A clever and twisty murder story but not like anything I’ve ever read, absolutely top marks for originality. The plot centres around the residents in a set of apartments, all with their individual quirks and fascinating characters. They all have inbuilt likeability and yet flaws which make it an even more interesting read.
There are lots of contemporary elements and topics covered and lots of food for thought and astute observations of life along the way. A definite recommend from me.

This book kept me guessing all the way through, and even at the end I’m still unsure on some things 😂 I’m still questioning who was the bad person or were they all just terrible people in their own way? I don’t think I had a favourite character in this as I disliked everyone!
I love the way the book was written from the POV of one character a bit like a diary and it moved between past and present smoothly.
The book highlights the housing issues that people face at any age and brings to light issues that aren’t really talked about. This was done in a clever way.
Overall, it could have had a bit more murder but I still loved it!

Gwen is a resident in one of the apartments in the beautiful Columbia Mansions. Pixie moves into a room in one the apartments owned by Alec. Gwen is the buildings busybody knowing everything that goes on there. Pixie soon and forms a friendship with Gwen, despite the age gap. Gwen is very protective of her young friend and when Pixie confides in that she has been coerced into paying her rent to Alec by sexual favours, Gwen decides to take matters into her own hands. Soon things escalate, getting way out of control and the story becomes a media sensation, and very soon scandal ensues.
I am a massive Louise Candlish fan and this book didn’t disappoint. It covered some really interesting topics which kept me glued to the book. Overall another great read from this brilliant author!

Gwen lives in an upmarket residence called Columbia Mansions. She retires with two spoilt grown-up children and a vile ex-husband. She is quite noisy and wants to get into everyone’s business. In the close-knit community that she lives in. But she has a good heart. She befriends Pixie a girl that moves into a spare room of her neighbour. But she finds out that something is not right. That Alex is wanting sex instead of rent.
Louise Candlish writes another addictive read. A bit different than her usual books and a slow burn but a fascinating one of one person’s life disintegrating around her after she thinks that she has done a good deed. But little does she know that we never really know people and we find out that some people are not as they seem. But far to late. This is a great story but didn’t really like any of the characters. But a great twisty domestic thriller. That I enjoyed until the end. 4 stars from me.

This book is most thought provoking on quite a number of social issues. Friends and family especially in the focus. Trust, self-reflection and "the truth" become dominant themes.

The plot reflected a variety of perspectives from the main characters and these views could easily change. Very much like real life!

The book evolved pretty smoothly with no clues as to the outcome. I should qualify that to say I had no clue.

Emotionally I felt sad and rather disappointed in how things turned out. That only served to confirm the content was most realistic..

A new novel from Louise Candlish, of course it’s going to be five stars! ‘A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder’
is another head spinning , twisting turning domestic thriller from the Queen of the genre that is never what it seems.

Retired Gwen lives in the sought after Columbia Mansion apartments in central London, where properties are sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. When she hears a rumour that her neighbour Alec has offered his room to new tenant Pixie in exchange for sex not money, Gwen is horrified both at Alec’s actions and the power imbalance in the household.

Gwen decision to support Pixie and speak out against Alec’s choices quickly spirals out of control with accusations being thrown around on all sides and things moving much faster and further than Gwen ever intended. The entire apartment block becomes involved, everyone taking sides. In the middle of it is Pixie an innocent victim of London’s terrible renting crisis, stuck in a situation she can’t escape.

As we have come to expect from Louise Candlish’s books, nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems. The plot twists and developments in this book are superb, so well crafted and hidden. The characters are perfectly crafted; I particularly enjoyed reading about Gwen’s tradwife influencer daughter Maya.

Excellent work, keep it coming!

In A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder, Louise Candlish delivers a smart, slow-burning thriller set in Columbia Mansions—a friendly, close-knit building where everyone knows everyone… or so they think.
Gwen, a retired and long-time resident, loves her peaceful routines—until Pixie, a vibrant young woman, moves into her neighbour’s spare room. Gwen senses something isn’t quite right. Is it nosiness, or intuition? As she starts asking questions, she sets off a chain of events with shocking consequences.
Candlish masterfully builds tension out of the everyday, exploring how little we truly know about the people living next door. Gwen is a relatable and likeable heroine—sharp, curious, and just determined enough to get herself into trouble.
Twisty, atmospheric, and full of slow-burn suspense,

I'm really enjoying the trend of having older people, usually women centred in crime stories, their life experience and lack of giving a damn usually makes for a great read. Unfortunately in this case I didn't feel the central crime quite lived up to the setting and narration. Entertaining, but I was flicking through towards the end

I eagerly anticipated reading this book as I enjoyed reading Our Holiday by Louise Candlish so much.
For this reason alone, I plodded on through the first forty percent of the book telling myself that it must get better. I don’t mind a slow burn novel but the slow pace really spoiled the reading experience for me. Yes, the characters are quite interesting but I did not feel that I cared about them enough. The last twenty percent of the book brought the story together and had some suprises but it wasn’t enough for me to say that this is a book I really enjoyed. It might appeal to others who like this genre. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I enjoyed Louise Candlish's writing and this was as good as I expected. The twists and turns in the story, kept me guessing until the end. I felt sorry for Gwen, an older lady living in a posh flat who generally gets on well with her neighbours. However, I felt that she is treated unfairly by some, who take advantage of her. Pixie, appears as a niave young lady to begin with, but it later becomes clear that she can hold her own. Dee, looks to support her daughters journalism career at the expense of others. Alec, a man with a hidden background. What a mix? How are they linked? Who comes out well? From the offset we know who is murdered, but not why or by whom.
You must read this book if you enjoy crime thrillers.

