I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bath Haus by P. J. VernonISBN: 9780385546737
Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on June 15, 2021
Genres: Fiction, Gay, LGBTQ+, Psychological, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
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“Stylish, smart, and scary as hell.” Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"A nightmarish white-knuckler." O, The Oprah Magazine
Oliver Park, a recovering addict from Indiana, finally has everything he ever wanted: sobriety and a loving, wealthy partner in Nathan, a prominent DC trauma surgeon. Despite their difference in age and disparate backgrounds, they've made a perfect life together. With everything to lose, Oliver shouldn't be visiting Haus, a gay bathhouse. But through the entrance he goes, and it's a line crossed. Inside, he follows a man into a private room, and it's the final line. Whatever happens next, Nathan can never know. But then, everything goes wrong, terribly 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.
What follows is a classic runaway-train narrative, full of the exquisite escalations, edge-of-your-seat thrills, and oh-my-god twists. P. J. Vernon's Bath Haus is a scintillating thriller with an emotional punch, perfect for readers curious for their next must-read novel.
What a great book! I love a good thriller and the fact that this book featured queer characters was a big draw for me. Once I started reading this book, I found it impossible to set aside. The story was intense and I had no idea who was responsible for everything that was happening. The book took a lot of twists and turns and I loved the fact that I was surprised several times before turning that final page.
Oliver is in a serious relationship with Nathan, a doctor. They refer to each other as husbands but they haven’t actually legally married each other as of yet. Nathan is a bit older than Oliver and they both claim to be happy. When Nathan goes out of town, Oliver decides to visit Haus, a gay bathhouse, where things go terribly wrong. Oliver escapes the situation at Haus with his life but he has to figure out how to explain his injuries to Nathan without telling him what he was actually doing. One bad decision leads to a lie and things spiral out of control before you know it.
This was a great mystery. Things got more and more complex as the story progressed and I couldn’t wait to see how everything would play out. I loved that there were a lot of unexpected developments worked into the story. I thought that the pacing of the story was very well done. The characters were very well done and I really hoped that Oliver and Nathan would be able to get past everything happening within these pages. The secondary characters added a lot to the book as well.
I would highly recommend this book to others. I had a great time with this thriller filled with tons of twists and turns. This was the first time that I had the opportunity to read P.J. Vernon’s work and I was very impressed. I will definitely be picking up more of his books in the future.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Doubleday Books via NetGalley.
Sounds like a great thriller! The kind where one lie seems to snowball into something that takes on a life of its own.
A twisty thriller that has my interest piqued.
I’m glad to hear this was good. It sounds like a book that I would probably like. I will have to make time to read it at some point.
I can see why you enjoyed this one. I enjoy a good thriller and this sounds wonderful.
I’m glad it was such a hit. I don’t remember hearing of this one.
Oh you made me curious now!
I’m definitely here for this! I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Sounds different!
I wonder what happens now!
Wonderful review! This is one that I definitely want to read. I love thrillers, and I like that it has queer characters. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s good to hear the pace is done well.