The Body Next Door (Zane Lovitt, Text)

Nestled in Melbourne’s western suburbs, Carnation Way is a quiet street of identical-looking houses with one distinction: number 37 was the scene of a murder 13 years ago. In the present day, Claire Corral—a beloved neighbour who had recently begun asking questions again about the crime—mysteriously vanishes. Returning to Carnation Way after years away is Jamie Fawkner, newly divorced and back to care for his father, Bruce, the street’s paternal figure, who is now in the early stages of dementia. Jamie is also looking for a distraction, and he finds it in the puzzle that is Claire’s abrupt departure. Told in chapters that alternate between Jamie’s investigation and Claire’s diary entries from the time of the murder, Zane Lovitt’s The Body Next Door is a crime story with a clear heart of gold and a genuinely enthralling mystery. It’s good-natured, one of the funniest crime books in my recent memory, and occasionally heartbreaking as Jamie re-examines his relationships with his neighbours and family in the present day, while Claire contemplates the murder alongside a budding potential relationship. With strong, likeable characters whose pasts are as bumpy as the cobblestones around Carnation Way, the latest book from the Ned Kelly Award–winning Lovitt (The Midnight Promise, Black Teeth) is for readers who enjoy the lightness of touch of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, the shining humour of Kerryn Mayne’s Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, or those who appreciate a neighbourhood whodunnit like Kate Kemp’s The Grapevine.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Fiona Hardy is the author of the How To series of middle fiction books and a bookseller at Readings. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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