Member Reviews
Could you hate your neighbor enough to kill him? A used car business in the front yard, music at all hours? Then a death that shocks the neighborhood. Fast-paced thriller.
Don’t we all have a neighbor that’s annoying or just doesn’t fit in? Here on Lowland Way, things seem perfect. Beautiful homes, children playing safely and friendly neighbors. That is, until Darren and Jodie move in. Loud music at all hours, a used car lot and a terrible attitude towards all the neighbors. As a shocking death occurs, it seems that no one in the neighborhood is above suspicion. A good plot with interesting characters. I enjoyed it very much.
3.5ish stars, rounded. While definitely an interesting neighborhood story, this one didn't have quite the same drive as Our House did last year (which, with it's very of-the-moment podcast narration approach was a well timed release). This one is excellent as a character study, but it wasn't as suspenseful as I think it was billed to be. It's hard when many characters come off as pretentious- though I do think that the fact that the majority of characters in this story are unlikable is central to the plot.
This book gets off to a slow start but once it picks up steam, it’s a fast paced nail biter. A well developed story of domestic suspense There is plenty of suspense and lots of twists. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review
This book reminds me of the show on Discovery ID Channel called Nightmare Next Door. The only difference is that show is more exciting then this book. You do feel bad for all the neighbors who have to put up with the new neighbor that is really a nuisance. It was interesting to see who the bad guy was in all of this but not enough for me to get too excited about. I just didn't like most of the neighbors. I think this concept is better left for a tv shows about a real life situation that for a book as it makes it kind of boring to read.
*I received a free copy of this book via the NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
A nice suburban neighborhood gets some new residents. The new neighbors are a disruption, and everyone seems to dislike them. When a shocking death occurs, the neighbors all seem to have something to hide.
Told with alternating points of view, where the various neighbors give their version of events. The story is told partly in flashback, with the police interviewing the neighbors and everyone recalling the events leading up to the suspicious death.
I enjoyed the premise, but was never fully drawn into the story. The relationships between the neighbors, and the reactions to the new neighbors, were intriguing but not as dramatic as I would have liked. Unfortunately, everyone was unlikable, not just “those people”. It was cleverly written, but I found it a little too predictable.
A slow-burning domestic suspense. Good for fans of Louise Candlish. I preferred Our House over this one, but they are similar reads.
I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lowland Way was the perfect place to live. It was full of families with children who got to play hopscotch and other games in the streets on Sundays when they closed the road to traffic. Everyone got along with their neighbors and enjoyed spending time together. That is, until a new couple moved in. Darren & Jodie are running a used car lot from their home. They play ear-shattering music all hours of the day and night, and their home looks like a monstrosity with all of the shoddy construction going on. Then the unthinkable happens and someone is murdered, and everyone on the street is suspect, thanks to all of the animosity.
This book alternates between the storyline and the interviews the police made during their investigation. I don't think there was a single person I didn't suspect at some point. It was a very enjoyable and engaging tale that will keep you guessing at all the secrets until the end.
I enjoyed reading Those People. A story about neighbors gone bad. A twisted tale revealing the true nature of people and how things can go from bad to worse very quickly. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. Looking forward to reading more from this Author.
I give Those People 4 stars for its twisted read.
I would recommend this book to Thriller Fans.
#ThosePeople #Netgalley
I was ready for some crazy neighbor stories! While I haven't plotted to kill any of my neighbors I generally dislike them for what really amounts to silly suburban stupid reasons. Then again I may have had some evil thoughts toward one of our previous neighbor who ran his leaf blower AT LEAST 3 times per day EVERY DAY...I swear I am not exaggerating. Unfortunately, this book didn't deliver the goods...and it was way too long (368 pages). My recommendation is to give this one a pass.⠀
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that Louise Candlish is just not an author for me. I was not a fan of Our House but wanted to give her another try before writing her off. Unfortunately, same results here - unlikeable characters and dragging plot.
Thank you to Berkley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
“Darren Booth? No, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He’s made our lives a misery from day one. He’s the proverbial neighbor from hell-and I say that as someone who’s genuinely tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, who wants to fall out with the guy next door? It destroys your life.”......
