Not at all what I was expecting, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's essentially a series of well-written short stories that are connected by the road the stories take place on, and the fact the situations all happen to neighbours along it. The only link between each is the vicar and his (nosy) wife. I was also a bit thrown that I couldn't figure out when this took place. It was only when I went to look at the reviews that I discovered it was set in 1968!

I was really enjoying the first story, which resulted in a murder, and it would continue through to finding the murderer, although it was pretty obvious so not sure where I thought it could go. Then we met Colin, and from that point I kept hoping we'd get back to the first story, but it kept changing and different people kept dying.

I can see what the author was doing, keeping secrets behind closed doors is basically every street, every building, in the world, and particularly small neighbourhoods, so I suppose the reasons I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped are my own, in that it just wasn't what I was expecting and I kept wondering how we were going to loop back to the beginning/first story.

Outside of that, there are a lot of characters, none especially nice, although all doing a good job of putting on the nice and respectable face to the outside world.

So I'm giving this a solid 3* rating, because it wasn't awful by any stretch, just not what I was expecting and so for that reason I was disappointed.

4 Stars

On Goodreads this is marked as a Mystery, and I'm not sure that's the case. It's more of a selection of intertwined short stories about murder. Reminds me of 'An elderly lady is up to no good'.

I enjoyed this, some of the stories more so than others. I think Muriel and Pauline were my favourites, but I also enjoyed the one about Deirdre.

I'd definitely look out for something else from this author in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. Unfortunately, I found this book mind-numbingly slow, which I do think is part of its appeal. They don't call them cozy mysteries for nothing. I was here for the humour and all these things that were promised by both reviewers and the synopsis, but I managed a couple of chapters and started to feel dreadfully bored by the whole thing. For me, I kind of need a book to start with an interesting premise, a moment, something to grab my attention (especially limited as it is now). I just don't think this was for me right now - but who knows? I might pick it back up in the future, especially if it was available as an audiobook.

I love it when a book takes me by surprise and reminds me of the old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. I was expecting ‘cosy crime’ and although it had many of the ingredients of the genre - including a brilliant, omnipresent vicar’s wife - what I got was a deliciously dark, macabrely comic tale.

Each chapter is presented from the point of view of a different resident of Atbara Avenue and in some way involves murder. Whilst the individual stories differ greatly in theme and devilry, they are connected by the constants of the street, the neighbours, the gossip and the church.

Although each resident has a separate story to tell, they are very much a collection and the success is in the structure and the flow. I appreciated the intricate details which are threaded through the stories and the way in which they come full circle, finishing at the house in which they started, is very satisfying.

I loved this one, it’s a brilliantly clever, unique take on a well loved genre - highly recommended!

I was unsure about this at the start as I wasn't sure where it was going; I initially wondered whether this was going to be a book full of separate chapters dealing with the residents of Atbara Avenue as short stories and individual events but as you keep reading, it becomes clear that they are all linked in some way and it definitely becomes a novel.

Full of absolutely excellent and interesting characters; each of the stories is engaging with a great mix of the dark and humour which works really well; they cover a raft of human emotions - jealousy, love and hate, loss and grief, murder and violence - and from different perspectives - male and female, young and old - making this a not-so-typical murder mystery book with some surprising twists along the way. Many of the stories resonate with current affairs despite this being set in the 1960's which makes it feel up to date.

This is an engaging and enthralling book that is quite different from what I usually read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more from this author although they have a lot to live up to now and I must thank the author, Bedford Square Publishers and NetGalley for enabling me to read this debut novel.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review it if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

In 1968 London was Swinging, Twiggy was modelling, “Hair” was rocking the West End and “Hey Jude” was the biggest selling single. Why am I telling you this? Because none of this cultural revolution impinged on Atbara Avenue, a quiet suburban London enclave occupied by assorted neighbours, doing neighbourly things, but keeping themselves to themselves. Behind closed doors, however, there are crises, conflicts, resentments and the occasional murder. This book relates a number of such situations, but each is told as a separate vignette, all linked by certain locations (such as the church, the flat with the pink shower hose, the bench by the duck pond) but mainly by the Vicar’s wife, whose perambulations provide a sort of continuity.
The writing style is rather mannered, more 1930s than 1960s, and the initial pace is quite gentle, although the initial story is one of the darkest, and tragic, in the book. Some readers might feel like bailing out early, but I counsel them to stick with it because the twist is surprising, as is the case in the subsequent stories. It is an easy and enjoyable read, a gentle stroll through the darkness behind closed doors.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

