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Bring the House Down

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Bring the House Down

By: Charlotte Runcie
Narrated by: Isabelle Farah
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About this listen

'Punchily provocative and often bitingly funny' THE TIMES, Book of the Month

‘Binge-worthy, real, really funny’ KILEY REID

‘Spiky, smart and so original’ CLAIRE DAVERLEY

'Entertaining and very timely… One of the most enjoyable novels I’ve read in a long time' GUARDIAN

'Unputdownable' DAILY MAIL

A ONE WOMAN SHOW A ONE NIGHT STAND A ONE STAR REVIEW

Theatre critic Alex Lyons made his name from his brutal, brilliant reviews.

So when he sees Hayley Sinclair's dismal one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe, he thinks nothing of dashing off another of his trademark one-star pans for the newspaper. He also thinks nothing of taking her home after the performance, failing at any point to mention who he is.

What he doesn't expect is for Hayley to revamp her show into a review of Alex's entire life, exposing what an awful person he really is. Worse, the show is a smash hit, and Alex is about to become national news. But can Hayley bring the establishment down without taking herself with it?

Funny and thrilling, Bring the House Down gives you a front row seat to the downfall of the people who tell us what to think. It's about art, performance, female rage, and how while revenge may be sweet, it can also be perilous.

'An enticing debut. This is a binge-worthy novel that explores our obsessions, our inner critic, and who we think we are in person and in print. Intimate, real, and really funny. This one has teeth' KILEY REID

'Sharp, shrewd and witty… a stunning debut, one that I’m sure will be binge-read by many' INDEPENDENT, Book of the Month

'Dark, obsessive and razor-sharp, this is your next Baby Reindeer fix’ ELLE

©2025 Charlotte Runcie (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers
Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Urban Women's Fiction Funny Witty
All stars
Most relevant
An interesting premise which was thoroughly and thoughtfully explored.
The world of theatre critics and their importance.
The huge array of entertainment available to view during August in Edinburgh. How to choose what to see.
Misogyny.
Lies and deception.
A mother’s love of her baby and the pull between that and a career.
The impact of parental comments on a child and how they do much to create the adult.
I liked the descriptions of the streets and the venues and the people. I live in Edinburgh so am very familiar with the city at this time of year.
Well worth a read.

The atmosphere of Edinburgh during Festival season was captured very well

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I enjoyed the story and the excellent narrator played a significant part in this. Well paced, good accents and a voice that for me really suited the story.

An excellent narrator and a very good story

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Brings you straight into a compelling moment and pacey human story with pertinent themes for today. I enjoyed the readers performance too, which I felt captured the narrators voice well. There were a couple of instances of duplicated lines that should be edited out, but overall highly recommend.

Pacey, funny, original

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The story is good, an enjoyable, lighthearted distraction. The author explored many weightier subjects through the lenses of her characters and story. Some more successfully than others.

The narrator however I didn’t like. I hate to criticise people on things they can’t control or change. However, it did affect my enjoyment of the audiobook. I felt the main protagonist’s voice should have sounded younger, less middle-aged. Also they kept sniffing, which I found it very, very distracting.

VO was not to my taste

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an absolute brilliant take on the Fringe through a very different lens that will leave you gripped.

Five Stars

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