Bring the House Down cover art

Bring the House Down

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Bring the House Down

By: Charlotte Runcie
Narrated by: Isabelle Farah
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at {membershipPrice}/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.55

Buy Now for $24.55

Summary

'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
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
All stars
Most relevant
I thought more would happen with such a good set up. still I enjoyed it

Great book, ending was an anticlimax

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

How ironic to review a book about reviewing. For me this book was thought provoking about the choices we make, the behaviour we accept (or observe) and the decisions we regret. I really enjoyed it, it was uncomfortable to read it patches but intriguing and unpredictable; and I liked that it didn’t end with ‘happy ever after’. It felt real. I felt exhausted after reading it, like Sophie after the fire. Thank you.

The richness and complexity of the characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I liked the energy of the story but could not really relate to any of the characters.

Intense

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.