Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

In this book we meet Scarlett, whose aunt has recently been murdered by her partner, who then killed himself. And we also meet Dee and Lindsay, who are the local funeral directors and their friend, Gina, has been missing for a number of years. Scarlett discovers that her recently departed aunt knew Gina, and realises the cases could be linked.

This was great, I read it in less than a day. This author always writes great stories, full of intrigue and twists. I really liked the character Dee, she was down to earth and really relatable.
An excellent read and highly recommended.

Scarlett travels home to her apartment on the bus and like everyone else, cranes her neck to see ‘the bedroom bloodbath’ in the apartment upstairs from hers. The victim is her aunt, Rebecca Quilter, murdered by her fiancé Clive who then kills himself. Scarlett contacts Dee Boswell as Fond Farewell, a funeral home, to arrange Rebecca’s funeral. Dee is struggling with her own issues especially that her close friend Gina disappears without trace nearly ten years ago. The storyline alternates between Dee and Scarlett which works really well.

Lesley Kara always constructs engaging novels and this is no exception. It's a good slow burner/psychological thriller with a never a dull moment plot. The characterisation is good throughout but especially of Dee and Scarlett and I like that the author gave some focus to ME via Scarlett who has frequent struggles with its symptoms. There are interesting dynamics between Dee and her partner Lindsay who have plenty of ups and downs and the relationship between Scarlett and her father and brother undergo fascinating changes too. A particularly good inclusion is hearing Rebecca’s voice through Scarlett and I like that touch.

As we find out in this gripping page turner people lie, cheat and do stupid things that fractures friendships and raises suspicion. People do much worse and kill and there are occasions where the author creates a real sense of pervading evil. There’s plenty of tension which escalates and builds to an ending with unexpected twists and turns.

Overall, this is very easy to read, it flows well with crisply written chapters that keep you invested and reading long past bedtime!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Transworld for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Lesley Kara's previous novels, The Rumour, Who Did You Tell? and The Dare. Her new novel is quite different from these and I'm sad to report that I was disappointed.

There are two main characters we follow, both narrated in the third person. Scarlett is reeling from the murder of her aunt in the flat (or apartment, as Americans say) upstairs from her. The murder is already solved but her family are acting strangely about her aunt's possessions. Meanwhile, Dee is a funeral director who meets Scarlett to arrange a service for her aunt. Dee is still grieving for the disappearance of her friend Gina ten years ago and is involved with an awareness campaign to find new evidence. These two mysteries begin to collide.

There were some elements of the book that I liked. Scarlett has ME and chronic fatigue, the impact of which are explored in the narrative. As with an epileptic character in The Dare, I liked that the author was raising awareness. The inclusion of funeral directors was an unusual choice and sensitively portrayed. The story took a while for me to get into because so many characters were mentioned at the beginning, but once it got going then I was interested to know what would happen, if not completely gripped.

I felt that the genre was murder mystery, rather than psychological thriller. It was just different from what I'd expected, with no surprising twists until the end and not as much suspense. The narrative perspectives were problematic for me, as they were similar styles which I occasionally confused and I felt distanced from the characters I was supposed to root for. The storytelling could have benefited from a first person narrative or something else to make it feel more dynamic. Also, the coronavirus pandemic was present in the last chapter. I prefer my fiction reading without mentions of lockdown, masks and social distancing. I don't see why pandemic life had to creep into the ending when it wasn't relevant to the story.

In summary, I found it a disappointing fourth novel but I'm still open to reading the next one.

[Review will be on my blog, 11th June]

‘The Apartment Upstairs’ is an interesting new mystery by Lesley Kara, I was sold on this book on the strength of previous novels but this author, and I felt this one to be a little different as it feels more ‘murder mystery’ than previous reads. I think it will appeal to fans of the murder mystery genre, having all the elements required: suspense, intrigue and plot twists.

The story is of Scarlett, a 40 something single woman who lives in the apartment below the scene of her aunt’s grisly murder. She contacts funeral director, Dee, who finds a connection between Scarlett’s aunt and her own mystery - the disappearance of a close friend 10 years previously.

A few different story lines woven together hold the interest well in this book.

I enjoyed the novel, though I felt quite disconnected from the characters, can’t entirely pinpoint why this was, and it may not feel that way to other readers. Overall it is an enjoyable read and one I would recommend to those for whom the above description appeals!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

A much loved aunt was murdered by her partner in her apartment upstairs ,a girl missing for years .the story intertwines through out this book .Great read.

An author i’ve read before and enjoyed! This book didn’t disappoint, it was easy to read and had a believable storyline with good main characters! It had me guessing right up until the end! Would recommend

What a lovely book. It was very dark and twisted. The characters were interesting and the plot was rather juicy. The start was slow and it took me a while to get in to but it soon picked up speed. I have read a few of Lesley’s books and although this is not my favourite it is still a great read.

I finished the book with a satisfied smile. However, I struggled to get into this. I'm not sure why that is but I kept at it and I'm glad I did.
There were some good, dark twists and I sped through the last half of the book. Will definitely read this author again.

I was so excited to be given an advanced copy of this book with Lesley Kara fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I was not disappointed. Whilst initially I found the book a little slow and difficult to see where it was going, by about a third of the way through the book it picked up. The book takes a couple of twists and turns that you certainly don't see coming. Scarlett Dee and indeed Lindsey are all relatable characters, and I like how there wasn't one main standout character but the story was from different view points and experiences. Definitely worth the read. Thank you NetGallery for my copy in exchange for a honest review.

Brilliant… had me eagerly turning the pages as I not only wanted to know more about the crime but also about the investigating team… I adored this… A story that takes a dark turn, has several surprises and kept me on my toes right up to the final page!

