Bad Neighbours

by Joanna Jenkins

From the bestselling author of How to Kill a Client?and The Bluff comes a page-turning thriller of fraud and lies, murder and greed.


Ruth Dawson?finds her perfect living space in an art deco building in Potts Point, The Lumen. The apartment boasts parquetry floor, a wall of books, the Harbour Bridge visible from her sofa and a twenty-minute walk to her office in the city.

It's perfect until Ben, the homeless guy, dies under the corrugated iron lean-to in the garden where he lived.?

The residents of The Lumen do little to hide their relief.

They?can cease their half-hearted attempts to find an acceptable solution to what they called 'the Ben problem', and return to more important whether Lucas in the basement flat can keep his dog, Mavis; how it is that Lucas can afford to live there; and how it is that the banker who owns the whole of the top floor spent the owner's corporation funds to restore the glass-domed roof, but took for himself the light from the sun and the stars.

They're not happy when Ruth Dawson brings Detective Sharon Messer in. Ben was poisoned. And one of the residents?was involved.


Praise for Joanna

'A very impressive novel.' CANBERRA WEEKLY

'A satisfying and twisting thriller.' BOOKS + PUBLISHING

'A fabulous page turner ... ' SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE

'Eminently readable ' THE JUSTINIAN

Genres: Mystery

Audible Audio

Published August 20, 2026

Reviews

[Suz]

I just couldn’t keep going with this. As an arc copy, it was exciting to jump into, but it was really very slow, the neighbours appeared as disingenuous and there was nothing to hook me in encouraging the drive to continue. Nothing of much substance happened by 25%, and the dialogue and chatter between the neighbours in an art deco block seemed quite false.

The story sounded appealing, but it didn’t last. Readers who enjoy reads set in Sydney’s heart of the city may like this more than I.

Thanks A&U for my review copy.

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery meets social satire meets Sydney housing crisis polemic. The pacing of Bad Neighbours is a little uneven – the first half meanders a little through the trials and tribulations of shared living space, but then the tension rockets up at around the 200-page mark. Perhaps too much so, because the ultimate resolution was slightly convoluted. Still, it’s highly readable, as we’ve come to expect from Jenkins, and the ending is definitely satisfying.

My full review of Bad Neighbours is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big thanks to Allen & Unwin for sending us a copy to read and review.
Joanna Jenkins’s third outing is a gritty and intriguing read and as this is my first, I believe it’s the third one that features lawyer Ruth Dawson.
A stand-alone city thriller that works its domestic drama magic throughout while a whodunnit mystery is first and foremost.
Ruth Dawson needs a place to live.
When a colleague suggests a dazzling and welcoming art deco building in Potts Point, it becomes the perfect suggestion.
The Lumen has scenic views, opulence, its close to her work and has an eclectic group of tenants.
There’s a downfall, a homeless man lives there too.
But when he is murdered everyone becomes a suspect.
The problem is now gone and when an investigation begins, Ruth finds out what really goes on behind closed doors with her new neighbours……
I did quite enjoy unraveling this mystery.
With a selection of sinister characters and that twisty plot, my reading mind was alert with my sleuth hat was on.
Ruth is a great leading lady and I was impressed by how she came across on the pages.
I’m interested to read more books from Joanna.

[Meg]

I'm sad to give a negative review for this book, because I've enjoyed Jenkins in the past. It looks like other readers have all enjoyed this one too, so at least I can say it was more about me. Perhaps I was triggered by the owner's corp stuff, because I'm living this now!
At the aging art deco apartment block, Lumen, disagreements between owners are coming to a boil. One key point of contention is about who keeps letting Ben in, allowing the former resident to sleep in the stairwell. But who is mad enough to resort to murder?
I found this book very slow, almost nothing happened up to the 1/3 mark where I gave up. The characters and their dialogue were quite flat to me. I really found the whole setting unrealistic. The interactions between people just didn't seem like they would ever happen in real life - nobody in the city spends this much time talking to their neighbours. Sadly, there was nothing about this book that made me want to keep reading.
Thanks netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.

