CANR
WORK TITLE: Our House
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.louisecandlish.com/
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Hexham, Northumberland, England; married; children: a daughter.
EDUCATION:Attended University College London.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Has also worked as an illustrator and copywriter.
AVOCATIONS:Travel, tennis, music, reading.
AWARDS:British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Book of the Year, 2019, for Our House.
WRITINGS
Our House was optioned for a film by Red Planet Pictures.
SIDELIGHTS
British writer Louise Candlish is a bestselling author in her home country, with a dozen novels of family drama, comedy, and suspense to her credit. She made her U.S. debut in 2018 with the thriller, Our House, winner of the British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. This was followed up in 2019 by another thriller, Those People.
With Our House, Candlish left domestic drama behind for a domestic thriller about a woman who returns to her South London townhouse one day only to discover that her estranged husband has stolen it from her. Speaking with Pam Lambert in the online Publishers Weekly, Candlish explained that she was inspired to write the novel by a newspaper article about a woman who was nearly a victim of property fraud. “Here in the UK, you can buy a house without meeting your lawyer, you can do it all online, which sounds extraordinary but is true,” Candlish explained in the interview. “So the book’s been described as a how-to guide to steal a house, but hopefully no one will use it for that purpose.”
Told in a blend of traditional narrative mixed with word documents and a transcript of a podcast and tweets, Our House features Fiona Watson, who returns from vacation to the townhouse where she alternates custody of her two children to discover that another family is moving in. Her estranged husband, Bram, has apparently sold the house for a tidy sum and disappeared. The ensuing story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Fiona and Bram as the fight develops to recover the property.
A Kirkus Reviews critic was not impressed with this American debut, noting: “In a novel concerned with connection and trust, Candlish fails to connect with readers on either level, serving up characters so wrapped in their own problems that ‘family’ is merely a word to them.” Others, however, had a much higher assessment. A Publishers Weekly reviewer termed Our House an “artfully plotted, affecting page-turner,” adding: “Candlish manages to stash a couple of trump cards, setting up a truly killer climax. American fans of domestic suspense will want to see more from this talented author.” An online Crime by the Book contributor similarly commented: “There are few things better than a domestic thriller that manages to root itself firmly in the realm of what’s possible, while also managing to inject its story with just enough drama to make it binge-worthy. In her outstanding Our House, Louise Candlish walks this fine line effortlessly. … Our House is a stunner of a summer suspense novel.” Noting that the author has published eleven other novels, none of them having appeared in the United States, Washington Post reviewer Patrick Anderson commented: “Perhaps its excellence will move an American editor to bring out others. I’d like to read them all.”
In her 2019 thriller, Those People, Candlish focuses on an urban neighborhood into which a new neighbor has moved. But this man is so unpleasant, uncooperative, and noisy that the neighbors are accused of a plot to kill him. The novel is set on the outskirts of London in Lowland Way, an upscale neighborhood with homeowners all of a similar class. Enter auto mechanic Darren, the inheritor of the property from his aunt. He immediately antagonizes his neighbors, taking scarce parking spots with the second-hand cars he sells and blasting out hard rock music at all hours of the day and night. He is accompanied by Jodie, who also does her part to get on the nerves of everyone in Lowland Way. The neighbors talk privately and with each other about what means they can use to get rid of Darren, some edging on the illegal. When a fatal scaffolding accident takes place, it is not Darren who is killed, and now the neighbors are drawn into a murder investigation.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer had a mixed assessment of Those People, noting: “Though Candlish skillfully juggles multiple narrators and frequent flashbacks to maximize suspense, the book’s first half, before the plot grenades detonate in earnest, may frustrate readers expecting more action.” A Kirkus Reviews critic had a higher opinion, terming the work a “nicely paced, wryly intelligent novel with sharp insights into human behavior.” Similarly, Booklist contributor Shoshana Frank felt that this “fiendishly twisty and suspenseful tale of secrets, lies, jealousy, and intrigue keeps readers guessing until the very end.” And writing in the Washington Post online, Gerald Bartell termed Those People a “chilling portrait of a smug, privileged neighborhood where things turn violent.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2013, Stephanie Turza, review of The Day You Saved My Life, p. 63; May 1, 2019, Shoshana Frank, review of Those People, p. 38.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2018, review of Our House; April 1, 2019, review of Those People.
Publishers Weekly, June 4, 2018, review of Our House, p. 32; April 1, 2019, review of Those People, p. 40.
ONLINE
Bibliomaniac, https://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/ (April 16, 2018), author interview.
Crime by the Book, http://crimebythebook.com (June 12, 2018 ), review of Our House.
Criminal Element, http://www.criminalelement.com/ (August 9, 2018), “Q&A with Louise Candlish, Author of Our House.”
Curtis Brown, https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/ (July 21, 2019), “Louise Candlish.”
Fantastic Fiction, https://www.fantasticfiction.com/ (July 21, 2019), “Louise Candlish.”
Louise Candlish website, http://www.louisecandlish.com (July 21, 2019).
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (June 15, 2018), Pam Lambert, author interview.
Washington Post Online, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ (July 25, 2018), Patick Anderson, review of Our House; (July 19, 2019), Gerald Bartell, review of Those People.
Sunday Times bestselling author Louise Candlish was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and grew up in the Midlands town of Northampton. She studied English at University College London and worked as an illustrated books editor and copywriter before writing fiction. She is the author of twelve novels, including the thriller Our House, winner of the British Book Awards 2019 Crime & Thriller Book of the Year and a #1 bestseller in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
Those People will follow in hardback in June 2019.
Louise lives in Herne Hill in South London with her husband and teenage daughter. Besides books, the things she likes best are: coffee; TV; cats and dogs (equally); salted caramel; France (especially the Ile de Re); Italy (especially Sicily); tennis; Vanity Fair magazine; 'Book at Bedtime'; lasagne; heavy metal; 'The Archers'; driving towards the sea (but not into it); anything at the Royal Opera House; white wine; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (or, failing that, a Starbar); using parentheses, semi-colons, and Oxford commas.
