WoW! This is a psychological thriller that has an extraordinary crescendo! This novel is the August selection from my Mysteries-Book-a-Month 2020 package from Bas Bleu or I might not have otherwise discovered this author/title independently.

Rosamund and Geoffrey Fielding have a new neighbor and they shared their usual delightful jokes with one another as they watched the activities of "move-in day." The new neighbors are 2 sisters, outgoing, single Lindy and reserved Eileen recently separated from her husband. With a setting in the London suburbs during the 1960s, the reader may not anticipate the full disruption that Lindy can bring to Rosamund and Geoffrey's domestic and habitual life.

As a former librarian, I had many conversations with readers at circulation desks and learned that some readers look at the number of pages as one of their determining factors for reading a novel. In the same way that some people determine 300+ pages is too long a book I've also viewed a book rejected as it is under 200 pages. For me, the number of pages in a book is never a factor. However, I do confess that I was surprised by the climax of this psychological thriller as I’ve read much longer psychological tales that were good stories but didn’t deliver the level of suspense in so few pages. I feel this is another credit to the Celia Fremlin’s writing style that she not only builds suspense in profiling the characters in their daily lives with perception and acute intricacies but delivers a power-packed punch ending. ( )

Celia Fremlin’s works have recently been reissued by Faber Finds, in neat little ebooks with come-hither pricing. I hadn’t heard of her before, but was intrigued by her themes of suburban unease and mystery, and chose The Jealous One as my introduction to her novels. First published in 1964, it occasionally shows its age, but its essential story is one that doubtless remains painfully familiar in the present world. Rosamund and Geoffrey have been married for years, united by their gossiping about their London neighbours and by shared despair over their feckless teenage son. But when the exuberant Lindy moves in next door and inches her way into their lives, Rosamund discovers how painful jealousy can be. And then, one day, she wakes from a feverish sleep and a dream of murder… to find that Lindy has vanished...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/04/14/the-jealous-one-celia-fremlin/ ( )