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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
It’s the type of block that everyone wants to live on.... When you live on Lowland Way, you’re one of the privileged few who are protected from the outside by your closely bonded neighborhood association. Until one day, new neighbors move in, and they don’t play by the same rules…
Those People is the 4th book by Louise Candlish that I’ve read and I love that she has such a unique style, voice, and feel to her books that is so quintessentially Candlish. I’d describe her books as neighborhood noir—seemingly peaceful suburban streets where all of the neighbors get along, until one day it becomes clear that those residents aren’t as protected from the outside as they thought.
Candlish explores what happens when your suburban oasis is turned upside down. And most importantly, what happens to seemingly good people when they find out how fragile their lives truly are?
In Those People, we are transported to the idyllic street Lowland Way. This street made headlines and were recognized by the city for their efforts to create “Play-Out Sunday”, a day when they close their street to traffic and let the children play out on the street like their parents did way back when. But when a new neighbor moves in down the street, everything may change.
Darren and Jodie are not like the rest of the residents of Lowland Way. They play loud music at all hours of the night, they sell used cars from their front yard, and they have no interest in things like Play-Out Sunday. But when someone ends up dead, the list of suspects is as long as the resident directory!
In typical Candlish style, none of the characters are especially likeable, but they feel like real people—I could really picture them and they were developed well and quite early. The pace is fast, switching between narrators and police interviews. We see what each person is dealing with, both in terms of the new neighbors as well as behind closed doors. Candlish always plays with the fragility of a great life. It is so easy to feel protected in a bubble—get married, have kids, climb the career ladder, buy a nice house on a nice street. But everything can change so quickly...
I think you’ll find that the new neighbors bring some unattractive qualities to light in these residents, but not necessarily qualities they didn’t already possess. Lowland Way has become a pressure cooker after the new neighbors arrive, and it is only a matter of time until someone—or multiple people—pop off!
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.
Those People is the 4th book by Louise Candlish that I’ve read and I love that she has such a unique style, voice, and feel to her books that is so quintessentially Candlish. I’d describe her books as neighborhood noir—seemingly peaceful suburban streets where all of the neighbors get along, until one day it becomes clear that those residents aren’t as protected from the outside as they thought.
Candlish explores what happens when your suburban oasis is turned upside down. And most importantly, what happens to seemingly good people when they find out how fragile their lives truly are?
In Those People, we are transported to the idyllic street Lowland Way. This street made headlines and were recognized by the city for their efforts to create “Play-Out Sunday”, a day when they close their street to traffic and let the children play out on the street like their parents did way back when. But when a new neighbor moves in down the street, everything may change.
Darren and Jodie are not like the rest of the residents of Lowland Way. They play loud music at all hours of the night, they sell used cars from their front yard, and they have no interest in things like Play-Out Sunday. But when someone ends up dead, the list of suspects is as long as the resident directory!
In typical Candlish style, none of the characters are especially likeable, but they feel like real people—I could really picture them and they were developed well and quite early. The pace is fast, switching between narrators and police interviews. We see what each person is dealing with, both in terms of the new neighbors as well as behind closed doors. Candlish always plays with the fragility of a great life. It is so easy to feel protected in a bubble—get married, have kids, climb the career ladder, buy a nice house on a nice street. But everything can change so quickly...
I think you’ll find that the new neighbors bring some unattractive qualities to light in these residents, but not necessarily qualities they didn’t already possess. Lowland Way has become a pressure cooker after the new neighbors arrive, and it is only a matter of time until someone—or multiple people—pop off!
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.
Who can't relate to having a horror neighbour? Many moons ago (well, about 2012/2013), I lived in a townhouse that I owned. I had neighbours, who were renters (two parents, three kids), and it was a constant racket. Banging on the walls at all hours of the day and night. The aftermath of cooking that ended up smelling like rotting garbage after a few days, which the people on the other side of this townhouse mentioned as well. But myself and those on the other side, despite being owners, we had no rights at all. The renters did! They could do what they liked. The administrative nightmare of trying to get something done nearly sent me insane. (I ended up selling and moving.)
So I could definitely relate to many of the characters in this novel. Ralph Morgan and his wife, Naomi. Ralph's brother Finn and his wife Tess. Ant and Em Kendall, parents of an infant. Sissy Watkins, who operates an Air BNB style business. Their peaceful neighbourhood arrangement is quickly eroded by the arrival of Darren Booth and Jodie. He's inherited the house from a distant relative. Soon he's got multiple cars out front, trying to establish his business. There's constant renovation noise, and Darren and Jodie are playing pounding heavy metal music at all hours of the day and night.
Ralph, Naomi et al aren't exactly likable characters. They definitely came across as hoity-toity busybodies who get riled up if anybody dares go against what they envision for their "exclusive" enclave. Nevertheless, my sympathy definitely sided with them far more than Darren and Jodie! Tensions escalate between neighbours until tragedy inevitably occurs and the girlfriend of Sissy's son, who was visiting her, is killed when Darren's DIY scaffolding collapses on her, with him on top. However, it appears the police believe the scaffolding was tampered with. Which of the neighbours hated Darren enough to do this?