I absolutely loved Our Holiday so I was delighted to be given an advanced reader copy of Louise Candlish’s new book, A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder.
This twisty tale is told in first person by Gwen Healy, a curtain-twitching seventy-something resident of the beautiful apartment block, Columbia Mansions.
We know from the get-go that there’s been a murder. But the joy in this book is unpeeling the unfortunate chain of events that lead to it.
Gwen is utterly delicious: a straight-talking, somewhat embittered divorcee, who is the perfect unreliable narrator. We are in her head, but can we trust her?
Gwen befriends Pixie, the young tenant of her insufferable neighbour Alec Pedley. When Pixie confides in Gwen that Alec is demanding sex for rent, her maternal instinct and sense of justice goes into overdrive.
But when she helps Pixie expose her erstwhile landlord, she finds herself on the receiving end of a libel claim. Suddenly, she’s not so sure Pixie’s quite as guileless as she first thought …
Who to trust: Pixie or Alec? This is the crux of a story that covers trial by social media, misogyny and the world of difference between the haves and the have-nots.
It’s told at a very different pace to Our Holiday, but the sharp observations, dark humour and wit are all there in spades. And the writing is first class.
I loved it!
My favourite line: “There is kicking a woman when she’s down and then there is grinding her face into wet tarmac and flattening her with a steamroller.”

The latest banger from LC occupies familiar territory - terrible people do terrible things in enviable South London properties, with home at the heart of the novel. The author has her narrator walk the fine tightrope between delusion, candour and slyness in a way that is nothign short of masterful. I was reminded in places of Zoe Heller's brilliant Notes On A Scandal. Brilliant.

A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish
I have read a number of Lousie Candlish’s novel and so I was really looking forward to reading this novel. It is a very quick read. It is all written from the viewpoint of Gwen an elderly lady who is currently living with her adult son who has just split up from his wife. She is on the committee of the block of flats in which she resides and takes great interest in the goings on around her. She befriends a young girl called Pixie who moves in as a tenant of her neighbour.
They form a firm friendship and Pixie confides with Gwen about unpleasant goings on with the landlord. Gwen becomes involved in trying to solve Pixie’s problems. We know that Alec, the landlord is dead and that his tenant has killed him but there are many twists and turns along the way.
It is easy to be drawn into the lives of all the characters in the block of flats and you are desperate to find out how the story will be resolved. The twist at the end is excellent and I was not able to predict the ending. I will be recommending this novel at my various book groups and would like to thank Louise Candlish, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

Really good book and just a wee bit different to your run of the mill thrillers. This had all the aspects of a cosy mystery with quite a bit of humour, several unreliable narrators and plenty of twists. Your perspective changes as the book goes on and the story unfolds. Cleverly written and kept me guessing.

ooookay Louise Candlish is back with a new book. breathe people, all is truly right again in the world now. because she is a superb, top notch, magic authored fingers writer. and i cant wait to once again be engrossed in her books and then be left feeling wonderfully satisfied over what ive just read. and super excited over just how good books, authors, Louise, is!
i cannot recommend her books enough.
you are never quite sure with this book. never quite sure and thats in the best of ways.
in this book we are at Columbia Mansions. a beautiful building split into beautiful flats. the landlord is Alec. down on her luck Pixie jumps at the chance when room comes to rent at the Mansion.
Gwen already lives in one of the other flats. and it is her that tells her the story. but can we trust her? can we trust anything in this book? because Gwen's depiction in people and goings on is a little uneasy at times. is she a goody or a baddy here?
we have a few suspicious in this book. but you are constantly questioning your own idea each time they come. or questioning whether you are being teased by Louise down a mysterious or devious path.
i dont want to give any more away! its too good and you need to find the details and brilliance Louise once again gives us in your own way. but this is gripping and non stop read territory.
loved it. and once again proves what a master and my hero of this genre Louise truly is.bravo.

I always love a Louise Candlish book and this was no exception. A different style of writing this time but still full of twists and turns which kept me turning the pages at speed. A great will which will not disappoint.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐


This felt like straight forward, fast paced uncomplicated entertainment to me.
Sure, you might not always know who was telling the truth, but that's life.
I very much enjoyed it, the cat and mouse aspect of the whole thing.
Good fun.

I’ve said probably in every review of this author’s work that I would read a shopping list written by her such is my love of her books and her writing

I still would

Now, this is different from previous books,not in its brilliance or the ease the author has at writing about people, places where people live and the relationships between neighbours in these places, more the way it is presented, it took me a few chapters to feel the story and the characters and to understand the dynamics but once I did it was an explosive yet at times intricate story that had me reading….and reading and I knew there was nothing else to be done except keep reading until the finish

A rare look into a subject not yet illegal but affecting many, and how one neighbours misjudged ( possibly ) warcry to resolve it and make friends with the victim and an enemy of the perp caused her life to cascade to, well, hell, and then back

Such feasible yet fascinating characters tied to such a toxic tale and written by the best could mean it could only turn out to be as electrifying as it was

I make no apology for the love for this and the others authors books, her work is stunning and makes my hobby ( maybe a bit more than a hobby 😎) a truly exciting one

Loved it

A domestic thriller set in a London mansion block from the bestselling author of Our House, Louise Candlish. Fast paced and easy to get through with short chapters but not a particularly engaging novel. It lacks the tension and twists of Candlish's previous novels, and feels like a lazy mashup of The Woman in the Window, Only Murders in the Building and a very narcissistic Miss Marple with a bit of #MeToo thrown in for good measure. Not one for me.

I have read all the authors books and I was looking forward to reading this one and wow what an outstanding book this is, and I stayed up till 4am as wanted to know the ending, without giving away any spoilers I really enjoyed this book and loved all the characters with the busy body Gwen my favourite as I have been know to curtain twitch too !

I loved the twist to this book

I enjoyed the different style writing of this book to the author previous books And would highly recommend this book

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