Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for gifting me an early copy. Below is my honest review.

First, I have to say - I love the cover!

This is the author's debut novel, as most of her writing career has been screenwriting. I'm glad she branched out because I really enjoyed this debut.

The setting was fantastic. I love a good isolated mystery/thriller, and this one definitely was an intriguing locale. It's a tiny town in Alaska. There are multiple buildings, but most of those are closed down, and the people of the town all live in one giant condo building. There are tunnels to outer structures as well. Honestly, it's the perfect setting for a creepy thriller.

The setup was also fantastic - both the introduction of the mystery (body parts scattered on the beach!) and the introduction of the main players.

My only complaint is that the killer's identity became pretty evident, but the way the ending took turn after turn, it's not really a very big complaint!

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this one. Definitely recommended, and will absolutely pick up the sequel when it releases.

This one surprised me. I considered DNF this book but I’m glad I didn’t. It got to a point that I didn’t want to put it down. I thought for sure the mole would be JB just because he was a character I was rooting for. The ending BLEW MY MIND. Is this going to be a series? You can’t leave me hanging.

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita is an isolated mystery taking place in a small Alaskan town in which all of the residents live in one building called the Davidson Condos. We follow multiple perspectives: a detective Cara Kennedy, a young girl who lives in the town Amy, and Lonnie, a woman who lives in the town and takes care of her pet moose. This mystery gets going when Amy finds body parts that have washed up on the shore of an iceberg. With the only way in and out blocked, Detective Kennedy must figure out whose body parts they are and why they're there.

I found this book to be just OK. The mystery was good and kept me entertained, but there were several elements that were told to the readers with a lack of the intensity that I would've liked. I also found that some storylines were wrapped up quite quickly in the end. I didn't believe the romance element either.

I enjoyed the setting and the isolated feel of the story. It would be great to read during the cold winter or a snowstorm!

All in all, I felt like the baseline plot and character storylines were good but needed more development to really engage the reader. I felt like I could tell this was a debut book, which is OK! Writing a book is hard work. I would be interested to see what Yamashita writes in the future as she gets more comfortable with the novel writing format since the "bones" of this book were overall entertaining.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a digital advance copy of City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita via NetGalley. City Under One Roof is scheduled for release on January 10, 2023.

City Under One Roof begins with Detective Cara Kennedy as she begins to investigate severed body parts that have washed up on the shores of a small, isolated Alaska town. A blizzard strands Cara in the town, locking both her and her suspects in together. Cara finds herself facing both a cast of potentially dangerous locals and her own past.

Yamashita does a good job in this novel of trapping us along with Cara. There is a sense throughout of both cold and claustrophobia. The tight space of the novel did lead to some bumps in the narrative, especially early in the story. As Cara is working to get her investigation moving, the setting provides little room for variation. This lead to what felt like repetition of events, as well as inconsistencies in timing. Toward the end of the novel, the sense of repetition disappeared, as some additional locations and storylines opened up. With this big shift in the last quarter of the story, the writing began to feel a bit rushed, with events piling on each other without being fully developed. There was also a bit of a speculative element woven into the novel that felt out of place in the otherwise reality-based story.

The story is told by three women with very different points of view. We have Cara (the detective), the teenage girl who discovers a body part on the beach, and the local eccentric (in a town full of people who have chosen to live in this remote village). This blend of characters gives the reader a much fuller view of the story than we would have with only the detective’s point of view. However, I did not feel that the three women were equally developed in the novel. Cara is relatively well developed, but I found myself wanting a better understanding of the other two.

Overall, City Under One Roof is a bit of an isolation thriller blended with a detective/mystery novel. While there was a feeling of some story elements not being fully completed, I did enjoy the overall story.

A solid crime detective story that I would love to see turned into a series. Cara Kennedy is called to a case to a small town in Alaska after body parts wash up on the shore. Her motivates to being there may not be all professional though. The stakes become even higher after a blizzard cuts the only road out of town off. This atmospheric mystery was hard for me to put down. Everyone in this small town lives under one roof, in a housing complex that I imagine is like apartments. The residents are all kind of quirky and all hiding secrets of their own. The novel is told through three points of view. The teenager who found the body parts, the out-of-town detective there to investigate and Lonnie, who I loved as a character and loved the way her chapters were written. She has a troubled mind, and you really get to be in her brain for the chaos that it is. There were parts of the story that I may not have enjoyed, in particular, the path the plot took towards the end of the book, when a group of characters were introduced made for a bit of a convoluted storyline. It still was very well written and compulsive. I also would have loved to have more development of the quirky side characters that lived in the building. Overall, a great read, especially one to read on a cold winter night. I do really hope we get to see detective Cara Kennedy reappear in future novels.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in trade for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

We are dropped right into the action as Amy Lin, a teenager living in the (fictional) Alaskan town of Point Mettier is being interviewed after finding a severed hand and foot that has washed up on shore….

Though disturbing, the 205 residents aren’t overly concerned, as they ALL live in the same high rise building, the Dave-Co and everyone is accounted for.

