This was incredible. The shifting narrative voice was harder to track given that the .epub collapses all the page breaks, but you can still tell that Cayley is orchestrating it all masterfully. Each of the characters feels meaningfully embodied and Cayley has such a gift for the subtleties of power and relationship. It is a wonderful document of contemporary life, skillfully managed.

Property by Kate Cayley takes place over one day in an ordinary Toronto neighbourhood, and by the end of that day, someone has died. The novel is not driven by mystery or traditional suspense. Instead, Cayley focuses on the quiet domestic tensions and private emotional shifts that unfold as the day goes on. Even the smallest interactions start to feel meaningful.

The writing style stood out to me right away. Cayley’s background in theatre is very apparent. The book reads with a playwright’s sense of timing. Gestures, pauses, and dialogue all feel purposeful. Chapters open and close like scenes, and once I got used to that rhythm, it became very absorbing.

Nat is at the center of the story. She is a middle aged woman dealing with strain in her marriage, her friendships, and her relationship with her children. Cayley allows Nat to be imperfect, unsure, reactive, frustrated, guilty, and contradictory. Rather than smoothing over these moments, Cayley lets us see the uneven and sometimes uncomfortable texture of Nat’s inner life. It feels like an honest look at someone who is trying to understand herself while moving through an ordinary day.

The novel pays close attention to domestic spaces and the emotional weight they carry. The details are small and believable. The tension is steady, but never overstated. Cayley trusts the reader to sit with these characters and the subtle ways they affect one another.

Property is thoughtful, steady, and very well observed. It offers a close look at interior life without becoming sentimental, and it invites the reader to sit with complexity rather than look for simple answers. It is carefully written and quietly powerful.

Thank you to House of Anansi Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC.