Not a great book. But I did manage to finish.

The setting is interesting. A collection of tenants in a low rental London boardinghouse.

Lisa, also known as Collette, is on the run after witnessing her shady boss, Tony, beat a man to death at the Nefertiti Men’s Club.

Now her mother is dying in a nursing home and she wants to be nearby, so she rents a room in a boardinghouse that’s one step up from a homeless shelter.

The shabby home, subdivided into apartments, is owned and managed by a grossly obese man who takes advantage of his down-and-out residents:

• Hossein, who’s seeking political asylum in England
• Vesta, who’s lived in the basement apartment all her life
• Cher, a 15-year-old who’s slipped the reins of social services
• Thomas, lonely, tries to make friends with his neighbours
• Gerard

While Collette uses the money she has left, about £100,000, to evade Tony and his henchmen, the residents are dealing with backed-up drains that smell awful.

Unknown to the other residents, one of the men has been making a habit of killing young women, including Nikki, the former resident of Collette’s apartment …

Kirkus Review