Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
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Nothing brings neighbors together like someone else's secrets... At Shelley House, the walls have ears, and they're attached to a ragtag duo of busybodies ready to pry, snoop, and generally annoy their neighbors into solving a crime.
Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived in Shelley House longer than any of the other residents, and if you take their word for it, she's as cantankerous as they come. But Dorothy has her reasons for spying. And none of them require justifying herself to Kat Bennett.
Twenty-five-year-old Kat has never known a place where she felt truly at home, and crumbling Shelley House is no different. Her neighbors find her prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat's plagued by a guilty secret from her past.
When their apartments face demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy agree on just one thing: they must save their historic building. But when someone plays dirty--and one of the residents is viciously taken down--Dorothy and Kat seek justice. The police close the investigation too soon, leaving it up to the unlikely amateur sleuths--with a playful Jack Russell terrier at their side--to restore peace in their community.
"Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, and especially not in crumbling Shelley House. According to her neighbors, she's prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past. Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling is Shelley House's longest resident, and if you believe the other tenants, she's as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Except there's a good reason Dorothy spends her days spying on her neighbors-a closely guarded secret that no else knows and the reason Dorothy barely leaves her beloved home. When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home. But when someone starts to play dirty andviciously targets one of the residents, Dorothy and Kat suspect foul play in their community. After the police close the investigation, it's up to this improbable pair to bring a criminal to justice."-- Provided by publisher.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Shelley House, in Chalcot, England, was once an impressive mansion with a grand history. That's how Dorothy Darling saw it when she moved in 30 years ago. Now it's run-down, with safety issues that Dorothy regularly reports to the landlord, but no one listens to a 77-year-old woman who spies on the tenants of the other five flats. Dorothy is sure the uproar of the summer started when the girl with pink hair, Kat Bennett, became roommate to Joseph Chambers. Kat, just as irascible as Dorothy, blames it on the night Joseph gathered the tenants when they learned they were to be evicted to make room for a new apartment complex. Only Joseph was willing to spend days protesting in front of the landlord's office. But the tenants come together in anger when Kat finds Joseph knocked out and bleeding on his living room floor. Chalcot doesn't normally host attempted murders, break-ins, and car chases, until the protests start. Kat and Dorothy are united only in their determination to save Shelley House. VERDICT The mystery is slight, but readers of Sampson's The Lost Ticket or The Last Chance Library will appreciate this story of misunderstandings, guilty secrets, and forgiveness.--Lesa Holstine
Booklist Review
Ms. Dorothy Darling knows everything that goes on in Shelley House, a small, ramshackle apartment building in England. The opera-loving septuagenarian keeps watch from her front window, so she knows when her neighbor, Joseph Chambers, has illegally rented his spare room to Kat Bennett, a 25-year-old loner with pink hair. Kat wants nothing more than to keep her distance, so when everyone is served with an eight-week eviction notice, she figures she'll just move on. But then Joseph is attacked, and Kat stays to watch his dog, Reggie. Dorothy and Kat both have secrets keeping them at Shelley House, and soon they are caught up in Joseph's campaign to save the building from a shady developer. Sampson (The Lost Ticket, 2022) once again presents a charming story about intergenerational friendship leading to healing. As the narrative alternates between Dorothy and Kat's distinct voices, readers learn why the two women have their walls up, and have the pleasure of watching those walls come down. This heartwarming tale is full of subtle humor and rich characters.
Kirkus Book Review
A Victorian house's disparate residents join forces to solve a tragic crime and keep their place in the property. Ms. (never Mrs.) Dorothy Darling, 77, has a talent for details, particularly the details about her Shelley House neighbors' comings and goings, and even more particularly the details about how each and every thing her neighbors do might be a legal violation, or maybe just an affront to common sense, something Dorothy has in abundance. She's most vexed when a girl with pink hair shows up at the door looking for a room even though all the tenants know subletting their spare rooms is illegal. The impertinence! The troublemaker, Kat Bennett, is equally aggrieved to have come all the way to the village of Chalcot without landing a place to live, but the real renter, the friendly Joseph Chambers, makes a strong pitch when he finally meets her, and Kat moves into the multi-unit building after all. Although Kat's not one to put down roots, there's something charming about Shelley House and its occupants, especially Reggie, Joseph's adorable Jack Russell. Kat's almost relaxed when a tragedy shakes things up and forces her and her neighbors to come together. As they keep trying to protect their homestead from opportunistic landlord Fergus Alexander, the occupants of Shelley House must get to know each other a lot better to find out who might have tried to hurt one of their own. Personalities clash as secrets are revealed, threatening either to divide the occupants forever or to galvanize them in the fight. The tenants are as crafty and charming as the house in this all's-well-that-ends-well tale. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.