Review: The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish

Published: May 2015

Pages: 500

Synopsis: “Welcome to Lime Park Road. A picture-perfect street with a secret at its heart.

When Joe and Christy Davenport step behind the Oxford Blue painted door of their 'for ever' home, they believe their dreams have come true.

Yet the boxes aren't even unpacked before a series of events leads Christy to become obsessed with the previous occupant, the glamorous, enigmatic Amber Fraser, whose departure from Lime Park Road is shrouded in mystery.

What happened to her? And why are Joe and Christy's attempts at friendship with neighbours met with an unnerving silence?

As Christy unravels the shocking truth about the Frasers and the place she now calls home, she discovers that behind the closed doors of even the most desirable postcodes, terrible secrets lurk.”

Rating: **

This is a book I have picked up so many times but never read, until now. TSDOTF starts with Christy entering her new home alone while her husband Joe is at work. Initially the author explores that familiar feeling of being in someone else's house when you first move somewhere new and the couple speculate about what would make someone redecorate fully and then move out so quickly.

The characters were introduced gradually, which is a Godsend in books like this which involve neighbours where there are lots of characters interacting with each other frequently and where allegiances change frequently.

It was very clever how we were made to feel that Amber was still very much a presence in the house. This was achieved by Amber's sections of the novel written in the first person from her point of view, whereas Christy's sections were written in the third person. This gave Amber's character an omnipotent overview of the entire plot.

This wasn’t for me. I didn’t warm to any of the characters, which made the book a real slog to the finish. Disappointing for me, but I am sure Louise Candlish’s legion of fans will relish this story.