The Dream Home - T.M. Logan

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

Adam and Jess move into a new house with their three young children: a rambling Victorian villa in a nice neighbourhood right at the very top of their price range. Before long Adam discovers a door hidden behind a fitted wardrobe, concealing a secret room . . .
Inside Adam discovers a collection of forgotten items: a wallet, an expensive watch and an old mobile phone. Jess thinks they should simply throw them away. But Adam resists. He is fascinated by these items and how they came to be inside the hidden room.
But like the house, Adam has his secrets too. And soon he will find himself setting in motion a series of events that will place his family in terrible danger . . .

My Thoughts:

I found myself in dire need of a gripping book to pull me out of my reading slump, and T.M. Logan's "The Dream Home" stepped up to the challenge. Right from the beginning, the intrigue was palpable, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages, hungry for more.
However, as the story unfolded, I couldn't help but be frustrated with the main character. His constant evasion of responsibility, especially regarding his job, became a recurring annoyance. It felt as though he was dancing around his problems instead of facing them head-on. Moreover, some of his choices and decisions were, frankly, exasperating, and his intelligence seemed to be on the dimmer side.
The protagonist's bewilderment about people knowing where he lived raised an eyebrow. It was apparent to me that he himself had disclosed this information freely, and common sense would dictate that the adversaries could easily track down the house associated with the items in question. It left me questioning the character's perceptiveness.
Towards the conclusion, I stumbled upon a few plot holes that I hesitate to delve into without revealing spoilers. I'm optimistic that these issues might have been addressed in the final editing stages, but they were noticeable enough to slightly dampen the overall experience.
Despite these critiques, I must admit that I enjoyed the overall journey that "The Dream Home" took me on. It successfully reignited my interest in true crime novels, reminiscent of my reading habits from the previous year. My only wish is that the narrative had been more tightly woven, eliminating the loose threads that left me pondering. Nevertheless, it's a tale worth exploring for those seeking an engaging read with a few bumps along the way. If I gave half-star reviews, I would certainly class this as a 3.5-star read. However, I don't, so I will round this up to four, as I did enjoy it as a whole.