I slogged through the first half of this book before giving up on it. How many pages are needed to say that a man and woman are poor neighbors? Apparently hundreds. Two "undesirables" move into a middle class English neighborhood and clash with all the families who live there. They play loud music, have a bunch of cars they work on, tear down a wall and a tree that the neighborhood likes, enact a poorly constructed scaffolding and so on. They also don't move their cars during a weekly children's day where the whole neighborhood clears the streets so the kids can play hopscotch and such, and they're rude when repeatedly asked about all this. Things escalate. Apparently they eventually get murdered and then we have to figure out which annoyed neighbor did it. I didn't really like any of the characters. They were all one dimensional. There are also worse neighbors on my own sweet little small town street (police on here constantly and they're honestly scarier than this couple) so I don't really have the sympathy for these outraged folks that I'm apparently expected to have. This is a rare DNF for me.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

Let's be real. I've been reading this since May 13th. I'm never going to finish it. I'm bored...and I don't want to read it. Plus we know how we all feel about our neighbors....


Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

While I finished this, there were times I debated making this a DNF. I found the characters messy, unremarkable, and unrelatable. The ending wasn't shocking or even memorable. While I originally thought this was a neighborhood thriller, it was more a poorly paced mystery.

Those People ( 2019)
By Louise Candlish
Berkley/Penguin, 368 pages
★★★★

American literature used to abound with novels that stripped away the veneer of middle class life and exposed ugly truths. Now just a handful of authors–Joan Didion, Richard Ford, Jonathan Franzen, Tom Perrotta, Stewart O’Nan–would dare. In the United States, social stratification has become the Great Denial. In the prevailing myth, all Americans are members of the middle class and that way of life is one of materialistic bliss.

Contrast this with Britain, where social class is openly discussed and bourgeois values are not universally admired. Louise Candlish held those values to the fire in Our House (2018) and in her latest novel, Those People, turns up the flames. She takes us to Lowland Way, a bourgeois oasis just 8 miles from Central London. It’s a classic gentrified neighborhood whose residents hired help to rehab old houses then settled in for the long haul. Lowland Way is surrounded by greenswards and shot through with an unexamined paternalism that’s more mid-20th century than early 21st. Though some of the women work, most are inordinately fixated on children, dog walking, and worrying about the cygnets (swan chicks) on the park pond. Naomi Morgan has even won praise from local officials for spearheading Play Out Sunday–a weekly traffic blockade of the neighborhood so that children can recreate on the street.

She and her husband Ralph reside at # 7 Lowland Way. Ralph is the unofficial patriarch of the neighborhood. He’s the successful owner of a leather goods manufactory, drives a flash car, and is a bit on the haughty side. His younger brother (by two years) Finn lives at #5 with his wife Tess and their children. Ralph and Finn go to the pub regularly and are best buddies. New parents Ant(hony) and Em(ily) Kendall live at #3.The other member of the inner circle is 60-year-old Sissy Watkins, who is divorced and runs a desirable B & B from her home to make ends meet. She lives across from #1, which is empty since the death of Jean Booth, whom everyone misses. It’s a cozy little set up in which residents comment on how lucky they are.

Their urban idyll receives a jolt when #1 passes to Jean’s cousin Darren Booth and his partner Jodie. On the surface they are “those people” of the book’s title. Darren is what many Brits unflatteringly call a “bloke,” a 57-year-old working-class man of few social graces and even fewer filters. The same is true of his salty-tongued partner Jodie. They are the neighbors from hell that tear down walls and trees, convert # 1 into an unofficial used car lot, and their home into a 24/7 scaffold-covered construction sight with loud music blaring and the occasional booze-filled party raging.

Booth and his neighbors get off on the wrong foot and it degenerates from there. The Kendalls can’t sleep and they worry about the possible hearing damage done to their child from all the noise. Ralph fumes about all of the junky vehicles–including an ugly van in front of his house–parked on the street and he blows his stack when he learns from the local council that it’s perfectly legal to keep them there. Finn echoes his brother, Tess grows disgusted with Darren’s uncouth language and disrespect, and Sissy struggles to make ends meet when her ratings suffer and bookings decline. All are appalled that Darren and Jodie are more prone to tell them to “fuck off” than to negotiate.

