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The Former Occupant: A Psychological Thriller
She thought the cute country bungalow would provide a perfect sanctuary for healing, but someone is turning her dream into a nightmare.
On the first day in her new home, Trinity finds out her husband lied to her about the former occupants. Determined not to let that dampen her mood, she begins refurbishing her summer home with the help of her best friend. She only has a few short weeks to make it ready for her one-year-old nephew who is coming to live with her in the wake of her sister’s death.
As a series of strange things begin happening inside the house, Trinity feels like she’s losing her mind. But when she discovers the body of her real estate agent in the backyard, she begins to realize someone is trying to drive her out of her new home.
As more disturbing things start happening inside and around her house, Trinity begs her husband to come home, yet he keeps making excuses about why he has to extend his overseas trip. Her best friend, who has always been her strongest supporter, is making Trinity doubt her own experiences and memories.
With the discovery of another body in her backyard, Trinity is suspected of murder. She’ll stop at nothing to clear her name—she’s all her nephew has left in the world, and she can’t wind up in prison, or worse, the next victim of a killer.
The Former Occupant is a twist-filled psychological thriller from Cathryn Grant, the author of The Alexandra Mallory series and The Favorite Child.
On the first day in her new home, Trinity finds out her husband lied to her about the former occupants. Determined not to let that dampen her mood, she begins refurbishing her summer home with the help of her best friend. She only has a few short weeks to make it ready for her one-year-old nephew who is coming to live with her in the wake of her sister’s death.
As a series of strange things begin happening inside the house, Trinity feels like she’s losing her mind. But when she discovers the body of her real estate agent in the backyard, she begins to realize someone is trying to drive her out of her new home.
As more disturbing things start happening inside and around her house, Trinity begs her husband to come home, yet he keeps making excuses about why he has to extend his overseas trip. Her best friend, who has always been her strongest supporter, is making Trinity doubt her own experiences and memories.
With the discovery of another body in her backyard, Trinity is suspected of murder. She’ll stop at nothing to clear her name—she’s all her nephew has left in the world, and she can’t wind up in prison, or worse, the next victim of a killer.
The Former Occupant is a twist-filled psychological thriller from Cathryn Grant, the author of The Alexandra Mallory series and The Favorite Child.
- GenresThriller
Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2024
183 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Cathryn Grant
81 books404 followersCathryn is the author of over forty novels. She writes psychological thrillers, psychological suspense, and the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series which features a sociopath you can’t help but love. Readers say they're “absolutely addicted” to the series.
The things that cause torment in real life—obsession and revenge, guilt and envy and longing—are endlessly fascinating in fiction and she never grows tired of writing stories about characters struggling to overcome the worst.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories because who knows what lies beyond our senses—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, walking on the beach, or playing golf, going way out of her way to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
You can get in touch with her by email, find her social media links, or sign up for her monthly newsletter at cathryngrant.com/contact. As a thank you for signing up, you’ll receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory.
The things that cause torment in real life—obsession and revenge, guilt and envy and longing—are endlessly fascinating in fiction and she never grows tired of writing stories about characters struggling to overcome the worst.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories because who knows what lies beyond our senses—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, walking on the beach, or playing golf, going way out of her way to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
You can get in touch with her by email, find her social media links, or sign up for her monthly newsletter at cathryngrant.com/contact. As a thank you for signing up, you’ll receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 22, 2024
If these walls could talk, would it be about murder? What a twisty ride! It’s hard to know who to believe in this deceptive tale where past and present collide. I was completely enthralled from the beginning. The alternating perspectives added intrigue as the story unfolded. I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was pleasantly surprised by the shocking twist. Cathryn Grant’s thrillers never disappoint. I look forward to reading many more thrillers by this author in the future. Thank you, Booksprout for my copy.
April 15, 2024
This twisted psychological thriller kept me up all night in a page turning binge session! What a crazy ride. Cathryn Grant created a perfect mystery complete with paranoia, paranormal (or was there?), and plenty of drama. The alternating character voices and timelines worked to the benefit of the novel. This is truly a great read.
December 22, 2024
Whoa! What a page turner! I absolutely loved the prose, character development and the twisty plot! Albeit, none of the characters were likable and I was able to figure out the murderer half way through the book, it still was a page turner to the very end! Unpredictable turn of events. I loved it! I’m buying more titles by this author for sure.
March 17, 2024
𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰'𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑰'𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆...𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒆.
Unless you have a new build. when you buy a home, you can't help but wonder about who lived there before you. Inside the confines of those four walls are the memories of those who came before; their laughter, struggles, tears, and sometimes, even their death.
Trinity is still mourning the loss of her sister when she purchases a country bungalow, intent on sharing it with her husband and the young nephew she is adopting. She's excited to do some minor renovations, but she immediately finds out that some neighbors think she should leave the house as is, the way former owner Sara left it.
Trinity finds herself waking up every night to something strange, a noise that she can never quite identify. When she finds the body of her real estate agent in the backyard, that death, coupled with all the strange things going on inside the house, tell her one thing--someone wants her to leave. Despite frantically texting her husband, who is working out of town, he's not in a hurry to rush home to be by her side. Even her best friend, who comes to stay and help with renovations, thinks Trinity may either be sleepwalking or still shattered by grief and not in her right mind.
Told through alternating points of view, the author expertly creates a pervasive tone of dread and an atmosphere heavy with grief over the places and relationships we leave behind when we depart from this world. The house becomes a character in its own right--is it holding on to the past and its former occupant, or will it open its doors to embrace the living?
Unsettling, tense, and unpredictable. Highly recommended for any lover of thrillers. Thank you to the author and Booksprout for my early copy. This title will publish April 11, 2024.
Unless you have a new build. when you buy a home, you can't help but wonder about who lived there before you. Inside the confines of those four walls are the memories of those who came before; their laughter, struggles, tears, and sometimes, even their death.
Trinity is still mourning the loss of her sister when she purchases a country bungalow, intent on sharing it with her husband and the young nephew she is adopting. She's excited to do some minor renovations, but she immediately finds out that some neighbors think she should leave the house as is, the way former owner Sara left it.
Trinity finds herself waking up every night to something strange, a noise that she can never quite identify. When she finds the body of her real estate agent in the backyard, that death, coupled with all the strange things going on inside the house, tell her one thing--someone wants her to leave. Despite frantically texting her husband, who is working out of town, he's not in a hurry to rush home to be by her side. Even her best friend, who comes to stay and help with renovations, thinks Trinity may either be sleepwalking or still shattered by grief and not in her right mind.
Told through alternating points of view, the author expertly creates a pervasive tone of dread and an atmosphere heavy with grief over the places and relationships we leave behind when we depart from this world. The house becomes a character in its own right--is it holding on to the past and its former occupant, or will it open its doors to embrace the living?
Unsettling, tense, and unpredictable. Highly recommended for any lover of thrillers. Thank you to the author and Booksprout for my early copy. This title will publish April 11, 2024.
April 26, 2024
I love this author and was greatly looking forward to reading this book. But I'm so disappointed that I didn't enjoy this story. None of the characters were likeable and I honestly wasn't sure what the point of the story was. A husband and wife buy a summer home outside of silicon valley where they can take their newly adopted "son" (nephew of the wife; her sister died recently from cancer), in the summers to get away from silicon city. But the house is riddled with issues and many updates needed to get it to code and to be fun and livable.
There were several unconnected storylines, it seems, such as former home owner who died of cancer, nasty and nosy next door neighbors, former home owner's ex husband, the "best friend" of the woman who bought the house, the husband's extended absence. And so on.
I couldn't grab hold of any one storyline and I really didn't like the main character. She was flighty, then at times strong and stern and other times silly and vapid.
At the end, I just shrugged.
There were several unconnected storylines, it seems, such as former home owner who died of cancer, nasty and nosy next door neighbors, former home owner's ex husband, the "best friend" of the woman who bought the house, the husband's extended absence. And so on.
I couldn't grab hold of any one storyline and I really didn't like the main character. She was flighty, then at times strong and stern and other times silly and vapid.
At the end, I just shrugged.
April 10, 2024
Thank you to Cathryn Grant and Booksprout for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.
Trinity has just lost her sister and is set to take on her young nephew, so has bought a house to renovate with plans of raisinf a family with her husband. But things are unsettling - noises through the night, furniture moved, repainted rooms. Is trinity going crazy or is someone inside her house?
