I liked the author's writing style of having the story being told via different character's perspectives. The plot moved along at a good pace. This was an enjoyable read.

This was an enjoyable read - I felt the characters were well-defined and the plot was engaging, with a good twist that I didn't see coming! There were points were I felt the pace dragged a little, where I had to push through to get back into the action - I also would have liked to have known more about Aggie, she didn't feel as vivid to me as the other characters and I struggled to understand why they were so keen to find out the perpetrator, besides boredom. But overall a fun read!

'The Lonely Hearts Crime Club' is an apt description for the characters in this book and the synopsis was interesting and so I picked this up.

This book took a very long time for me to get through. I think it was mostly because the first 30% or so was comprised mostly of many character studies back-to-back with very little plot progression. And it would have been useful had it gotten me interested in them when the second act began.

Don’t get me wrong the story of dysfunctional residents of a high rise banding together to solve the murder of a beloved neighbor was interesting but it felt a bit flat. After all the descriptions, the characters were rushed through their arcs. The murder mystery itself was intriguing and kept me guessing though. The pay off was alright because I found the culprit's character to be the most well rounded and interesting but the misdirections could've been developed a bit better. I really wanted to like Ethan, Ella, Birdie, and William and they had their shining moments and I know they weren’t the most likable of characters but it did make me sympathize with them with how they were trying to cope with the cards they'd been dealt.

Nevertheless, it was a light-hearted mystery-thriller without much need for complications and overthinking so it was easy to get through once I got through the first one-third.

I would like to give a huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was instantly drawn to this book when I first read the title, anything that has the word “crime” in it will interest me. And I’m always in the mood for a mystery, but this novel wasn’t as good I thought it would be.

The first chapter was really interesting and I love the way it was written, in a mysterious and unrevealing way, so I thought that I would really enjoy The Lonely Hearts Crime Club. I didn’t really. The first half of the book was boring and slow which was really disappointing after the first chapter. The first half of the book was spent introducing the characters and their bad pasts and problems, which didn’t really bother me until it went on for way too long. That’s one major problem I had with the novel. Another is the characters. There were four main characters. Ella: a pregnant alcoholic, Birdie: a failed actress, William: a vulnerable you who had ASD, and Ethan: a cameraman. From time to time, I found a couple of them annoying.

The second half of the book was when the characters came together to solve the crime and it’s when the mystery started, which I actually enjoyed. It was really hard to find out who the bad guy was, there were many suspects that the characters investigated but they all said they didn’t do it. So it was kinda confusing and there wasn’t much to go off of. But the ending was definitely a shocker. Who could have thought that that person was the bad guy?!?!

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, but I still recommend it because I know there are others who would. Overall I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

3.5 STARS

This was a slow starter for me. There are lots of characters to sort through. A pregnant alcoholic, a failed actress, a cameraman with a secret, and a youngster come together when an elderly neighbor woman is attacked and left for dead.

They are the misfits that come together in their quest for answers ... answers they might not like. Everyone lies ... even to themselves.

I have to admit ... this was a slow starter for me. Many characters are introduced one right after the other without a clue on how they connect. This is surely a mystery. But .. the more I read, the more involved I became in their lives. I found myself unable to put this one down. The ending was quite unexpected.

Many thanks to the author / Blackbird Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this well-written mystery. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I enjoyed reading this book and once I had adapted to the style of the book, I became fascinated with the tale and had to finish it. Recommended to those who enjoy this genre.

While I enjoyed the idea of this book, the execution wasn’t as good as it could have been. There were times I skimmed because I didn’t care about a part or a character. I never felt connected to or concerned about any of the characters. The author tried to do some character development with chapters from each’s perspective and background details. I still couldn’t connect.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s a quick read. Spent about 2 hours reading this. The book spans over a short amount of time, but you can see the character growth especially William. Having 4 POV works well in this book. Half of the book is getting to now these 4 people and their background, the remaining 50 is them interacting with each other and watching the story unfold. It’s pretty much straight forward until near the end. A small surprise near the end. Worth reading if you want a quick read.

I really like this book, written with each character given their version what happened, the mystery of the victim becomes, the side story. As I read, I became more and more entangled in the lives of these people living in shelter accommodation. The mystery almost stopped being important and the individual lives took over.
The ending brings it back to the mystery, but one can't stop wanting more about the people.
Well done, well written and intriguing.

