Title: Come a Little Closer
Author: Karen Perry
Publisher: Michael Joseph UK
Synopsis:
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?
My review:
I first read this book three years ago, but realised I never wrote a review at the time – and it was such an intriguing book I was happy to read it again!
Come A Little Closer starts with a bang – a young boy appears from nowhere covered in blood in a park.
We follow Leah and Jake as they move into a basement flat belonging to Anton, who has been in prison for 19 years for killing his wife – but Anton maintains his innocence. Before Leah knows about Anton’s past, she spends some time with him and is shocked when she finds out what he was accused of (and found guilty of!)
As well as Leah and Anton’s, we also get inside the mind of neighbour Hilary, who knew Anton and his wife Charlotte before she died.
Slowly, through all of their narratives, we start to unpick what really happened back then – the secrets and lies plaguing the people in this neighbourhood. There are twists and turns as we find out more, and a surprise at the end. The plot is satisfyingly complex without feeling too convoluted, and alhough there’s drama and intrigue, it never feels too ridiculous.
I hugely enjoyed Come A Little Closer – it’s a gripping read, which is no surprise seeing as it’s written by the brilliant Karen Perry!
My rating: 4.25/5
Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.