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A review by marilynw
The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
4.0
The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
Despite being a very busy story, with frequent time and point of view changes, this was a book that had me looking for the next clue on every page. But, finally I just sat back and took in the story because so much is thrown at us that I realized it'd be very hard to figure anything out. There are too many moving parts, too many people, too many timelines (when memories of past events are thrown in). I didn't want my "sleuthing" to interfere with my understanding of the characters, their motivations, and their fears.
Seventeen year old Freya lives in a nice apartment with her perfect (from the outside looking in) parents, Steph and Paul. Living below them is Emma, a small business owner who has had to close up shop and who lives alone...oops, not alone because she lives with her hamster who sleeps during the day and runs on his hamster treadmill at night, keeping Emma awake. Below Emma is driving instructor, Chris, and his nurse wife, Vicky. All these people have secrets, long held secrets that they never plan to reveal. But then Freya goes missing and everyone's life is thrown into chaos and put under a microscope.
There is also the timeline of Kate, twenty five years ago. Kate is living with her mom and extremely worried about her mom's dodgy boyfriend. It's not until far into the book that we learn how all the secrets and Kate's timeline fit together. This story is like years of a soap opera thrown into the span of a week. It's very interesting, twisty, convoluted and maddening. I had great fun reading this story although I wish it could have been a bit more straightforward and not so messy with so many people and their secrets...but then that's what this story is about...secrets, lack of honesty, and how not revealing something can be the same as lying.
Publication: February 16th 2021
Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Publishing Group and Edelweiss for this ARC.
Despite being a very busy story, with frequent time and point of view changes, this was a book that had me looking for the next clue on every page. But, finally I just sat back and took in the story because so much is thrown at us that I realized it'd be very hard to figure anything out. There are too many moving parts, too many people, too many timelines (when memories of past events are thrown in). I didn't want my "sleuthing" to interfere with my understanding of the characters, their motivations, and their fears.
Seventeen year old Freya lives in a nice apartment with her perfect (from the outside looking in) parents, Steph and Paul. Living below them is Emma, a small business owner who has had to close up shop and who lives alone...oops, not alone because she lives with her hamster who sleeps during the day and runs on his hamster treadmill at night, keeping Emma awake. Below Emma is driving instructor, Chris, and his nurse wife, Vicky. All these people have secrets, long held secrets that they never plan to reveal. But then Freya goes missing and everyone's life is thrown into chaos and put under a microscope.
There is also the timeline of Kate, twenty five years ago. Kate is living with her mom and extremely worried about her mom's dodgy boyfriend. It's not until far into the book that we learn how all the secrets and Kate's timeline fit together. This story is like years of a soap opera thrown into the span of a week. It's very interesting, twisty, convoluted and maddening. I had great fun reading this story although I wish it could have been a bit more straightforward and not so messy with so many people and their secrets...but then that's what this story is about...secrets, lack of honesty, and how not revealing something can be the same as lying.
Publication: February 16th 2021
Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Publishing Group and Edelweiss for this ARC.