[Becs' reads Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad Neighbours by Joanna Jenkins
⭐️⭐️ and a half

I really enjoyed Joanna Jenkins previous two books, so I was super excited to get my hands on this book.

The body of the homeless man is found in the first two pages.... then nothing really happens for another 300 pages. This book was painfully slow. Full of unrealistic dialogue between neighbours and different people who perhaps wouldn't normally associate in such intrusive ways. The character development was lacking, there were too many characters that lacked depth. Therefore book was quite flat, until the volume was turned up with only 60 pages to create a storyline. In the end I was trying to work out what was happening and the connections with new names being introduced. I felt lost and confused. This book took 9 days to finish which is always a bad sign.

I will continue to read books by this author and feel terrible giving such a low rating, when her previous books were 4⭐️ masterpieces. However I wouldn't recommend this book.

"Ruth Dawson finds her ideal living space in an Art Deco building in Potts Point, The Lumen. A twenty-minute walk from her office in the city, the apartment boasts parquetry flooring, a wall of books and Harbour Bridge views from the sofa.

It's perfect until Ben, the homeless guy, dies under the corrugated iron lean-to in the garden where he lived.  

The residents of The Lumen do little to hide their relief. They can cease their half-hearted attempts to find an acceptable solution to 'the Ben problem', and return to more important issues. 

They're not happy when Ruth brings in a detective. But she's certain Ben was poisoned, and one of her neighbours knows it too."

[Louisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Allen & Unwin for a copy of this book. Here is my honest review.

I didn’t realise I had read both of Joanna Jenkins’ other books until quite a while into this book. Then something struck me and I realised I’d spent a number of pages with Ruth, the badass lawyer protagonist before. That I didn’t remember her was not a good sign.

The setup for this book is quite painfully slow. A large cast of characters with very little mystery until maybe 30% in. The setting, characters and dialogue all came across wildly inauthentic and stilted too. Everyone called each other “darling”, everything cost “a motza”, and everyone knew each other?

In the 9 months I’ve been in my current (small) apartment block, I have barely seen or interacted with my neighbours. The constant chats between everyone was bizarre.

The mystery was decent when we got to it but I think what is letting this book down is Ruth herself. As she is a highflying intelligent successful lawyer, the murders can’t seem to just be murders. There needs to be some obscure or confusing legal element to the mystery so Ruth can be useful. It makes the plot hard to follow tbh unless you are also well-versed in the law, and means the solution falls flat as you couldn’t quite follow anyway.

I think this is the last Joanna Jenkins I’ll be picking up. 2.5 rounded up to a 3 for a quick read.

[Ruushii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent twists and red herrings.

[Robert Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Jenkins brings her protagonist Ruth Dawson back to Sydney for the third book in her loosely connected series. Readers first met Ruth in How to Kill a Client when she was sent to Brisbane and had to deal with murder and skulduggery in the legal world. Ruth then took a break in the country, running a small solicitor’s office for a while in The Bluff, and once again found herself investigating a murder. So it comes as little surprise when Bad Neighbours opens and Ben, the homeless young man living in the shed of her building, is found dead. Ruth suspects foul play, and given the colourful and dodgy collection of neighbours, it feels like those suspicions are well founded.

As with her earlier books, Jenkins starts Bad Neighbours by rewinding six months. Ruth Dawson is back in Sydney, working for a big lawfirm and in particular her old friend Crack who works for a major bank and has brought her a juicy matter to work on. One of Ruth’s junior staff, Sybil, tells her of an apartment going in the building in which she is renting and Ruth, having fallen in love with the place buys it and moves in. That building, The Lumen, is a classic Kings Cross block with views of Sydney Harbour and an odd assortment of residents. They include Andrew and his trophy wife Silver who live in the renovated penthouse, faded pop star Zara who sublets a room to Sybil, strict head of the owners’ committee Stella, Lucas a reclusive computer game designer (and his dog) and elderly couple Lawrence and Humphrey. And in the shed out the back is Ben, a homeless young man who used to live in the building until his father died and their flat was sold out to pay some debts (the flat is now used as an Airbnb much to chagrin of the residents).

