The Downstairs Neighbour

I loved it!
There we are, short review, that's all you need to know , right?
It's twisty like a hairpin road, it's thrilling like a rollercoaster ride and satsifyingly concluded in all the best ways. Who, even , is the downstairs neighbour?
And can we take a moment to applaud the awesome cover design which is retro and also deeply chilling?
As Helen moves her characters around her chessboard of a novel, point after point is scored against the reader who desperately scrambles to keep up with a complicated plot.
The neighbours who live upstairs, are Steph, Paul and teen daughter Freya, downstairs lives Emma and in the basement are Vicky and Chris.
All happily going about their business , awkwardly smiling in the hall as they pick up post, pass each other on the stairs and so on.
Until Freya goes missing and some rather ugly secrets are brought to light by the ensuing search.
Someone in that house is not what they seem, someone knows more than what they are saying and someone is about to pay the price for another's mistake.
As the police search turns from a missing girl to the hunt for a body, a ghost raises its head and tells the story of a catastrohic mistake. Alternating between now and then, the multiple narrators give the book a feeling of urgency that drives the reader on past a sensible hour and into the early part of the morning. But hey! No regrets!

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

Paul and Steph own a house in London that allows them to live on the top two floors and they rent out the first floor as well as the basement. Those in the bottom half of the house are very quiet and usually keep to themselves say for some car watching. Paul and Steph have a 17 yr old who unfortunately goes missing. The police are called and the reader is then thrust into three different perspectives. That of Emma, the first floor tenant and Chris Watson who lives in the basement. The author does such a great job with changing characters as well as the timeframe. This writer definitely has a great future in writing thrillers and keeping the readers enthralled and captivated with the twists and turns. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Chris Watson, a driving instructor lives with partner Vicky in the basement flat and Emma Brighton on the ground floor and they are the downstairs neighbours of Steph and Paul Harlow who own the house and live on the top two floor with seventeen year old daughter Freya. Freya goes missing and her disappearance appears to be linked to the past ..... The story is told in two timelines, twenty five years ago and in the present day and from several perspectives.

What a cracking debut which clearly indicates a writer with a very bright future. This is a really good mystery thriller which keeps your attention throughout as you try to solve the intriguing puzzle. The different points of view are very interesting and illuminating throwing up so many secrets, lies and cover ups and each of the protagonists have good backstories. It becomes apparent that several characters are wearing masks and carrying burdens that weigh them down which come to the surface with Freya’s disappearance being the catalyst. The characters emotions are well depicted with everything from being bereft and fearful and terrified by what could happen to Freya to unraveling guilt. The plot is very good as is the pace, it’s full of tension and suspense as the mystery deepens. There are plenty of deceptively clever twists and revelations as the consequences of all the secrecy emerge and you have no idea how it’s all going to end.

Overall, a compelling and intriguing read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the arc for an honest review.

An excellent crime thriller depicting the disappearance of a teenager girl that upends the lives of her family and neighbors. Highly recommended!