• The House on the Water

  • A Novella
  • By: Margot Hunt
  • Narrated by: Taylor Schilling
  • Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (14,562 ratings)

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The House on the Water

By: Margot Hunt
Narrated by: Taylor Schilling
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Publisher's summary

From the author of Buried Deep comes a brand-new thriller about a summer vacation turned deadly and a group of friends trapped together until they can determine who among them is capable of murder.

Every year, Caroline Reed takes a trip with her best friend, Esme Lamont. They’re usually accompanied by their spouses - but this year, everything’s changed.

Esme has just gone through a bitter divorce, and Caroline is wondering if her own marriage is reaching its breaking point as she and her husband, John, cope with the discovery that their 19-year-old son has been abusing drugs. Still, the inseparable duo books a weeklong stay at a beach-front home in Shoreham, Florida, inviting Esme’s brother, Nick, and his new husband, Ford, in hopes that the additional guests will help lighten the mood.

After a blissful first night in the vacation home, tragedy strikes, and one of the houseguests is found dead. While it’s assumed at first to be a horrific accident, it quickly becomes clear that there’s something more sinister at play, and over the course of this fast-paced, deeply chilling novella, the potential motives of each guest are revealed - until a shocking conclusion is reached.

©2020 Margot Hunt (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

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About the Creator

Margot Hunt is a USA TODAY and Amazon.com bestselling author of three novels and the Audible Original Buried Deep. Her debut psychological thriller, Best Friends Forever, which examines the complexity of female friendships against a backdrop of duplicity, was heralded as a "cleverly constructed thriller [that] kept me guessing until the very end" by Peter Swanson, and her second novel For Better and Worse was called the "best thriller of the year" by Book of the Month. The Last Affair, Hunt’s latest novel, explores an extramarital affair that ends with the murder of one of the cheated upon spouses. Learn more at MargotHunt.com.

About the Performer

Taylor Schilling is an Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress best known for her starring role as Piper Chapman in the Netflix original series, Orange is the New Black.
Recently, Schilling appeared in the Hulu anthology thriller series, Monsterland.
Schilling is set to lead in the new AMC hour-long animated primetime drama Pantheon, alongside Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, and Paul Dano. Schilling will also star in the Spectrum Original’s series, The Second Wave with Audra McDonald.
In 2019, Schilling starred in Orion Pictures’ horror thriller, The Prodigy.
Schilling appeared in the Film Arcade indie comedy, Family, which premiered at the 2018 South by South West Film Festival. Schilling also starred alongside Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, and Gabrielle Union in the Emilio Estevez-directed drama, The Public, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival.
In 2017, Schilling starred in Take Me.
In 2016, Schilling completed production on The Titan, opposite Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson.
In 2015, Schilling also appeared in Patrick Brice’s The Overnight, alongside Adam Scott and Jason Schwartzman. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Earlier that same year, Schilling completed her limited engagement run in the Classic Stage Company production of A Month in the Country, opposite Peter Dinklage.
In 2012, Schilling starred opposite Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman in the Academy Award winning film Argo. Earlier in 2012, Schilling starred opposite Zac Efron in Scott Hicks’ highly anticipated Warner Brothers film The Lucky One, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.
Taylor grew up in Massachusetts and graduated in 2006 from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting. She then studied acting in New York University's Graduate Acting Program.
She lives in New York City.

Featured Article: The Best Vacation Listens for the Dwindling Days of Summer


Warm days and lazy afternoons—there’s nothing like summer vacation. And unwinding on the deck, beside the pool, or on the beach with a good audiobook is simply one of life’s greatest pleasures. As autumn rapidly approaches, we’ve been trying to squeeze in just a little bit more summer before the leaves begin to brown. There’s still plenty of time for enjoying a vacation—and finding the perfect listen to accompany you!

What listeners say about The House on the Water

Average customer ratings
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Had me hooked from the beginning

The performance was great. The storyline even better. I couldn’t stop listening. I’ll be looking for more books from the author.

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Soooo good!

It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to a book that kept me so intrigued!! I highly recommend!

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Surprisingly good!

I was really surprised as I don’t usually get into novellas bc I usually can’t get invested in a story or with a set of characters, I actually really liked this. Quick story with fast but good character development. And twisty too!!! I really liked this one

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Margot Hunt never disappoints.....

Only gave this four stars because it was a short story and not a book.

I am a HUGE Margot Hunt fan so I was elated when I saw that a Margot Hunt title was featured in the Audible Plus collection. Strong character development, fast-paced plots, and surprise endings are "signature" Margot Hunt.

My favorite Margot Hunt book was "For Better and Worse". Looking forward to listening to new books from this author.

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great short novel

good characters but does take a little while to get going. still great and worth a listen.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Murder Mystery

This was a short story about greed, deception and friendships. This is not my first work from Margot Hunt, Buried Deep was much better. I loved the ironic ending in that one. I saw through this one very early on, so it was no surprise to me. Not bad, but not great. Buried Deep was much better.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyed this little mystery

Pretty good short story, great narration. Kind of irritating with the immediate attitude(crappy& so rude) of the police & the idea 4 adults would just be bullied into talking w/o a lawyer. EVERYONE knows u don’t do that! Other than that, nice time passer.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but predictable

If you’re looking for exciting twists and turns, this isn’t it. You can see the ending coming a mile away, but it’s still an enjoyable quick tale.

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Very interesting

Short listen- but I was hooked. I liked the reader very much. She has a great voice!

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Is there a sequel?!

Another great read with a “whodoneit” storyline. This story reads fast and gets to the point much faster than most. We need a sequel, is there one?

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