After plenty of introductions and setting up of possible suspects, Jenkins finally comes back round to Ben’s death. Ruth feels that the police are not doing their job and cannot help but stick her nose in. Only very soon she finds implicated at which point she has to, with the help of Sylvia and a couple of others, clear her name. Given Ruth is an amateur detective, one of the reasons that she has become of suspect is the number of murders she has been adjacent to in the previous couple of years.

While Ruth is the central character, Jenkins once again ranges her authorial point-of0-view across a wide range of side characters. In doing so, she fleshes out what could otherwise just have been a series of stereotypes. And she also brings the building, its inhabitants and its history to life.
When Jenkins moved her action to the country it felt like she was following the Australian crime trend of regional crime. So it is refreshing that in Bad Neighbours she brings the action back to a very recognisable Sydney full of recognisable characters. But as with her other books she has some deeper issues to explore. She uses Bad Neighbours to explore some very Sydney (but actually universal) topics – the challenges of high-rise, cooperative living, renovation, property development and corruption.

Jenkins has covered a lot of ground in her Ruth Dawson series by varying its locations and concerns. But much like the local police, it starts to get suspicious when an ordinary citizen keeps coming up against murders which she then needs to solve. So while Bed Neighbours is just the latest in an enjoyable series (and is probably the best of the three) it may be stretching the friendship for Ruth to be involved in any more murders too soon.

[Jackie McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Neighbours won me over. It started a little slow, and seemed focused on topics I wasn't that into–body corporates, negative gearing, and corporate law—but once it got going and Ruth Dawson's job was under threat, I looked forward to going to bed to get the next installment. I did like that Ruth was critical of these genre conventions, which helped me start to like her: "Trent's vocabulary had the soulless gobbledegook of corporate law firm speak: chuck a whole lot of buzz words into a blender, give it a whiz, poke in a backward slash, and see what it spits out." Her hating enforced work bonding was another plus: "Work bonding was a necessary evil." By the time she said "Modern capitalism: privatising profits, socialising losses" I was her BFF.

Bad Neighbours is set in Sydney in circles that move beyond my means: "A struggling conversation could always turn to real estate." People in my circles turn to weather not real estate when conversations flag. However the book's locations, like Macleay Street in the former Kings Cross (the rich call it Potts Point), were very familiar: "The fire station was just up at the end of Darlinghurst Road on the corner where the Poo on Sticks statue stood sentinel over William Street," I call them poos on sticks too. (Spoiler alert: It's not the real statue's proper name.)

I noticed improvements in the descriptive writing in this book from Jenkins' earlier book, The Bluff. While it remains jarring in places, say for example, "the corporate pavements causing a kind of froth within Ruth, like champagne poured too fast into a flute" it actually suits the lead protagonist who herself is a bit odd. What prevents it from getting that final star was the chapter where there was too much explaining and not enough showing where Ruth and her faithful sidekicks, Geri and Sybil, confront Justin and Madison. Sybil was a nice character too, I liked her common-sense explanation for what corporate lawyers do: "lawyers were paid to think up worst-case scenarios and put in strategies to avert them." I liked this book enough to delve back into the Jenkins catalogue to read the one I missed.

With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy to read.

