It's a run-down apartment building in London, where the rent is paid in cash and there are no receipts. Everyone there has a reason they are there instead of somewhere nicer. Cher is a teenage girl who has run away from the state supervised system. Hossein is a refuge who has come to London to escape those who took over his country. Collette is running from her past and the boss she stole from. Vesta is there because she has never lived anywhere else and has a rent-controlled apartment that provides her shelter as an elderly woman all alone in the world. Thomas can't seem to form a real relationship with a woman.
They all have secrets in common. Secrets and a distaste for the landlord. The landlord doesn't live in the building; it's not grand enough for him. He charges what he wants and according to how desperate he thinks each tenant is. He is an obese, overbearing man who creeps around and feels that he can come and go in any apartment regardless of occupancy.
As the weeks go by, it becomes clear that something is wrong in the house. There's a horrible smell and the building's deterioration is accelerated. The tenents form a common support group to take on the landlord. What will it take to defeat him?
Alex Marwood has written a novel that gives the reader the creeps as well as having them be thankful for whatever shelter they currently have. Secrets are revealed, evil is fought and the group tries to make everything work out for the best. This book is recommended for mystery readers.
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