Welcome to Lowland Way, a neighborhood in the London area. Where everything is going along quite well, at least until Darren and Jodie move in. Without regards to anyone, they’re are now the worst neighbors. We can all probably relate to that at one time or another.
There’s a shocking death. Amongst the horrified neighbors some truths start coming to light. Maybe it’s no longer as wonderful as it was. Everyone has a story to tell about “Those People” on the corner. Are they true? Or maybe they’re trying to keep the inquiring eyes off of themselves.
The tale is told back and forth between the neighbors after the death over at the Booth house. Relationships begin to spiral out of control under all the pressure.
The further I got into the book, the more unraveled the neighbors were becoming. Everyone was beginning to be suspected. I liked the characters less as I went along. The ending was quite fitting for this bunch.
Thank you Louise Candlish, Netgalley, and Berkley Publishing Group.
#netgalley #amreading #psychologicalthriller #domesticthriller
Those People by Lousie Candish delves into the relationships between neighbors and how far the residents of Lowland Way will go to preserve the ideal neighborhood that they've created. Everyone gets along. On Sunday afternoons, the street is blocked to traffic and everyone moves their cars so that the children can play in the street. Then Darren and Jodie move into the house on the corner. First it's a noisy remodeling job with no respect for safety. Then they start selling junked cars from the yard, parking them up and down the street. And there's always the blaring of their music.
It all comes to a deadly end (we know that from page one) and the book works towards it with snippets of police interviews and chapters from the points of view of different neighbors. It quickly becomes clear that while Lowland Way has been a nice place to live, everyone has something simmering under the surface. I enjoyed this one.
I was disappointed in this book. Its about a man who moves into a tight neighborhood and becomes a nightmare for the residents. Eventually the neighbors hit a breaking and people start to die,
There is not one likeable character in this book. The neighbors are very annoying and the nightmare neighbor I couldn't understand his side. I was expecting for things to be told from his view point towards the end but the closest is his girlfriend. There was no suspense at all.
On the surface, Those People is a book about really bad, new neighbors and how they upset the group dynamic on a close-knit, upscale block of homes. Below the surface, we see instead the dysfunction that was there all along, within and between the four other households that are featured on prosperous Lowland Way.
The catalyst for this unveiling is the arrival of a very unsuitable, nonconforming couple to shatter the suburban harmony. Darren and Jodie are truly unsavory types who violate every group norm: They set up a car repair and resale business on a street where parking is scarce, and these derelict autos take up all the curb parking spots. Darren works on said derelict autos unashamedly half clothed, and they have no concept of noise ordinances.
These atrocities have a profound negative effect on the other families. Sleep deprivation and serious financial losses (from diminishing property values and loss of bed & breakfast guests) take their toll, but the biggest stressor is the dawning realization of the seven adults among the established neighbors that they really don't know their friends, spouses, and daily companions the way they had thought.
That's the subtext. The actual plot involves a murder, perhaps two. The story opens with a death and works back to it, from a point eight weeks earlier. We get chapters from the point of view of each of the residents, interspersed with transcripts from police interviews. Midpoint through the book, we arrive at the day of the murder, still with a mystery to solve --and now, thanks to author Louise Candlish's skillful set up, entertaining suspicions about ALL the neighbors, new and old alike.
I liked Candlish's writing style. I found only two or three of her characters sympathetic, but she did a good job of portraying their flaws and a few redeeming qualities. She handled the structural challenges well. I agree with some other reviewers that there was a point where the book lagged. Still, I found myself so engaged that I went back and re-read several sections.
This is neither a thriller nor a police procedural. It is however, a good mystery, great for those who are intrigued by the way people think and behave toward one another.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.
3.5 stars rounded upI think that Louise Candlsh is an excellent writer that is an undisputed fact. I was really anticipating this novel as I loved Our House so much. This one was just a bit harder for me to get invested in. I think part of it was that I found many of the characters personalities extremely annoying. I can appreciate their frustration with having that truly bad neighbor! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for my honest review.
Getting along with your neighbors can be exasperating, but the author pushes it to the point where it becomes unbelievable to me.
