Welcome to Shelley House. The six-flat historic dwelling located outside of London had seen better days but has survived for one-hundred and thirty-three years. Pink haired Kat Bennett is the newest person to call it home. She is Joseph Chambers' illegal subtenant (subletter) in Flat 1. The twenty-five-year-old has changed her name but is drawn back to the town that holds many memories and secrets. In Flat 2 lives cantankerous Dorothy Darling, the resident who has lived there the longest. At seventy-seven, she is the self-appointed watchdog who writes down everything that happens at Shelley House and notes all the needed repairs and more. For someone so involved in everyone's lives, she doesn't seem to like anyone very much, especially Joseph, who lives with his sweet dog Reggie. The rest of the tenants are widower Omar and his daughter Ayesha, a nameless tenant who blasts music and hosts late-night parties; Tomas and his pit bull Princess and Gloria, who continues to date unsuitable men. When the building's owner announces his plans to evict everyone so he can build a new apartment complex on the site, can this group band together to save Shelley House?
Author Freya Sampson made me a fan with her last book The Lost Ticket. When Nosy Neighbors was announced, it became a must read. Like her last book, Sampson brings people together who form unlikely alliances and friendships. The backstories of the characters are heartbreaking, revealing that most people are much different than how they appear and most hide deep wounds and internal scars. There is an element of mystery, but the heart of the book is the relationships that evolve between the people in Shelley House.
Many thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this lovely book in advance.
Rated 4 out of 5 stars.
Contemporary Fiction / Cozy Mystery.
Publication Date: April 2, 2024.
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