Oliver Park, a young 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.
Mystery, thriller, tons of suspense, well written! LGBTQIA+ characters.
Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon is already published but it’s one of the books I had been looking forward to for quite some time. Let me say, I was not disappointed by this novel! I would call it a mystery but I don’t think that does it justice. This book is suspenseful, intriguing, tense and engaging. If you like really gripping reads with an edge… you’ll probably really enjoy this one. I picked this up one evening and had finished it by the following evening!
Oliver Park has clawed his way up in life from his own rock bottom. He’s a recovering drug addict… still sneaks a smoke every now and again but he’s living (what should be) the dream. His partner is a wealthy surgeon, they live in a beautiful home with a wonderful dog. But something sends Oliver out to a bath house one night.
Oliver hooks up with someone and once he and his potential sexual partner are behind closed doors – Oliver finds himself the victim of a violent attack. After fighting his way free, Oliver tears home. Terrified of revealing the truth to his partner, Nathan, Oliver tries to fabricate a story.
This is the point at which I became unable to put this book down. As Oliver tries to save his relationship by lying… everything begins to unravel. The attention to detail by the author is perfect. I was immediately caught up in the way that Oliver wasn’t able to tread water fast enough. As soon as he tells his first lie, things speed out of his control.
It’s not often that a book keeps me this engaged. There’s something about Vernon’s writing style that hooked me in from the very beginning. I found myself liking Oliver despite his faults and his poor judgement when it came to decision making! I liked him, and as things began to fall apart around him and he found himself in more and more trouble I simply couldn’t stop reading!
If you like suspense and fast paced, really well written fiction then you’ll love this book! It’s out now!
Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) infidelity, attack, sexual assault, violence, stalking, betrayal, lying within relationship.
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I borrowed Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon from my local Library!
Kinzie Things 