[Jan Mawdesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Trish Palmer for Allen and Unwin and Bluewolf Reviews.
There are many aspects of a novel which need to be covered to meet the standards of a “Murder mystery genre.” Joanna Jenkins has done this elegantly in Bad Neighbours, and the result is an immensely interesting and complex story. However, the reader never gets lost in the plot. Chapters are narrated by the main characters, so there is never confusion, and multiple factors are discussed to clarify back stories of the people who live in the apartment.
Bad Neighbours is set in Sydney and the descriptions of that city and harbour are a good backdrop to this tale. Ruth is the main character. She has been given an opportunity (by a work colleague) to purchase an apartment near Potts point, a wealthy location. Being a litigation lawyer, she has a curiosity about her new residence, and the people who own the other apartments.
She gradually meets these people, and they have their own stories to tell. In the lightwell in the basement of the building lives Ben. His father owned an apartment but sold it. Ben is waiting for the money since his father died and has been let in by one of the residents. His swag stays there and he sits in the garden for a while during the day. Most people avoid him and many want him gone from the building.
We learn about Ruth’s work and her friends. She is investigating a bank’s attempt to give misleading information for a housing development. One of the culprits is living in Ruth’s apartment building, which causes concern over conflict of interest.
Then one day, while Ben is lying in his swag, a woman comes by who helped his father sell his apartment. The following day, Ben is found dead. Forensics show he was poisoned, and a bottle is found in Ruth’s garage which matches the poison.
The building of tension which is reflected in Ruth’s workplace, her home and neighbours begin to mount up. As she starts to investigate, with the help of two friends, a huge deception is uncovered. This is a truly clever read!

[Jo Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Dawson, the much-loved lawyer and sleuth from 'How to Kill a Client,' and 'The Bluff,' is back and at her best in Jenkin’s latest novel, 'Bad Neighbours.' Ruth returns to Sydney and purchases an apartment in The Lumen, an art deco building with Harbour Bridge views housing an eclectic group of neighbours.

The death of a homeless man, Ben, living on the grounds of the prestigious property, turns a spotlight on the residents who were uncomfortable about his presence and quietly relieved that the issue of how deal with him has resolved itself. When an investigation indicates that he was poisoned. it seems that every person living at The Lumen has the potential to benefit from his death.

This is not a typical crime novel. It interrogates uncomfortable issues that we prefer to ignore in a society where owning property is the cornerstone to security, wealth and status. The book accelerates as the plot unfolds with increasingly complex twists, connections, secrets and ugly motivations. It is impossible to read without asking ourselves how we would deal with a homeless person living in uncomfortable proximity to us, how far we would be prepared to investigate a potential murder of someone whose life is considered of little consequence.

When Ruth becomes the prime suspect in Ben’s murder and her job as a high-flying lawyer is at stake, she risks losing everything as she uncovers the dark secrets that ripple well beyond The Lumen.

In Jenkin’s novel, we realise how interconnected we are, and how willing to turn away from inconvenient truths. With her characteristic dry wit and propensity for forensic detail, she unravels the lives of the rich, the aspiring, the have-beens and want-to-bes, revealing the many layers we hide behind in our desire to belong, to be part of a society that has low regard for those who are left behind.

A gripping read, a complex and satisfying conclusion and intriguing characters who reveal the ugly truths beneath the surface of a society that worships wealth and power.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★s

Lawyer, Ruth Dawson, was happy when she found the apartment in Potts Point. Her views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the only twenty minute walk to her place of work in the city, and other benefits, had her delighted with her new home. But it wasn't long before trouble stirred in the apartments. The corporate would meet whenever there was an issue - and that was often - Stella was abrupt and rude. Zara was elderly but famous. Laura ran the air bnb in one of the units, Lucas was odd, and Ruth wasn't sure what to make of Humphrey & Lawrence. But when the homeless man who slept down in the garden, Ben, died and the police became involved, everything came crashing down around Ruth.

Ruth, Sybil and Geri, from Ruth's office, joined forces to do some investigating. The deeper they dug, the worse things looked. And when a second person died and Ruth was suspect #1, her friends dug deeper. Would they discover what was going on and why, or would Ruth's life be ruined forever?

Bad Neighbours is a gritty thriller by Aussie author Joanna Jenkins and I really enjoyed it apart from... The book would easily have been 5 stars, if it hadn't been for the constant use of the "c" word, which is a filthy, unnecessary word and adds no value to the sentence or paragraph it's in. Ruth was a strong character, determined to do what was right, even when she was wronged. Recommended as long as you're happy to bypass the language.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.

