Book Review: The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood

When Collette moves into 23 Beulah Grove in South London, she is on the run and just wants to blend in. The other renters have their own stories of why they're living in this dilapidated home, dealing with a repulsive landlord, and mostly trying to stay under the radar. Unbeknownst to all but one, a killer lives among them. We know this because the novel begins with one of the others talking with the authorities about the murderer. We just don't know who he is.

The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood was described by Steven King as "scary as hell," but I'm not sure I agree. Disturbing, gross and suspenseful, yes. You definitely can't have a weak stomach reading this one; the gore factor is through the roof in several places. But while it is unnerving, it isn't edge-of-your-seat scary for the most part. There are several gripping scenes, but I found the focus of the novel to be more on the characters than the scare factor. And being someone who loves character-driven novels, this was great.

Collette is the most developed, at least at first, but Marwood gives each character a clear persona. Cher is the young runaway who steals to make the rent each month. Vesta is the pensioner who has lived in the house her whole life. Thomas is the quiet, boring one. Gerard is the divorced music teacher. Houssein is the political refugee from Iran. And Roy Preese is the disgusting landlord who loves to wield his power over his renters. It's an eclectic set of characters who eventually come together, reluctantly, to try to save themselves.

The Killer Next Door is an engaging read that I had a hard time putting down. There was plenty of suspense, not only with regard to the killer, but also with the many parallel storylines going on. If you can get past all the body parts, the bodily fluids and the stench that Marwood infuses into the home, it's an excellent mystery straight through to the end.

My rating: 4.5/5

Visit the author's website to read an excerpt

This review was written based on a copy of The Killer Next Door that I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Getting back to blogging

It seems that blogging has dropped to the bottom of my list for the past year, and was pretty low for the year or two prior to that. I love to read, and am continuing to do so, but as my regular readers know I haven't been around much. My last blog post was almost a year ago!!

There are many things that have taken me away from blogging. Work has been much more challenging and interesting these past few years, but that means I really don't want to get back on the computer when I get home at night - or on the weekends.

Family life has been more busy with kids having multiple activities in the evenings, leaving little time to just hang out and write about the books that I read.

I will admit to a bit of a Facebook addiction, which means way too much time spent scrolling through my newsfeed instead of doing something more productive. This is one of the things I'm working on and hoping that this will free up some time for getting back to the blog.

Overall, life is good. Work is …

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Mundie Moms are hosting the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop in honor of Independence Day in the United States, and I've decided to participate.

To stick with the theme of Independence Day, I'm doing what I did last year for this hop:

I'm giving away a book of your choice that is written by an author from the United States.
It can be any genre as long as the author is from the United States. You choose the book (up to $15), and I'll order it and have it mailed to you from Book Depository.

The contest ends on Thursday, July 5th at midnight Eastern Time. The winner will be notified by e-mail. If they do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Happy 4th of July! I hope you have a safe and fun holiday!

Enter here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Now check out all of the other giveaways you can enter at the links below!

Freedom Giveaway Hop

Simply Stacie and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer are hosting the Freedom Giveaway Hop in honor of Independence Day in the United States, and I've decided to participate.

To stick with the theme of Independence Day:

I'm giving away a book of your choice that is written by an author from the United States.
It can be any genre as long as the author is from the United States. You choose the book (up to $15), and I'll order it and have it mailed to you from the vendor of my choice.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me your favorite U.S. author (this doesn't have to be the author of the book you choose if you're the winner). Include your email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian mailing addresses only. I've decided to open this up to international entries as long as Book Depository ships to your address.

For extra entries:
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