From the Sunday Times bestselling author
A NICE, NORMAL HOUSE
Linda has lived around here ever since she fled the dark events of her childhood in Wales. Now she sits in her kitchen, wondering if this is all there is – pushing the Hoover round and cooking fish fingers for tea is a far cry from the glamorous lifestyle she sees in the glossy catalogues coming through the door for the house's previous occupant.
A NICE, NORMAL HUSBAND
Terry isn't perfect – he picks his teeth, tracks dirt through the house and spends most of his time in front of the TV. But that seems fairly standard – until he starts keeping odd hours at work, at around the same time young women start to go missing in the neighbourhood.
A NICE, NORMAL LIFE…
If Linda could just track down Rebecca, who lived in the house before them, maybe some of that perfection would rub off on her. But the grass isn't always greener: you can't change who you really are, and there's something nasty lurking behind the net curtains in Cavendish Avenue…
A darkly humorous and twisty tale with a quirky protagonist
A Tidy Ending is a delectable, engrossing and darkly humorous tale, featuring as its unlikely heroine the middle-aged and deceptively introverted Linda.
Charity shop worker Linda becomes obsessed with the glamorous previous occupant of the suburban home into which she and her husband Terry have recently moved. Under-stimulated by her humdrum life, and the frequent target of ridicule and gaslighting from both her husband and mother, Linda finds a private delight in poring over fashion and lifestyle catalogues that arrive in the mail for the mysterious Rebecca, meanwhile fantasising about a more exciting existence of her own.
Meanwhile, Terry's behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic, and a series of vicious attacks on young women are keeping the town in a state of ghoulish agitation...
Joanna Cannon weaves together a self-actualisation storyline featuring an endearingly quirky protagonist, with lashings of dark humour, revenge and jaw-dropping twists. This was an absolute delight to read and Lissa Berry's narration of the audiobook version added wonderfully to the immersive experience - a perfect casting decision!
I'd thoroughly recommend A Tidy Ending to any reader who enjoys a sprinkling of dark humour in their crime-mystery-thriller reads, and equally to those who love "the mouse that roared" type plots.
Sarah, 08/09/2022