A pacy read about the impact of crime on people’s lives. This follows two female protagonists. One suffers from a chronic illness and another still lives with her dad at the age of 40-years old. I loved how different these female characters were; it’s so refreshing to see lived experiences that are different from the so-called “perfect” life often depicted in this genre.
This isn’t by any means a perfect read, some of the reveals require suspending of disbelief and I wish there’d been clues to earn the twist. Nonetheless this was an engaging read. I couldn’t put it down.

I’ve adored Lesley Kara’s previous novels, however, this one didn’t quite take off for me. I thought the characterisations were done quite well, yet the plot just wasn’t gripping enough.
This follows Scarlett, a woman in her early 40s, who’s aunt was viciously murdered by her abusive fiancé who later killed himself. Scarlett lives in the apartment beneath her aunt and is tasked with arranging her funeral. Scarlett herself is single, a freelance accountant, who suffers from MS, a chronic illness. The funeral consultant she hires is Dee, a 40-year old woman, who coincidentally knew Scarlett’s aunt when her aunt was a supply teacher. Dee lives with her father and is still processing the disappearance of her best friend Gina. One day Scarlett discovers her aunt was in touch with Gina...
I was compelled to read along to see where the story would lead, but wasn’t swayed by the twists and reveals. A reveal comes a third way through about Dee’s sexuality, which I found rather off-pointing. Aren’t we pass using people’s gender and sexuality as a plot twist? It just didn’t work for me. Also Lindsay’s character was frustrating. She has a massive row with Dee, resulting in Dee calling her a whore but then in the end when Lindsay is in a perilous situation she admits that Dee was right 🤦🏻‍♀️ Furthermore I just didn’t understand why in the first chapters Dee was seen as young even by Scarlett. Is 40 years really that green? A bit of a convoluted mess. I wish the editor had done a better job.

I love this authors books and was eager to read this one. It was a slow burning psychological thriller which kept the reader on their toes while reading as lots of twists and turns and red herrings to keep you guessing. It had two main stories running through it that intertwined with each other.

I also liked the fact that the author discussed ME as this is a health condition which doesn’t get much press.

Once I had started reading it I couldn’t put it down as wanted to know what happened next. This would make a good tv drama serial.

The Apartment Upstairs is a slow burning psychological thriller. Scarlett's aunt was brutally murdered in her apartment and while going through her things, she discovers there may be a link between her aunt and Gina Chaplin, a young lady who has been missing for 10years.

Scarlett starts digging deeper and the more she digs, the more sinister everything around her feels and she starts wondering who she can trust.

Lesley Kara has a terrific writing style and I felt the characters were really well developed in this book. I could picture them, connect with them, etc.

The book was a bit on the slower side for me and I feel like the blurb implies that Scarlett and Dee connect sooner w.r.t the mysteries linking their family members and friends.....but that connection really only comes close to 70-80% into the book. So everything really only happens very late in the book. With how Lesley writes though, I didn't mind that it was a slower paced book, because I do enjoy her writing.

Overall a good read and some decent plot twists.

3.5 stars.

Another gripping read by Lesley Kara!

Scarlett lives in the apartment downstairs from the one above where her aunt Rebecca was brutally murdered. Although her killer completed suicide shortly after, Scarlett still can’t bring herself to return to the apartment upstairs.

Dee and Lindsay run their own funeral business alongside remembering the third person of their trio, Gina, missing now for many years.

The three women are brought together in death by Rebecca, and Dee and Lindsay realise their have a long forgotten connection to the murdered woman. And just what connects Rebecca and Gina?

Thank you NetGalley for my copy. Another fantastic book by Lesley.

this is my second book buy this author and never disapoints. this story is so good gripping twisty and very addictive you think you have worked it out but no. Scarlett lives in the same house as her aunt the house was converted in to two flats after Scarlett and her brother got older as she brought them up when there mother died. the aunt Rebecca had dementia and one night her partner Clive kills her and then himself. Scarlett lives in the bottom flat as was done especially done for her illnesses she is very close to her brother Ollie. Dee and her friend Lindsay have there own business as funeral directors. but they have both never forgotten there best friend Gina who disappeared and never found her anniversary is coming up. Scarlett contacts Dee to discuss them doing her Aunt's funeral and Dee does a home visit and they both feel a conection for some reason but someone has it in for the funeral business. and Scarlett is starting to trust no one i so highly recommend you wont want to stop reading very addictive

An enjoyable twisty thriller. It’s a bit of a slow start and I was unsure as to how all the various characters were linked together but once that becomes clear the story picks up and there are a couple of twists that I didn’t guess.

I’m new to this author’s books and found this a slow burner but that’s not to say it wasn’t a good read, it did make me want to keep reading as the author threw in lots of red herrings that kept me guessing. There was one error in chapter 12 where the character is described as drinking soup which should be eating soup but once the book goes through it’s final edit, I’m sure that will be corrected.

A brilliant read, I devoured this in the space of a few hours as I could not put it down at all!! Loved it and highly recommend this book ..

I loved the author's first two novels so was excited to read this, her fourth. The novel is told through the dual narratives of Scarlett who is grieving the death of her aunt who was murdered by her partner and Dee who runs Fond Farewells, a local funeral directors, and is engaged by Scarlett to carry out her aunt's funeral. Dee is also coping with the disappearance of her friend Gina 10 years ago and is helping to organise an anniversary event to keep the search for Gina alive. The novel is fairly slow paced and not a gripping thriller. The two narratives come together gradually and although I found this to be an ultimately enjoyable novel I feel that there needed to be more cohesion and tightness in the plot and possibly fewer characters. However, I'd recommend it as an enjoyable thriller and an easy read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
3.5 stars