Ready to discover another great book for this 2021? Take a look…
The Good Neighbours by Nina Allan
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Riverrun
Amazon, Hive
About The Book
Cath is a photographer hoping to go freelance, working in a record shop to pay the rent and eking out her time with her manager Steve. He thinks her photography is detective work, drawing attention to things that would otherwise pass unseen and maybe he’s right . . .
Starting work on her new project – photographing murder houses – she returns to the island where she grew up for the first time since she left for Glasgow when she was just eighteen. The Isle of Bute is embedded in her identity, the draughty house that overlooked the bay, the feeling of being nowhere, the memory of her childhood friend Shirley Craigie and the devastating familicide of her family by the father, John Craigie.
Arriving at the Craigie house, Cath finds that it’s occupied by Financial Analyst Alice Rahman. Her bid to escape the city lifestyle, the anxiety she felt in that world, led her to leave London and settle on the island. The strangeness of the situation brings them closer, leading them to reinvestigate the Craigie murder. Now, within the walls of the Craigie house, Cath can uncover the nefarious truths and curious nature of John Craigie: his hidden obsession with the work of Richard Dadd and the local myths of the fairy folk.
My Thoughts
I’ll say from the beginning that I love this cover, it’s interesting and has so many little details that are related to the plot that after reading I look at it with different eyes.
I have to say that if you start reading this book it will be impossible to put down till you arrive at the end, I started reading it one day when I wasn’t feeling well and I thought I would be able to read a little and then sleep; what a joke! I read it in one sitting and I didn’t sleep at all!
This is a slow paced story, told by Cath’s perspective, a young woman who searches for answers of who killed her best friend when she was young. She never accepted that her best friend’s father, John Craigie, killed all the family and then had an accident leaving the Isle of Bute. She always felt guilty of not knowing what was really happening at Shirley’s home or knowing that her father was so dangerous. Now, she thinks she can make a photograph exposition about the house of the crime and maybe, discover why everything happened.
The story is addictive and the mystery has a few twists, and it was interesting reading about folk tales around the fairies. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing supernatural about the case, but it has an important part showing John Craigie character and how it affected the whole the story.
It’s interesting how the book shows us that we don’t never really know anyone, even the ones we love most and that they can always surprise us, for good or bad…
If you are looking for a well plotted page turner book, believe this is a great choice!
Are you ready to discover “The Good Neighbours”?
About The Author
Nina Allan is a novelist and critic. Her first novel The Race won the Grand Prix de L’imaginaire and was a Kitschies finalist. Her second novel The Rift won the British Science Fiction Award, the Kitschies Red Tentacle and was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Her short fiction has previously been shortlisted for the Hugo Award, the Shirley Jackson Award and the British Fantasy Award. Her most recent novel is The Dollmaker. Born in London, Nina Allan lives and works in the west of Scotland.
Varietats 