Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC ebook.
I really enjoyed this story. The characters and storyline were quirky and held my attention from the beginning on through to the end. I didn't feel like it was dragging in any particular area. I felt both sympathetic and annoyed with the main characters, but I wouldn't call the storyline at all predictable. I found this an enjoyable read. #TheManOnTheMiddleFloor #NetGalley

This story is told from the point of view of three people. Karen, Nick and Tam. They do not know each other. Karen, lives on the top floor, is a doctor and researcher of Autism. She is a mother of three children that do not live with her but with her ex husband. Nick, a twenty-four year old man who has Autism lives on the second floor. Tam, an ex-cop lives on the bottom floor. After losing his job, Tam drowns his sorrows in his apartment on whiskey and feeds his emotions with take-away food. Nick loves routine and cleanliness and is obsessed about germs. As his life begins to get more complicated and his routines are not being fulfilled he begins to unravel and gets more and more agitated. Karen is desperate to observe Nick when she realises that he is on the spectrum and therefore, the perfect candidate for her research. Karen encourages Nick to take a job working at the morgue at the hospital. Tam begins to become suspicious of Nick when he links a bag of clothes with blood stains with a bloody incident at a park. The story then begins to unfold.
Firstly, this book contains scenes of a sexual nature and some could be considered explicit. It is also violent and there is a scene where a kitten is killed. So if these types of things upset you, I strongly urge you not to read it as you may find it very confronting. I nearly stopped reading after the kitten dies as I can't ever watch movies where there is any animal cruelty whatsoever. I think reading it was a little easier, but certainly was not a part of the book that I liked. Other than the confrontational issues of this book, it is a very good read. It is thought provoking and interesting and quickly you find yourself quite hooked. I have read a lot of reviews on this book and many people stopped reading it because they did not like the representation of Nick the Autistic boy. Personally I thought Nick to be quite extreme, more extreme than some that would be considered as high functioning or Aspergers. However, due to Nicks horrible up bringing by his awful grandfather, this exuberated his symptoms and therefore makes sense of why his behaviour appears quite extreme.

The characters were developed well. Nick's character was interesting, scary and heartbreaking. Tam's character was a kind hearted man underneath his tough exterior. The most frustrating character for me was Karen. Being a mother of three children myself, I could not believe how self centred, uncaring and the lack of motherly instincts this woman had. The rolls of the father and mother are reversed in this book. By this I mean often the Mother will have the children and the Father visits. Karen's husband is always calling her, and leaving messages saying things like, 'Karen, where are you? You have missed your son's football game.' Or 'Karen, your kids are alone at the apartment waiting for you, did you forget that they were staying tonight?' She is so infatuated with her research that she comes across as a cold hearted bitch. I was forever shaking my head and thinking, how can this woman call herself a mother. Her poor twelve year old daughter had more motherly instincts then she did. At one stage she takes her youngest son and locks the both of them in a hotel for two days, while she tries to assess him for Autism, and turns off her phone, forgets she told her daughter to meet them at her apartment and her husband (rightly so) is going out of his mind with worry.

Other than it being quite a confronting book, I did really enjoy it and highly recommend. I give it a 4/5.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this book, in exchange for my review.

A very well structured book with a look at the inner lives of three neighbours until their lives merge. Each character has a distinctive voice and it was fun being privy to their secret thoughts about each other and then to watch them interact together, Recommended.

Argh.... I simply could not get into this book, and had to give up just a few pages in. The premise sounded intriguing, but the main character was just too weird to be believable.

I enjoyed this book, particularly as it gave me an insight into autism and Aspergers. The male characters in the book were very likeable but the female was not. I found myself shouting in my head with frustration of her and was surprised that no one had diagnosed her to be quite far along the spectrum. The story was slightly contrived but this didn’t stop my overall enjoyment of the book

The most understandable and realistic character in the book, for me, was austistic. The rest seemed to lived in a world that was over the top, fraught, and full of the type of small inaccuracies that shatter willing suspension of disbelief.

I can't bring myself to continue reading this it makes me feel physically sick.

