“Even on the most desirable street, there’s a dark side . . .

The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.

Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why?

As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . .”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh. Other People’s Houses is published by Sphere Books today (that’s Thursday 27th February 2025) and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow. I chose to read a free eARC of Other People’s Houses but that has in no way influenced my review.

Clare Mackintosh’s police procedural series featuring DC Ffion Morgan is quite possibly the greatest new crime series to have been published in the last few years. It’s rapidly become a firm favourite of mine, with the release of a new book being a highlight of my reading year. Other People’s Houses is the third instalment of the series and is, unsurprisingly, a brilliant addition. Other People’s Houses sees Ffion investigate the murder of a woman who turns up in a kayak on the banks of the Awen River (a ‘canoe-dunnit’ – full credit to the author for the terrible pun!). Whilst over the border in Cheshire, Ffion’s boyfriend – DS Leo Brady – is attempting to find a link between a string of break-ins in a well-to-do, exclusive, residential area. There seems very little to connect the two investigations at first. But the more Ffion and Leo scratch the surface, the more they reveal. Someone killed the estate agent, strapped her body into a kayak and left her on the river. And someone will do just about anything to ensure their secrets stay hidden…

Other People’s Houses is a brilliantly plotted, engrossing mystery featuring some of the best characters in crime fiction at the moment. DC Ffion Morgan is a joy! She’s head-strong, determined and very relatable. An intelligent, kick-ass female protagonist who gets the job done. Whilst also being wonderfully ‘normal’ and doing ‘normal’ things. For example, DC Morgan is looking to buy a new house so when she is asked to investigate the murder of an estate agent, her first thought is to wonder how she will cut such an extensive list of suspects down to an acceptable level. After all, ‘some’ estate agents have a habit of causing a lot of undue upset and distress to their clients, which *could* result in a lot of tension and hurt. Not in my experience, of course, but I’ve heard tales (🤭). I love Ffion Morgan. She speaks her mind, she’s just trying to do the best job she can do, and she’s driven and forthright. An absolute gem! Then we have DS Leo Brady. Ffion and Leo’s budding romance was on again/off again in the first two novels. It’s still not fully formed but they really are starting to get somewhere in this book. Which seems the perfect opportunity to bring in Allie, Leo’s ex-wife and the mother of his seven-year-old son, Harris. Allie lives around the corner of The Hill, the elite residential area that is suffering multiple break-ins which Leo has been tasked to solve. However, Allie very much sees herself as part of the excusive set. She has wormed her way in. Made herself, she believes, invaluable to the residents without realising that they’re just using her, and can’t see how uncomfortably desperate and needy she is being. It makes for cringeworthy reading at times but I couldn’t look away. Brilliantly done! I did feel quite sorry for Allie in the long run, much as it pains me to say it! These interactions between Allie and Leo help the reader get to know Leo a little better.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Other People’s Houses is a great addition to a series that is proving to be a ‘must read’ for crime fiction fans. The entire series, starting with The Last Party, followed by A Game of Lies, and with this latest addition, is superb. I’ve spoken a lot about Ffion and Leo in this review but all of the characters are wonderfully written. Some you instantly like. Some (most of the residents of The Hill!) you don’t so much. I can’t let a review of this series go by without mentioning the true star of the show, Dave the Dog. He steals every scene he is in, and rightly so. A great, slobbering hulk of an animal who you can’t help but fall in love with (and am I the only one who, whenever his name his mentioned, has Nessa’s voice (Gavin & Stacey) in my head shouting ‘Dave! DAVE!!’? Dave Coaches 🤣). I thought the way the two seemingly different plotlines came together was clever, I loved the dual settings of Cwm Coed and The Hill and I thought the mystery aspect of the storyline worked well, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I do have a teeny, tiny niggle and I know this will be an unpopular opinion but I stand by it. I wasn’t keen on one of the final reveals. It felt a  little out of the blue and didn’t quite fit with everything else. I’m curious to see where the author will take that particular storyline next. For me, it took a little of the shine off of a very dramatic, intense ending. Still a cracking read though that I highly recommend. Beautifully written characters, a cleverly woven mystery and with plenty of red herrings along the way. This entire series is a masterclass in crime fiction. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Other People’s Houses. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh was published in the UK by Sphere Books on 27th February 2025 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

With more than two million copies of her books sold worldwide, number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of I Let You Go, which was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and the fastest-selling title by a new UK crime writer in 2015. It also won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016.

Both Clare’s second and third novels, I See You and Let Me Lie, were number one Sunday Times bestsellers and Richard & Judy Book Club picks. Clare’s novel After the End was published in June 2019 and spent seven weeks in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller chart, and in June 2021, Clare’s locked room thriller, Hostage, flew straight into the top ten.

In July 2022, Clare launched a crime series set on the border between England and Wales. It features Welsh detective DC Ffion Morgan and is currently being adapted for television. The first book in the series, The Last Party, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. The sequel, A Game of Lies, publishes in July 2023.

Together, Clare’s books have been published in more than forty countries and have spent a combined total of 64 weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller lists.

Clare is patron of the Silver Star Society, a charity based at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, which supports parents experiencing high-risk or difficult pregnancies. She lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children.