Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve
Joanna Jenkins’ first two crime novels were very well received. Her first, How to Kill a Client, was set in her familiar territory, Brisbane, and the second, The Bluff had a small outback town as its setting. Bad Neighbours has the beauty and changing mood of Sydney Harbour, and a stunning block of flats, The Lumen, as a backdrop, in the very dramatic departure from the dusty anonymity of her previous novel.
The familiarity of her home city was an attractive aspect for many in reading of How to Kill a Client, and her expertise as a member of a law firm there, gave her first attempt at crime writing a fresh and unusual flavour. Cities such as London, so frequently the centre of serious crime since Sherlock Holmes and 221B Baker St, are overlooked by her and in her third novel, Sydney and its changing weather is the charming backdrop.
Bad Neighbours has many of the attributes that Joanna continues to refine.
She handles her cast of characters in more detail and weaves her professional expertise seamlessly into her narrative. The Lumen, a stunning apartment with harbour views, houses a collection of characters, from an elderly couple, Humphrey and Lawrence, the stunning Silver and her banker husband Anthony, the eccentric Stella, and Ben, a homeless man living under a roof of corrugated iron in the garden. Ruth Dawson, a lawyer with a considerable background in property, moves into the attractive Art Nouveau building, and soon after, Ben is found dead.
This arouses suspicion in Ruth and she concludes that very likely the culprit is one of The Lumen’s residents. Ben had always been regarded by them as ‘a problem’ presence. She commences to pursue the theory of Ben’s murder, but the plot plummets with her having to confront disasters of her own.
Very cleverly, Joanna Jenkins weaves her story of fraud, greed, risk taking and selfish indulgence. This is nicely seasoned with humour and the wayward intricacies of the property market. An amusing touch is the reclusive Lucas and his French Bulldog Mavis riding into the sunset (at the Gold Coast) in his hideously expensive Porsche with the coolly calculating Silver, the ‘grieving’ widow of the banker Anthony, only recently murdered.
Bad Neighbours is a well-chosen title, tempting potential readers who suffer the scourge of the bad neighbour. However, the novel does not present the solution to this problem. In fact, it provides a cautionary tale, as the guilty do not syphon off ill-gotten funds to flee to a Caribbean tax haven.
The book offers an enjoyable escape to Sydney Harbour side and the potential charms of a beautifully designed building. The negative aspect of the dramas associated with levies and the tenants’ corporation, clouds this initially but is later gently smoothed. Characters live their various roles, managing Airbnb, computer tech, detective, influencer, and suspects are implied.
This results in a crime novel that is fresh and a treat to read. The initial chapters somewhat slowly yet steadily build the character and atmosphere, and Ruth, the key to solving the crimes, is not the usual detective. Her course is not straightforward and far from the conventional type who doggedly pursues clues to arrive at a satisfying outcome. This adds a degree of reality and fuels the hope that she will continue to be a significant character in future work by Joanna Jenkins.
Bad Neighbours
[2026]
by Joanna Jenkins
Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 978 1 7614 7401 9
$34.99; 384pp