What to do about a problem like Darren and Jodie? The local council and police are either understaffed or loath to act, so how will locals cope? Candlish guides us through shifting dynamics, several tragedies, and an ongoing police investigation that casts doubt on guilt and innocence. Candlish starts her novel eight weeks before a major incident and takes us week by week through a series of subplots, shaky alibis, and unreliable first-person narratives. Are Darren and Jodie just as awful as they seem, or is all of this a bad case of bourgeois snobbery and assumption of privilege? It is to Candlish’s credit that she does not resort to cut-and-dried morality. Soon, there is both inter- and intra-class rivalry and we begin to wonder if maybe we’ve misjudged whom Candlish intends those people to be. (Maybe the answer is both!)

This is a potboiler, not the sort of thing you’d read in an English lit class, but it’s a very good one. Candlish perhaps artificially widens class barriers, but she is keenly aware that they exist, which I find this preferable to the aforementioned Great Denial. Those People is set in England, but it should make North American readers consider the class gulf that, among other things, played out in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. If you don’t think there are millions of Darren Booths from sea to shining sea, you’re living in a bubble. Even if you’re not up for a sociology lesson, Those People is a great summer read.

Rob Weir

"Those People" is a book that shows just how bad things can get when neighbors clash with neighbors.

Lowland Way is an ideal, upscale neighborhood. Everyone seems to get along with everyone. Perfect, happy little families. Then The Booths move into Number 1, and they bring the worst out in everyone!

Ear piercing music at all hours, construction that never seems to end, and the front yard and street have been turned into a makeshift car lot. That is what happens when Darren Booth and is girlfriend, Jodie, move into the neighborhood.

It was clear to all the other residents from the get-go that "those people" were cut from a different cloth. They don't belong. They need to move out, ASAP! The neighbors get together and start brainstorming a plan to get rid of their new, not so friendly neighbors.

But then something awful happens. Something no one expected. It goes from horrible to even worse...

"Those People" was my second book by author Louise Candlish, and though I didn't enjoy is as much as "Our House" I did think it was a fun, quick little thriller.

Told from excerpts of police reports after the event, and alternating characters telling their story leading up to the event, this book is well written, and I had no problem imagining the array of characters and the street they live on.

My issue with this novel is the HUGE cast of character's lives that we are thrown right in to. It was hard to know who was who, who was married to who, and who lived where.

There was also not a single likable character in the entire book. Perhaps that's how the author wanted it. I was just hoping to connect with at least one, but that was not the case. It was also a very slow moving story, until you get to the end and it seems to move at such a rapid pace it was hard to keep up.

So let's talk about the ending... it just kind of fell flat. I didn't feel a sense of closure or even a feeling of happiness or discontent wither way. It was just... and ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me an e-copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 3 star read for me.

"Those People" is available now at your favorite book retailer so pick up a copy today!

Happy Reading!

Wow! What a ride! "Those People" was a lot of fun to read. Trying to figure out who did what was great. Recommended for when you are looking for entertainment.

Let's get the main grit out of the way:
I am trash for domestic drama from Louise Candlish.
She has such a knack for examining the dark side of an otherwise mundane domestic landscape. Additionally, I am really into how she formats her stories.

She incorporates the use of mixed media, such as police interviews, newspaper articles, texts and/or emails, and I absolutely love that.

This story is set on Lowland Way, a quiet residential street in a posh-suburban neighborhood. The envy of other neighborhoods, this one seems the perfect place to be and raise a family.

Everyone gets along so smoothly, they have even organized 'play-out Sunday', where the street literally gets blocked off to cars and the kids just play in the street all day while the parents relax and socialize. Everyone cooperates. Everyone participates. It's perfect.

That is until Darren and Jodie move into #1 after Darren inherits the property. They bring with them loud music, inappropriate language, a dodgy renovation project, not to mention many cars that he actively works on and sells from his driveway.

The icing on the cake being that they refuse to follow the rules of play-out Sunday and continue driving cars on the street!!!

As you can imagine, neighbors are not impressed. In fact, their presence causes so much stress that several people discuss selling and moving on. Long-term owners on the street refuse to be cowed by the newcomers however and the plotting and diabolical scheming begins.

Y'all, these neighbors are savage! They take their domestic peace VERY SERIOUSLY!!!
I can't say I blame them but damn, the stuff they come up with!

I had a really great time reading this. As with Our House, you know from the very beginning that a crime has occurred but you aren't quite sure who the victim is. Overtime, through interviews and the perspectives of multiple characters the true story gets revealed. This style, for me, makes the plot move along very quickly and I love starting a new chapter in order to see someone else's POV.

At this point, I am a fangirl for Candlish and will definitely continue to pick up any domestic drama she puts out! Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it!