The neighbourly conflict in this book kept me hooked. While the book doesn't pass muster as a thriller, it was entertaining. Waiting to see how all this conflict and tension played out almost made me didn't care if there was some big plot twist or not. The characters and their situations were entertaining enough in their own right.
But then the book just kinds of...ends. Yes, I suppose all the important questions are answered, but it was all very anti-climactic and, well, blah. It felt as if the author hit her required word count and thought, "Cool! That's it! I'm done!" It all felt very incomplete, like a movie that suddenly ran out of film. I get the feeling it's yet another one of those books where the author wants the reader to decide how things end. Sorry, but like I've said before, when I pay $30 here in Australia for a new release book (as I did with this), I pay that $3o precisely so I don't have to do something like that! YOU wrote the book. YOU tell me how everything pans out.
This was a marked improvement on author Louise Candlish's The Swimming Pool. Nevertheless, I think I'll be skipping any further books by her.
So I could definitely relate to many of the characters in this novel. Ralph Morgan and his wife, Naomi. Ralph's brother Finn and his wife Tess. Ant and Em Kendall, parents of an infant. Sissy Watkins, who operates an Air BNB style business. Their peaceful neighbourhood arrangement is quickly eroded by the arrival of Darren Booth and Jodie. He's inherited the house from a distant relative. Soon he's got multiple cars out front, trying to establish his business. There's constant renovation noise, and Darren and Jodie are playing pounding heavy metal music at all hours of the day and night.
Ralph, Naomi et al aren't exactly likable characters. They definitely came across as hoity-toity busybodies who get riled up if anybody dares go against what they envision for their "exclusive" enclave. Nevertheless, my sympathy definitely sided with them far more than Darren and Jodie! Tensions escalate between neighbours until tragedy inevitably occurs and the girlfriend of Sissy's son, who was visiting her, is killed when Darren's DIY scaffolding collapses on her, with him on top. However, it appears the police believe the scaffolding was tampered with. Which of the neighbours hated Darren enough to do this?
The neighbourly conflict in this book kept me hooked. While the book doesn't pass muster as a thriller, it was entertaining. Waiting to see how all this conflict and tension played out almost made me didn't care if there was some big plot twist or not. The characters and their situations were entertaining enough in their own right.
But then the book just kinds of...ends. Yes, I suppose all the important questions are answered, but it was all very anti-climactic and, well, blah. It felt as if the author hit her required word count and thought, "Cool! That's it! I'm done!" It all felt very incomplete, like a movie that suddenly ran out of film. I get the feeling it's yet another one of those books where the author wants the reader to decide how things end. Sorry, but like I've said before, when I pay $30 here in Australia for a new release book (as I did with this), I pay that $3o precisely so I don't have to do something like that! YOU wrote the book. YOU tell me how everything pans out.
This was a marked improvement on author Louise Candlish's The Swimming Pool. Nevertheless, I think I'll be skipping any further books by her.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This was another book that had been sitting on my TBR pile for too long. I was looking for a book for the psychological thriller book club at work and having previously read Our House I thought this would be perfect.
Louise is excellent at taking something so real and turning it sinister. I found myself hating Darren Booth and his girlfriend Jodie. I was furious with all their goings-on and their lack of respect and common decency. I can honestly say that if I had lived down that street I would be just as angry as the characters in this book. I felt so bad for them. I have a neighbour who can be quite noisy which has been irritating during lockdown but let me tell you I feel like a fraud for complaining about him when I read this book.
I can't say that I liked all of the residents on the street if I am honest. I found some of them a bit snobbish and while Darren and Jodie are the neighbours from hell that no one wants I can't say that if the rest were my neighbours that I'd be making friends any time soon either! That being said they did have my sympathies.
Louise does a stellar job of creating mystery and intrigue. I spent so long trying to work out who it was that had been killed and of course who had been the one to do it. It was so well done. I was not expecting what happened at all. It was a very addictive read that I could not put down.
Louise is excellent at taking something so real and turning it sinister. I found myself hating Darren Booth and his girlfriend Jodie. I was furious with all their goings-on and their lack of respect and common decency. I can honestly say that if I had lived down that street I would be just as angry as the characters in this book. I felt so bad for them. I have a neighbour who can be quite noisy which has been irritating during lockdown but let me tell you I feel like a fraud for complaining about him when I read this book.
I can't say that I liked all of the residents on the street if I am honest. I found some of them a bit snobbish and while Darren and Jodie are the neighbours from hell that no one wants I can't say that if the rest were my neighbours that I'd be making friends any time soon either! That being said they did have my sympathies.
Louise does a stellar job of creating mystery and intrigue. I spent so long trying to work out who it was that had been killed and of course who had been the one to do it. It was so well done. I was not expecting what happened at all. It was a very addictive read that I could not put down.
This wasn’t a BAD book, but I don’t think it was quite as exciting as all the reviews made it out to be. It took me two days to read which is the longest it’s taken me to read a book in the last few weeks, and it’s because I just wasn’t gripped? It was a slow start, then there was a twist in the middle and I think that was the most exciting part of the book, then the second half wasn’t very exciting. I think the end was quite underwhelming, I’d like to have seen more done there. Like I say, a decent book, just definitely not going to be my new favourite.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes