Those People

April 1, 2019
British author Candlish follows her well-received debut, 2018’s Our House, with a cannily plotted if disappointing domestic thriller. After moving into 1 Lowland Way in South London, in-your-face auto mechanic Darren Booth and his equally pugnacious romantic partner, Jodie, create a dusty, noisy, rubble-strewn eyesore with their DIY renovation. The unrelenting stress and nocturnally blasted heavy metal music quickly take a toll up and down the street, especially on a couple who, with their six-month-old son, live on the other side of a shared wall, as well as on an elderly divorced woman dependent on B & B income to make ends meet. Tempers flare, hostilities escalate, and formerly upstanding residents start to entertain murderous fantasies. Then there’s a fatal scaffolding collapse. Only it’s not Booth who’s killed. Though Candlish skillfully juggles multiple narrators and frequent flashbacks to maximize suspense, the book’s first half, before the plot grenades detonate in earnest, may frustrate readers expecting more action. Hopefully, she’ll return to form next time. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents/ICM Partners.

Katharine McEwan delivers the main narrative of this mystery, which explores the sometimes incendiary dynamics of community relations. Police interview tapes, performed by various narrators, provide insight into the personalities of a group of neighbors who are suspected of committing serious crimes in their formerly idyllic community. As the novel's title suggests--and as they would assert--it's the fault of "those people": disruptive new neighbors who don't seem to care much about community norms. The audiobook satisfies as both a whodunit and a commentary on class divisions. McEwan is excellent as the impartial narrator and primary conveyor of all these characters' personalities, and the production decision to bring in other narrators for the police interviews provides drama as amusing as it is illuminating. K.W. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine