"Those People" by Louise Candlish is About Suburban Neighbors in London

Those People by Louise Candlish is about a close-knit suburban neighborhood in London.  Ralph and Naomi are sort of the "unofficial" community leaders with three kids and two dogs.  Naomi and Tess, Naomi's sister-in-law and next door neighbor, got the street to have "Play Out Sundays" where no one parks or drives on the street so kids can play freely in the street--sort of like a big block party every week!  All is well until Darren and Jodie move in to house #1 because they do not follow the "rules."  They play loud music at night, have constant noise while renovating their house during the day, and have lots of vehicles parked in their yard and on the street!  This causes quite a stir and several neighbors would love to see them leave.  When their old scaffolding collapses, killing a pregnant daughter-in-law of one of their neighbors, a police investigation is started and neighbors are suspected of sabotaging the scaffolding!

This book held my interest all through.  At first I thought the title referred to the new neighbors, but by the time I finished, I think it refers to the close-knit neighbors who were constantly finding fault with Darren and Jody.  At any rate, the interactions among the neighbors were well done and although I was able to guess who it was the messed up the scaffolding hoping that Darren would get hurt, I was surprised at who actually attempted to kill him.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review and was glad I liked it!  I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Big Little Lies or crime investigations.  This book will be on sale June 11, 2019.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 30:  Can you believe this place?"  Darren said to Jodie as the sound of Sam's screams came pouring through the Kendalls' open door.  "Their kids are going mental, but they can't handle a bit of music."

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"The Woman in the Window" by A. J. Finn

In The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, Anna lives alone.  She loves to watch old movies, drink, remember old times and spy on her neighbors!  One day she sees something terrible, but is an old lady who mixes booze and pills to be believed?

Teaser from page 70:  And suddenly I'm rushing down the stairs; suddenly I'm back in the dark of the hall, my bare feet on the tiles, my hand on the knob.  Anger grips me by the throat; my sight is swimming.

This book is on the New York Times Bestseller List and now I know why!  Anna is an enjoyable main character and as you read along, you are not sure if Anna is in her right mind or not.  I enjoyed it a lot!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is simply all about a 59-yr-old man called Ove who is brokenhearted because his wife died and he feels useless since he retired.  He is quite a character and is actually a lovable, crotchety old man who lives in a little community that he sort of takes responsibility for.  He desperately wants to join his wife so tries committing suicide, but it seems something always comes up that spoils his plans--life happens in spite of himself.  The more I read, the better I liked Ove.

This book is really good!  I liked Ove so much, partly because he reminded me of my dad and husband in some ways.  The chapters are short and give pictures of different moments in Ove's life jumping back and forth from the present to the past.   There are many tender moments and some funny things as well which makes this book very real to life.  I loved how gradually Ove formed relationships with those around him, even the stray cat who was practically starving and almost died.  This was a tear jerker for me because the ending was so sweet.  I'm sure this is one that I will not soon forget!  I highly recommend it!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"The Mystery Box" by Eva Pohler

The Mystery Box by Eva Pohler is a suspenseful read that slowly builds, beginning with Yvette, a bored housewife.  One day Yvette meets her strange and mysterious neighbor, Mona, who lives in the house behind her when Yvette delivers a UPS package to Mona that had Yvette's address on it.  Mona begins telling Yvette her incredible life story.  Day after day, Yvette agrees to come and hear more.  Mona confides that she fell in love with a professor who had connections with the Taliban and had kept her prisoner.   Yvette is shocked when she finally realizes why Mona is telling her all this--it's not just because she is lonely.

I thought this was interesting right from the start but Yvette choosing to stay behind to hear more of Mona's story rather than join her family for a vacation didn't seem very realistic.  Yvette took her family for granted and I liked how once her life got shaken up, she yearned for things to go back to how they were before.  I didn't like Mona much at the beginning because she was engaged to a nice guy but cheated on him, falling for Ahmed Jaffar instead.  
(Karen's review, 4 stars)    

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