Author photo by Jonny Ring
Louise Candlish
OUR HOUSE longlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2019!
15/4/2019 0 Comments
I'm amazed and incredibly happy that OUR HOUSE has been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2019, awarded at the Harrogate Festival in July! Not only is it an incredibly prestigious longlist (and a bit daunting: Val McDermid, Belinda Bauer, Mick Herron, Ann Cleeves and a dozen other dazzling talents to compete with!), but Theakston Old Peculier is also a favoured longterm tipple of my old man. Meant to be, my friends, meant to be...
Louise Candlish
Louise Candlish is the author of seven novels, including the bestsellers Since I Don’t Have You, The Second Husband and Before We Say Goodbye. After studying English at University College London, Louise worked as a travel writer, art book editor and copywriter, before beginning her first novel on a whim during a holiday in Sicily. Her books are emotional dramas, often located in foreign settings where characters behave quite differently from the way they might in their lives at home. Other People’s Secrets (published by Sphere in July 2010) is set in Orta San Giulio in the Italian Lakes, where Louise spent several (rainy) weeks researching. She lives in South London with her partner and daughter.
Genres: Mystery
New Books
April 2019
(paperback)
Our House
June 2019
(hardback)
Those People
Novels
Prickly Heat (2004)
Sisters Avenue (2005)
aka I'll Be There for You
The Double Life of Anna Day (2006)
Since I Don't Have You (2007)
The Second Husband (2008)
Before We Say Goodbye (2009)
Other People's Secrets (2010)
The Day You Saved My Life (2012)
The Disappearance of Emily Marr (2013)
aka The Missing Hours of Emily Marr
The Island Hideaway (2013)
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers (2014)
The Swimming Pool (2016)
Our House (2018)
Those People (2019)
Omnibus
Double Life of Anna Day / Since I Don't Have You (2010)
I'll Be There For You / The Second Husband (2011)
Collections
Summer Affairs (2013)
Louise Candlish is a novelist based in London. OUR HOUSE, a #1 bestseller in the UK with over 200,000 copies sold, is her debut in the US. It won the British Book Awards 2019 Book of the Year: Crime & Thriller and was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2019 and National Book Awards 2018. It was picked as a Book of the Year by the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Real Simple, the Guardian, the Daily Mail and the Sunday Express.
OUR HOUSE has been optioned for TV by Red Planet Pictures, makers of the international hit drama 'Death in Paradise'.
Louise lives with her husband and daughter in a South London neighborhood not unlike the one featured in the novel.
Louise Candlish is the Sunday Times bestselling author of twelve novels. Her thriller Our House is a #1 bestseller in paperback, ebook and audiobook and won the 2019 British Book Award for Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. Optioned for TV by Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures, it was picked as a Book of the Year 2018 by the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Real Simple, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Sunday Express, Red and Heat. Louise's new thriller Those People follows in June 2019.
Louise Candlish is the bestselling author of twelve novels. Her thriller Our House was a number one bestseller in paperback, ebook and audiobook and is shortlisted for a 2019 British Book Award - Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. It has been optioned for TV by Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures, and was picked as a Book of the Year 2018 by the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Real Simple, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Sunday Express, Red and Heat. Louise lives in London with her family.
Q&A with Louise Candlish, Author of Our House
By Louise Candlish
August 9, 2018
In Louise Candlish’s new novel, Our House, protagonist Fiona Lawson returns to her posh suburban London home on a Friday morning in January only to find a curious scene. A moving van is parked outside. And inside? Another family, eager to finish moving in and start setting up their new home. Except, Fiona insists, she didn’t sell the house.
“This was always a cautionary tale,” Candlish says of the book. A bestselling author in the U.K., Candlish makes her U.S. debut with Our House on Aug. 7. As London property values climb ever higher, Candlish says she worries that people think of their houses more as multimillion-dollar assets to be cashed in and less as, well, homes. And when big money is involved, shady criminals can’t be far behind.
Our House finds Fiona Lawson in such a trap. She and her husband, Bram, have owned their home on Trinity Avenue for years, and its skyrocketing value has made them accidental millionaires. But their lives are in transition. After catching Bram with another woman in their kids’ backyard playhouse, Fiona wants to separate. But the housing market and the kids nudge the couple into a unique arrangement: they rent a nearby apartment and trade off nights at the house with the children.
Bram, however, is keeping secrets of his own, and the betrayal that began in the playhouse soon moves into the real house. Told from both Fiona’s point of view—via an appearance on a true crime podcast called The Victim—and Bram’s perspective, Our House is a twisty slice of domestic noir spiked with contemporary cybercrime.
Candlish, who lives in South London (a “less fashionable and a bit more edgy” part of the city than Trinity Avenue, she says), recently answered questions about her inspiration for the book, “Friday afternoon fraud,” and her favorite podcasts. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
As you began writing, what came first: the crime or the characters? What inspired the book?
It was the crime that definitely came first. The characters grew up around it. I was really interested in a couple of things that have to do with property in the U.K. and the fact the whole population seems to have become property obsessed. Properties have become overvalued, and people have become these accidental millionaires living in fairly average houses. At the same time, a whole terrible industry of property fraud has grown up. I really wanted to write about a crime that I hadn’t read about before in fiction, and I’d read about one instance in particular of criminals trying to steal someone’s house. They were a kind of faceless criminal gang, but I thought it would be far more interesting a novel if the criminal was someone who the victim actually knew. And then I started to think of a married couple—a separating couple—and the circumstances that would put them in a position where one of them was vulnerable to the other’s criminal activities.
As you researched property crime, were you surprised at how achievable a scheme like this is?
I was shocked. First of all, as soon as I identified this as crime, I wanted to put it at the heart of my story. So I read about it as much as I could. It was about a couple years ago when I started to research and write, and there wasn’t a whole lot of official research and guidelines. Those have come out more recently. At the end of last year—long after I’d finished my final draft—the Land Registry, which is the government arm that registers all property sales here, and the Law Society, which is the major legal body, collaborated on some extensive guidelines for property lawyers. Those guidelines are fascinating and would have been useful had they been available when I was writing.