[Clive Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Dawson, respected lawyer and reluctant sleuth, has returned to Sydney after a spell in Brisbane and a New South Wales country town. She joins a prestigious law firm and buys an apartment in Potts Point. Her neighbours are a disparate group. Some are friendly, others are not; at least one is a murderer.

Early one morning Ruth is woken by the noisy arrival of an ambulance and police cars. A former resident has been found dead in the garden. Death by poison is the forensic pathologist’s conclusion. Every resident is a suspect until the police decide otherwise. Ruth, who has been in the building for only a few months, is not seriously considered a person of interest.

However, many months later when there’s another death, she’s top of the list of suspects. She decides to investigate to clear her name and, hopefully, find the killer/killers responsible for the two deaths.

Bad Neighbours is a slow burn as we are introduced to residents of her apartment block and colleagues and clients at work. It heats up when the second murder happens and becomes exciting when Ruth discovers there’s a connection between her working life and her private life.

Joanna Jenkins has written another cleverly constructed crime mystery with surprises, intriguing characters and humour to lighten the tension.

[Lucie Tunwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Dawson thinks she’s found the perfect apartment in Potts Point. Beautiful Art Deco building, parquetry floors, Harbour Bridge views… what could possibly go wrong? Then Ben, the homeless man living in the garden, dies—and the residents seem more relieved than upset.

But Ruth isn't convinced it was natural. She brings in a detective and starts asking questions, much to the annoyance of her neighbours. Because someone knows more about Ben's death than they're letting on…

I loved How to Kill a Client, so I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this one—and I wasn't disappointed.

This is a quick-witted crime thriller with a no-nonsense, determined and seriously smart female lead. It’s a slow burn as you get to know the residents of The Lumen and the body count starts to rise, but the short chapters kept me flying through it.

There are a few different POVs and plenty of red herrings, and I found myself suspicious of pretty much everyone at some point! 👀

I also really enjoyed the humour and social commentary woven through the mystery. A clever, entertaining read with plenty of twists and some very questionable neighbours.

Thank you to Allen and Unwin and Joanna Jenkins for the opportunity to read and review this one.

[Jodie Gerakelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book at the start with all the characters introduced and had to put it down for a little while. But I was so glad I picked it up again as I thoroughly enjoyed the book once I knew who was who.
Ruth buys an apartment in an area looking over Sydney Harbour which also attracts a varied cast of characters, each a little quirky. The story centres around Ben who is the homeless guy that Zara gives him a key so he can sleep in the shed in the garden, who then turns up dead. There are so many plots in this one and many twists to be had. It was such a guessing game as each character had something to hide or was a bit unusual and could have had a motive for murder. It was like a game of Cluedo! I did not guess who did it so that was a nice surprise. Not many books are like that, you at least have a clue at some stage, but with this one no way. I had someone else in mind.
Ruth of course comes in to save the day when the police do not do their job properly. A little unbelievable but a great read anyway. And a happy ending with Ruth, Geri and Sybil helping out in a homeless shelter pro bono. A nice ending to a quirky book I say.
Definitely a book to pick up next time you are at the bookstore or online. You won’t be disappointed.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like to use the word "literally", but... this book was LITERALLY like watching a season of Only Murders in the Building. A big ol' fun fest of dry humour, stereotype characters, and unlikely murder. I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting!

The bitty old characters in The Lumen are over the top and characteurish and hilarious from the get go. The story was a riot of ridiculous occurrences mixed with some great legal drama. I loved the mix. Never felt bored.

The writing was fast paced, but odd. There were some sentences that felt like they were from the first draft and the writer just forgot to go back and correct them. Like "She felt sad and spent the rest of the day doing X." But it fit with the tone and the flow so it wasn't too noticeable.

The story does fall into the trap of bringing in an unknown character at the end, which is always a little annoying, as it's a bit too convenient. But it was wrapped up nicely. Still satisfying.

Probably a 3.5 but I rounded up because it was such a fun read!

[Jarrod P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so sure I had this solved that I already had the perfect opener to this review.

