What I read in March
March was a good reading month - 2 books - both enjoyable page turners I recommend.
Those People by Louise Candlish
The plot: Lowland Way is a surburban paradise until Darren and Jodie move in one day. Within hours of arrival they make it clear they don’t play by the rules. Disagreements over parking, their loud music played late at night and endless noise becomes the norm on what was once a street filled with happy and content neighbours. After trying to be reasonable the residents get together and start making serious plans.
Then early one morning they wake up to a tragic crime scene. They stick to their story - the fault lies with Darren and Jodie - they should be questioned. But no matter how many times they say this, the police believe they aren’t getting the full truth.
What I thought: This is a real page turner and told from different resident’s points of view. The neighbours Ralph & Naomi, Finn & Tess, Sissy, Ant & Em are all at their wits end with the noise, renovations and late night music. No amount of complaining seems to help. Each neighbour seems to have a motive. Sissy’s bed and breakfast is suffering from bad reviews from guests who complain. Ant and Em have a young son and are sleep deprived from the endless music and noise. Finn and Tess are looking to move but haven’t told anyone and are worried nobody will want to buy following the drama.
I found that alot of the characters were not very likeable. Darren and Jodie are rude and inconsiderate but they do it blatantly. While Ralph and Naomi are quietly smug and annoying and treat Tess with little respect. Ralph’s attitude throughout the book is one that irritates to say the least. Tess was my favourite character who was keen to leave the street and move well before Darren and Jodie arrive (living next door to her in-laws being her reason). I found the tense dynamic between her and her sister-in-law Naomi to be interesting and I picked up on it early in the book that there was drama well before the new neighbours arrived!
This book kept me guessing and there are surprises right to the end!
My Goodreads rating: 4 stars
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The plot: Jane has just moved to town with her son and a secret she has been carrying for 5 years. She meets Madeline (who forgets and forgives no-one) and Celeste who is extremely beautiful but clearly uncomfortable around everyone. They take Jane under their wing and quickly become friends.
When something happens on the playground Jane and her son are suddenly at the center of rumours and Madeline and Celeste quickly side with her.
Things quickly escalate as the 3 women guard their own secrets while slowly finding out each others.
But how does a school trivia night end up in a murder investigation?
What I thought: Well, I watched the series on TV a while ago and loved it! Madeline is a force to be reckoned with and she was my favourite character. The book is difficult to put down and even though I knew the story from the show I still enjoyed it. Liane Moriarty’s books seldom disappoint and an interesting feature was the interview snippets throughout the book - giving a broad idea to the reader how dangerous rumours are and how quickly they can circulate.
My Goodreads rating: 4 stars
Linking up with the fabulous Steph https://www.lifeaccordingtosteph.com/ and Jana http://janasays.com/ with Show Us Your Books.