What a great read, so believable. Really makes you look to yourself, what would you do in that situation. You are drawn into the intracacies of family dynamics. Brilliant!

Lots of big issues in this book but none of them covered particularly well. The characters were interesting on the whole but somewhat stereotypical particularly the errant husband with younger lover.

A quick read as the characters are so finely drawn and relateable that you feel an almost genuine concern to quickly find out how they fare next. The story depicts a possibly not so rare example of a family each of whom is trying to navigate their way through change and turmoil which is in conflict with the solid roots of their family .

Really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get my teeth into it. Unsure if it was because I couldn’t gel with the characters but I felt it was just too slow paced for me.
Many thanks to both netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to the idea of this book as it's set in Brussels, a place I visited in 2019 and found fascinating (Travel, remember that!?).

The book takes the format of a multiple third person POV and starts with a man who is in the midst of an affair and a marital break-up. I found the first part of this book somewhat tedious. There is a lot of expositon about the family and their situation, and there's too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'.

The other element of the book is the backdrop of terror attacks in France and Belgium around 2016 and the introduction of Nizar, a Syrian refugee that comes to live with the family. Ultimately, I don't think this side of the book was that well explored, although the subject matter is tough and interesting. Nothing is done that is new or different with the affair/seperation thread and the two sides don't compliment each other or offer a new perspective.

The characters mostly fall flat and rely on archetypes (angry teen, mid-life crisis, crass American). I found it difficult to root for any of them.

I was a bit disappointed with the lack of exploration of the setting. I really wanted this book to take me back to Brussels, but I didn't really get a sense of place. The writing and plot does pick up in the last third of the book, but I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book to.

This is a story of a fractured family life. Neil, an Englishman, married to American Marcy and their three children live in Brussels. Add to the mix Nizar, a Syrian refugee ,Chloe a work colleague of Neil's and the backdrop of topical terrorism in Brussels and the scene is set. It was a slow story but I felt it was entertaining and easy to read.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an arc of this book.

Misplaced Persons is a wonderfully rich and complex tale about family, about betrayal, about feeling lost and misunderstood.

Neil and Marcy have split up after twenty five years together. For Marcy, being alone makes her see how shallow and meaningless all the material goods they have accumulated are, and she culls ruthlessly, donating bags and bags to a nearby refugee centre. Helping out at the centre leads to her offering Nizar, a young refugee, a place to stay, much to her ex-husband's horror.

Meanwhile Neil is realising that he has made a huge mistake, one that is having an impact on their three children, sixteen year old Alec in particular.

Set in Brussels against the backdrop of a series of terrorist attacks, this is a timely and interesting read, as we start to consider events from more than one point of view.

There is tragedy in this novel, but also optimism and a wonderfully uplifting conclusion.

I loved this book. A really interesting premise. I wish there had been something written from the perspective of Nizar and how his life was impacted. I can see this being made into a TV drama.

Neil, Marcy and their children Sasha, Alec and Jake, are living in Brussels, although Neil and Marcy are separated. Neil is having an affair with young, attractive Chloe, and whilst he's off living the high life and acting like the pathetic, love struck man that he is, he has absolutely no idea about the realities his family are going through until Marcy brings a Syrian refugee into the family home and a chain of events starts to happen.

The blurb sets out what should make for a really exciting read, but the story itself falls well short and I actually felt a bit short changed.

My review is on Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon on publication day.

A well-written novel of a Syrian refugee coming to live with a family in crisis. It was interesting idea but I was unfortunately not gripped by the story. I found some of the characters quite unlikable which made it hard to sympathise with them.

I would have liked to have seen some chapters from Nizar’s point of view to deepen the story and our understanding of his life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this book because it showcased a family feeling like they don’t belong, whilst dealing with various trials and tribulations. However, I wanted to know more about Nizar or understand things from his perspective, rather than learn about him through the eyes of the other characters. I definitely felt as though things could have gone further with Nizar and the refugee centre. I also found it interesting that the story is through the eyes of three of the characters, therefore I felt as though the reader internationally doesn’t get the full story of the family.

Misplaced Persons follows a family living aboard in Brussels when divorce hits them, prior to this divorce they had been living the life of what appeared to be luxury and bliss. However, good things can’t last forever and the Father begins to start an affair with a younger woman, leaving the rest of the family distraught and broken. The mother on the other hand decides to make a large life changing decision and starts assisting with the refugees before eventually taking one into her home.
This sounded like the type of novel that I could of really gripped my teeth into, however it was an extremely slow paced book and took me significantly longer than normal to complete. The concept of the book is interesting and something that I believe can do well, however unfortunately the way it was presented didn’t attract me and I kept losing interest. I wish the author all the best with this book when It is published in March as it has all the features to become a best selling plot.

Susan Beale’s debut novel ‘The Good Guy’, shortlisted for the Costa Prize, was firmly set in 1960s suburban Boston, so I was interested to see what era and themes she would cover in this, her second novel. The short answer is: a lot! This novel takes us to Brussels, where binational, transatlantic couple Neil and Marcy Yardley moved two decades ago. Their three children were all born in Brussels and the family appear settled, although communication between the various family members often appears fraught, something many readers will recognise. When Marcy agrees to house a young refugee from Syria, her family’s vulnerabilities are blown wide open and they have to engage with far bigger global issues and some uncomfortable truths…as do we, the readers. the title of 'misplaced persons' takes on a special significance. I do not want to give away too much of what happens in the middle and final parts of this novel, as every reader’s response is different, but suffice to say this is a very thought-provoking novel, so very different from Susan Beale’s first work that I cannot see what she will write next! I would like to say thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for their ARC in exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

Add a Syrian refugee to a family of 3 other children and parents who are in the process of splitting up and you don't have a situation that is going to turn out well. Add in that the mother is American, now living in Brussels, only because of her husband's job and you can understand the title "Misplaced Persons". This is a story of people failing to understand each other and increasingly drifting apart. Whilst the gap between them appears unbridgeable there is always hope they'll muddle through. But do they?

Although this is a fictional story of a family, it covers several themes, terrorism, politics, the refugee crisis all intertwined with family dynamics. Well written but it didn't hold my interest.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

Thoroughly enjoyed this book from a writer who is new to me. Very well written story covering the divides and mistrust which can build up in a family where one partner is guilty of having an affair. Shows how easily one simple act of betrayal can cause a ripple effect which has major and far-reaching consequences for the whole family. I couldn't put this book down and highly recommend it.

This story centres around the Yardley family who live in Brussels. British born Neil is having an affair with a work colleague and is separated from wife Marcy who teaches English, her career stalled by motherhood. She becomes concerned about the displaced people, especially from Syria, making the dangerous journey to Europe. Daughter Sasha is immersed in studies, sons Alec is brimming with teenage anger while young Jake builds with Lego. Into this family in crisis, Marcy brings home Syrian refugee Nizar which sets off a chain reaction. The story is told by Neil, Marcy and Alec.

I like the premise of the book with the exploration of the dynamics of imploding family relations with the background of critical political events 2015/16. The terror incident in the Bataclan Theatre in November 2015 and later terrorist incidents in Brussels in 2016 are portrayed well, showing the dangers and suspicion of the time. Tensions between Marcy and Neil are conveyed clearly as is the impact of Nizar’s appearance on the children which Alec especially finds hard. Some of the better sections concern Alec, his inertia with his studies and his subsequent actions make for thought provoking reading.

However, there’s nothing very different or earth shattering here so it doesn’t really pull you in throughout. The writing feels very impersonal and flat in places, some detail is mundane and dull as they are day to day. Neil in midlife crisis is a bit of a cliche, an angry teenager and a wife mulling missed career opportunities is nothing unusual and so doesn’t fully grab you. The characters feel a bit one dimensional with the exception of Marcy’s mother Joanna who is only in the book fleetingly but she does liven things up! The pace is stop, start - something happens that piques your interest and the next point of view interrupts that flow and so it stalls again. The Nizar angle could have gone a lot further and as a personality he is a closed shop but that may be intentional due to his life experiences.

Overall, this book has lots of promise, it’s an ambitious idea which doesn’t quite come off.

With thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the arc for an honest review.

This book covers an awful lot of issues: family dynamics, terrorism, refugee crises, politics and more. It tells it all through the fictional stories of one family: husband and wife Neil (a Brit) and Marcy (an American) and their three Belgian born children. Their life in Belgium is about to change dramatically due to their actions, most notably by Neil’s affair and Marcy’s decision to bring home a young Syrian refugee, but also due to events in the world around them.

The author expertly interweaves fiction with reality and the result is a very relevant read. If anything, I think it covers too much in quite a short book. It might have been more effective if there had been more focus on fewer topics and more voice given to a couple of the other characters. I would’ve liked to hear more of a perspective from Nizar,, the refugee, and Sasha, Neil and Marcy’s daughter.

But overall this is a good and easy read (despite the difficult subjects discussed) and I really did care about what happened at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Loved, loved this book. ‘Misplaced Persons’ by Susan Beale is a book to set you thinking. Although it is quite an easy read it nevertheless packs a powerful punch with its themes family relationships and racial stereotyping.

This tale is about the Yardley family which from the start, is depicted as being in a pickle. Neil and Marcy moved to Belgium eighteen years ago when Neil got a new job and though American-born Marcy was doing well in her own career, once she became a mother she felt it was better to scale this back to focus on being there for their three children and her husband. Neil leaves the marital home and the book explores what happens as him and Marcy become so involved with their own problems they don't notice how their middle child. Alec, doesn't seem to be coping with this new 'normal'. especially when you throw in their new house guest, a Syrian born refugee, who unwittingly sets off a chain of events which will have far reaching consequences for all of them.

Each chapter is titled with the name of the family member it is concerning and over the course of the book you realise how each event covered links and affects others, both for that person and those around them. I felt the way Neil left was a bit of a cliche, though is unfortunately all too common.

I really enjoyed the book as an exploration of a family in crisis and how they navigated through it and out the other side and will look out for more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.