As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.
Dorothy Darling (Ms. not Mrs, thank you very much) may be 77 years old, but she keeps herself busy watching over the crumbling Victorian mansion where she has lived in Flat 2 on the ground floor for over 30 years. From her seat behind her net curtain with a clear view of the street, she dutifully notes each infraction in her notebook, such as improper parking or recycling included with the trash, and shares these notes with her neighbors and the owner of the building. Suspicious car parked outside? She’s jotted down the number. Inhabitants of Flat 6 fighting again? She’ll go up and knock on the door. She takes the time to prowl the building every day, just to make sure everything’s in order, putting up aggressive notices about unsafe storage and unclaimed mail. And she’s, well, less than impressed by her newest neighbor, a young woman with pink hair and tattoos who is subletting a room from an elderly man named Joseph in Flat 1.
The feeling is mutual. 25-year-old Kat Bennett isn’t sure what she’s doing back in Chacolet. Her happiest childhood memories are of times spent on her grandfather’s farm on the outskirts of the village, but a childhood spent being dragged from one dangerous living situation to another by her addict mother has left her determined to not trust anyone, and her relationship with her grandfather was destroyed when she was 10. She and Dorothy quickly clash, but she finds herself undermined by her gentle flatmate Joseph and his charming terrier Reggie. Joseph even cooks for her. So when each member of the building gets an eviction notice, she reluctantly joins her neighbors in protesting the destruction of the historic site.
When Joseph is attacked and his apartment ransacked, things begin to heat up. Kat and Dorothy form a most unlikely pair, each of them ready to hurl insults at a moment’s notice and regret in private. Dorothy’s list of potential suspects is quickly about a mile long, and Kat keeps wanting to flee Shelley House as she has every other dwelling. Can they save the now-decrepit mansion, or will it fall to development like everything else?
Stories about quirky people who hurt because they are hurt are hard to get right. They can so easily become sentimental and two-dimensional. But Nosy Neighbors hits the perfect note every time. Yes, gradually Dorothy and Kat become less prickly around each other, but the ending isn’t as nice and neat as you might be expecting. Instead the characters are realistic and have some depth to them. I loved this book and absolutely devoured it. Highly recommended!