I was pulling all the news stories, looking at statistics, and looking at the data, and I was absolutely shocked at how quickly property crime is taking off. Although, it shouldn’t be surprising. Property is a very high-value asset, and wherever you have high-value assets, you’re going to attract the attention of criminals who want to get their hands on it. Here, property-related cybercrimes are called “Friday afternoon fraud” because most property purchases tend to close on Fridays. The major crime is when criminals get the buyer to transfer their payment to the criminal account—and it’s now the biggest area of cybercrime in the legal sector. I was just blown away; I thought I had discovered something quite niche and minor, and it turns out it’s huge.
When people talk about homes, they tend to talk about big ideas: family, comfort, belonging. Apart from the actual taking of Fiona’s house, there’s a thread of housing anxiety running through the book—anxiety about property values, parking, neighbors, downsizing, selling, and buying. Can you talk a little about why the characters in Our House think and talk about their homes in these terms?
That was what I was interested in exploring. To me, this was always a cautionary tale. It’s possibly a little bit exaggerated, but not much so when I think about the conversations I eavesdrop on in cafes and the conversations my friends have.
In the last 20 years in London, homes have been discussed as property rather than in terms of “home,” and one of the reasons I wanted to write Our House is that I felt worried. We’ve very quickly and quite dangerously started to make decisions based on what a house is worth rather than other things, like “Should we move because it’s good for the children,” or “Should I move because I’ve had a great job offer.” All the decisions seem to center on how much the house is worth and whether it’s the optimum time to cash in this asset. There’s a line early in the book where Fiona says that if she had her time again, she’d concentrate a lot less on house and more on the people in it, and that’s my message in a nutshell. I think we’re all in danger of getting to the end of our lives and finding we spent a vast majority of it looking at house prices on property websites rather than reading Anna Karenina.
Social media and podcasts have become popular forums for working out true crime tales. Why did you decide to situate the narrative in these media?
Without giving away any spoilers, Fiona needed a forum for telling her story that would reach a lot of people quite quickly and be quite persuasive. From a writer’s point of view, I wanted to try something different. But at the same time, I didn’t want it to just be fun for me to experiment. I wanted it to be integral to the plot. It seemed that her doing an audio interview was the perfect way for her to tell her story; she’s in control of it, and she knows who the audience is because she used to be a member of the audience listening to this podcast called The Victim. It’s about gaining the trust of the audience and getting intimate. I listen to a lot of audio, and I always feel like I have such a direct and personal relationship with the speaker. I thought it would be perfect for Fiona’s story because, again, not to use spoilers, she has an agenda of her own.
Do you have any favorite podcasts?
Like everyone else, I love Serial. I remember the whole fever that gripped us all. I do love You Must Remember This, the podcast about old Hollywood. I think it’s so fantastic, and it has that very intimate, conversational tone I find to be very beguiling. I love radio plays. I listen to audiobooks a lot, but I listen to dramatizations of books and radio plays, usually in the dead of night when I have insomnia.
Check out our new true crime podcast, Case Closed!
The shifting perspectives you use are interesting: both Fiona and Bram are unreliable and with their own agendas. How did you decide on this approach? Was it apparent from the beginning, or did it assert itself while you were writing?
The whole novel was very plotted and deliberate and considered. I would say that I don’t consider Bram unreliable at all. He’s absolutely telling the truth as he sees it. He’s not withholding anything. Fiona is obviously less reliable. I was also very keen on having her tell the truth pretty much 99.9 percent of the time, so she tells a couple little white lies in her account on the podcast but nothing significant. What she’s doing is withholding important stuff. So she’s unreliable in that respect. But both of them are actually telling the truth as they say it.
Though the story belongs to Fiona, Bram, the charming villain that he is, frequently takes over the narrative. In the end, I couldn’t help but have some sympathy for him. Did you find your own feelings for the characters changing as you wrote?
Yes, certainly. I also became charmed by Bram and started to enjoy writing his sections more than I enjoyed writing Fiona’s. I wasn’t really expecting that. But there was a practical element worth mentioning. My editor at Berkley, Danielle, was very thorough in her editing of Bram the character. He was a little nastier, a little more of a philanderer, and a little less sympathetic when she first got her hands on him. Between us, we tempered him so it would be possible to see how he could be charming. He’s very candid and very honest, and I think that’s quite likable.
In the last 20 years in London, homes have been discussed as property rather than in terms of “home,” and one of the reasons I wanted to write Our House is that I felt worried.
The other thing about Bram that caused me to become more and more sympathetic as I wrote was uncovering these quite complex links between mental health and crime. He’s not acting the way he’s acting as a lifestyle choice; he’s really suffering. There’s a lot of despair, and he’s making decisions a sane and steady person wouldn’t make and allowing them to lead into the next bad decision. My original title was The Victim. Fiona’s the real victim, but I always felt Bram was a victim in his own way as well. It was never a black-and-white situation at all.
Our House has shades of noir, particularly the circumstances around Bram’s various misdeeds, and a sort of reverse-Agatha Christie kind of plotting—less of a whodunit and more of a why/how-dunnit. Which other crime/mystery authors/directors/artists influence you? Any particular favorites?
Agatha Christie would be my favorite. While I was not directly stealing from her, I had read everything she’d written in a very formative time in my life (my early teens), and I’ve always enjoyed the puzzle of a crime or mystery story. I definitely got that from her.
In terms of characters, when I was writing this book, I watched a whole sort of season of Barbara Stanwyck movies, and I’m sure an element of those have come through. Double Indemnity and those movies—where a simple crime always led to a crime that covers up a crime that covers up the crime before—influenced my writing.
Are you at work on your next book?