Many residents will probably identify with this story of THOSE PEOPLE who move into a neighborhood with disregard for any council or homeowner association rules—written or unwritten, who never really try to fit in, whose yard looks like a used car lot and/or auto repair shop, who hogs the unrestricted parking bays, who blares music at all times of the day and night—you get the picture. The whole time I was reading this, I felt like it has all of the ingredients for a successful TV movie.

Looking for a fun read? This is it. Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy.

Author Louse Candlish asks readers to contemplate this question: "Could you hate your neighbor enough to plot to kill him?"

Lowland Way is a suburban dream street upon which to live. The houses are beautiful, all of the neighbors get along, and the kids play together on weekends. They've even set up a program, "Play-Out Sunday," closing the road every Sunday so that the neighborhood kids can play in the street together.

Darren and Jodie move into the house on the corner after Darren inherits it from the elderly previous resident. They don't fit in and don't demonstrate any desire to do so. Darren blasts music at all hours with no regard to the fact that the next door neighbors have an infant. Additionally, he begins renovating the property, setting up scaffolding, and appears to be running a business, selling used cars from the front yard. To top it all off, Darren and Jodie are rude and dismissive when the neighbors attempt to lodge their various complaints with them.

The neighbors grow increasingly angry, frustrated, and impatient with Darren and Jodie.

And then a tragic death occurs on Darren's property. It shocks the neighborhood. The police begin investigating -- interviewing everyone who lives on Lowland Way -- and accusations, suspicions, and tempers flare.

Candlish takes readers into a seemingly idyllic neighborhood. However, the facade of perfection cracks quickly and easily when Darren and Jodie arrive. Her intriguing characters include two brothers who live next door to each other, a young married couple with the aforementioned baby, and a divorcee who is trying to hold onto her son by converting her home into a bed and breakfast. Candlish illustrates the fragility of the status quo and how a sense of entitlement can cause otherwise decent people to behavior irrationally in order to protect their territory and their way of life within it. As the police investigate, it becomes clear that everyone is a suspect -- everyone had a motive -- and each neighbor reacts accordingly. Tensions escalate further when, in the aftermath of the crime, nothing changes.

Candlish relates the story from the perspectives of the various inhabitants of Lowland Way in alternating chapters, skillfully keeping readers guessing as to who merely thought about taking matters into his or her own hands . . . and who actually did. Candlish presents unflinching portraits of people who desperately want their lifestyle to remain unchanged and might be willing to take any steps necessary to ensure that "those people" -- the interlopers who have disrupted their peaceful, predictable existence -- suffer appropriate consequences for their nonconformity. Her cast of characters are multi-layered and fascinating, but each is also wholly unlikable in his/her own way and for myriad reasons. The story progresses at a steady pace to a conclusion that is not unexpected but comes about in a thoroughly surprising fashion.

Those People is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and would make an excellent choice for book clubs because its themes lend themselves to discussion.

This was my first read from Louise Candlish and although I finished it, I can’t say that I enjoyed it. I found it to be unremarkable. It wasn’t memorable or shocking. This wasn’t a thriller or a mystery nor was it very suspenseful. I felt that there was so many missed opportunities.

I did listen to this on audio and that I why I finished it but if I had physically read this, I may not have finished it.

I read Louise Candlish's last novel "Our House" and this one shows how little it takes to make average everyday people do things that seem out of character. When Darren and Jodie move into the close knit community of Lowland Way they disrupt the lives of their neighbors causing an uproar in the neighborhood. There is scheming, plotting and downright bad behavior from these "nice" suburban families.

I really appreciate how Candlish uses normal everyday activities like a new neighbor to launch these books into the horror show they turn out to be. Darren and Jodi are not good neighbors, they blast music all night, have turned their front yard into a construction zone / used car lot but what about the other people in the neighborhood who are so involved with other peoples business that they are constantly on the lookout for something new to police. These so called good neighbors aren't so good, plotting and scheming about how to get Darren and Jodi to move since they won't toe the line.

You feel the anxiety and crazy as it starts to amplify throughout the book. The mystery unfolds at a fast pace leaving you with so many suspects its almost hard to keep up! Great book with an element of wondering if this could really happen anywhere to it.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

Lowland Way, the perfect street with the perfect neighbors, the paradise place to raise children and build your home. Ralph and Naomi Morgan are the power couple among the neighbors of Lowland Way, they live next door to Ralph’s brother Finn and his wife Tess and have combined their back gardens to have more space for their children to play. Next door to Finn and Tess lives Ant and Emily Kendall with their newborn son, and in front of them is divorcee Sissy Watkins with her Bed and Breakfast (B&B).

