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A review by faysieh
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish
5.0
I listened to the audio version of this book.
I am a fan of all Louise Candlish's books, so whether I read them or listen to them, the reading experience is always top-notch.
This particular tale had me hooked from the very beginning to the very end. Set across 2012 and 2013 and located in Lime Park Road, South London, we enter the house at number 40, now occupied by Joe and Christy Davenport but only recently vacated by Jeremy and Amber Fraser.
Christy is made redundant very quickly and Joe has been promoted to partner, working long hours, so Christy fills her time people watching from her window. She can't quite understand the dynamics between the neighbours, especially when they are less than friendly towards her, and even more so when no-one turns up for their welcome drinks evening.
I loved the flitting back and forth between the two years, hearing the story unfold as told by the two central female characters, Christy and Amber. There is a lot of suspicion, lots of hidden secrets and the big question is why did the Frasers, having spent a fortune renovating their house, up and leave within the year?
Christy embarks upon a personal quest to understand and in doing so stirs up the past in a way which unsettles the residents of Lime Park Road. We are treated to Candlish's trademark analysis of human relationships and how obsessions can rule us. All very riveting!
The beautiful scenery and setting descriptions and the vivid voices of the two narrators capture the minutiae of domestic daily life and the heady, destructive powers of attraction. The unbelievable nature of one woman's ability to lie and get away with it, is astounding and there are some deliciously dark aspects to the novel, by way of next door neighbour, journalist Rob Whalen. I became desperate to know why the Frasers had left and as the secrets unravel, there are plenty of small connections and little twists to delight the reader.
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers is about addiction and how lies can escalate to the point of ruining a person's reputation. However, I am not lying when I declare I became addicted to the storyline!
A book I can highly recommend to others
I am a fan of all Louise Candlish's books, so whether I read them or listen to them, the reading experience is always top-notch.
This particular tale had me hooked from the very beginning to the very end. Set across 2012 and 2013 and located in Lime Park Road, South London, we enter the house at number 40, now occupied by Joe and Christy Davenport but only recently vacated by Jeremy and Amber Fraser.
Christy is made redundant very quickly and Joe has been promoted to partner, working long hours, so Christy fills her time people watching from her window. She can't quite understand the dynamics between the neighbours, especially when they are less than friendly towards her, and even more so when no-one turns up for their welcome drinks evening.
I loved the flitting back and forth between the two years, hearing the story unfold as told by the two central female characters, Christy and Amber. There is a lot of suspicion, lots of hidden secrets and the big question is why did the Frasers, having spent a fortune renovating their house, up and leave within the year?
Christy embarks upon a personal quest to understand and in doing so stirs up the past in a way which unsettles the residents of Lime Park Road. We are treated to Candlish's trademark analysis of human relationships and how obsessions can rule us. All very riveting!
The beautiful scenery and setting descriptions and the vivid voices of the two narrators capture the minutiae of domestic daily life and the heady, destructive powers of attraction. The unbelievable nature of one woman's ability to lie and get away with it, is astounding and there are some deliciously dark aspects to the novel, by way of next door neighbour, journalist Rob Whalen. I became desperate to know why the Frasers had left and as the secrets unravel, there are plenty of small connections and little twists to delight the reader.
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers is about addiction and how lies can escalate to the point of ruining a person's reputation. However, I am not lying when I declare I became addicted to the storyline!
A book I can highly recommend to others