I am. I’m just finishing it, or I believe I’m just finishing it, but no doubt it will come back to me for a few more drafts. It’s another one I would describe as suburban noir. It’s about a street not unlike Trinity Avenue, where a neighbor has moved in and proved himself to be so ghastly and unpleasant and uncooperative with the residents that they soon find themselves accused of plotting to kill him. I’ve really enjoyed it. I tried to keep it simpler than Our House, which kind of broke my brain a bit, it was so complex. But it’s probably not that simple.
April 16, 2018
Q&A WITH LOUISE CANDLISH - 'OUR HOUSE' BLOG TOUR
Our House
by Louise Candlish
On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue.
Nothing strange about that.
Except it is your house.
And you didn’t sell it.
When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she's sure there's been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern co-parenting arrangement: bird's nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.
Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona's children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram's not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.
Today I am absolutely thrilled to be on the Blog Tour for this dark and thrilling novel. I am a big fan of Louise Candlish's books and it is a real privilege to interview her here on my blog, so without further ado, read on to hear more about Louise and Our House!
Could you sum up the story of Our House in three words?
Trust no-one.
The premise for the book is incredibly engaging – Fi comes home and finds someone else moving into her house! What inspired the original idea for this story?
Thank you! I agree, property fraud is really fascinating and utterly terrifying. The idea began with a news feature I read in the Daily Mail about a woman whose house was almost stolen by a criminal gang. The article – or one like it – is actually mentioned in Our House. Bram dismisses it as tabloid sensationalism, but he should have paid more attention.
Which key themes did you want to explore in this book and why?
So many! I wanted to tackle the impact of the inflated property market, especially in the Southeast, and the way it has altered our relationship with our homes. I also wanted to explore cybercrime. I was interested in bird’s nest custody, a new and trendy parenting arrangement for separated couples. On an emotional level, I was interested in the way we can unravel mentally, so quickly, any one of us. And trust. Who can you trust to help you when you’ve made a catastrophic mistake? Can you even trust yourself?
You have used several different forms of writing within the novel to help tell the story. What made you include things like the word document and the podcast recordings to help tell the story?
I always knew I wanted the story to be told in a form of testimony, but not as part of a formal police investigation. I also wanted the chosen medium to have a relevance to the plot and not be experimental just for the hell of it. Fi is a very private person airing her dirty laundry on a podcast that anyone can download – there has to be a reason for her to choose to do this. Meanwhile, Bram is writing a confession, but he doesn’t say who it is he intends to read it, if anyone at all.
This novel has lots of twists and turns, and as we’ve just said, you use different ways to reveal the different sides of the story. Can you tell me a little bit about your planning for this novel? Was it very complicated?
It was the most complicated thing I’ve ever done and I found it incredibly hard. I had ‘live’ lists of scenes and multiple drafts and files full of discarded material and many timelines. Timelines for each character, even timelines for objects. Right at the end, one of my editors said, ‘Can you do me a timeline for the car keys? I just need to get that straight.’ And that brought new discrepancies to light. It took a whole set of fine-toothed combs to get all the details right.
Are you a fan of social media and podcasts? Any recommendations for good podcasts?!
Yes, I loved Serial and I’m also a fan of You Must Remember This, the podcast about Hollywood by Karina Longworth. I love the spoken word generally. If I can’t sleep, I listen to something on Radio 4 Extra, an old DH Lawrence dramatisation, say, or a discussion programme. Twitter is how I communicate with readers and other writers and it was natural to use tweets in the book. I wanted the live tweeting to give voice to some of the thoughts readers might be having about Fi’s story (‘Wtf! Is this woman serious?’)
Could you tell me a little bit about your writing life? Do you have any writing rituals or preferences for when and how you write?
I don't have rituals, just a supply of very strong coffee and a bit of self-discipline. I’m usually on the sofa with my laptop and the cat, but I can work in most places – provided there aren’t people having an interesting conversation nearby, in which case I down tools and listen shamelessly.
All the reviews for ‘Our House’ rave about the twists and the gripping storyline. Which was the last book that kept you up well past your bedtime?
Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh. It is twisty and suspenseful, but also very rich emotionally. It made me feel quite sad.
What’s next? Are you working on anything else at the moment?
I’m just finishing the first draft of my next novel, also in the ‘property porn thriller’ genre, as Our House has been said to belong to! A noisy neighbour moves into Lowland Way and the previously happy neighbours soon find themselves the subject of a murder investigation.
Well I definitely can't wait to read that - it sounds very intriguing!
Thank you so much Louise, this has been a fascinating interview and a really insightful one, I've loved hearing your answers!
QUOTE:
"Here in the U.K., you can buy a house without meeting your lawyer, you can do it all online, which sounds extraordinary but is true," Candlish explained in the interview. "So the book’s been described as a how-to guide to steal a house, but hopefully no one will use it for that purpose."
Close to Home: PW Talks with Louise Candlish
By Pam Lambert | Jun 15, 2018
Comments Click Here
In Candlish’s domestic thriller Our House (Berkley, Aug.), Fi Lawson returns to her family’s South London townhouse one day to discover that her estranged husband has stolen it out from under her.
What inspired this novel?
Photo by Jonny Ring
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I read an article in the Daily Mail a few years ago about a woman who had almost been the victim of property fraud, in a not dissimilar scenario to the one that I use in the book. And it just struck me as the most fantastic crime for a novel. I wanted to write about a crime that I’d never read about in fiction before.
Could someone actually steal a house as easily as in the book?
I made the criminals jump through more hoops in the novel than you would have to in reality. Here in the U.K., you can buy a house without meeting your lawyer, you can do it all online, which sounds extraordinary but is true. So the book’s been described as a how-to guide to steal a house, but hopefully no one will use it for that purpose.
Why does the idea of home have such a high emotional resonance right now?
Partly because of the political climate and the uncertainty of the outside world, we’re all kind of looking inward, setting such emotional store in our domestic life. But the other reason is that our houses have gone up in value so much that they’ve almost taken on a dangerous kind of central role in a family. In so many situations now, I think a family home is making the decisions for families rather than the people.
Why did you decide to have Fi tell a large chunk of the story via a podcast?