As a fan of psychological thrillers, I kept trying to piece together what I thought was happening but can safely say I didn’t see the twist coming. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first few chapters.
This was the first book I’ve read by Cathryn Grant, and most definitely won’t be the last.
Trinity has just lost her sister and is set to take on her young nephew, so has bought a house to renovate with plans of raisinf a family with her husband. But things are unsettling - noises through the night, furniture moved, repainted rooms. Is trinity going crazy or is someone inside her house?
As a fan of psychological thrillers, I kept trying to piece together what I thought was happening but can safely say I didn’t see the twist coming. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first few chapters.
This was the first book I’ve read by Cathryn Grant, and most definitely won’t be the last.
April 19, 2024
Oh man. What a nice twisty turny book. Cathryn definitely takes you for a ride with this book. Not going to lie I was questioning all the characters except for Trinity. I did hate the blinders she had on for the very obvious reasons. She ignored things right in front of her eyes. But it was a great book
May 6, 2024
ok
It was interesting enough that I read it , but frustrating and unsatisfying because none of the characters seemed to have any real motivations or feelings. The author just dragged them around and made them say or do whatever to justify the plot she had constructed. I am sure she was trying for misdirection and unexpected twists but those depend on creating real characters.
It was interesting enough that I read it , but frustrating and unsatisfying because none of the characters seemed to have any real motivations or feelings. The author just dragged them around and made them say or do whatever to justify the plot she had constructed. I am sure she was trying for misdirection and unexpected twists but those depend on creating real characters.
June 1, 2024
Too much back and forth
Really not worth the read. Repetitive. Characters you don't really feel for. Shallow.. No depth to them and Mia and her back and forth with the cards..nonsense. Trinity not believing in it but goes back and forth with the doubt..really don't waste your time. Highly disappointed and story dragged on and on..
Really not worth the read. Repetitive. Characters you don't really feel for. Shallow.. No depth to them and Mia and her back and forth with the cards..nonsense. Trinity not believing in it but goes back and forth with the doubt..really don't waste your time. Highly disappointed and story dragged on and on..
November 29, 2025
A woman and her husband bought an old home with a strange history. She began to wonder about the former occupants. By the end of chapter 9, we find the dead body of the real estate agent. I thought that it would get a little more riveting at this point, but it was totally lagging and long. It was TOO LONG. Frankly, this felt more paranormal. A decent read, but not great.
April 22, 2024
Love all your books. You are my favourite author and I look forward to every new book you write !
I especially love the Alexander Mallory series. Each one is different but has the familiarity that is “comforting “. More please
I especially love the Alexander Mallory series. Each one is different but has the familiarity that is “comforting “. More please
April 9, 2024
This author never disappoints and this worked so well. I was so engrossed that I finished it in one session. I dont want to say anymore due to spoilers but just escaped into it.
May 25, 2024
Amazing!
July 17, 2024
Fantastic!
I could feel the fear and panic Trinity felt. My brain worked furiously trying to figure looking who the guilty person was!
I could feel the fear and panic Trinity felt. My brain worked furiously trying to figure looking who the guilty person was!
October 26, 2024
The twists & turns of this book were so brilliantly written. There’s nothing better than an ending I can’t predict & this book did just that.
August 11, 2024
Never trust
That could be the title - no one is ever who you think they are and no one is ever true.
That could be the title - no one is ever who you think they are and no one is ever true.
March 28, 2025
A bit strange and redundant. An ok read, somewhat easy to guess at the ending. The fact of two men in her, life, main character, as well as two homes, and 2 cancer victims, was clumsy, to me anyway. Not my favorite Cathryn Grant book.
May 28, 2024
The "Former Occupant” by Cathryn Grant is a page-turner that I couldn’t put down. Trinity moves into her new home after her sister passes away from cancer. As soon as she moves in, she starts sprucing it up & getting it ready for her one-year old nephew who is coming to live with her. While she’s there, all sorts of strange things begin to happen. Trinity starts questioning herself & thinks she’s losing her mind…& then come the dead bodies in her backyard. Is someone trying to scare Trinity off the property or will she be the next victim. Read this highly addictive novel with an ending that you won’t see coming to find out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews