Having read one other novel by Joanna Cannon (The Trouble with Goats and Sheep), I knew I was in for a superb tale here in A Tidy Ending and I certainly wasn't wrong! Linda and her husband, Terry live on Cavendish Avenue, a street in a northern suburb. Terry barely seems to notice Linda's existence and Linda's mother is a difficult woman. In between the cooking and vacuuming, Linda likes to spend time flipping through the catalogues that periodically arrive for the previous occupant of her house, a lady named Rebecca. She then becomes fixated on several murders that happen in the area.

Heavens to Betsy this is gripping and immersive! The plot is sublime and the characterisation is terrifically good as I expected it would be. I really didn't know what to make of Linda. I didn't foresee the ending either. Very highly recommended and in my opinion a sure winner from Joanna Cannon.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins UK, The Borough Press via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

I wish I enjoyed this more firstly I will say that much.
This novel was so difficult to get through for me personally!
Linda is a boring woman married to a man named Terry and he has an over the top mother.
Of course everything leads back to the parents because Linda appears to be scared by her father.
We hear about her ever so boring life which is a drag to read. She questions a lot of things in a boring way if that makes sense. Such as her looking into the series of murders going on in the small town she lives in and how the cops are doing it all wrong.
The writing is okay but the pace of the plot is very slow and a bit dull because of the main character. But there is no real interesting feature of the novel that is within the pages of a great novel.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Joanna Cannon book, but it won't be my last!
I was completely drawn into the story and despite her not being the most traditionally likeable of characters, I loved Linda and her quirky ways. Her straightforward narration of events made this book for me.
This is a very cleverly written, engrossing novel, and one I'll be recommending in the shop to customers.

Having read Three Things about Elsie and The trouble with Goats and Sheep I knew I was in for a well written read, but Oh My Goodness!
The story, told from Linda's point of view, reminds me at the beginning of Alan Bennett and his Talking Heads. The attention to detail of characters and the smile it brings to your face. As the story progresses it becomes obvious that Linda appears to be rather a sad, lonely lady who tends to disturb people with her over-friendliness and to distance themselves from her. Rather than being offended Linda makes excuses for them.
This is a very clever tale in which you have to readjust your thinking.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Joanna Cannon/HarperColins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I reviewed A Tidy Ending for book review website LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen it as both a LoveReading Star Book and a Liz Pick of the Month. See website for full review.

In a similar vein to my favourite Joanna Cannon book, Three Things About Elsie, this is a story with a brilliant twist at the end which really does give it A Tidy Ending! A good, fairly quick to read, murder mystery about the way society overlooks those who don’t conform to the norm forgetting how much they can contribute if only we’d listen.

Just finished reading #ATidyEnding Such a clever and insightful story about how we present ourselves to the world, and the things we notice or overlook about others. Don't let the mundanity of Linda's existence fool you, there's so much hidden under the surface of her life. I'd really recommend this, quite a quick read and so well written. Thank you NetGalley and Joanna Cannon for my early copy. This is out on 28th April.

A Tidy Ending was just that! This is book from an author I’ve not read before and really enjoyed reading it.
Linda married to Terry, she seems to be under his thumb, doing everything to please him and nothing to annoy, she’s never managed to escape her mother either who is over bearing all the time. She had a traumatic past due to her fathers death and her mother deciding to uproot her from her family home in wales. Linda works in a charity shop and when she’s not there, having no noticeable friends she spends her time looking through catalogues that come through the door for the previous owner, leaving Linda to dream of the exciting and glamorous life the previous owner must have had.
This book had me hooked from the first page, the book is narrated by Linda and her tone and observations make this book so much better if there wasn’t this compelling leading character. I enjoyed the twist at the end and how everything tied together neatly.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

'A Tidy Ending' by Joanna Cannon is the story of Linda, a woman with a lot more going on below the surface than meets the eye. She lives with her husband, Terry, a nonchalantly misogynistic man, but has never really escaped her overbearing, interfering mother, or her rather dark past. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that a serial killer may be at work in the quiet neighbourhood. Everyone becomes suspicious of everyone else, and Linda begins to wonder too...
I really enjoyed this latest offering from Joanna. I found it to be reminiscent of her first book, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep, and like all her work, it has at the heart of it a message of tolerance and love

A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon

Linda works part time in a charity shop and dreams of the sort of life she thinks the previous occupant of her house led, glamorous and exciting. She has a traumatic past due to having to move from Wales following her father's death and has a difficult mother and an irritating husband Terry. A serious of murders in the neighbourhood sets off a chain of events which change Linda's life forever.

Oh my goodness, what a book! The whole story is narrated by Linda and I found her voice absolutely compelling. I couldn't wait to find out what had happened and the ending was an absolute shock! Brilliant writing and so wise - there were lots of observations about life, relationships, the world, that I nodded along to and wanted to cut out and keep somewhere. Very highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The description of A Tidy Ending intrigued me and I wasn;t quite sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read with plenty of twists and turns to keep me on my toes all the way to it's quite shocking ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for my ARC.

I don’t want to give too much away about this entertaining, dark and fun read, but if you want to read something character-driven which is well-written and has a satisfying dose of mystery in it, then this is one for you!

The story follows Linda, a housewife whose mundane life lacks excitement and glamour. She’s surrounded by frustrating family members – especially her husband Terry, who is far from a perfect husband, and a mother who doesn’t seem particularly caring. But Linda doesn’t seem to mind too much – she certainly knows she’s settled in life but she continues plodding along because what other choice does she have?