I’m a big fan of the spoken word generally, because there’s that kind of intimacy and it’s about persuasion and trust in a way that’s very direct and different from the written word, which felt absolutely right for Fi. And then there are the tweets from listeners. I thought that Fi’s account might be frustrating to the reader, especially as she knows so much less than the reader does, so I wanted to give the reader a voice for some of the comments they might be making about Fi.
You’ve spoken of Agatha Christie’s influence on your work. Do you see any shadow of her here?
I suppose if there’s any Christie influence it’s reflected in my obsession with the plotting. She always put plot before anything else, and I think that’s what I’ve done in this book as well.
A version of this article appeared in the 06/18/2018 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: Close to Home
ALSO ON PW
QUOTE:
fiendishly twisty and suspenseful tale of secrets, lies, jealousy, and intrigue keeps readers guessing until the very end.
Those People
Shoshana Frank
Booklist. 115.17 (May 1, 2019): p38+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Those People. By Louise Candlish. June 2019. 352p. Berkley, $26 (9780451489142).
Candlish's latest thriller is sure to keep readers turning pages late into the night. The tale is set in Lowland Way, on the outskirts of London, a neighborhood that the residents believe is pretty much perfect. Yet the perfectly homogeneous community is disrupted when new owners, who don't fit the mold, join the block. The murderous mosaic of suburban characters will have readers envisioning similar situations in their neighborhoods and pondering how quickly their own neighbors might turn to violence. The multiple perspectives create a tapestry that effectively weaves together the intricately plotted yet fast-paced story line. This fiendishly twisty and suspenseful tale of secrets, lies, jealousy, and intrigue keeps readers guessing until the very end. Fans of Celeste Ng and Leila Slimani will be pleased with this contemporary take on families and violence.--Shoshana Frank
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Frank, Shoshana. "Those People." Booklist, 1 May 2019, p. 38+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A587366698/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c69e8052. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A587366698
QUOTE:
nicely paced, wryly intelligent novel with sharp insights into human behavior
Candlish, Louise: THOSE PEOPLE
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 1, 2019):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Candlish, Louise THOSE PEOPLE Berkley (Adult Fiction) $26.00 6, 11 ISBN: 978-0-451-48914-2
An upscale London neighborhood becomes the setting for escalating class warfare in Candlish's (Our House, 2018, etc.) acidly funny and disturbing novel of domestic suspense.
With a structure reminiscent of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies, Candlish's latest opens with a teaser about the horrific, unexpected death of an unidentified character and then backtracks eight weeks to examine the events that precipitated that death on a quiet little block of Lowland Way. Here live upwardly mobile Ralph and his take-charge wife, Naomi, Ralph's slightly less successful brother, Finn, and his reticent wife, Tess, stressed young parents Ant and Em, and determined Sissy, who has turned her home into a bed-and-breakfast after her husband's decampment. Into this uncertain Eden arrives unrepentant commoner Darren, who promptly turns the house he has inherited from his Aunt Jean into a "disaster zone" of a construction site, blasting hard rock at all hours, taking up valuable parking spaces with the used cars he sells, and generally tampering with "the solid, unassailable respectability" of the neighborhood. Soon enough, he and his "other half," Jodie, have gotten on the last nerve of everyone on the block, and every neighborhood conversation turns to a heated discussion of ways, legal and ethical or not so much, to get rid of him. Candlish slyly examines the primitive urges behind her supposedly civilized characters as the novel inexorably turns from light comedy of manners to something much darker. While some of the turns of the plot strain credulity, and some of the characters are better developed than others, Candlish convincingly portrays the effects of pressure on this social microcosm as fault lines open both within the characters and in their relationships. Although Darren is not, like the others, seen from the inside, Candlish allows the reader to glimpse the complicated man behind the caricature his neighbors create.
A nicely paced, wryly intelligent novel with sharp insights into human behavior.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Candlish, Louise: THOSE PEOPLE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2019. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A580520984/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b18e55c6. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A580520984
QUOTE:
Though Candlish skillfully juggles multiple narrators and frequent flashbacks to maximize suspense, the book's first half, before the plot grenades detonate in earnest, may frustrate readers expecting more action.
Those People
Publishers Weekly. 266.13 (Apr. 1, 2019): p40.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Those People
Louise Candlish. Berkley, $26 (352p) ISBN 978-0-451-48914-2
British author Candlish follows her well-received debut, 2018's Our Home, with a cannily plotted if disappointing domestic thriller. After moving into 1 Lowland Way in South London, in-your-face auto mechanic Darren Booth and his equally pugnacious romanric partner, Jodie, create a dusty, noisy, rubble-strewn eyesore with their DIY renovation. The unrelenting stress and nocturnally blasted heavy metal music quickly take a toll up and down the street, especially on a couple who, with their six-month-old son, live on the other side of a shared wall, as well as on an elderly divorced woman dependent on B and B income to make ends meet. Tempers flare, hostilities escalate, and formerly upstanding residents start to entertain murderous fantasies. Then there's a fatal scaffolding collapse. Only it's not Booth who's killed. Though Candlish skillfully juggles multiple narrators and frequent flashbacks to maximize suspense, the book's first half, before the plot grenades detonate in earnest, may frustrate readers expecting more action. Hopefully, she'll return to form next time. Agent: Deborah Schneider. Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents/ICM Partners. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Those People." Publishers Weekly, 1 Apr. 2019, p. 40. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A582056380/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=63f8926c. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A582056380
QUOTE:
"In a novel concerned with connection and trust, Candlish fails to connect with readers on either level, serving up characters so wrapped in their own problems that 'family' is merely a word to them."
Candlish, Louise: OUR HOUSE
Kirkus Reviews. (June 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Candlish, Louise OUR HOUSE Berkley (Adult Fiction) $26.00 8, 7 ISBN: 978-0-451-48911-1
When a woman discovers strangers moving into her London home, her estranged husband and sons nowhere to be seen, it's only the beginning of the nightmare that will upend her life.