But then, Cara Kennedy, a detective from Anchorage arrives-not sold on the theory that the body parts belong to someone who committed suicide…

She is investigating to see if there is a connection to another case from her neighboring city of Anchorage, and the residents ARE NOT happy that she is here. Especially when the tunnel, which is only way in and out of Point Mettier, becomes blocked by an avalanche and she has to move into the Dave-Co until it can be cleared.

The reason? Everyone who chooses to live in this “city under one roof” endures the sub zero temperatures of the eight month long Winter, not because it’s a great place to live-but because it’s a great place to hide from their secrets.,

With the wind howling in the elevator shafts, and the rumor of ghosts, they are rarely forced to live beside an outsider-and they prefer it that way.

The residents are QUIRKY, and they look out for each other and for Moose Lady Lonnie. who watched her mother get killed by an abusive boyfriend when she was a child, and watched the mother of a young moose get killed by hunters. She hasn’t mentally been the same since.

Lonnie adopted the moose, named him Denny, and is dedicated to protecting him from all of the bad men out there. During tourist season, visitors like to pose for photos with Denny, and the town makes sure that the money earned from these photos provide Lonnie and Denny with everything that they need.

She uses words to try and make sense of the dangerous World around her-and I enjoyed having her viewpoint included. She knew the storm outside would bring trouble to her door….Storm-blast, gale, blizzard, gust, squall, and as far as she is concerned, that trouble is Detective Kennedy.

Cara must team up with local police officer Joe Barkowski, to solve the possible murder, and protect the residents from an outside force-and she may just get some closure of her own in the process.

This ATMOSPHERIC, CLAUSTROPHOBIC debut novel, from Iris Yamashita, the Academy Award nominated writer for the movie LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA , directed by Clint Eastwood will be hitting shelves soon, if you are craving something as unique as the great State of Alaska. (January 10, 2023)

3.75 rounded up!

THANK YOU to Berkley for the gifted copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

This was a debut thriller by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter, Iris Yamashita. I could definitely see her screenwriting background in this book as it would play out on-screen very well.

I really liked the premise of an entire community living together in one building and there being no way in/out of the outside world. Iris did a wonderful job creating unique and memorable characters, but I think some of them could have benefited from a little more backstory/context.

The story flowed pretty well and held my attention, but I do feel like I'm left with a couple of plot holes.

Overall, if you're looking for a fun crime fiction that you can get into quickly, I'd recommend you pick this one up!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for the ARC and PRH Audio for the ALC. This book and audiobook will be available on January 10th!

A story of heartache, violence, and immeasurable lies all woven into the fabric of one small town hideaway. Some secrets stay hidden, while others come to the light of day and wreak havoc in Iris Yamashita’s City Under One Roof.

As body parts start washing ashore in one small community on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, people start watching their backs as Detective Cara Kennedy rolls into town unannounced. Kennedy is conducting her own investigation into the body parts, which could lead to information in the disappearance of people that are close to her. Aside from the cozy local police chief and his lone officer, the town is really a group of misfits all poured into the same building while winter rages outside.

The investigation grows and the mystery of how an unknown man is butchered and why no one cares continues to plague Kennedy? As life continues in Point Mettier, the hooligans from the local Native American village roll into town with an unspoken score to settle. As Kennedy and the locals search for the truth, more people turn up missing and the hunt for the truth becomes deadly.

Yamashita delivers a heart pounding adventure with characters with dark secrets beyond belief. This isn’t your classic hallmark movie in the snow, this is an eerily tragic experience that will set Cara Kennedy free or possibly drag her down a rabbit hole that may not even exist. The characters give you everything you could possibly want from redemption, disaster, love, and hate. There is a specific emotion that Yamashita delivers, and I can’t tell if I’m feeling the redemptive qualities of solving a brutally violent case, or the horror of being shown death firsthand and knowing that the past could haunt you forever.

CITY UNDER ONE ROOF by Iris Yamashita is a gripping and atmospheric novel set in a small rural Alaskan town of Point Mettier, where all of the 205 residents live in a single high-rise building. One of the resident teens, Amy, finds a severed hand and foot that has washed up on the shore, but it is quickly dismissed by the local police as a accident of some sort. But Cara Kennedy, a detective with the Anchorage police, travels to Point Mettier to further investigate the case as a possible murder. When a blizzard strikes the isolated town, Cara becomes stranded with the residents until the tunnel can re-open. She teams up with local police officer, Joe Barkowski, but they soon discover that many of the residents have secrets they are desperate to keep hidden. Told from the perspectives of three female characters, the suspenseful story builds to a fever pitch as the mystery unfolds. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to get to the cliff-hanging ending. I enjoyed this intriguing locked-room style mystery and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Just when readers might think every atmospheric setting for mysteries has been covered, this story about a remote Alaskan town that lives and works in one building and the dead body (parts) that wash up on its shores proves that wrong. A surprising number of suspects and a detective with a mysterious and tragic backstory complete the picture, and there's a cliffhanger that will have readers invested in what comes next.

I absolutely devoured this claustrophic story. The isolated Alaskan setting cut off from the outside world due to an avalanche made for such a thrilling read. The quirky characters and the mystery elements were superb. I definitely recommend this one for a cold winter’s day.

