Come A Little Closer (Paperback)

Leah is in love. It should be the happiest summer of her life, but she can't help feeling lonely with Jake's attention divided between her, his ex-wife and his young son. As insomnia sets in, the walls of their new basement flat feel as if they're closing in around her. Until she meets her upstairs neighbour, Anton, who has recently moved back in after a long absence from the street. He's a sympathetic ear when Jake can't be, and even though others on the street seem strangely hostile towards him, Leah soon comes to rely on Anton and their secret conversations in the night.

Leah has no idea that nineteen years before, Anton was convicted of killing his wife. A wife who looked a little bit like Leah.

He has always said he didn't do it. Is Leah his redemption? Or is she befriending a killer intent on luring her closer and closer?

General

Imprint:	Michael Joseph
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	June 2019
Authors:	Karen Perry
Dimensions:	234 x 153 x 40mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	400
ISBN-13:	978-0-241-34812-3
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Adventure / thriller > General Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > General
LSN:	0-241-34812-9
Barcode:	9780241348123

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My review

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 | Review by: Breakaway R.

A chilling suspense novel with some well-crafted twists Leah has just moved into a basement flat in Wyndham Park with her boyfriend Jake. As he busies himself with work and spending time with his young son Matthew who he shares with his ex-wife, Leah begins to feel lonely and she finds herself reaching out and befriending her upstairs neighbour, Anton. He has recently moved back to the street after nineteen years away and is a kind and sympathetic ear for Leah to share her problems with. However, it is not long before she discovers the reason behind his absence – he was convicted of murdering his wife Charlotte, a young woman who when alive looked a lot like Leah. Whilst Anton always swore his innocence, many on the street are hostile and cold towards him, including Jake when he eventually finds out the truth. Leah can’t believe that such a gentleman would be capable of such violence and maintains their friendship in secret. But does she really know Anton and what he might be capable of? This was an entertaining and chilling psychological thriller, which builds up the tension in a gripping way and gradually reveals pieces of the puzzle throughout until all becomes clear at the end. The story is told from three perspectives – Leah, Anton and Helen, another resident on the street – and from their viewpoints, we build up a picture of what happened to Charlotte all those years ago and also gain insight to some of the characters’ pasts and the other secrets they carry. There were quite a few unexpected twists, with the author teasing the reader with snippets of information about the characters (such as Leah’s traumatising backstory) in a way that kept you turning the pages. Whilst none of the characters were stand-out original, the author does an excellent job of portraying Anton and making him seem sympathetic one minute and creepy the next so that you’re never sure whether he can be trusted or not. The writing is quite atmospheric, and some passages really capture Leah’s feelings of tension and claustrophobia from living in a place where such unspeakable violence happened. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of this book was hampered slightly by the fact that I found Leah a little bit wet and annoying as a character, and Jake was also quite unsympathetic and at times seemed to not even like Leah at all. Some aspects of the story also felt a bit silly and unrealistic (namely the Helen subplot) and the personalities of the characters seemed a little bit half-formed at times, with their behaviour varying wildly in different situations to the point where you weren’t really sure what to make of them. This may have been partly intentional, but other than for Anton where it worked well, it felt a little sloppy. In conclusion, whilst not hugely shocking or original, this was an enjoyable and unpredictable thriller which keeps the reader turning pages. I would recommend it to fans of this genre and would be interested in reading more stories by this author. Daenerys Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

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