Fiona "Fi" Lawson loves her house in the fictional posh Alder Rise neighborhood almost as much as she loves her picture-perfect family: husband Bram and adorably rambunctious sons Harry and Leo. Candlish (The Swimming Pool, 2016, etc.) digs deep for both suspense and compassion but comes up empty with Fi, whose almost stubborn cluelessness about the state of her marriage (Bram is a serial adulterer, among other things) and, later, her insistence on being a victim (so much so that she goes on a podcast called The Victim) make her a sour protagonist at best. When Fi catches Bram having sex with someone else in the children's garden playhouse, she throws him out but decides to try a custody arrangement known as a bird's nest, where the children stay in the family home and the parents alternate living there and at a newly acquired flat. While the setup seems great on paper, it doesn't take into account the depths of Bram's lies--the yearlong driving ban he's hidden from Fi soon becomes the least of his concerns--and the lengths he'll go to save himself. With the narrative confusingly split into sections from Fi's podcast segment, a Word document that's allegedly Bram's suicide note, and perspectives from both spouses, it's difficult for readers to keep a firm grip on the timeline and to truly care as Bram enters into an unnecessarily complicated blackmail scheme and Fi remains annoyingly oblivious on all fronts even when Bram disappears, having sold the Alder Rise home without her knowledge.
In a novel concerned with connection and trust, Candlish fails to connect with readers on either level, serving up characters so wrapped in their own problems that "family" is merely a word to them.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Candlish, Louise: OUR HOUSE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A543008996/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2b1f6660. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A543008996
Our House
QUOTE:
"artfully plotted, affecting page-turner," adding: "Candlish manages to stash a couple of trump cards, setting up a truly killer climax. American fans of domestic suspense will want to see more from this talented author."
Publishers Weekly. 265.23 (June 4, 2018): p32+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Our House
Louise Candlish. Berkley, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-0-451-48911-1
British author Candlish makes her U.S. debut with an artfully plotted, affecting page-turner. Fiona Lawson gets the shock of her life when she returns from a brief getaway to the beloved London townhouse where she alternates custody with her estranged husband, Bram, of their two children: another family seems to be moving in. Bram has apparently sold the home out from under her and the kids--and vanished, along with the 2 million [pounds sterling] payday. Even more devastating betrayals await the doughty Fi. Alternating narratives--one Fi's, the other Bram's--raise the tension. In a particularly inspired move, much of Fi's account comes via her emotionally raw tale on a true crime podcast, The Victim, with tweets from the audience serving as a kind of Greek chorus. Movingly chronicling the decline of a marriage that once looked as solid as the couple's stately red-brick residence, Candlish manages to stash a couple of trump cards, setting up a truly killer climax. American fans of domestic suspense will want to see more from this talented author. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents/ICM Partners. (Aug.)'
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Our House." Publishers Weekly, 4 June 2018, p. 32+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A542242834/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=18927573. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A542242834
The Day You Saved My Life
Stephanie Turza
Booklist. 109.17 (May 1, 2013): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Day You Saved My Life. By Louise Candlish. June 2013.496p. IPG/Sphere, paper, $10.95 (9780751543551).
Joanna Walsh, winner of a weekend trip to France, is eager to show her daughter, Holly, and her two-year-old grandson, Mikey, the many sights and sounds of Paris. When Mikey falls into the swirling waters of the Seine, Joanna and Holly know their lives have been forever altered. Luckily, Mikey is rescued by a fast-thinking, strong-swimming fellow passenger, but Mikey's accident still sets the wheels of fate in motion. Joanna, a sympathetic heroine attempting to handle her daughter's postpartum depression while caring for Mikey and holding down a job, is the heart and soul of the novel. In this tale of second chances, shifting priorities, undeniable connections, and the power of fate, Candlish has crafted a tender, heartfelt story. Candlish's ability to crack open the heart of a marriage will pique the interest of Marian Keyes fans, while her honest depiction of Holly's postpartum depression is especially admirable. An insightful and driving novel, The Day You Saved My Life explores how far the bonds between husband and wife, mother and child, and victim and savior can bend before they're severed.--Stephanie Turza
Turza, Stephanie
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Turza, Stephanie. "The Day You Saved My Life." Booklist, 1 May 2013, p. 63. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A332021937/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=814f9826. Accessed 10 July 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A332021937
QUOTE:
"There are few things better than a domestic thriller that manages to root itself firmly in the realm of what’s possible, while also managing to inject its story with just enough drama to make it binge-worthy. In her outstanding Our House, Louise Candlish walks this fine line effortlessly. ... Our House is a stunner of a summer suspense novel."
the cbtb blog
One girl's ongoing investigation of the crime fiction genre.
Book Review: OUR HOUSE by Louise Candlish
June 12, 2018
OUR HOUSE by Louise Candlish
Berkley; 8/7/18
CBTB Rating: 4.5/5
The Verdict: Page-turning, addictive suspense with a fresh angle
The way I see it, the ever-growing list of new domestic suspense novels is a two-sided coin for us readers. On the one hand, who doesn’t love a great domestic thriller? It’s such fun to see what new suspense novels we can add to our “anticipated reads” lists. But on the other hand… how on earth are you going to separate the great from the so-so? It can feel like picking up a new domestic suspense novel is a bit of a gamble—but not in the case of Louise Candlish’s OUR HOUSE. Fresh, fun, and engrossing, OUR HOUSE is a new take on domestic suspense: a binge-worthy story of secrets in a marriage that will take readers down a totally unexpected path. Come to OUR HOUSE for its gorgeous packaging; stay for its inventive storytelling structure and page-turning reading experience. OUR HOUSE is a little bit twisty, a touch dramatic, and a whole lot of suspense reading fun. It’s hard to describe this book as anything but propulsive—from its first page to its very shocking last, I was hooked on Candlish’s inventive story of betrayal, guilt, and relationships gone very wrong.
Plot Summary:
There's nothing unusual about a new family moving in at 91 Trinity Avenue. Except it's her house. And she didn't sell it.
