38121339There’s plenty of intrigue, sex, and drugs in this fast-paced mystery, set against a backdrop of gentrifying London.

Ella Riordan is a community activist who became famous when she was beaten by police during a social protest. Now Ella is a squatter in a building where the owners are evicting tenants so they can convert it into luxury condos, and she’s determined to stay and defend the few holdout tenants, despite death threats.

One night after a rooftop party with her fellow holdouts, Ella finds a horrible scene awaiting her in her apartment. In a panic, she calls her neighbour Molly, who convinces her that the police won’t believe she’s innocent. Together the two women concoct a gruesome plan to hide the body down the building’s elevator shaft.

But the secret won’t stay buried for long. As truth hangs in the balance, a neighbour tells Molly he had heard Ella arguing with a man in the hallway and mistrust grows between Ella and Molly, as repercussions of that night threaten to change both women’s lives forever.

My Review

I’d had this book on my tbr as soon as soon a tweet about it last year. Fortunately  Inge@TheBelgianReviewer sent it to me in a book swap. 🙂

This book was brilliant and totally confirms why I love Eva Dolan’s books, and the way she sets them amongst overlooked members of the community. The setting amongst political activists demonstrating against the gentrification of London was fascinating and gripping. The main characters Molly and Ella felt so real as did the situation they found themselves in. The story was told in the present and the past and by both main characters, so it was a bit confusing at first. I’m so glad I had the paperback version as I don’t think this would’ve work so well for me in an ebook.

I’m always trying to work out what’s going on in a crime story, and although I did have an inkling about one of the characters, I didn’t guess everything, so it didn’t ruin the rest of the story for me.

I thoroughly recommend this book if you enjoy crime and also seriously recommend you take a look at the author’s other books in her Zigic & Ferreira series.