Book review: Neighbourhood Watch by Lauren Williams

Neighbourhood Watch by Lauren Williams is an enjoyable debut from the Aussie author. We’re offered three likeable main narrators with additional input from some of the local ‘colour’. Emma and Margot are estranged sisters, uniting only for family events. We soon learn however that Emma’s husband, an esteemed judge, uses violence and coercion against her and when this opens she thinks she’s finally ready to run… well, maybe. We also spend time with Priyanka Pal, a homicide detective who once worked as a psychologist but joined the force, hoping to make more of a difference to women suffering domestic violence than merely treating the aftermath.

About this book

The annual Curlew Street scarecrow competition is back, and the residents of Melbourne’s inner north have never seen an entry like it. Shirt bloody, head and arms slumped over a scarecrow Victoria’s most conservative Supreme Court Judge, Harry ‘The Pope’ Somerton, is dead.

Priyanka Pal, a former psychologist turned homicide detective, is disturbed when her investigation uncovers corruption close to home. Forced to confront the abuses of powerful men – the very reason she left psychology – Priyanka’s faith in the justice system falters.

Emma Bloom is sophisticated, intelligent, and seems to have it all together. But her prickly, estranged sister, Margot, knows the truth. Their attempts at reconciliation spiral into crisis with the death of Emma’s abusive husband, The Pope.

As secrets unravel and Priyanka’s investigation cuts close to home, the sisters risk losing what fragile family ties they have left, and Priyanka’s career is on the edge. None of them will ever feel the same way about themselves (or their neighbours) again.

My thoughts

Margot’s separated from her wife and finds joy in the visits from her son, but is frustrated by the burden she’s carrying with the family business, emotionally supporting her younger brother (Jets) who’s dying and propping up their mother (Nettie).

I very much enjoyed the story arc of Emma and Margot. There’s still an intimacy years apart didn’t dull, but there’s also so much that’s gone unsaid that both wonder if it’s too late to mend the relationship. Not helped of course by secrets they’re keeping from each other.

I appreciated some of the quirks Williams includes here, through some of the neighbours and extended family of the neighbours. Even the styling of the dead body was kinda ironic. We learn the judge in question (now dead) was underhanded and blatantly corrupt and here Priyanka is forced to deal with the fallout of some of her colleagues wanting a quick result to keep their own dodgy deals hidden.

I perhaps found the conclusion a little less clear than I would have liked (though that might be a ‘me’ thing). I mean, I think I know what happened. We get a sense from Priyanka that she’s happy for social justice to prevail even if that (normally) delivered by law enforcement and the courts, doesn’t. Like several other books I’ve read lately, this would be good for bookclubs as people may relate to the characters (certainly our narrators) but also some of the ethical decisions being made.

Neighbourhood Watch by Lauren Williams was published in Australia by Affirm Press.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.