Well hello, readreamer! Welcome back to FREE-view, my spoiler-free book review series!
Today’s patient is…(drumroll) P.J. Vernon’s BATH HAUS! Big warning: if you’re not of the appropriate age, you might wanna skip this FREE-view. This book’s not for kids!
This book was recommended to me by a friend a while ago and…man, I’m so glad I listen to my friends. Slight tangent – as a reader, having friends who also read is probably the best thing that can happen to you.
My friends and I that have read this book STILL talk about it, and we all read it at different times. We *very nearly* convinced a friend of ours with very little interest in books to read it – that’s how serious this was.
Reader, I think you can feel my excitement about talking about this novel through my words. I was hooked from start to finish through this one, and that doesn’t happen too often! Usually there’s at least one part of a book where it drops off a bit for me, or I’m not as immersed. That did not happen with BATH HAUS.
So let’s get into the meat and potatoes, shall we? BATH HAUS is an adult thriller novel set primarily in Washington D.C., (yay hometown!) centered on the relationship of a young man, Oliver, and his older partner, Nathan. Their relationship seems picturesque…but Oliver’s got that itch in his brain. The cheating itch.
In the literal beginning of the novel, and as the title suggests, Oliver is at a gay bathhouse. Why, when he’s in a relationship, you ask? Because Oliver is Oliver, and main characters must do main character things. We wouldn’t have a story if he was on his best behavior!
But all is not well at this bathhouse, reader. Oliver goes in, immediately meets a guy, goes into a private room with him…and it gets real. I’m talking “hand-shaped bruise on his neck” real. I’m talking “Oliver probably should’ve died on page 15” real. And now…we’re in for a big ride, because Nathan can’t know he was attacked…that would open up a whole new can of worms.
Not only can Nathan not know Oliver was attacked because it would lead to him finding out Oliver was attempting to cheat, but Nathan is…dare I say, the sole breadwinner? Oliver came from a pretty meek background, and doesn’t have much to his name. Nathan’s career as a celebrated surgeon in the nation’s capital has made Nathan pretty rich, and Oliver has benefitted greatly from his man’s success. So…Nathan finds out, and Oliver is out on the street? No way. Oliver decides to hide this from Nathan by any means necessary.
So we’re off on a wild adventure that will leave you stunned and gagged at every new plot point. And without spoiling anything, because this is a FREE-view…Nathan’s got his own secrets too, reader! Their relationship is, predictably, tested throughout the course of the story. We really get to see what’s behind the curtain for both of them, despite having a seemingly flawless love life.
I think BATH HAUS opens up quite the dialogue about a little phenomenon I’d like to briefly touch on, known as the butterfly effect.
When it comes to the butterfly effect, I think of Rube-Goldberg machines, which you’ve probably seen before on social media. Rube-Goldberg machines are contraptions in which one event sets off a chain of reactions, each subsequent event happening as a result of the previous one, until the final event is triggered.
This phenomenon used in a novel is absolutely fascinating, and in a thriller, it’s SOOO good for building tension and creating stakes that get increasingly higher and higher as the pages turn. You’ll wonder what’s going to happen next, and how things could get any worse. Trust me, things can very easily get worse. Now, like I said, if you’re particularly prudish or not quite the age of 18 or older…BATH HAUS probably isn’t for you, and that’s ok! If you couldn’t tell that it’s a bit graphic, allow me to confirm – it’s a bit graphic.
But! If you’re like me, and your favorite stories are the messiest possible stories with peak drama, very little downtime, and something always going wrong? BATH HAUS is calling your name, reader! It’s one of my favorite books that I’ve read since the new decade started, and I do not take that lightly. I do think I was in this book’s target audience, considering I’m a 23-year-old woman who prioritizes thrillers and high dramas over everything else. If that also sounds like you, then you’re gonna love this!
When it comes to books with a good plot twist at the end, I do take the twist’s predictability into account when it comes to my rating. Of course, it has to make sense also, but I really don’t want to be able to say I called it.
And reader, I’m happy to say…I did not see this coming until right before it was revealed. All my credit and props to P.J. Vernon for a well-written, masterfully crafted web of lies.
So, as a result…my score should leave you with no surprise.
BATH HAUS by P.J. Vernon – Rating: 5/5 Stars
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