When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she's sure there's been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern coparenting arrangement: bird's nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.
Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona's children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram's not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.
There are few things better than a domestic thriller that manages to root itself firmly in the realm of what’s possible, while also managing to inject its story with just enough drama to make it binge-worthy. In her outstanding OUR HOUSE, Louise Candlish walks this fine line effortlessly. OUR HOUSE begins with a premise that is perhaps most terrifying for its plausibility: a woman returns home one day to discover that her husband (from whom she is now separated) has disappeared, taking her sons with him. To make matters worse, it appears that her husband has sold off their home - the safe space in which they’ve raised a family and made a life together - without her permission. Candlish doesn’t kick off her suspense novel with violence or gore, nor does she try to trick readers with smoke and mirrors. We meet protagonist Fiona on the worst day of her life, and are confronted with the realities of her situation even within the book’s first few pages. Candlish puts readers right in the heart of the action right away, and it’s an effective technique—I found myself instantly hooked by the myriad questions Fiona’s predicament raises. Has Bram really done what she suspects he has? How could he have pulled this feat off without her knowledge? Where is Bram, and where are Fiona’s sons? Readers experience in real time the utter confusion and sheer panic of a woman whose life has been shattered in the amount of time it takes to pull into her own driveway. Talk about a gripping opener.
The beginning of OUR HOUSE might be good, but as the book progresses, it gets even better. Through multiple narratives, Candlish deftly addresses the book’s most pressing questions; readers move between Fiona’s past, Bram’s past, and Fiona’s current reflection on the past with surprising ease. This might sound like a lot for one book to juggle, but never fear - Candlish balances these various threads effortlessly, and the story is all the stronger for their intersections. Fiona’s “past” storyline is perhaps the most straightforward, though no less compelling; we follow Fiona as she discovers her husband's betrayal and deals with its fallout. Bram’s “past” is arguably the most emotionally weighty; his “past” is told to readers through an alleged suicide note he has left for his family, detailing the circumstances that led to his earth-shattering betrayal of those he loved most. And then there’s Fiona’s reflection on her past, my personal favorite element of the puzzle that is OUR HOUSE. CBTB readers will know how much I love a good true crime podcast, and Candlish has made what I (a very biased true crime fan!) consider the fantastic choice to incorporate this format of true-crime storytelling into her modern crime fiction novel.
In the present day, Fiona has become the newest participant on a podcast called “The Victim”—a true crime podcast that explores the experiences of victims of crime, as told in their own words. Interspersed throughout the story, readers will be given “transcripts” of Fiona’s appearance on The Victim, complete with fictional social media responses to her appearance. This is every bit as immersive a storytelling tool as it sounds. Candlish’s willingness to step outside her characters and imagine how an “audience” listening to their story on a podcast might respond to them adds another layer of complexity to this plot, but it’s such a welcome one. Neither Fiona nor Bram are the most endearing of characters, and I loved Candlish’s ability to skewer her own characters through these fictional social media responses. It’s a bit like crime writing inception—an author writing about how a fictional audience might respond to the fictional characters she’s created—but Candlish doesn’t just pull it off, she hits it out of the park. Between the “podcast,” Bram’s suicide note, and the glimpses we’re given into Fiona’s actual experiences as they happened, Candlish crafts a tapestry of lies and deception that make for utterly unputdownable reading material. It’s not quite the Rashomon effect, but it’s close: with so many varying perspectives on the “truth” put forth, truth begins to feel subjective, and readers will relish every opportunity to puzzle together who’s being honest - and who isn’t.
Last but certainly not least, it’s worth a moment of consideration that Candlish puts an actual house - a physical piece of property - at the center of her domestic suspense novel. Sure, there are absolutely family secrets and interpersonal betrayals in this story as well, but it was an interesting and notable choice to me that Candlish wanted to put a material object at the heart of her story. For Fiona and Bram, their home in the posh neighborhood of Alder Rise is a physical representation of the life they’ve built together and the status they, as a couple, have secured for themselves. Granted, I’m sure it could be said of any family that their home is central to their life—but I couldn’t help but think that perhaps Candlish made this decision to make a certain point. Status symbols - whether property, fancy clothes, or the picture-perfect image of our lives that we project into the world - are ultimately disposable, as Fiona comes to find out. When all the exterior shininess is stripped away, what is Fiona left with? As it turns out, the foundation of her marriage was rotten, and no lavish home could fix that.
Louise Candlish’s OUR HOUSE is a stunner of a summer suspense novel. I will caution readers that this book is not one that relies on instant, earth-shattering twists; do be patient with this book, but it will have reveals a plenty in store for you. There’s also a healthy dose of drama here, but it is drama of the best kind: addictive, binge-worthy, purely entertaining drama. And last but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t wrap this interview up by saying: Louise Candlish, you may have sent me into a fit of some strange blend of frustration, disbelief, and just-plain-shocked laughter with that ending. (If you think that’s a cliffhanger, wait until you read OUR HOUSE.)
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
QUOTE:
chilling portrait of a smug, privileged neighborhood where things turn violen
A chilling portrait of a smug, privileged neighborhood where things turn violent
By Gerald Bartell July 19
Last year British author Louise Candlish made her American debut with “Our House,” a domestic thriller about a woman whose life spirals after she finds strangers taking over her London townhouse. Now Candlish returns with a mordant tale called “Those People.” She could well have titled it “Our Houses” since the plot finds several homes and their owners threatened by obnoxious newcomers.
(Berkley)
The author Louise Candish. (Jonny Ring)
The offending two are Darren Booth and his girlfriend, Jodie. They’ve moved into a semi-detached home that Darren inherited in Lowland Way, an upscale suburb of London. A neighbor complains that the couple is turning their property into “a disaster zone.” There’s “a mountain of bricks and rubble,” along with a van and two cars, one of them jacked up and blocking the sidewalk. The sounds coming from inside the house of blaring rock music and a blasting drill jar everyone on the street.
