Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Book Review -Those People; Louise Candlish

 

TITLE/AUTHORThose People; Louise Candlish

PUBLISHER: Berkley

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2019

GENRE: Fiction / Domestic Suspense

FORMAT:  eGalley PP/LENGTH: 370 pp.

SOURCE: Net Galley

SETTING(s): An upscale neighborhood in South London, U.K.


ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: What's a neighborhood of seemingly peaceful people to do when the new people on the block disrupt that friendly mix?

BRIEF REVIEW: Someone has died in a terrible accident as this novel opens, was it an accident or something more sinister?  As the police begin to interview the neighbors as to what transpired leading up to the tragedy, readers begin to learn more about each neighbor as well as the newbies: Darren & Jodie Booth who inherited the house next door eight weeks earlier.  

Haven't we all had an annoying neighbor at one time or another? It was easy to dislike the new couple, at least early on. The Booths turned the lovely street into what looked like a used car lot out front. The place was a construction zone with extensive renovations happening and loud music playing to name a few of the annoyances. When neighbors try to voice their issues in a civilized manner, nothing changes. 

This is a story where class divide comes into play.  Some neighbors seemed to feel they were better than the new people, especially when they saw their unwritten rules to conform ignored.  The story was pretty good and had a lot of potential but, I thought it could have been better.  I found it hard to keep all of the neighbors, as well as their various issues and secrets straight.  It would have been nice to have a feel where each of them lived on the street in relationship to each other.  If you enjoy domestic thrillers/suspense stories, you might want to add "Those People" to your list. 

RATING: 3.5/5 stars

MEMORABLE QUOTES: “It was in her hand, as everyone’s was these days, as if phones were dialysis machines that could not be out of reach without life-threatening consequences.” 

21 comments:

  1. This sounds like it has potential, but needed some cleaning up or expansion to make it more cohesive. But, a good thriller is always a fun read.

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  2. It does sound good, yes, we've all had those neighbors.

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    1. Years ago we had one that lived next door in the late 1980s and parked a tractor trailer out front UGH

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  3. I read a previous book by the author and felt the same.

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  4. Oh, this is right up my alley but yes, it would be helpful to know where they are proximity wise. I like to keep track of my characters and get a good feel for them. I love the title. Ha!

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    1. LOL - I do like neighbor stories, especially nosy neighbors but, this one needed some work.

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  5. Sounds like a map on the end papers would have been perfect so you know where all the neighbors live!

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  6. In theory I like the sound of this but I've also had really terrible neighbors in the past (whose front yard also looked like a used car lot but that was the least of the problems) so I'm not I could really connect with that family at all.

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    1. Katherine, yes, we had one that lived next door in the late 1980s, early 90's who parked a tractor trailer out front UGH

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  7. We have had three different families living in the house next door during the 9 years we have lived in our current home. Thankfully the most recent one, who bought the house so may stay a while, are fitting in nicely.

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    1. Gotta thank your lucky stars when you get good neighbors LOL

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  8. Sounds interesting, especially since a similar thing happened in one of our old neighborhoods back in the early 80s. Things can go really bad in a heartbeat in that kind of longterm conflict, and I learned some things about some of my neighbors I really didn't want to know.

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    1. Sam, we had one that lived next door in the late 1980s, early 90's who parked a tractor trailer out front when he got home from work - not my idea of a "company car" LOL.

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  9. I've enjoyed two of the author's books so I'll definitely add this one onto my list. Bad neighbours are a huge headache in reality, but I don't mind reading about them in fiction though. ;p

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    1. Oh, I only thought she had one other book, I need to give her another chance some time.

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