The misrepresentation of people on the autistic spectrum is tiresome and extremely damaging - to people with ASD and also to the perception of people with ASD in society.

It's 2018, I'm really disappointed that people still buy into this s**t.

This book started well and I did not know what path we were going to be lead down. 



You meet Tam first he lives on the ground floor. A cop who is recovering from an injury on the job, and who has been told that times have changed and he is no longer needed on the force. Forcing him to live a few days in a drunken solitude. This character was the only one I actually liked even with all his flaws. He is an old-school policeman, just wanting to do good in the world and at the end of the book he had found his place.



Nick, he lives on the middle floor. He has Aspergers and OCD among other things, and his story is one of sorrow and pain. His story was uncomfortable to read. He lives his life by routines and schedules. His mum has paid for him to live in a flat so he can make his life his own. His grandad, however, is such an evil man, you can sense the fear that Nick has for him.



Karen, she lives on the top floor. I actually have never met a character who I disliked straight away. She is a mum of three and she is completely career driven, she is a researcher on autism. The neglect to her family is such that her eldest daughter at 12 years old is the surrogate mum to her two younger boys. I found her story the one that made me angry and sad. I am a career driven woman who has a child, but I think I couldn’t accept how she treated her family, and I could not relate to her as it was too extreme for me to understand. I do struggle with being a mum at times but I try to deal with it the best I can. Karen did not deal with it, she ignored the situation, neglected her family. She got angry when they could not see anything from her point of view, yet did not take their point of view into consideration, not once.  I thought it was indicated at times that Karen was on the spectrum for autism without even realising it despite all her studying.



Each chapter focuses on one person at a time. Their thoughts, feelings and point of view. When said ‘murder’ takes place, it is very casually glossed over and I did not realise at first it had happened, this was mainly due to the POV at the time. There is no secret to who did the killing in any aspect of the story, but more of a why they did it, and their understanding of it.  The downward spiral from then was fast and you really couldn’t see the end happening. The more that the characters try to get a ‘normal’ life the worse the situation gets. You can feel the panic in the characters when everything falls apart.



I did have a little cheer at the end of the book with Nick’s storyline because justice was done for him and he could begin to live a proper life that he wanted, no fuss, touch, emotions and just his routines and schedules perfected the way he likes them.  



When I was reading one of the scenes, I just couldn’t get past it, and I thought I might not finish it. It was really unsettling but I am glad I had a break and carried on with the book, blitzing it in one night. Due to the content of this book, and how unsettling some of the scenes were I think this book will stay with me for awhile.



I received a copy on NetGalley from Anna at Red Door publishing for my honest and unbiased opinion

Thanks to netgalley/publisher/author for the arc.

I had picked it up thinking it was a mystery. I was not totally disappointed because i liked the alternating chapters with each of the three main characters. Rather than one long story, this style kept the suspense going and did not let me put the book down!

In order to justify and make Karen likeable it has been reiterated about her choice of career over kids. But i think it might have a negative effect because it only makes one dislike her more.

Nick has Aspergers and victim of abuse from close family member. I feel the abuse part could have been left out and it would have had the same effect. Nick's mom fully knowing and having experienced abuse herself left her kid just because she thought he was a boy does not justify her choice or make her any more likeable. Totally unrequired and i had reduced a star only for this sub story.

Overall ok, The writing was flawless. It had a happy ending with all the loose ends tied and everyone goes on to have a better future. This did compensate for the disturbing parts in the book (the frozen cat, people in the park).

One take away from this book is living in apartments/flats , how well do we know our neighbors. If not a murderer, we could be living amongst people who might need help and we go on our busy lives ignoring all of these until something strikes.

This was a well-written book featuring three main characters that I honestly could not stand. I appreciated the first person POV of Nick which helped me understand him and his actions a little bit better but it did nothing to make me connect with him as a person. Karen was just SO frustrating and I get it - a woman chooses her work over her family and in most people's eyes she's instantly vilified - but how can you have three kids and treat them all so horribly, going so far as to turning your youngest child into a science experiment to benefit your career? I don't believe I've ever hated a lead character so much. I realize her husband was totally emotionally abusive but put myself in that situation, and I don't know if I'd be any different. She was completely frustrating and I'm so glad her children left her for good. She was toxic to everyone around her. Tam was really the only silver-lining and even then, he was a sad excuse for a human being up until the end when he redeemed himself.