This was a totally different read to what I was expecting. I thought it would be a nice cosy crime read. What I got was something that was sometimes dark and sometimes really funny.
I loved the way they were all connected.
My favourite story was about the vicar's wife, Dierdre. I felt the ending was open to interpretation.
My least favourite was Elspeth. I found it and her to be quite disturbing.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bedford Square Publishers for the ARC in return for an honest review.

'A Curtain Twitcher's Book of Murder' is deliciously twisty and intriguing, it wasn't what I was expecting to read at all and I loved it for that! It is quirky and unusual and oh so very readable.

The book is set in a suburban London street in 1968, everyone may know each other's business but it turns out that not everyone knows each other's secrets. They've all lived in Atbara Avenue for donkey's years, watching neighbourhood children grow from babies to adults and leave home, or parents age and pass on. Residents would probably describe it as quite a quiet street where nothing happens but that couldn't be further from the truth. It reminded me of the 'Tales of the Unexpected' series (which I know ages me!) - where seemingly innocent quiet and boring people have huge buried secrets and hidden passions that can emerge at any time.

In this series of inter-connected stories, each household's actions send ripples through other families, both along the street and out into the wider world. There are relationships between households that you would not anticipate where actions taken 20 years ago or more can have devastating and deadly consequences even decades later.

The 1960s time setting was perfectly chosen, a period with old school values reigning for the older residents set against the freedom being chased by the younger people - the pull between the two was really well illustrated.

What a wonderful debut!

Atbara Avenue was once a very gentil area of London; when the homes were newly built the residents had domestic staff to see to their every need but now, in 1968, it's a very different kettle of fish. As we get to know them, we find that things are not always what they seem and there is something dark lurking behind the curtains . . .

This is such an entertaining read! Beautifully written, it is essentially a wander up and down the avenue, peering into different homes and getting to know the characters within. There are certainly more than a few surprises along the way and I found it very hard to put the book aside to get anything done - even sleep! Thoroughly enjoyable and definitely an author to watch out for. 4.5* and one I'm very happy to recommend.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

📖 Book Review 📖

A Curtain-Twitcher's Book of Murder by Gay Marris
Bedford Square Publishers, 20th June 2024

Gay Marris' debut is an excellent collection of tales from the residents of one street. But this is no ordinary street. This is Atbara Avenue, London, in 1968; a street where murder comes to call.

'Ask anyone on Atbara Avenue how well they know their neighbours, and they’ll answer "well". After all, they see each other across the vast distance afforded by close proximity, and that is probably for the best.'

Each tale captured in this delightful book is linked with the rest, or could be read as a standalone. There is great diversity to be found; some are unusual and curious, some humorous, and others interesting. This serves as a great introduction to this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Bedford Square Publishers and Gay Marris for providing an eARC via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

#ACurtainTwitchersBookOfMurder #GayMarris #ARC #BedfordSquarePublishers #NetGalley #BookReview

An interesting take on what is referred to as a cosy crime novel. Tenderly dealt with and effectively a series of short stories. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Atabara Avenue in London has some long standing occupants and they all have their stories. They don't all like each other and there is an amazingly high level of murder, but most of them are never put down as murder due to the way the deed is carried out. THere are several separate stories, Muriel, the aged lounge singer who hates her daughter who ruined her career, the twin brothers that hate each other so much that even the house they share is zoned for them to avoid each other. The little boy who is convinced that his soul was swapped when he was in an accident, the vicar's wife with a long standing secret.
Entertaining and about revenge!

This was such a fun read
Atbara Avenue, London in the 1960's where neighbours gossip among themselves whilst queueing in the local shops.

I think this should be viewed as a series of short stories that happen to be on the same street. There are a few characters who pop up here and there in other stories which links them all together.
I had felt a little confused while reading until I began to think in this manner. This made for a much more pleasant reading experience.