I didn't care for it. I did enjoy the multiple perspectives, but it simply didn't read like a mystery. The first 3/4s of the book was so slow, and while it did pick up in the last quarter, it felt like the pacing was off and it just rushed to the (admittedly interesting and surprising) close.

very interesting cast of characters with focus on mental illness and how it affects everyday life. the crime part of the book gets subdued in favor of a more character focused approaxh, which makes it a lovely read. it is the kind of book you wanna finish in one sitting and might keep you from falling asleep at a reasonable time, but it works wonders in exploring how different personalities can work together, the idea of loneliness in a crowd is a great motivator and through these MCs, we can feel the big city anonimity upside and downfall.

This was a really slow burner. The story is told from the perspective of four characters, which I usually quite like, and Bullock did a good job delving into the minds of the characters.
The first part of the book was based around these characters' back stories, with the attack on their neighbour more being a side plot that was loosely holding things together.
As the book progressed, we learned a lot more about the characters and why they were drawn together, even feeling sorry for them.
Ultimately though, I felt as though the action was all crammed into a very short space at the end and could have done with a more leading role earlier on in the book. We're also left with some loose ends with some of the characters, and I think an epilogue would have helped to tie everything together nicely.

Overall, not a bad read and easy to get into, but somewhat forgettable and one I probably won't remember I've read in a year or two.

Yeah, I love me a book with the word crime in the title, so of course, the title of this book spoke to me before the actual synopsis did. So as soon as I managed to get it, I started reading it without too many clues of what is going to happen, because sometimes I choose books after an elaborate synopsis analysis and other times the book catches my eye and I read it without caring much about what it is, I read it just because it has a cool name or a pretty cover.

Lonely Hearts Crime Club by Tanya Bullock is nothing more than the title says and, speaking of which, this is such a spot-on title. It might be a tad long, but it contains the quintessence of the whole thing. Bonus points from me to that!

What is it actually about, you might ask. Well...

It all starts with the attack of the nice old lady from the nineteenth floor, Aggie, who is left to die after being beaten and strangled by a mysterious redheaded man. Ella and William, two of the four members of the Lonely Hearts Crime Club, they both saw the attacker leaving the building, but neither really saw his face. Aggie gets into a coma, while the lovely LHCC members start an investigation on their own. After a few days, Aggie awakes, but her mind is troubled and she says something to Birdie that, at first, sounds like nonsense, but then it just gets to complicate the whole amateur investigation set by the four. From that point on, the situation gets more and more confusing and also dangerous, because, well, they are trying to hunt down an attacker and a possible criminal.

What I can say that I really didn’t like about this book is that it was too focused on presenting the days in the life of the four and it was less focused on the actual thing that was the mysterious crime, at least until a certain point, way past the half of the book.

On the bright side, despite all I have said above, I did like the writing style. Tanya Bullock is a talented describer of circumstances and also, may I add, the witty British language used by her was there and out and about! Well, this is something that I really enjoyed as I myself speak in a British accent and sometimes tend to slang too much. You haven't a bloody clue how refreshing is the feeling of seeing colloquial British English in a book.

„The young man clamped both hands over his eyes, like an infant playing peek-a-boo. The childish gesture filled Ella with pity.” 

Tanya Bullock presents to us, not one, not two, but four different social issues, trying to make us understand the struggles that come with them and I think this is one major idea in this book and I applaud that. All in all, setting aside the long introduction into the actual crime and the fact that something felt like missing (at least for me), the book did speak some actual social truth. So, either if you’ll want to read it for the mystery part or for the socially-orientated part, it is a good reading that is worth a shot, at least as an encouragement for some future works! And also, make sure you read it until the end because there is a nice twist!

And now, to end my speech in a powerful note, I’d like to insert here the biggest piece of truth from the whole book:

„My pride hurts more than my head.”

I love reads by Tanya Bullock, why? Because they’re just like a box of chocolates, “you never know what your gonna get”
This is so gloriously true, the storylines are such that , not only do you want to keep on reading but you NEED to keep on reading. It’s rivetting!
The characters in The Lonely Hearts Crime Club take you in to their homes and their confidence. So .... who on earth could it have been that would ever want to hurt Aggie? Could it really be any of our well known favourite people, someone they know?
The characters TOTALLY make this book absolutely 100% they move about in your life as if you are moving about in theirs, living with them .
One thing I have learned about work by Ms Bullock is never try and guess the end just read the book and let it into your soul “sigh”
THEN you will feel the impact of the full story.
No spoilers from me but do read the blurb to prepare yourself. It could come as a shock .
I will buy this book as gifts for Birthdays and Christmas , it is a definite favourite and one that a lot of people will call ‘their’ book.

