Book Review: "Those People" by Louise Candlish
“Those People” by Louise Candlish
Synopsis: Lowland Way is the suburban dream. The houses are beautiful, the neighbors get along, and the kids play together on weekends.
But when Darren and Jodie move into the house on the corner, they donʼt follow the rules. They blast music at all hours, begin an unsightly renovation, and run a used-car business from their yard. It doesn’t take long for an all-out war to start brewing.
Then, early one Saturday, a horrific death shocks the street. As police search for witnesses, accusations start flying—and everyone has something to hide.—Penguin Random House
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Review: We do know that Momo loves a good domestic thriller, and this one did not disappoint. Last year I read Louise Candlish’s prior novel, “Our House,” and quite enjoyed it, but this one was even more up my alley. My parents belong to a high drama HOA, and I thrive off their juicy stories—this is as though you took that and then added murder! Amazing.
When a downmarket couple inherits a home in a posh South London neighborhood, their neighbors lives are sent into an upheaval. The couple, Darren and Jodie, blast music well into the night, do their own noisy and messy renovation, and sell used cars from the home. When their babies are unable to sleep, and a neighborhood AirBnb fails due to the disruption, the middle class families of the street are unamused and wage a campaign to get the Darren and Jodie out that results in tragedy.
There’s nothing quite like being unable to rest in your own home, and I fully understand how crazy-making that can be. My downstairs neighbors in college were a collection of cretinoid monsters who threw parties at all hours and often would leave the apartment without turning off their alarms. It was a dark time for me. Anyhow, it is easy to understand how this could escalate out of control!
I found all of the families in the book very relatable, and we got enough backstory on each to really empathize with them. My only real criticism is that Darren and Jodie were a little TOO easy to hate. I feel it could have added some complexity to the story for the reader to be able to sympathize with them just a bit more.
Overall, this was a very good and enjoyable mystery: literary enough to feel good about reading, but pulpy enough to power through very quickly. I definitely recommend it!
TL;DR: A solid domestic thriller that propels you through at a quick pace. Give it a try!
If you liked this, try:
“Our House” by Louise Candlish
