidelity from his “husband”, he’ll do anything to keep him in the dark.
What a gripping thriller this was. I loved it and sharply found myself gripped very early on.
I listened to the audiobook of Bath Haus thanks to Libro.fm for gifting me an early copy in exchange for a review and whilst I enjoyed it, it definitely had its flaws.
The characters weren’t exactly likeable in my option. Oliver was okay but I found him tiresome with the decisions he made throughout but I think that we as readers were meant to feel like this ?
This along with the stereotypical “camp” gay best friend that loves casual sex was irksome. I don’t know, I feel like it may have been meant to be like this as it leans into the premise of promiscuous activity found in a bath house ? Anyhow I’m babbling. This being said, I found the characters to be well fleshed out and were interesting.
I found the pacing to be great but the yo-yo-ing of suspense (and lack of) was a little disappointing. I wanted to be constantly on the edge of my seat but I felt the incidents could have been more and more intense. This being said, when it was tense I couldn’t stop listening wanting to know what was going to happen.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to my thriller readers that want a gripping domestic thriller with drama and a little bit of humour.
It was a great listen, but just lacked a tad with the tension which dropped it down to a 4.25 star read of mine.
Narrators did a great job, loved the dual narration but I think I would have preferred a little more atmosphere.
This is the first book I’ve read by P.J. Vernon, but I will definitely be reading more thrillers by them.
Blurb:
When does the betrayer become the betrayed...
Oliver Park, a recovering addict finally has everything he ever wanted: sobriety and a loving, wealthy partner in Nathan, a prominent trauma surgeon. Despite their difference in age and backgrounds, they've made a perfect life together.
With everything to lose, Oliver shouldn't be visiting a gay bathhouse. But he does and a line is crossed. Inside, he follows a man into a private room and whatever happens next, Nathan can never know. Then, everything goes horribly wrong, and Oliver barely escapes with his life.
He races home in full-blown terror as the hand-shaped bruise grows dark on his neck. The truth will destroy Nathan and everything they have together, so Oliver does the thing he used to do so well: he lies…