This ended up being a fun story with a good twist, which I really enjoyed. However, I should mention I almost didn't get to the fun part of the story. This author did a great job with character development as a whole, but she spent the first third of the book just developing characters and not furthering the story at all. Some of the character pieces felt irrelevant and didn't end up adding to the story at all. The character of William was the one whose development had the best integration into the story, while Ethan's backstory ended up including mostly scenes and details that didn't feel like it added to the plot. I feel like a shift in the pacing really could have taken this one from good to great. Once I got into the meat of the story (about 1/3 of the way in), the story shifted into a fast read with a lot of great elements. Overall, this ended up being a worthwhile cozy mystery.

3.5/5

The beginning was really slow but the writing is really good, so it kept me curious about the mystery that occurred on the 19th floor in an apartment block. The perspective switches between four characters, the chapters are not too lengthy and therefore made reading this one super quick. The characters are partly developed. I wish the author dug deeper into their past. A memory here, a thought there but overall very shallow. You can grasp the reasons behind their behavior and character but they still felt flat to me. Since they formed this sort of crime club, I was hoping for more suspense, but was let down. The mystery solving wasn't really exciting although the end did surprise me. It feels like this book has quite the potential but was sloppy towards the finish line. The building up took too long compared to the cramped and rushed end. Nevertheless, a nice and easy read.

The cast of characters for this book were very interesting in the fact that all of them are severely flawed. When combined they formed a group of misfits similar to those of The Breakfast Club or The Sandlot. Each person brought something different to the "team." The main characters are listed below



Ella-pregnant, 3rd trimester, recovering alcoholic, on her own
Ethan-film maker, orphan, history of anger and hurt
Birdie-failed actress, broke/no job, abandoned by only family member (daughter)
William-autistic, first time living alone as an adult
Mr. Jenkins-angry caretaker
Ted-social worker for Ella, previous social worker for Aggie (still visits her)
Christine-Aggie's sister
Aggie-Victim, mentally handicapped, sweet towards everyone
Once Aggie is attacked, Ella decides to pair with Ethan to find the attacker. Birdie and William eventually join the team in an attempt to find anyone who would have bad feelings towards Aggie. This leads them to discover a deep family secret covered up by Christine AND Ted. The end of the book is truly shocking, and is one ending I never saw coming.



I enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed. The emotions of the different characters were accurate, and I found myself rooting for them to find the attacker. There is a bit of a love connection between Ethan and Ella, and I ended up wanting them to end up together to form a happy family. The family secret was truly disturbing and quite sad. This book pulled at my heartstrings. I went from pity for the family secret to anger and shock upon finding out who attacked Aggie. Overall, this was a fast but great read. I can't wait until this is released to see how others felt reading it. It's going to be very hard to keep the family secret to myself until then! 💙



🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars

For a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, this mystery involving tenants in an apartment building is disturbing yet a read I couldn’t put down.

3 and 1 / 2 stars

This book has a collection of isolated and lonely people.

There is Birdie, an aging actress, who is so stuck on herself that she doesn't see that her behavior is sabotaging her life. There is Ella who is a pregnant alcoholic who until recently lived on the streets. She is afraid of everything and is mourning the loss of her friends on the street. She loves her unborn baby though. And William who is a young man who is very OCD – perhaps even a little on the Asperger's continuum. This is his first time living on his own. And, lastly, Ethan who is a cameraman who films weddings mostly for his livlihood. He lives with and is tortured by his own demons. They all live in the same building. Something has happened to Aggie, a neighbor of theirs.

Mixed in with these misfits is Ted. Ted is a social worker with nefarious plans. His motives are mysterious. He is Birdie, Ella and Aggie's social worker. And he has a secret.

Ella ropes the other three into assisting with an investigation of who attacked Aggie and why. Along the way, they learn profound truths about themselves and their new friends.

The first third of this book moves really slowly. I almost gave up a couple of times. I stuck with it, however, and it got much better and more interesting. I enjoyed it in the end – and what an ending! The writing is not bad and the plotting is linear and follows a logical path. I was very sad to see William move back home though. I never did warm to Birdie. Ella and Ethan were interesting and nice to get to know. This is my first Tanya Bullock book, and I do believe that I'll take a look into her other novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Blackbird Books for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review.

The title of this book really appealed to me and when the description was not quite what I expected I was intrigued.

Set in a London towerblock, an unlikely group of neighbours, each one dealing with their own addiction and mental health problems, team up to solve the mystery of who has left a neighbour for dead after a vicious attack.

Each chapter is told from a different perspective and it takes a few chapters to get going, but the voices are clear and distinct and before long I was immersed in their lives. I absolutely did not see the ending coming.

The friendship and tower block community are the stand out part of this novel, and the character stayed with me after I had finished reading.

Thank you Blackbird, Tanya Bullock and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.