The Killer Next Door    by Alex Marwood Order:  USA  Can Penguin, 2014 (2014) Softcover, CD, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth A dodgy South London rooming house, 23 Beulah Grove. No private bathrooms. Mold in the hallways. Paying monthly by cash. No checks, please. To top it off, the landlord is a lecherous old creep. It's the sort of place you end up when there are no other options. Either you are so far down on your luck you have no choice. Or you're running from someone. Something is more definitely wrong here than just a dreary place to live. There are six residents who go to great lengths to avoid each other. One who is almost never seen plays classical music at top volume during all waking hours. Another is the grey-haired spinster who lives in the basement apartment of the house which had once been her family home. It must have really grated to be living at the bottom of her memories of a happy childhood. An awful accident draws them together. They begin to realize they need each other – for one reason or another. There is a killer among them but they have no idea who it is. Just know that things have gotten out of hand and they need to do something about it. We, the readers, are kept in the dark as to the identity of this villain. Which makes for even more suspense than what already hovers over the pages of this well-written novel. We end up trying to tell the residents in full voice (rather than just the thoughts that usually reside in our heads as we try to solve a really good mystery) to be careful as we read of the happenings. Obtain a copy and be prepared to be scared. Happy reading! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews