REVIEW: Those People by Louise Candlish (ARC)

Those People by Louise Candlish

Genre: Psychological thriller, domestic thriller

Read: 4th July 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 1st July 2019)

★★  1 to 2 stars

Some neighbours are the worst. Imagine living next to THOSE PEOPLE? Honestly, it would have driven me insane.

And to think that the police do not get involved in noise complaints, citing it being a council issue, is ludicrous! Here, if such a thing happened we can call the police who would then address the issue with the offending neighbours. End of story. What does the council have to do with it, really? Noise complaints are a police concern given that they are disrupting the neighbourhood and breaching the peace.

Aside from that, I felt like this was an episode of "Desperate Housewives" and, despite having enjoyed the show, this just felt like tit-for-tat and didn't convey as well on paper as it did on screen. In fact, I found every character in it annoying - except for Tuppy (stupid name for a dog).

So what can I say about THOSE PEOPLE? That that's 2 days of reading I can't get back? Behind on my NetGalley schedule already I lost 2 days to end up none the wiser?

Lowland Way is a quiet leafy suburb in South London where the neighbours are community minded. Given the description of the area, I'd say an affluent part of London. Every Sunday is "Play Out Sunday" where the street is cleared of vehicles, temporary bollards erected and signs put in place notifying others. It's a day rolled back to days of old when children used to play in the street without the fear of being bowled over by an SUV. The community had rallied to make it happen and those who lived on Lowland Way prided themselves on their community spirit.

That is, until the Booths moved into Number 1. Music played at full volume at all hours, noisy household renovations, dangerous scaffolding put in place creating an eye-sore on the street and not to mention the illegal car dealing business they run out of the house and taking up all the residents' parking spaces. It soon becomes apparent - the Booths are not welcome in Lowland Way.

Complaints are made but go unheeded and just seem to escalate the problem. The pile of rubble that adorns the entrance to the well-manicured street has only served to bring down the value of houses down.

The residents of Lowland Way think it is their job to police their neighbourhood and unite against the Booths, hoping to make them tow the line so as to restore peace to their street. But then a tragedy happens....but then it was only a matter of time.

THOSE PEOPLE is the first book I've read by Louise Candlish and I can't say that I'm thrilled by it. The premise certainly sounded far more promising than it actually was. I felt completely unconnected to any of the characters in a way that felt almost detached. And I felt no sympathy for anyone. No one in this book was remotely likable except the dog, and even he played such a small role it is hardly worth mentioning.

The plot was incredibly dull and the speed glacial. The reveals when they came were uneventful and disappointing. Really, I was that unexcited by the book that I just can't be bothered to even relate much in review.

I cannot say I would recommend THOSE PEOPLE but if you are a Louise Candlish fan I am sure you will enjoy this one, as many others seem to have. Just not me.

Another thing I found irritating is that this is a book written by a British author, set in London and published by an Australian publisher. Why, then, is it editted in American English and not UK English? Neighbor instead of neighbour, organize instead of organise. I'd expect it of a book by an American author and set in Amercia, but not a British one. But that is just me.

I would like to thank #LouiseCandlish, #NetGalley and #SimonAndSchusterAustralia for an ARC of #ThosePeople in exchange for an honest review.