The Downstairs Neighbour by Helen Cooper
This novel has a mystery that develops soon after the book opens and soon becomes the focus of the main story of the book, taking place in the present. There is another story from 25 years earlier that pops up now and again and it takes some time to see exactly how that story relates to the present day one.
The title is also intriguing, because it is unclear exactly who it pertains to.
In a house in a London suburb, Paul and Steph live with their teenage daughter Freya on the top two floors. There are a close family, and Freya spends time with both her parents as well as with the family as a whole. Paul is an ex-cop and a data analyst, but he doesn't talk much about his previous career. Steph works in the first class lounge at Heathrow airport, making sure everything there runs smoothly. Freya is a popular and energetic teenager.
Below them, on the ground floor, Emma lives. Emma owns her own vintage store, where she sells clothing, jewellery and other personal and decorative items. Things haven't been going well lately, and she has closed up shop, and has a deal to sell the shop very soon. She has a hamster named Gilbert, and his nocturnal activity has led her to move his cage to the cupboard underneath the stairs going up to her neighbours. She has discovered that when she is in there she can hear, fairly clearly, conversations going on upstairs. Emma is also waiting to hear from someone, a man named Zeb, that we don't learn much about until later in the story.
Below her, in the basement flat live Chris and his wife Vicky. Chris is a driving instructor, and teaches many of the young people in the area, including Freya. Vicky is a nurse. It seems that they are growing apart lately, although it isn't entirely clear why.
One evening Emma senses unusual activity and soon hears that Freya hasn't come home from school. No one seems to have heard from her and she isn't answering her mobile. When the police ask Paul and Steph whether either of them have enemies, it seems that maybe they don't know as much about each other as they thought. Emma and Chris get drawn into the investigation too, through contact with Freya and an unknown person who seems to be sending a message to someone in the building.
In the part of the story twenty-five years earlier, teenage Kate is worried about her mom. It's only been the two of them for a long time, but now her mom has a boyfriend, Nick, and she seems a lot quieter than before. The two of them often stop talking when Kate enters the room. When she sees bruises on her mom she gets scared and isn't sure what to do. So she calls a cousin, who's also a friend, for advice.
As the two stories slowly unfold, there is a tense feel to both stories as we wonder what will happen, and the secrets that so many people have gradually get revealed.
This is not a fast-moving story. But it is one that has you turning the pages, wanting to find out more. As we learn more about the different people, they become more and more interesting and imperfect. A fascinating story with long trails to the past.
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