Then the murders which have rocked the town she lives in start to increase, and Linda begins to notice someone close to home who could be involved. We see things through Linda’s eyes but are never quite sure just how much she’s taking in.

Though not necessarily a light-hearted book, you can’t help but chuckle at Linda’s observations and A Tidy Ending does indeed present a neat conclusion! It’s a little slower at times but never boring. I really enjoyed A Tidy Ending and it’s made me want to read more by Joanna Cannon.

Linda is socially inept lady who is a very lonely person living with a husband who leaves her to her own devices for a lot of the time. She craves friendship but gets caught up with an unfortunate couple. There is a series of murders taking place around the area and the hunt is on for the murderer. I thought the book took a circuitous route but did stretch out to an unexpected finale

Oh my goodness words fail me after reading this book. I just can’t express how brilliant it is. How the characters are developed so that you imagine them so vividly. The suspense and tension as the story unfolds.

I love the flash backs to what happened in Linda’s childhood and the brilliant use of the Now chapters. All of them meshing together to lead you down the path to a conclusion about everything that has happened. But do we see what we want to see or do we see the truth?

I want to shout about this book for everyone to hear - this really is a beautifully written masterpiece!

I have enjoyed previous books by Joanna Cannon but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. It often felt like a rehash of Three Things About Elsie with the unreliable narrator trope feeling a bit tired.

A Tidy Ending follows our protagonist Linda who lives a monotonous and dull life with her husband Terry. She begins obsessing over the previous owner of the house she now lives in, Rebecca, who Linda feels she already knows and can be friends with based on the catalogues that arrive at the house addressed to Rebecca.
When young women start disappearing in her town she starts suspecting Terry of being involved.

The story is told through Linda's perspective so has a stream of consciousness style where we are told more than shown things which are going on. I am not a fan of this style of writing as there is very little dialogue which I prefer a healthy amount of. The pacing is very slow too so the story requires a lot of patience for a rather predictable pay off at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

I enjoyed this. It’s a different read than I’d normally choose and I was grateful to have the opportunity to preview as it has a significant number of amazing reviews.

Linda is a frustrated housewife whose husband irritates her with his small, mundane, irritations. She becomes fixated on several murders that are taking place near where they live, whilst also living vicariously through the magazines being delivered to the previous occupant of their house.

The story is told through the THEN and NOW of Linda’s existence and it’s a sad, forlorn one.

I found it at times to be a slow, lacklustre read, but, it definitely kept me thinking and interested and for that reason I’m giving it a 4 rather than 3 stars, as I suspect it’s a read that will stay with me for some time.

There’s probably not a lot I can say that hasn’t already been said about this book other than to add my praise and love for it. The writing is so immersive that you just lose yourself in the story and find yourself fully invested in Linda’s life. I found myself lost in the writing and the character and instead of trying to over think the story and work out the ending, and what if any surprises there might be, I just took my time and enjoyed every minute of it. I think the author must seriously have a good understanding of people to be able to write such an accomplished book all seen through the eyes of one lady who has a different perspective on the World to many.

I wanted to read A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon because one of her other books, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep, was recommended to me by so many people. However, it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read! Hopefully, I’ll get around to it soon!

A Tidy Ending had me gripped from the beginning. Just who was this strange woman, Linda, and why did everyone think her odd? Linda is the protagonist in the story and I honestly couldn’t work out from beginning to end what I should be thinking of her. Is she the victim and a pawn in someone else’s life or is she the mainstay in the plot? She’s weird is what she is, but I definitely wanted to read more of her story. Linda is very insightful, having her own opinions on how she feels people behave in the way in which they do. She’s funny, but she has a sad past which she tries to remember differently than it was.

Joanna Cannon did a great job with all her characters, each has their own quirks and adds to the story, I can’t say too much without giving the plot away but read it, It’s not quite a thriller, a mystery or a crime novel but lots of those mixed together. I simply loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon.

I've really loved Joanna Cannons' previous books and her new one doesn't disappoint. I particularly like her writing style which can be very funny, but also really profound in her descriptions of human emotions and the day to day details of life. The twists work well and remain the right side of believable and I could see the street and community quite clearly in my imagination. Feels like a bestseller and I hope there is another one in the pipeline!
thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy of this book

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘A Tidy Ending’ written by Joanna Cannon in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Linda was eleven years old when her father was involved in a scandal causing her mother to move herself and her daughter from their home in Wales to pastures new. Linda is now married to Terry and when they move into their new home, albeit just up the road from their old house, she becomes obsessed with the previous occupant, Rebecca Finch, who she wants to emulate and thinks that if she can track her down they can be best friends. When the bodies of young women are found nearby Terry is suspected of being involved partly due to him owning a white van, and Linda who’s a charity shop worker and upright citizen believes it her social duty to help the police in any way she can.

This is a novel of a socially inept woman in her forties who hasn’t had an easy life and even now is the recipient of browbeating by her husband and mother. It’s an unusual story that’s narrated by Linda and has a flowing dialogue that makes it easy to read, an interesting portrayal of the characters and a sequence of events described to perfection. The many twists and turns led me astray from the first chapter making me believe one thing then another until when I reached the ending I was shocked but not totally surprised. This is definitely a novel worth reading and one I can recommend.