Those People by Louise Candlish

A My Chronicle Book Box review: Those People by Louise Candlish

I love the term suburban noir and domestic noir to describe Louise’s work. She takes us behind closed doors and reveals all the dirty secrets. Her first novel Our House, won the British Book Award: best book crime and thriller 2019 and in my humble opinion this book is just as good.

This book was included in our August 2019 Crime & Mystery box.

Read on for the full My Chronicle Book Box review...

My Chronicle Book Box Review: Louise's thoughts...

The novel is set in the pricey, middle class suburbs of London where there are certain expectations on neighbourly etiquette. The story explores what happens on one particular street, Lowland Way, when a new problem tenant, Darren Booth,  moves in upsetting the delicate balance.

It is written from multiple points of view so that we see in to the hearts and minds of the families in the street. Louise Candlish is an acute observer and shows us their priorities, fears and frustrations. I like to think of myself as naturally curious, but you might also call it nosy and I really enjoyed seeing behind closed doors to all the guilty secrets the households do not want to share with their neighbours! Louise Candlish plays with stereotypes in the book and then introduces twists and revelations you never expect.

I love the use of transcripts from the interviews the residents have with the police. They are particularly effective because for much of the book the reader doesn't know quite what the police are investigating. You just know it's something serious.

The question is which resident has gotten rid of Darren Booth and how far did they go? Has one of these up right, responsible citizens committed murder?

I was delighted both that Louise was able to sign our first edition copies AND with the exclusive interview she gave us. We asked Louise to share with us 5 things she would like her readers to know - I bet you didn't know Louise is a big heavy metal fan did you?

Hi, I'm Louise the founder of My Chronicle Book Box and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post.

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