4.5 chilly stars for sure!

My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 stars

Amy, a teenager in a small Alaska town, finds a couple of body parts that have washed up on shore. Cara, a police officer from Anchorage, comes to help figure out what happened. Cara comes with secrets of her own. Unfortunately after she arrives, so does a blizzard, trapping everyone with no way out. A third POV in the book is Lonnie, someone with mental disabilities, who takes care of a resident moose.

I liked the story, but I didn’t like Lonnie’s chapters; I found them quite confusing (I guess since her mind is confused, this “fit”, but I didn’t find it good reading. The thriller part of the book didn’t grab me like many do, but again, I did still like the story. I liked Cara and her background and storyline. Amy’s story and background was pretty interesting, too. There were definitely some odd characters and stories (in addition to Lonnie). I wonder if there was some setup for a second book, though?

Thanks so much to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley.

I was drawn to the setting of this book - where everyone in a tiny Alaskan town lies in a single high rise building. A severed hand and foot wash up on a shore and Cara Kennedy is the detective on the case. Unfortunately, I had a hard time staying interested in the book. I'm not quite sure what it was as it has everything to be a great thriller, but this one wasn't for me.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped. I thought the writing was great, and the characters felt real, but I felt there wasn’t really time to feel any connection to the characters, aside from Lonnie the moose lady. I enjoyed her. Character development felt rushed, and the mystery was slightly disappointing and left me feeling discontent. For fans of slow-burns, I would suggest this. The Alaskan atmosphere added a much needed respite to an otherwise mediocre mystery.

This quirky mystery is set in a small Alaskan town where everyone lives in one building. When the only way out is closed, detective Cara Kennedy is trapped, so she may as well try to figure out how a severed hand and booted foot were found on a nearby glacier. Fun characters, hijinks, and a cracking mystery make this a good bet for fans of humorous mysteries.

This is going to be a DNF for me at 30%. I liked the premise and the setting. When I have to write a list of characters and only a few are distinctive enough to remember, I grow weary of the story.

I'm sure this is a great book but it simply felt like work to continue to wade through it. I found the pace to be very very slow.

There are glowing reviews for this one but it just wasn't for me. Since I DNF this book I will not publish to any purchasing sites.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title.

CONTENT WARNING: gore, mention of death, mention of death of a child, blood, grief, mention of domestic violence, gun violence, murder

In a creative twist on a locked room mystery, Yamashita’s debut takes us to a stranded city in Alaska where all of the residents of Point Mettier live in one high-rise building that provides for all their needs, offering a pub with greasy food and questionable lounge entertainment, subpar Chinese takeout, a tiny police station, a general store, and even a psychiatrist.

But the people who live in this town all seem to have some kind of secret that has drawn them to a place like this. Many are running away from something, and others have something to hide, that they hope will be concealed in this remote place that isn’t easily accessible. There’s only one tunnel in, and winter storms often block it. Something that Anchorage detective Cara Kennedy unfortunately discovers when she comes too late in the season to follow up on the severed hand and foot that washed up on the shores. However, Cara has something that she’s hiding as well.

If you’ve read enough books, you’ll know that secrets don’t last long in a small enough town, especially one that is snowed in for the winter, and where people don’t have enough to do but worry about what is going on with the neighbors in the building. We get a range of POVs in this story, so we get to see what’s going on through the eyes of an array of characters—the teen girl who found the body parts, Cara, and a mentally ill adult named Lonnie (who has a pet moose). These three women were so different, but all played a crucial role in uncovering the missing pieces that helped to solve the mystery.

The story was incredibly atmospheric. It didn’t hurt that I happened to read it on a cold day, when I was curled up under a fuzzy blanket with my dogs by my side, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had looked outside my window and seen a blizzard raging. It felt almost as though I was right there with the characters. Things moved a bit slowly in the beginning, allowing me to get accustomed to the setting and the characters, but then picked up the pace, increasing faster and faster towards the end of the book. There were more and more plot twists as I got closer to the end, and I couldn’t have put the book down for just about anything in the world by that point.

Overall, this is an incredibly strong debut, and the ending leaves an opening for a sequel, which I hope is forthcoming. This has great potential to be a series, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more from Yamashita, because she’s clearly talented and I’ve gotten kind of attached to the characters in the story. I especially liked the way we got inside the heads of each of the MCs in the story, and understood what drove each of them, as well as learning more about the secrets that would motivate a person to want to live in a place like Point Mettier.

This was a book that made me get comfortable and buckle up for the ride. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to see what else this author does.

Nicely claustrophobic and atmospheric. Unfortunately, this never filled me with the desperate need-to-keep-reading-to-find-out that I personally like in a thriller.

The premise was unique, a small Alaskan town that is left with a few hundred people after the summer tourist season and all the residents live in a giant apartment building. When a body part is found on the beach, a police officer from the city begins investigating. Soon she is trapped in the town after an avalanche. It seems not only the officer but many in the town have secrets to hide and reasons they live in this small town.