We Love to Entertain: A Novel

by Sarah Strohmeyer

Overview

“A diabolical and deliciously twisty romp through reality TV home renovations infused with humor and warmth. Sarah Strohmeyer does murder and suspense in all the best possible ways!” —Wanda M. Morris, award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets and Anywhere You Run

From the bestselling author of Do I Know You? comes a fast-paced, riveting psychological thriller that skewers our modern obsession with home renovation and fixer-uppers.

Holly and Robert Barron are attractive young real-estate investors and contestants in a competition run by To the Manor Build, the nation’s most popular home renovation app. With millions in product endorsements and online followers at stake, they’re rehabbing a Vermont home they scored at a bargain price into a chic hilltop estate ideal for entertaining.

It’s all camera-ready laughs and debates over herringbone tile until Holly and Robert go missing hours after their picture-perfect wedding—leaving behind a bloody trail.

Suspicion falls quickly on Erika Turnbull, the Barrons’ twenty-something assistant—eager, efficient, and secretly in love with Robert. Did Erika let her misguided passion turn her into a murderer? So claim the townsfolk of Snowden, Vermont, who still haven’t forgiven her for a tragic accident back in high school.

But Erika’s mother, Kim, is not about to let small-town gossip and a cop with an axe to grind destroy her daughter—again. With time running out and their own lives at risk, the mother-daughter duo set out to find what really happened to the Barrons. First, though, they’ll have to confront the vengeful former owner of Holly and Robert’s estate, ruthless reality-show producers, and a secret that might bring their own house down.

Fast-paced, full of humor, and undeniably twisty, We Love to Entertain is another winner from Sarah Strohmeyer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063224384
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/25/2023
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sarah Strohmeyer is a bestselling and award-winning novelist whose books include The Secrets of Lily Graves, How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True, Smart Girls Get What They Want, The Cinderella Pact (the basis of the Lifetime Original Movie Lying to Be Perfect), The Sleeping Beauty Proposal, The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, Sweet Love, and the Bubbles mystery series. A former newspaper reporter, her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Boston Globe. She lives with her family outside Montpelier, Vermont.

Editorial Reviews

02/13/2023

In this propulsive but less than plausible page-turner from Strohmeyer (Do I Know You?), charismatic real estate investor Robert Barron and his fiancée, Holly Simmons, are one of three couples vying for grand prize on the property rehab show To the Manor Build with their environmentally visionary hilltop estate nearing completion in tiny Snowden, Vt. Then, only hours after the pair’s livestreamed wedding—and just days before the show’s final reveal—the newlyweds vanish. Though the hard-charging self-proclaimed “Robber Barron” has plenty of enemies, the local cops seem quite happy to home in on outcast Erika Turnbull, Robert’s assistant, who’s not so secretly smitten with him, as their prime suspect. Which leaves it to Erika’s brook-no-bull mother, Kim, the town clerk, to turn sleuth to try to save the day—with some assistance from Tammy, Holly’s own freshly arrived from Florida steel magnolia mom. Apart from this unlikely band of mothers, several other characters seem disappointingly generic, as does Strohmeyer’s satire of reality-rehab TV. Nevertheless, there’s sufficient treachery, trickery, and twists (improbable though they be) to make good on the title’s promise of entertainment. Agent: Zoe Sandler, ICM Partners. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise to Strohmeyer for creating a novel both so funny—the behind-the-scenes details of the HGTV-like show To the Manor Build are a hoot—and so frightening. . . . This book should appear to a broad range of readers, from twenty- and thirty-somethings to cozy fans and those looking for traditional mysteries.” — First Clue

“Intricately plotted, entertaining, and full of red herrings. . . a fun romp of a thriller that will keep readers guessing until the last page. For fans of Lisa Jewell and Clare Mackintosh.” — Library Journal

"Strohmeyer offers an original plot that keeps us guessing and entertaining writing that veers from dark humor, usually with tongue in cheek, to tragedy.” — Booklist

“A fabulous read packed with suspense, unexpected twists, glamour and humor. Prepare to be gripped from the first to the last page!” — Liane Moriarty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies, on Do I Know You?

“Sarah Strohmeyer made an impression on me two decades ago with the first of her Bubbles Yablonsky mystery novels, full of humor, verve and a slightly manic air. . . . it’s welcome to see that early spirit revived in DO I KNOW YOU? . . . kept me reading, near breathless, until all assumptions were gloriously upended.” — Sarah Weinman, New York Times Book Review, on Do I Know You?

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

Robert Barron and Holly Simmons are the perfect reality TV couple. Smart, attractive, and savvy with hashtags and affiliate links, they are turning a rustic Vermont cabin into a state-of-the-art, eco-conscious estate to win a renovation competition show called To the Manor Build. When the two marry just days before the season finale, some see it as a fairy-tale ending while others claim it's a desperate ploy for votes. No one expects the couple to go missing without a trace that same night. The police have no clues, but that doesn't stop them from pointing fingers at Erika Turnbull, Robert and Holly's assistant. Erika is convinced the home's former owner is seeking revenge after Robert bought the house out from under him in a tax sale. While the police rely on old grudges and internet rumors to try to frame Erika, she and her mother, the town clerk, set out to find the truth and rescue Robert and Holly before it's too late. VERDICT Intricately plotted, entertaining, and full of red herrings, Strohmeyer's latest (after Do I Know You?) is a fun romp of a thriller that will keep readers guessing until the last page. For fans of Lisa Jewell and Clare Mackintosh.—Portia Kapraun

Library Journal

A diabolical and deliciously twisty romp through reality TV home renovations infused with humor and warmth. Sarah Strohmeyer does murder and suspense in all the best possible ways.”

author of All Her Little Secrets Wanda M. Morris

A fabulous read packed with suspense, unexpected twists, glamour and humor. Prepare to be gripped from the first to the last page!”

#1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty