The Flatmate: A Missing Person Mystery Thriller Novel for 2025

by F. Deville

The moment I stepped into this creaky Victorian, craving a fresh start, things escalated. On the first night, deafening bangs jolted me awake—I brushed them off as fragments of a dream.

My housemates were pretty dismissive of what I was experiencing. Yet, oddities kept piling up.

One day, I discovered a recent bank statement boasting seven digits for Barbara. The only problem? She was a former tenant, previously living in my room, who had gone missing more than a year ago.

And that old lady, Mrs. Morgan, who for some reason chose to live in the basement despite being confined to a wheelchair, remained tight-lipped about the past.

Four locked rooms whispered clues I couldn't reach, with keys long swallowed by time.

Digging into Barbara's mystery, I uncovered my housemates' deceit. Their plot thickened when a psychiatrist showed up to check on my "recovery"—news to me, having never been near a psych ward in my entire life. My last clear memory was of swiping an empty cyanide bottle as cops swarmed my old place over a flatmate incident.

Now, donned in a patient gown, they think they've outwitted me. Little do they know, we're just getting started...

504 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the premise, I thought this book was going to be about a roommate gone bad novel. Was I ever wrong?! The story did involve messed up roommates but not in the way I expected. When Michelle moved in the old Victorian home things seemed off right away. But in her circumstances, I guess taking the place at face value was better than not having a place to live. Things are suspicious about the whole situation from day one. The other roommates are beyond weird and quirky; some seem like they are hiding from the law. As Michelle begins to settle in, the reader notices things are beginning to get unsettling. The little bits of information the author writes lead the reader to believe there is something sinister about this house. At first, I thought, the house was haunted. Then as the days and pages go by I was completely shocked at what Michelle had been dragged into. There were many message implied throughout this book. Some were out of common sense and some were out of social awareness. This book was really fascinating and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

[Steph Adkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, I really did, the synopsis seems amazing. However, I just couldn’t fully get into it. The story was longer than I would have liked, the chapters were unnecessarily long, and there were too many people/ characters involved. The story doesn’t seem to really pick up until about 45% into the story, but once it does, it DOES pick up and the overall storyline, premise, and twists were great! I don’t know how this could have been shortened, but I believe if this wasn’t so drawn out then this story would have been a five star for me, no doubt!

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Diane Elizabeth Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving into a new place should be exciting and liberating - shouldn't it? For Michelle, her room in an old house is anything but. With strange happenings, and even stranger people, Michelle is plunged into a nightmare not knowing who to trust.
The creative writing and the humour is the most enjoyable part of this book. I grew to like and root for Michelle, although I did question some of her decisions.
The author describes all situations and emotions vividly and there were a lot of smiles from me at the use of analogies and similies. Thank you for cheering my day up.
While this was an atmospheric and interesting read, I did find myself getting a bit confused at times, although everything is eventually explained.
Throw reality out of the window, settle down and be prepared for an imaginative, humourous and thought provoking read.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flatmate is the second book I've read via BookSirens and I'm loving the fact that I'm finding some great books by some great indie authors that aren't receiving the recognition they deserve.

At a mammoth 504 pages long, The Flatmate is also my longest book so far of the year. I was hooked from the opening pages, so it didn't feel like a long book to me at all.

The suspense and tension escalate the further the plot unfolds and Deville delights with a locked room/missing person mystery unlike anything I've read before.

I immediately got chills and atmospheric feels from the old Victorian house and there was an immediate sense of something prevalent looming.

A creative plot with some strangely fascinating characters and a houseful of secrets waiting to be revealed.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a twisted but good psychological thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put it down. I was up until 5 am to finish it. The story is definitely original. The characters seem normal if a little quirk. How wrong I was! There were a lot of comings and going in the house. I don’t know how comfortable I’d be living with 5 men! The book hooks u from the first page go the last. Michelle is definitely an interesting character who has perhaps a little bit too much curiosity. The book does need a good edit or I would have given it a 5 ⭐️. The story gets mixed up. A room on the right is suddenly on the left and he is a she Michelle only has her dad but she leaves with her parents stuff like that. . It made it a little difficult to read because the book is so complex.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, this is rounded down - it was more of a 3.5 star read for me! The idea is intriguing, and some of the characters are interesting. However, this was one of those books that sometimes felt too "wordy" and the reader started to wonder when one was going to finally get to the point, to be frank.

Once the "point" has been reached, the book somewhat started to fall apart for me as it felt overly convoluted, had several plot holes that were not addressed and in general felt a bit "let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks."

Plot - 4/5, Execution 3/5

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sheri Corriero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is nice and mysterious. Michelle moves into a new flat, renting a room in an old house. The house itself has it’s own mysteries including locked doors, odd tenants and noises. She finds that the tenant, Barbara, who had her room previously has been missing over the last year. As Michelle digs for information, she finds out her flatmates’ secrets. She ends up in a psych ward but she will be back. I love the mystery of the story and the setting. It was quite long though. I received an ARC copy from the author and this is my honest review.

[Lyndsey Gollogly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don’t like giving 1 or 2 stars I go into every book with an open mind and positivity this one though I honestly struggled with. The dialogue was in places completely confusing the over use of names really irritated me. This just wasnt what the first few chapters seemed to promise. The premise was really good the execution wasn’t. I do encourage other readers to try it as this is just my opinion.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lynseygibs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really wanted to live this book, it has great promise and storyline in theory. However I found it very wordy, it skipped and jumped, but not in a way conductive to the storyline. I didn't find the main characters interactions with people realistic.
The book did draw me in and throw a few spanners in the works, but not enough for higher than a 3 star review unfortunately.

[Bougie Black Girl Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ok so on to the book. It was long. Longer than it needed to be. So many characters to keep track of. It was just a long story. There were many good twist and turns eventually but, there were many times I almost stopped reading. Details that didn't matter and overall, should have been about half as long as it was.

[Marissa Maldonado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Overall, the plot of the story was an intriguing idea, but this book had me on the verge of DNF about half way through. Having never DNF’d a book before, I pushed on, especially during parts that felt like it dragged on. It was extremely wordy, and the overuse of names in dialogue seemed unnatural and annoying. I was left feeling a bit confused with some of the plot holes. This one was tough for me to get through.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was a good basis for a storyline, it was really all over the place. The instant familiarity with the other flatmates and the mystery of the basement was not believable for me. It took me a bit longer to finish, because it just got too convoluted and messy.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book and I am leaving an honest and voluntary review. The memories of her old flat haunt her, so Michelle takes a room in an old house to make ends meet. But when strange occurrences start happening, she can't tell who to trust - including herself! This was a fast paced and gripping story with an unexpected twist! I'd love to see if there is a sequel!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you really know the people you are rooming with? People have secrets, but what if they could harm you?
This book was very well written, telling the story in a 2 person voice.
Story flowed and I wanted to know what would happen next.