Moving on, the whole plot-line with the abusive grandfather could have been left out of this book. I get it - he was a horrible human being - but we rarely saw him in the book and then, in the end, he's shown being a total a-hole to his grandchild who is about to be taken into police custody and what does he do? He cusses him out right then and there which (of course) sets off alarms in Tam's head that say, "He's an abuser and rapist! Let's arrest him." I just feel like that entire subplot was unnecessary.

And now, my absolute least favorite part of this book, coming from a hardcore animal lover and activist, WHY did a kitten need to be thrown into the plot of this book and WHY did he have to kill it? Was it to show us that he was capable of killing everything and not understanding what he did and feeling remorse? We got that from the park attack and then we saw it again with Marta. After he killed the cat and it kept coming up as evidence I thought to myself that it's possible that there was a deeper meaning and reason for the cat being introduced and killed, but no, there really wasn't. The poor thing was tossed in a freezer 20% into the book and never found justice.

Overall, this was definitely not the book for me but I did enjoy the writing style and detailed descriptions of everything.

An odd, enjoyable thriller without the mystery?

Despite living in the same three-flat house in the suburbs of London, the residents are strangers to one another. The bottom floor is home to Tam, a recent ex-cop who spends his days drowning his sorrows in whisky. On the middle floor is Nick, a young man with Asperger’s who likes to stick to his schedules and routines. The top floor belongs to Karen, a doctor and researcher who has spent her life trying to understand the rising rates of autism. They have lived their lives separately, until now, when an unsolved murder and the man on the middle floor connect them all together.

I liked this.The book is an easy and sometimes uncomfortable read but in a good way. It’s sad, painful and tragic and rarely uplifting but stops from being depressing. What makes it compelling and engaging are the characters. The novel is massively character driven which is essential as the plot is somewhat light and predictable.
The story is told from a three character perspective that works really well. This ensures that the pace is kept zipping along and proves to be a real page turner. This is primarily down to the three perfectly imagined (but stereotyped) characters.
All the characters are extremely well written, they are all massively flawed which keeps you engaged. Although Tam is the cliched cop he’s likeable and a crucial bridge between the two other main characters. Nick is written in the first person and this really helps to get in his head as we learn about the issues associated with his condition and his struggle to fit into society
Karen is particularly loathsome, absolutely zero redeeming characteristics but utterly compelling at the same time. One of the least likeable characters I’ve come across. This does not harm the book though, it enhances it.

The Man on the Middle Floor does have a major theme and does a good job in highlighting disconnection in all its forms; sexual, physical, parental and emotional. It attempts to show how isolating society can be but also how unprepared it is to offer support to those who are mentally and emotionally vulnerable. Despite this, it is not a lecture on mental health.

I really enjoyed this book. It is odd, i think that’s what swung it for me, it doesn’t really fit into a genre and I like that. If it is a crime thriller then it It does suffer from a lack of mystery that you would normally associate with that genre. The suspense vanishes after the first quarter of the book and there is no true villain unless you count Karen. Despite this the novel works for me and is a throughly good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, in return for an honest review.

This is the story of three people living in different apartments in the same house. Nick is a man with Asperger’s Syndrome, Karen is an autism researcher and Tam is a cop, laid up with an injury that may end his career. The three gradually become involved with each other’s lives in a story that will likely disturb many readers, as there are scenes of violence against animals along with a particularly gruesome murder and a horrific follow-up. While this book was well written, it just wan’t my cup of tea and I worry it might paint a troublesome view of people on the Autism spectrum

The Man in the Middle starts with Nick, a young man, who has OCD and probably is autistic. He lives on the second floor, hence, he is the Man in the Middle His first floor neighbor is Tam, a cop who just lost his job after 23 years on the force - not "modern" enough. Nick is visiting a park when he notices a couple being intimate. Nick doesn't like this so he beats the man to death and the woman into a coma.
The third floor resident is Karen, divorced with 3 children that she doesn't have time for. Her job is all that matters.

The newly jobless Nick decides to look for a not quite empty liquor bottle in his houses bin. So... instead he comes up with a bag of bloody clothes. Still feeling the cop within him, Nick takes the bag and puts it in his freezer. After a bizarre meeting, Karen invites Nick over for coffee (and so much more). Karen sees a note that Nick left by the communal mailroom and prods him into taking a mortuary assistant at the hospital where she works. . It means changing when mom and grandpa visit and, and his structured plans for weeks. He barely can handle this change when mom and grandpa bring him a kitten. How can he handle all of this chaos? Nick decides the cat is too dirty and stinky and breaks its' neck. He dumps the cat in the bin and for some reason, Tam finds it and freezes it, too. WOW! We find out that Karen is using Nick for a case study for this very important paper she thinks will save the world. She follows him around, and finds him in the morgue petting and kissing a cadaver. Subsequently, Nick is canned. He opens up the front door to his house to a girl who reminds him of the cadaver. She worms her way into cleaning Nick's house, irritates him and he retaliates by smothering her to death - leaving the body laying on his bed. (Talk about chaos...). As Karen worries how she can ever complete Nick's case study now that he no longer works with her, It now seems as if Karen can work on her new case study - her 5 year old son, Jaime. Having avoided her kids, she didn't even know her son was struggling with autism. What a bunch! Karen's daughter, Sarah, has dinner with Nick and somehow goes downstairs to his apartment. Tam continues to doggedly investigate the murders but sees Sarah's frightened face in Nick's window. Eventually, Tam does save the day, but the law enforcement officers need a better way of handling sensitive people. Everyone - mom, grandpa, Karen's ex- Sarah's dad (of not Karen, she is too busy getting her son ready to be used for the paper she plans to write). A rather suspenseful book! Well-written and thought out development of the characters and an eventful conclusion. Thank you to both the publisher and NetGalley for sending me this great read!

I absolutely LOVE that cover! Whoever did it, could you please do mine when I finish my first novel!

I've read enough books to recognize good writing when I see it. However, there's usually A PROBLEM with those books that are so loved by the "industry" or given so much critical acclaim or awards. They're too smart to be engaging because human brain wants endorphins and not only slowly seeping intelligence.

This book has a bit of both worlds, though - it's dense with substance but it also floes with scrutinizing details of a murder from a mentally retarded person's point of view.

Is it a mystery? Not really, not in any ordinary way at least.

Is it twisty? Also, not so much. At least not very unpredictably so.

Is it highly eye-opening about the world we live in as described by someone who's most likely not at all like many of us? YES, ABSOLUTELY.

So there you have it. It's a book with a very bright red cover - that should raise the necessary red flag when it comes to expecting it to be just your average psychological thriller.

All that being said, I found the said narrator Nick to be the only exciting part. The others were so commonly dull and boring with their ongoing inner thoughts that right after the murder took place, I tried to follow the book only from Nick's chapters.

Thank you Netgalley for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I would NOT recommend this book. I'm in medical research and have autistic family members - one of the main characters is a researcher and another has Asperger's - this book is so unrealistic and badly researched it borders on offensive.

The rest of the plot is boring - there is no mystery about the murder because the reader is told what happens. The characters are dull and unlikeable. There is a heavy handed abuse subplot without any real depth. There is random sex between people who are basically strangers and it gets a bit mills and boon before it goes back to attempting to be dark and gritty.

I enjoy reading crime/ thrillers/ horror and this just falls so far from the mark. The writing seems amateurish throughout, there's not really any atmosphere, tension or style.

I am disappointed that I wasted time reading this book. I would give zero stars.

