I chose to review 'The Kellerby Code' by Jonny Sweet after hearing it praised by Richard Osman on his podcast 'That's Entertainment'. With his accolade I was expecting a novel with a warm and relatable sense of humour. Sadly this was not it. Sweet professes that this book was written in angry response to the Etonian elite running this country. However, in having his main character as someone from a P.G. Woodhouse novel he misses the mark. The vocabulary of this novel is arcane, elite, and alienates rather than galvanises. There was also very little to laugh at.

The Kellerby Code by Johnny Sweet was a very pleasant surprise. A wonderfully witty story with lots of heart and plenty of twists. Chock full of unlikable and morally grey characters, it's still easy to root for the protagonist.. With respectful nods to P G Wodehouse and the golden age of crime Sweet successfully combines unhurried, intelligent and descriptive prose with a fast paced and thrilling plot. The Kellerby Code has the timeless quality of a modern classic. I would advise going in to this knowing as little as possible but if you are looking for an extremely well written, darkly funny, slow descent into madness story about Imposter syndrome and the desire to fit in, this could be the book for you.

Thanks to the author, Faber and faber and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this witty debut in exchange for an honest review.

The Kellerby Code is a Saltburn/Talented Mr Ripley-esque tale of Edward who has never quite fitted in and best friends Robert and Stanza.

Edward is in love with Stanza so when he discovers she is in a relationship with Robert things begin to unravel.

I really wanted to love this as I was so sold on the synopsis but it was so so slow, it moved at a glacial pace and with books like this I need it to be pacey else I lose interest, and time this just felt like a slog to get through. It does pick up a bit towards the end but that was too late for me, I found myself bored and skimming over huge chunks which is not how I want to read a book.

My thanks to Faber and Faber Publishers and NetGalley for a copy of “ The Kellerby Code” for an honest review.
I was interested to read this from the book blurb, and also as I’m aware of the author’s work as an actor.
Unfortunately when I tried to read this I really couldn’t connect with the book , and the style of writing just wasn’t for me .As much as I hate to do this I gave up , and did not finish the book.

An interesting novel from an author new to me.

Edward lives in a world he can't really afford to inhabit but makes himself useful to his peers by fetching and carrying for them. He desperately wants to keep his friendship with Robert and Stanza alive - he's been in love with Stanza since they were at Cambridge together. Finding out that she and Robert are romantically involved affects him badly, and things take a sinister turn!

I'm not sure what I expected from this one; there is a lot packed in between the pages and, to me, it sometimes got just a bit silly. All in all, I suspect my husband may have enjoyed it more than I did. I found myself hoping it would end a lot sooner that it did, so not my favourite read this month. 3.5* for me.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I rooted for EDwards as I found Robert and Stanza (why call someone using the Italian word for room ?) who are spoiled and unbearable.
it's a story of dreams betrayed, social class, revenge and stupidty. Dark humour at its best.
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Edward is a man out of place and to some extent, out his of time, too. While The Kellerby Code reminded me from the beginning of Saltburn; for a while I could not quite put my finger on what decade it was set in. Edward went to Public School on a scholarship and thereafter to Cambridge University. It was a terrific achievement for a young man from a difficult background and you’d imagine he would make the best of his opportunities. Instead, however, he seems to have settled into a life of tutoring which is neither satisfying nor especially well remunerated. A lover of the era of Jeeves and Wooster, he lives entirely in the shadow of Robert, a theatre maker and Stanza, both University classmates.

These are not nice people. Rich, entitled, they are the kind of people who laugh at you when you can’t understand the difference between Bollinger and Krug. They both treat Edward like some kind of pet slave; fetching and carrying for them – getting him to handle the distasteful parts of their lives they would rather not demean themselves to undertake. It’s a toxic relationship, but Edward longs to fit in.

Edward is a tenant in Stanza’s London home where he cleans and keeps the place as clean as a new pin. He’s had feelings for Stanza since they first met; unexpressed but longing. Robert knows of course, but that does not stop him from forming a relationship with her, much to Edward’s unhappiness.

Stanza is the heir to Kellerby House, a vast sprawling mansion which she professes to hate. Her father is drinking too much and spending what little family money there is on an immensely expensive geological collection.