There are more families in Lowland Way, but these are the ones that the main story revolves around. Lowland Way has been recognized by the city as one of the best places to raise children. Naomi and Tess have teamed up to have every Sunday declared a car free zone for the children to play in the neighborhood without the danger of getting hit or run over.

But the so-called perfect peace at Lowland Way ends when Darren and Jodie Booth move next-door to Emily and Ant, and in front of Sissy’s B&B. They are different from the normal neighbors of the street; childless and have decided to remodel the house on their own. Fights start among the neighbors, music is played all the time, and the police are called many times.

In the end, a person is murdered and every neighbor on the street is a suspect. Lies are uncovered, friendships are ruined, prospects are lost, and some took it too far.

I liked Those People. This is the second book that I have read by Louise Candlish, and I do like the topics and stories she writes. The way the narrative tells the story of every character and the use of police report interviews makes it interesting to follow along. I’m a fan of suspense and thriller mysteries and Those People is a story that really got my attention from start to finish.

Those People touch some current issues that we are seeing in our society, and the primary one is discrimination based on class. Even though all characters denied it, the main inhabitants of Lowland Way distrust Darren and Jodie by their appearance and lack of money. Darren’s personality clashes with Ralph’s leadership, and not wanting to follow the unspoken rules doesn’t sit well with Naomi. At one point, the characters start to use the terms them, they, us to create separation among them.

Every character is hiding something or has some resentment towards another character. Tess has buried feelings against her in-laws, and it was fun reading how she started making her own decisions and stopped following the pact of neighbors. Everyone is trying to be perfect and as the story progresses it is harder for them to keep up the façade.

I liked how the story was set, but I think things could have been resolved better, but nobody was able to come down from their high pedestals of class, and I think the death could have been prevented. At one point I did have some trouble imagining the houses in the neighborhood. After some google searches I got a good idea of how close the houses were.

If you are a fan of Louise Candlish and her work, then I recommend Those People. In this story, you will find out what happens when a new couple arrives at the perfect street and meets the perfect neighbors, but they are not perfect and won’t change their lifestyle to fit the perfect picture of Lowland Way.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

When a rowdy couple moves into a calm and cozy neighborhood, their behavior isn’t looked upon well by neighbors.

“I could kill him.”

Sometimes things aren’t as they appear, and even scenic neighborhoods hold ugly secrets.

A multi-perspective thriller with a lot of layers. This book has a lot for lovers of books with unlikable character to sink their teeth into!

I received this book "Those People" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. The end? it just ended - felt incomplete to me. The book just dragged on. I didn't feel excited to read the story each day. I struggled to get to the end.

3 ½ Stars

The setting is a nice , friendly ,peaceful neighborhood where people follow the rules of the council until the unfit neighbors Darren Booth and Jodie move in. Playing ear-piercing music at all hours , selling used cars from their front yard they disrupt the peace in the neighborhood and when someone ends up dead the list of suspects increases, secrets come tumbling out and distrust among the previously peaceful neighbors increase

Those People by Louise Candlish is a slow burning domestic thriller which is told from alternating voices and timelines The characters are flawed and unlikable which works for this story . Overall a quick entertaining read

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

Those People by Louise Candlish has made me grateful for the neighbors that I have. The residents of Lowland Way are living the dream domestic life. They have a park full of swans, a peaceful neighborhood, and a good sense of camaraderie. This all ends when the new neighbors move in. Life goes downhill quickly and some people appear to be willing to do whatever it takes to bring the peacefulness back. Read and enjoy!

Those people are crazy! Although I enjoyed reading about them, I'm glad I don't know any of them, let alone live in their neighborhood.
This story has a lot of twists and surprises, a good read.

I was hooked early.. I could put myself in the shoes of the neighborhood residents.. What do you do when someone comes into your neighborhood and disrupt the lives of everyone? I could feel their anxiety. The middle of the story was drawn out but it culminated in an excellent and unexpected ending.

I wanted to like this book because the premise interested me. There's a lot to keep straight in this book: the numerous characters and their story lines. There's a mystery to be solved, but I don't know if I would characterize this as a mystery. It's a very character-driven plot. And it's slow-moving. Slow burn books make or break a book for me and, unfortunately, it didn't work for me in this book. Got to about 65% in and skimmed to the end.

Wow, what an excellent story! I was hooked from page one. Such an interesting cast of characters living together in an English suburb. The complex relationships and interactions between the main cast of characters was a joy to read! I like how the relationships between the characters changed as the story progressed. The interviews, newspaper stories and online conversations were also enjoyable to read. The twists and the ending took me by surprise. I look forward to reading more books by this author!