Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh

Envy, jealousy, infidelity, greed, thieving, murder and estate agents.

This story involves a lot of crime, including a cold-case double murder, that initially seem to be separate cases. The plot includes a lot of characters, which took me a while to get my head around them all, but the three main ones have their own perspectives in discrete chapters, but are linked. First is a woman detective based in north Wales investigating the death of a woman in a kayak, who is dating a detective sergeant who is working on a series of robberies in Cheshire, and third, his social climbing ex-wife who has aspirations to become like the rich folk in the fancy Cheshire houses. There is also a true crime podcast with a social media group to fill in the gaps about past murder.

As the cases unfold, strange facts emerge linking them together. Some seem to be tenuous at first but the story delves deeper. Meanwhile, the detectives have their relationship to sort out, with obstacles to navigate such as living arrangements, his son, her boisterous dog (called Dave – love it!) and the ex-wife. She brings a lot of light relief as she is desperate to be like the rich folk in every way such as how they dress, what they do even the nick-nacks around their homes.

The book is well-written and the pace is stable. Not really a thriller, more of a police procedural and a domestic drama and whodunnit, but the characters are distinct and well drawn, with some warm and likeable. Good to see a nice man featuring prominently. Difficult to guess the ending as the story has many layers, so kudos for that. Overall a good read. Part of a series about the woman detective, D.C. Ffion Morgan. Looking forward to reading more about her.