Edward is not only odd and sticks out like a sore thumb in Robert and Stanza’s gatherings, but he is also quite clearly not well. Under the surface he is an angry man and full of severely repressed tension which starts to bubble over when Robert and Stanza get together.

A trip to Kellerby and an unwanted guest set some very bad things in motion, not helped by Plum Edward’s imaginary friend, who urges him forward, making suggestions that will only fuel his spiral of descent.

Sweet plots his arc really well and he does a brilliant job of making Robert and Stanza complete narcissists who think themselves so clever and who, behind Edward’s back, deride and mock him.

But as Edward heads down the rabbit hole, his behaviour becomes unpredictable, tense and violent and the worm finally turns, wreaking his revenge.

Verdict: A slow burn until you get into the meat of the plot this is a fascinating read. The Kellerby Code is dark, brutal and satirical. The character of Edward is completely compelling and so well- articulated that it kept me on edge throughout.

Edward, Robert and Stanza have been friends since university. Edward would do anything for his friends and panders to their whims.
When he realises that Robert is now involved with Stanza, who he has loved since he met her, things change.
What follows is a trail of betrayal, lies and murder.
This starts slowly and at that point I would have happily murdered all of the characters myself. Once Edward starts growing a spine things get more interesting.

Never read anything by this author before and I agree with other reviewers it takes a while to get into. I am not really sure what to make of the book. It is amusing in places but not as much as I anticipated from the synopsis. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is the 3rd instalment from The Charity Shop Detectives, which just keep getting better and better. The charity shop ladies are back for another case, when Partial Sue, Fiona and Daisy are at a dog show when a death occurs. And it doesn’t take them long to be on the trail of clues. What can I say I’m hooked and I can’t wait until i find out what murder they’ll be solving next!!
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This is a book that took me quite a while to get into. I didn't seem to be able to get my head around it and did re-read the synopsis a couple of times. I almost did think about giving up on it, but something told me to hang on and try for a bit longer. I am glad I did. It took me a couple of days to read around 30%, but then one day to read the rest!!!

The story is that of Edward, as the synopsis suggests he is living in a world he cannot afford. If you think of The Talented Mr. Ripley or Saltburn, then you will be on the right track. Edward is a tutor and has very rich friends, one is Stanza who he is a little bit fixated with. The other friend is Robert, Stanza's boyfriend, this didn't sit well with Edward, but things are what they are.

Edward is one of those guys who will do anything for his friends, to the point where they actually use him like a doormat. But, while he comes across as being affable not everyone likes him that much. Some are wary that others find him annoying and others creepy. Each to their own I suppose.

The beginning of the story is a slower plod along in the life of Edward, what he does, his conversations, what he thinks, who he sees and the like. But it is a way of getting to know him and the circle he mixes with.

As the story then deepens it becomes a bit more shady, well not dodgy shady but more, nervy I suppose. The sense of things going dark and not being completely above board starts to emerge, little whisps at the beginning, of things being not said but not unsaid. Sorry, it seems I am getting very random and abstract here! But this is how I feel about the story as I write this review and don't want to give things away.

My the end of the story, (yeah I am jumping forward) I found myself wondering how on earth Edward ended up as he did. Talk about shocking! The transformation from the Edward of before to the one at the end was gradual and it was also quite cleverly done. It gave it a psychological edge as things seem to ravel and unravel and circumstances change. This is a book that I think will be a hit with some but not all, a Marmite book if you like.

I liked this one, if I could have speeded the first 30% up it would have been good, but then would I have understood Ed2ward as well? Probably not.

A mix of genres for this one, some mystery and psychological aspects especially manipulation, a contemporary fiction that is character-led and one that I would happily recommend.

An interesting book showing how cruel life can be of you are not one of the privileged few, but not let us forget that Edward is complicit with the situation and could have walked away. He is so desperate and needy to fit in. His situation is shocking but he was just not likeable enough for me to be rallying for him. His retribution is shocking . I would read other book by this promising author but this one was not really to my taste.

Thriller following Edward, a man who sorts everything out for his friend Robert, an actor. He is secretly in love with Stanza but when it becomes clear Robert and Stanza are an item everything changes. Well constructed and paced. A good read.