Darren and Jodie appear to be the titular “those people,” the ones everyone on the block point to angrily. But Candlish complicates things: It’s hard to tell who are the victims and who are the perpetrators. “Those people” could just as well be “these people.”
Ralph and Naomi Morgan, for example, use the pretense of a “meet and greet” to ask Darren if he plans to sell the cars on his property, suspecting — hoping, really — he lacks the required permit. Darren, “unsettlingly agile” with “a bulging forehead and a flat boxer’s nose” warns Darren to keep his “nose out.”
[Looking for a summer thriller? Here are 9 picks for your beach bag.]
The Morgans and their neighbors keep their noses in. They spread gossip about Darren and Jodie: “They’re big binge drinkers.” “They like to party.” “Wouldn’t be surprised if he was a pedo…”
Fueled by fears the squalor will send property values plummeting (a B&B across from Darren has already shuttered), the neighbors resort to violence against Darren and Jodie. Ant, who, with his wife Em, shares the Booth’s semi-detached property, pitches a terra-cotta pot onto the Booth’s yard.
Then one night a scaffold Darren had erected over the front of his house collapses and kills one of the characters. Did someone on the street sabotage the structure?
Police investigate the accident, as the second half of “Those People” morphs into a standard issue procedural. It brings surprising twists, but it’s overlong, slowly paced and overshadowed by the author’s sharply etched group portrait of “those people.”
Moving from house to house, Candlish exposes the smug, hypocritical, selfish attitudes of their owners. The folks along Lowland Way are about as nasty, as hypocritical and, eventually, as violent as the predatory villagers in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” An ironic and poignant coda suggests at least one person on the street possesses a few grams of humanity. Otherwise, Lowland Way — as its name suggests — is a dispiriting place.
Gerald Bartell is a freelance arts writer who lives in Manhattan.
THOSE PEOPLE
By Louise Candlish
Berkley. 352 pp. $26
QUOTE:
"Perhaps its excellence will move an American editor to bring out others. I’d like to read them all."
A good-hearted mother faces the ultimate betrayal in the twisty novel ‘Our House’
By Patrick Anderson July 25, 2018
At the start of Louise Candlish’s superb thriller “Our House,” Fi Lawson, a 40-ish wife and mother, is returning to her comfortable home in South London when she is greeted by an alarming sight: Someone is moving into her house.
Movers are carrying furniture into the house where Fi (short for Fiona) has lived for a decade with her now-estranged husband and their two young sons. She hurries inside and confronts the woman she finds there. This is my house, Fi declares. No, the woman insists, my husband and I have bought it.
“Our House,” by Louise Candlish (Berkley)
Real estate agents, lawyers and police are summoned. Finally the awful truth emerges: The couple has indeed bought the house from Fi’s husband, Bram (for Abraham), for 2 million pounds. They produce a sales document that features Fi’s forged signature, along with that of Bram . Fi’s beloved house is no longer hers. Where is she to go? What can she tell her sons? The rest of the novel explains how this disaster came to pass.
Fi is kind and loving. Bram is genial and a devoted father, but overly fond of booze, driving too fast and the temptations of the flesh. Some months earlier, Fi arrived home early and found him entwined with another woman in the playhouse he’d built for their sons in the backyard. She’d forgiven him once before; this time, she threw him out.
Bram blunders on. Driving too fast, he forces another car off the road, leaving its driver and her 10-year-old daughter seriously injured. Bram, whose license had been revoked for earlier speeding offenses, flees the scene. He faces at least 10 years in prison if he’s found out.
[Thank you, Gillian Flynn, for giving women permission to be bad]
Enter the villain, who calls himself Mike. He saw the accident and learned who Bram is and what punishment he faces. He demands money from Bram, who protests that he has none. Mike reminds him that he owns (co-owns, actually) a house worth 2 million pounds. He gives Bram a choice: sell the house and hand over the money or go to prison.
Questions abound. Can Bram, having concluded that murdering the blackmailer isn’t an option, find a legal way to save the house? Might he and Fi reconcile? Will good-hearted Fi figure out that the charming fellow she’s begun dating is a rotter? She’s aided in her struggles by her friends in the neighborhood, including one who confesses an affair with Bram. Another tells her: “He’s a type, Fi. A bad boy. However hard he tries he can never be fully rehabilitated.”
Fi looks back at their courtship: “When we got married I thought I’d done the impossible, settled down with a man who was never going to settle down — until he met me, of course.”
For his part, Bram says: “Why did I cheat on the woman I love? The best way that I can explain it was not an addiction or even an itch, but more like the memory of hunger after years of good eating.”
Author Louise Candlish (Jonny Ring)
Candlish skillfully portrays Fi’s friendships with other wives in her South London neighborhood, where the author herself lives with her husband and daughter. The friends discuss the challenges of motherhood, as well as of marriage. Over gin and tonics one evening, one friend admits, “If I had my way, children would stay in primary school forever, and it would never occur to them that we’re not always right about absolutely everything.”
When Fi starts dating, a friend advises her: “ ‘Hard to get’ doesn’t exist as a concept anymore. Everyone is easy to get.” Fi is neither hard to get nor quick to realize she’s being taken for a ride. Few male writers could have captured these women as shrewdly and affectionately as Candlish has.
[Cliques, obsessive moms and now PhDs: Megan Abbott sets female rivalries afire]
Candlish has said that “Our House,” which deserves to be called a literary thriller, was inspired by a case of property fraud she read about in a London newspaper. We read on, wondering if Fi’s house can be saved, if Bram is destined for prison or if a happy ending might somehow emerge. In fact, the ending Candlish has devised is devastating.
Candlish has published 11 previous novels in England, including “The Swimming Pool,” “The Second Husband” and “Other People’s Secrets,” but this is her first to appear in this country. Perhaps its excellence will move an American editor to bring out others. I’d like to read them all.
Patrick Anderson reviews thrillers and mysteries regularly for The Washington Post.
OUR HOUSE
By Louise Candlish
Berkley. 404 pp. $26