Most "good neighborhoods" have tons of regulations and limitations on noise, how to update your house, what to keep on your property and zoning laws on whether you can run a business from your home. I just found it hard to imagine that their neighborhood hardly had any enforceable rules, but it did make for an entertaining read.
As a reader, I felt more sympathetic to Those People, the new bad neighbors, than I did with the always correct, upwardly mobile couples and their precious children.
None of the characters were very likeable, so it was fun to see them be made fools of by the new comers, who really were nightmares themselves!
I think Louise Candlish went more in depth with her characters in her previous book, [book:Our House|35924499] which I devoured, but I would still recommend this book to those who liked her first one.
Nifty mystery thriller about the neighbor from hell and the neighbors who must deal with him. Lowland Way is the sort of bucolic and precious street we'd all sort of like to live on- nice expensive homes, a good place for kids, and no doubt a certain amount of annoying homeowners association stuff. However, this London street is praised for how it closes down on Sunday for kids and most of the people you'll meet are happy here. These are the 10 percent, make no mistake, so when Darren and Jodie and their cars and loud music show up, the neighbors are enraged (rightly so for a lot of it, btw). The couple who share their wall- Em and Ant (and their baby Sam) - find their lives completely disrupted, as does Sissy, who owns a B&B across the street. The brothers Finn and Ralph and their wives Tess and Naomi are frustrated and angry. Then there's a tragedy (no spoilers on who/what/how/who did it) and all bets are off. Things escalate, as they so often sadly do. This moves at a fast pace, framed by police interview notes and from the different perspectives of the neighbors. It's a well plotted one where I didn't see what was coming. Thanks to the publisher for the Arc. Perfect for the beach or travel.
Have your neighbors ever driven you completely insane? Have you ever shaken your head when you looked out your window and wished the people next door would just sell their house and leave? Have you ever logged onto your neighborhood Facebook page and wondered how the heck people can be so ridiculously self absorbed? Welcome to Louise Candlish's Those People.
This one is about a quaint little suburban street in the UK where everybody gets along. The neighbors are all friendly and happy. The kids play in the street every Sunday. The women and men congregate in their yards and everything is lovely. Until Darren and Jodie move in next door and all hell breaks loose. Think your typical loud, obnoxious, inconsiderate, awful neighbors who are so unpleasant to live next to that you question whether or not you should put a for sale sign on your front lawn. So the book is about these awful neighbors and somewhere in there is a murder mystery or two (but I won't tell you much about that because it will give away half the fun).
I really enjoyed the concept of this book. I think we can all relate to having a neighbor or two that are not our favorite people. This one had me thinking of Investigation Discovery's popular TV show Fear Thy Neighbor. The way that Louise Candlish unraveled the first half of the story was crafted wonderfully. She gave little snippets of information away at the right times, giving enough to keep me hooked while not revealing everything at once. However, right around the halfway point I started to slightly lose interest. The story slowed WAY down and seemed like it dragged on forever. I must say that I wasn't entirely surprised by the "whodunit" in the end and felt like there was a really long and drawn out series of events to get there.
There was a whole cast of characters in this book and my impression is that they were put there as red herrings to throw you off the scent and place suspicion on other characters. But in the end I found myself feeling as if those characters felt a little unresolved. Given how drawn out the rest of the story was, the ending felt a bit rushed in the sense that I was looking for a little more closure, especially with those secondary characters.
Overall, this book was just okay for me. I struggled with whether I wanted to give it 3 stars or 4 stars because there was a lot about it that I really enjoyed. But at the end of the day, as a complete package, I found myself leaning closer to 3 stars. I have a feeling this one will still be a popular read this summer so definitely check it out for yourself.
-I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Louise Candlish, and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to review.-
I wanted to like this book, I just couldn't get into the story, it didn't hook me. I will still recommend to patrons as someone with different reading preferences will probably enjoy this book.
The new neighbors are not very posh. In fact they are rude, loud and not a little dodgy. Darren and Jodie don't fit in, and they don't care. They play loud music at all hours, have started renovating a, frankly, historical icon in the neighborhood, and how did they get that house anyway? Then a sudden death shocks the whole community, and accusations turn ugly. Naturally, fingers start pointing at the offensive new couple across the street, but are they really to blame? Or, do they make excellent scapegoats?
Highly recommended!