Thank you to the author, publishers Faber & Faber and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Edward is desperate to fit in. He’s not as wealthy as the people he goes to university with and so he tries to ingratiate himself with them by acts of service. Even post-university he’s still running errands just to make himself feel like he belongs in a group with Robert and Stanza. And, when Robert wants his help with taking care of a personal problem, Edward’s desperation to belong has sinister consequences.

With elements of The Great Gatsby and The Talented Mr Ripley crossed with You, there’s a very particular tone to this book. It was a tone I didn’t really get along with. Very classist overtones with a cast of thoroughly unlikeable narcissists. The main character, Edward also didn’t strike enough of a contrast for me. While pitiable at times, he wasn’t ever likeable. I wasn’t cheering him on, I wasn’t shocked at what he did or thought about doing, I just largely wanted to reach the end.

I confess that initially I wondered if The Kellerby Code was for me … maybe it was the day, or my mood but I very soon got over myself. Jonny Sweet utterly captivated me with his words, his wit, his deliciously dark humour and his capturing of the need to ‘belong’. You will recognise all the characters. You will recognise the ease with which those who don’t quite fit in are manipulated and seemingly included, but remain on the outside. But with deft and dark deliberation, the outsider is driven to extreme retribution – denying himself what he loves in the process. I laughed, I empathised, I gasped, I loved the outrageousness. I promised I would read this again. It will make a splendid film or TV series, a la Ripley. And I am enchanted by the author’s comment:
'But if you ever feel you’re not valued sufficiently by your friends, or you’re frustrated by the parade of aristocrats who still run our country in the twenty-first century, you might at least find it enjoyable to see what Edward chooses to do to them.
Yours, Jonny Sweet'
I enjoyed an ARC in return for an honest review - which I am delighted to do.

Coming from a poor background but winning a scholarship to a public school, where he is bullied, and then going to Cambridge, where he is patronised and submissive, Edward Jevons determines to ingratiate himself with the elite. He becomes friends at university with wealthy and cultured Stanza, with whom he falls in love, and Robert, who becomes a successful theatre director, and ingratiates himself with them by becoming their errand boy, doing their bidding on demand. When he finds out, however, that Robert and Stanza are a couple, the worm turns, and he sets out to exact his revenge. A very dark book with pitch-black humour, Edward is nicknamed “Jeeves” by Stanza for his role in her service, but he bears a much closer resemblance, as others have observed, to Patricia Highsmith’s talented Tom Ripley. Satirical about the sense of entitlement among the privileged classes, it could be seen as a triumph of the underdog and a restoration of natural justice, but the characters are all so unlikeable and there is so little levity in the humour that, for me, it left a nasty taste and I found it rather depressing. Well written, but not my thing.

Really didn't like this book. The writing was clumsy , too many f words that just didn't seem to fit with the characters using them and unecessary violence. Edward was either going to be a quirky character or one with a message and in fact he fullfilled neither of these. A good edit wouldn't have gone amiss. Definitely not for me

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

This was not at all what I expected, it is almost feverish and unhinged, which is testament to the fact that it is a well written account of the obsessions of a very disturbed young man. It is a book which drowns in sweat, extreme anxiety, social awkwardness and barely suppressed rage. Edward is indeed in a state of constant hypervigilance and although I felt desperately sorry for him, he is not a likeable character.

It is really quite upsetting to read about vilely Robert treats Edward but in a very sad way, Edward colludes with this because I think he feels he has nowhere else to go and no other friends, although Robert shows time and again that he despises Edward and is actually not his friend. Stanza, the unrequited love interest, treats Edward a little better but she is also a victim of Robert's uncanny charm and manipulation.

There are acts of violence in the book which are described in quite a bit of detail. There are a couple of twists at the end which I did not see coming.

All in all I did not particularly enjoy this book. It was very uncomfortable and quite unpleasant to read. I do not mind uncomfortable reads if I feel engaged with the characters or if I learn something about, for example, mental health issues but in this book I did not like the characters and I do not think that I learned anything either.

I have reviewed The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen the novel as a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Pick of the month. Please see link for the full review. Thank you.

I could see that “The Kellerby Code” had the bones of a good story, and many elements of the plot were intriguing. However, I was really put off enjoying the book more by the clumsy writing. There are so many points at which the writing is either over-elaborate, or something is so clumsily phrased I had to read the paragraph several times to understand the meaning. Assuming the review copy represents the finished product, I think the book would have benefited from further editing and proofreading before publication.