Meet the residents of Altbara Avenue - a normal street in leafy London. However, on this street, murder often seems to be the solution to a variety of problems. However, not all murders involve human lives!

The stories are cleverly interlinked, with the vicar and his wife the linchpins to keep everything together, but each story relates back to characters introduced in an earlier version. Some are very sad, some you feel injustice was the final result and some you just wish could have had their comeuppance earlier!

Overall a very entertaining read - it easily could have descended into 'one murder too many' to be believable, but actually it doesn't do that as there are sufficient different characters and scenarios. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the concept was super fun, sort of like a collection of short stories from multiple POV’s. Loved the 1960s setting and the funny little quirks , took some getting into due to the writing style but all in all I quite enjoyed this! Was a nice change to my usual reading style.

I have to admit that I have never read a book quite like this. At first I thought that it was a selection of short stories and then I realised that it was individual stories written about all the residents of Atlana Avenue that are somehow interwoven.
To say that they are the weirdest collection of neighbours I think is being generous, the common denominator in all the stories is Vicar Desmond O'Reilly but mainly his observant (or nosy depending on your point of view) wife, Deirdre who likes to circulate, doing her good works.
All the stories are different, the humour in some of them is darker than others, some are more disturbing than others but all of them drew me in to some extent.
This book won't appeal to everyone and I have to admit that it wasn't one of my favourites but there are a lot of people out there who will love it.
Thank you Net Gallery for giving me a chance to preview this book, my review is voluntary.

A cosy crime novel which follows the residents of Atbara Avenue.

I like the 1960s setting of the book and the cast of quirky characters but the novel was written almost as though it was a collection of short stories rather than one long narrative which could feel quite clunky at times.

I wasn’t really a fan of the writing style but i’m sure people will enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me.

I've read a lot of cosy crime novels, especially over the last few years, and some have been better than others. There's always a worry when a genre is this popular that it will never sustain, and soon books will stop being good. But so far that hasn't happened, and I include Marris' book in that.

I was part of the cover reveal for this book and so was really excited about it. This is her debut novel I believe, which is such an accomplishment as it's really rather good.

There are too many characters to get into here, and I think the joy comes from the surprise when you're reading about them, but you've got a wide spectrum of people, each one with their own quirks and are marvellous. Some are quite caricature-ish in how they've been written which I don't usually like but it works in this. We've got all ages and they all bring something new. There were even some twists and surprises regarding them that I wasn't expecting.

Each character gets their own chapter, with some interweaving, which makes it read like a collection of related short stories. I would say that the Vicar Desmond and his wife Deirdre are the links through out the stories, always popping up, intervening. They are what happens it all part of one big story.

It is darker than I thought it would be. For the most part, the books of this genre I have read, whilst they do have their murders and whatnot, they're usually quite light and fun and unserious. This is fun, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't expecting just how dark it went. And I think that helps freshen it up amongst the others in this genre. But yeah, there are some chapters that are really quite shocking. It was a surprise but a good once, once I got my head round it not being your typical cosy crime.

What I will say - and I've seen some other reviews that say similar - is it isn't the best opening. I found the first few pages a little slow and stilted, but I always give a book 20-25% before I decide if I'm going to continue or not. Gladly I can say this picks up very quickly, and once I was into it, I was into it! It's really eye-catching writing, and an enjoyable read. Even though I have pointed this out, I still wouldn't dock any stars from it, and it's still a 5-star read for me as the rest of the book more than makes up for that slower beginning. It's an absolute triumph and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Unsurprisingly, there are some difficult topics raised including death (premeditated and accidental), grief, injury, disability, mental health, murder, suicide, jealousy, missing people.

It is very original, brought something new to the party, and I would definitely recommend it to others. Even with its darker tones, it was an absolute joy to read, and I was thinking about it long after I'd finished. It was entertaining, funny, thrilling, dark and engrossing, and I'm very keen to see what she comes up with next.

I had sent my review but for some reason it keeps asking

a good short story but not a quick read it was a slow start for me but then it turned into a tales of the unexpected view full of imagination and the neighbours feel of the old chit chat over the fence