The three flats in this London house being to three compelling characters; Nick, a recently downsized police; Karen, an obsessively self involved researcher who neglects her children for her work, and Nick, an autistic young man desperately clinging to a semblance of independence from his overbearing mother and grandfather. Then the murder of a young couple interrupted in flagrante delicto in a nearby park shatters the quiet of the neighborhood, and it reverberates through the lives of tenants in unexpected ways. Strongly drawn characters and excellent pacing drive this propulsive story of connection and disconnection to a thrilling conclusion.

This was a rather unusual crime novel, about three people living on three floors of a building, all strangers, and how their lives eventually intersect. On the ground floor is Tam, a police officer who’s been laid off after suffering a gunshot wound, on the top floor is an academic researcher consumed by her work, and in the middle floor is a young autistic man. The story moves forward taking us one by one into each protagonists’s life, as all of them unravel slowly by decisions made in the past and present.
As a read, this was quite riveting. I found it hard to put down and I enjoyed the switch between perspectives. Some sections seemed a little flat—that is, flat narrative. Each character was unique, and I particularly liked the academic—it’s unusual to find singleminded women, focused on work and clueless about their kids. It’s seen to be endearing in men but irresponsible in women to neglect their children, but the manages to pull it off without being too judgemental.
The one thing I did not like was the portrayal of the autistic man. It seemed like he was set up to fail, and though I don’t know much about autism, I felt it was a somewhat unfair representation. I’ve subsequently read a few other reviews in which people have been more vocal and articulate on this issue.
(Review copy received from NetGalley)

I read this book in one sitting - I couldn't put it down. The characters jump off the page and though it's you might not actually like them, you still want to know what they're going to do next. She has a special talent for character development and getting inside the character's very complex heads.They draw you into their internal words and as they start to become involved with each other, their interactions are destined to go terribly wrong. I found myself going "noooooo!" Somehow she also sprinkles the story with humour.

I'm with the "couldn't get into it AT ALL" crowd on this one. I wanted to like it - it sounded original and interesting and like it would be full of unexpected tidbits. Well, it was - but it was also dreary and dark and horrible and cringe-inducing (both at the gruesome bits and at what felt like some exceptionally negative stereotyping). Not for me, this...

The Man on the Middle Floor is a multiple point of view novel featuring the three single Londoners living in apartments on each floor of a three story house. Tam on the ground floor is a policeman - an old schooler who uses his nose and has no time for modern community policing approaches. Karen on the top floor is a research scientist with a particular interest in autism. And the man on the middle floor, Nick, wouldn't you know it, is an autistic man with some naughty habits. Can you see where this is heading?

This is a plot driven novel with aspirations of character study, and it is fairly readable. However, the plot is predictable and very convenient, the characters are stereotypes, the pacing is wrong and the novel has too many devastating incidents which are never properly closed off.

By this, I mean, for example, that when the plot requires Nick to spend some time in the real world, he puts up a notice looking for work in the building lobby which would only ever be seen by Karen and Tam - and as if by magic, just in the previous section Karen found out that the hospital needed someone to work in the morgue in a hurry. Or spots some clothes in the rubbish bin and decides to send them off to the police forensics lab for analysis and, two days later, comes up with a very topical hit...

Karen is a workaholic, Tam is an alcoholic. Nick is the only point of view told in first person and it is staccato and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of facts. I know autism causes people to struggle with emotions and motivations, but I couldn't believe (for example) Nick's relationship with pornography.

As a murder story there is no suspense and everything is done and dusted by the half way point when everyone inexplicably seems to be simultaneously moving out of the building for no good reason and participating in a hostage situation for equally baffling reasons. This was probably the point at which I gave up even trying to suspend disbelief. There then followed a long and dull meditation on autism and (bizarrely) child abuse.

And my final criticism, in terms of too many ends left unresolved, means, for example, that the families affected by the events of the novel never seem to have an opportunity to grieve or to seek justice. They are wheeled in and wheeled out when the plot demands, but the senselessness of the violence their families experience needs closing off. That doesn't necessarily mean resolution through a long custodial sentence or revenge, but it does mean that they need to have their stories heard.

I am sorry this novel didn't work for me. Urban multiple point of view novels are usually right up my alley, but the points of view have to add up to a complex and textured narrative. These ones didn't.