Relentlessly tense and unsettling, The Roommate is a novel as dark as it is addictive. It will stay with you long after you finish—and will make you think twice about welcoming strangers into your home. — Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot

Dark, propulsive, and thrillingly unpredictable, The Roommate is a moody mind-bender of Southern California noir. Echoing James Ellroy and Michael Connelly, Macon Fleischer brings to life a cast of characters rife with damaged psyches, revenge cravings, and violent tendencies, while never losing sight of their fundamental desire for human connection. — Cassidy Lucas, author of Santa Monica and The Last Party

If Caroline Kepnes, Joan Didion, and Ottessa Moshfegh’s books had a hilarious, nail-bitingly tense, uncomfortably clear-sighted baby, the result would be Caroline Macon Fleischer’s addicting debut. The Roommate is like nothing I’ve read before. I could not put it down. — Julia Fine, author of The Upstairs House

For fans of Lisa Jewell, B.A. Paris, Louise Candlish, Shari Lapena, A.J. Finn, Dreda Say Mitchell and Louise Jensen

She invited him in. Now she can’t get him out…

Donna is a 25-year-old Midwesterner who’s had enough of her dead-end job in Chicago, her unhappy family life, and total lack of boyfriend. Then she inherits a perfect turquoiseblue bungalow in the California hills from her elusive grandmother. Things are finally looking up.

Desperate to cover the bills, Donna enlists a Craigslist roommate named Joshua Flowers. Joshua keeps the fridge stocked with delicious fresh food, they watch cooking shows together and stay up late sharing their deepest secrets. He’s not just a roommate, he’s a friend, and soon Donna can’t imagine life without him.

But Joshua starts exhibiting some alarming behaviours, and she can’t stop the doubts creeping in. Where did he get that key to the side door? And what are the strange sounds and smells coming from his room?

Then Donna brings home her new boyfriend, and things begin to spiral out of control. When she demands Joshua move out, he invokes squatters’ rights, and their petty disagreements escalate.

Her perfect roommate is about to become her worst nightmare.