Author: Lesley Pearse
Reviewed by: Aoife Kerr, Leixlip Library
23-year-old Katy Speed is fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is a neighbour on the avenue, who owns a fashionable dress shop in Brexhill-On-Sea. But who is it that arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, other times they have children. Hilda, Katy’s mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders if these mysterious visitors have just been prison. Is Gloria secretly bringing criminals, or worse, into the heart of the community? Then one night, the house burns down. In the wreckage, the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained visitors must be responsible until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Have the police arrested the correct person? Are the streets safe? Can Katy find the truth before it’s too late?
So this is my first Lesley Pearse book and I have I say I really enjoyed it. It is so well written.I love how she is so well versed in the language of the time (it’s set in the early 60s) and yet somehow she makes it seem like a modern day book. Katy is a teensy bit reckless and yet she is very relatable. I so enjoyed the mystery of the book. But I do have to admit that there were parts of the book that I felt some of the characters were a bit too goody two shoes. However, overall I do think it’s a book that’s worth reading. It is such a compelling read and I loved every second of it. I do hope you enjoy it too.
Available to borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox in e-book and audiobook format.
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