Very cleverly written, although as I’m one of those readers that likes all the ends tidied up, I was a little disappointed. Felt that the first person narrative became a little stultifying, so would have preferred to hear about Linda from the perspective of other characters; may have made her less annoying too. All in all, I think there is a brilliant book in here, that has just missed its mark.

Many thanks to NetGally, Harper Collins UK and Joanna Cannon for my ARC of A Tidy Ending in return for my honest review. As a huge fan of this author, I was delighted to receive my copy and devoured it within a couple of days.

Linda, married to Terry, lives on an estate where neighbours seem to know everybody else’s business. She had moved to the area with her mother some years before when they ran away from an event in their past.

I found the narrative, told by Linda, compelling and became totally absorbed in her life and amusing anecdotes although at times felt she wasn’t being treated well by others including her husband or manipulated.

The story unfolds with clever, witty and a carefully written path and I loved every aspect.

Highly recommended.

Linda seems like one of life's underdogs. Stuck in a mundane marriage, working in a charity shop, she dresses dowdily and those who know her dismiss her pityingly. She hopes to make friends but nobody is interested. She has a critical mother, and there is tragedy in her childhood when her beloved father was investigated by police and took his own life, causing the pair to move away from their native Wales. When Linda starts to open mail addressed to the former occupant of her house, she gets a glimpse into a different, more glamorous life, and goes in pursuit, while also embracing the excitement of the recent spate of murders of young women. What secrets will be uncovered?
This is a slow-burn crime story, told through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. There is a sly humour about the portrayal of the characters and there are several twists. As a domestic noir it is quite entertaining, but after a long-build-up, the story suddenly takes a very different turn and rushes to the conclusion, which I found confusing, and I was left feeling unsure about what had actually happened. I prefer Cannon's earlier novels.

Cannon has written an utterly bonkers book that I couldn't put down.

A Tidy Ending follows Linda who lives in an average neighbourhood with her average husband Terry until one day a body is discovered and then another and then another. The book is set across two time lines, the relatively recent past and the present which means that you are working both backwards and forwards to uncover what has happened and what on earth has happened to Linda between then and now.

The ending has left me with so many questions and is the perfect kind of cliffhanger ending. Cannon is a master writer and always manages to pull me in, A Tidy Ending was no exception.

This book left me with very mixed feelings. At times I found it difficult to get through as it was very slow but I couldn’t give up on it as I was extremely curious to find out where the story would end up.
The story is told by Linda who is 43 year old woman working in a charity shop. She tells the story in the present and recent past but also thinks back to her childhood which involved traumatic events concerning her father. We get hints very early on that Linda is not a reliable narrator but even knowing this, the ending took me completely by surprise. At first she comes across as being extremely naïve but then as we learn more about her, you begin to wonder how true this is.
This was a very clever story although I didn’t always enjoy reading it. Three stars due to the way that the author kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Joanna Cannon’s previous novels, especially The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, so I jumped at the chance of this ARC. Thank you Harper Collins UK and NetGalley.
Linda is a simple soul, living an ordinary life with husband Terry, who barely seems to notice her. She doesn’t seem to mind that her life is bit boring, as she and her mother moved to this community years ago to escape a terrible event in their past. After the first murder of a local woman, Linda’s world starts changing and she is worried that their past will be dragged up again. I loved this book from the first page. It is written entirely in the first person and Linda’s voice is very distinctive. I found being in Linda’s head quite intense for the first few chapters and then settled into it. Linda and her expressions can be hilarious, even though what she said made me feel desperately sorry for her. I particularly liked her descriptions of the police “and all their nonsense”. Mother is a real gem too with her strong opinions and nosiness. Joanna Cannon has an amazing talent for developing complex but amusing characters. A Tidy Ending deals with some very dark subjects but had me laughing out loud at many points. The plot was very clever with a satisfying twist.
#ATidyEnding #NetGalley

An interesting tale, with a very unreliable narrator. At first Linda seems a little vulnerable but by the end of the story you wonder just how cunning she is. It’s nice to read a story that is not the usual mystery/who-dunnit.

I have enjoyed other Joanna cannon books in the past however this one just didn't work quite as well as her other have done for me. I found it a little slow and couldn't really get into it as much as I would have liked.

This is the 1st Book that I have read by the author and it won't be the last , I am now on the hunt to read the other authors book.

This book is outstanding this book tells the story of Linda and her Husband Terry who are married and have recently moved to a different house on there estate , what follows without giving any spoilers away is an incredible story which made me go wow lots of times

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the arc of this book in exchange for this honest review

'A Tidy Ending' by Joanna Cannon centres around Linda, a middle aged woman who likes to be helpful. Married to Terry the one man who paid her attention (and now she wishes he hadn't), hectored by her mother, and dismissed by most of the people around her, Linda searches for meaning in a friendship with Rebecca, a woman she believes has the life she wants. Alternating between the past and 'now,' where Linda is in a psychiatric hospital, the reader constantly finds themselves asking why she has ended up there and whether she is the victim of trauma or the perpetrator of it.

I love Joanna Cannon's writing, and was really excited to read her newest novel. Her past as a psychiatrist is very evident in her writing and characterisation. Despite Linda's 'homeliness' the reader is always very tense wondering what is going to happen next, both in terms of what is done to Linda, and what Linda does! My only criticism was that due to Linda narrating the whole novel, the flipping between the past and the present was less of a contrast. Another perspective might have been interesting. However, I would highly recommend.

I like this authors style of writing, I think her descriptions of characters and their funny little ways are very good. I did find this book to be a slow burner, and as I am impatient I struggled with this. It was certainly different, and original, but it left me with mixed feelings.

Sorry this one was just not for me. Slow burner with very boring and unlikeable characters. A slog to get to the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon another @netgalley read. Linda has a dark past as a child where she lived in wales, which she and mum fled from. Now as a grown up with a husband her future seems just as dark. To begin with this book has quite an intriguing feel to it, as the reader you wonder where this story is going to take you. Linda is the main character, right from the beginning Linda seems to have an edge to her, she’s different. You find out that Linda is 43 but she comes across as a lot older in the way that she speaks and comes off the pages. At the same time it is quite clear early on the Linda has mental health problems, probably related to what happened in her childhood and with her dad. Linda is also everything being clean, wearing marigolds to clean everything, even to just use her husbands computer. Linda comes across as weird, lonely, clingy and in many respects needy, latching on to people almost stalker like and I don’t think Linda’s character should be under estimated and I don’t think she’s perhaps as naive as she comes across. The author has a eye for detail however in this case I think it goes beyond that and the detail gets boring and I just wanted the book to end the majority of the time, there were certainly points when the story would grab my attention but more often that not I could feel my mind wondering. To be honest I had a love hate relationship with this book, the book never reached the peaks of an amazing story however when it was good it was ok, like I’ve said it was intriguing but for the most part it was a struggle to read and sadly it seem to drag on and on with a lot of unnecessary detail. For me coming to the end just left me with more questions, there seemed like a lot of loose ends that perhaps would suggest another book. I’ve never read anything by this author and sadly I won’t go out of my way to read anything by her again. So I think it’s safe to say I won’t be recommending this book to family and friends. ⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this book, Linda isn’t particularly likeable, nor are any other characters but You know that Linda isn’t as she seems and you need to keep reading to find out her story, the twists are very good and the ending is so so clever, I totally loved it, this would make a brill tv series. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this early copy.

A really quirky read, very original and darkly funny. Linda is at once a devastatingly honest narrator and also completely unreliable and we really don't know what is going on in her head. She lives a very humdrum life with Terry and a controlling Mother nearby but what lurks beneath the surface? This is full of characters that you will recognise, most of them not particularly likeable, and some very funny moments. The ending is unexpected but is it? The clues were all there.

Brilliant! I loved the main character. She was obviously in a world of her own! How easy it is to misinterpret things that are said. There are many twists in this book, the best one being the ending. You don’t see it coming! Great read.

I love Jo's previous books so was really happy to read this. I enjoyed it a lot, Linda, who may or may not be on the spectrum, but is certainly very blunt and speaks her mind, is desperate to befriend Rebecca. Having fled her previous life Linda isn't necessarily all she seems and I enjoyed getting to know her throughout this book and unraveling her as she revealed more and more about herself

Told from Linda's point of view, this is a slow burn. The story alternates between now and sometime in the past. Events of Linda's childhood are also gradually revealed.
Linda notices everything and has sociopathic tendencies. Her views about others in her life are forthright and seem naive. None of the characters are particularly likeable.
Not an easy read, I found it difficult to concentrate at times and it felt a bit too long in places because nothing much was happening Liked the twists in the story though and now that I have finished am of the opinion that it was a clever book.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is sly and disconcerting. I really enjoyed watching the plump, friendless underdog Linda taking control of her life.

Linda is married to Terry - who's not that much of a catch, to be honest. She lives on an estate in a small northern town. She doesn't really have any friends, just an annoyingly controlling mother and a past full of dark secrets. She works in a charity shop. It's not that people don't like her, it's just that...

and then a serial killer strikes. Linda's watched a LOT of police dramas. She knows what's what.

Linda's a great character, and the story builds steadily to an ending that's unexpected, and yet somehow completely obvious. Joanna Cannon is very good on apparently small lives that have massive, churning events just under the surface.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this.

Oh Linda Linda Linda, what a character you are. I liked you, I felt sorry for you, I hated how you were treated and ultimately thought I knew you, but whoa - I didn’t see that ending coming! However, as you are fond of saying, “people will see what they want to see.”

This book was the first I’ve read by this author and I have to say I really enjoyed her writing style. The story moves between past and present with Linda as our first person narrator. She had a traumatic incident happen in her childhood which is revealed in snippets along the way as we delve deeper into Linda’s seemingly mundane and boring life - she volunteers in a charity shop, lives with her husband Terry who quite frankly if he was a colour would be beige and has to contend with an overly critical over bearing Mother. Until one day a glossy catalogue is delivered to her home, addressed to the previous tenant and that’s when Linda decides to make some changes to her life. Oh and in the background there’s a strangler on the loose, targeting local women.

To say much more would run the risk of giving too much away and then this book would be ruined for you, so I recommend you grab a copy and delve into Linda’s life.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins for the ARC, I thoroughly enjoyed it.