Then I thought it might be a spoiler.

Then it turned out I was wrong…

And that’s always a good thing. I was kept guessing right to the end.

This was such an engrossing read. From the initial death of Ben in the garden of The Lumen, through all the investigations that happen, you are fully engrossed in the lives of this buildings residents. The surface they present and then the deeper, truer version of them that show when nobody else is around.

There are a lot of red herrings throughout, a lot of moments that with hindsight lead you down the garden path. And this is what makes a good thriller me.

The characters all have their moments of when you love them and when you hate them. When you think they are going to get what they deserve and then they get away with it.

But the way this story all unravels and reveals the true culprit came at me from nowhere, it wasn’t something I saw coming

[Tiahne Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75⭐️ ~ Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Bad Neighbours.

This was my first book by Joanna Jenkins, and unfortunately it ended up being a pretty average read for me.

I really enjoyed Ruth as a main character and she was easily the standout of the book for me. I found her interesting and genuinely wanted to know where her story was going. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the same connection to most of the other characters.

There were SO many characters introduced that I felt like we only ever skimmed the surface of who they were. I wanted more depth and development, but instead I found myself constantly trying to remember who everyone was and how they fit into the story.

The pacing was also incredibly slow. With such a large cast and a plot that took a long time to really get moving, I spent a good chunk of the book feeling confused rather than intrigued. There were definitely moments that caught my attention, but not enough to fully pull me in.

[Melinda Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth has started a new position with a law firm where one of her favourite clients provided a juicy new tender for her and the team to work on. Having sold her house, Ruth looks for a new place to live and settles on a magnificent deco apartment in Potts Point called the Lumen.

Moving in, she meets the array of people who live in the Lumen and their quirks. Akin to “only murders in the building”, there’s plenty of eccentrics and also, plenty of murders.

A homeless man related to a previous tenant of the Lumen dies in the yard and the owner of the penthouse passes away in suspicious circumstances.

Ruth’s proximity to the deceased raises eyebrows and she’s forced to work on this case with her friends to clear her name.

I did find it took me a while to get into the rhythm of the book but once I got the pace I really enjoyed it.

[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Neighbours by Joanna Jenkins is Commercial Lawyer’s Ruth Dawson’s third rodeo, though interestingly the books aren’t billed as part of a series. Maybe cos it works fine as a standalone too. This time the drama hits (very literally) close to home as Ruth’s just moved a new apartment, and a homeless man who’d been camping in the garden turns up dead.

I liked getting to know Ruth’s world, her colleagues Geri and junior lawyer Sybil, uni-student son Jack and partner Charlie, overseas on sabbatical. We also spend time with Ruth’s new neighbours, thanks to their penchant for homeowner meetings, and their latest squabble jeopardising her career.

I very much enjoyed this. Ruth’s a likeable, believable narrator, and I’m looking forward to meeting the support cast again.

Read the full review on my website: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...

[True Crime Bookcase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie, I was a little overwhelmed at the start of this book. Eight characters (nine if you include Mavis the dog) were introduced within the first three pages, and I had serious concerns I was never going to keep track of who was who!

Thankfully, those concerns quickly disappeared as the story unfolded into a brilliant whodunit murder mystery filled with wonderfully dysfunctional characters.

Ruth Dawson finds her perfect home in The Lumen, an Art Deco building in Potts Point, complete with parquetry floors, a wall of books and Harbour Bridge views. But when Ben, the homeless man living in the garden, dies, the residents are relieved to see the end of ‘the Ben problem’. When Ruth brings in a detective, convinced Ben was poisoned, she quickly discovers one of her neighbours may know more than they’re letting on.

The multiple POVs, short chapters and perfectly paced storytelling made this one incredibly hard to put down. I loved how the story slowly revealed more about each character, keeping me guessing about who could be trusted and who might have something to hide.

Bad Neighbours perfectly highlights just how little we can know about the people living right next door to us.

A thoroughly entertaining, twisty and addictive murder mystery that had me suspicious of everyone! Five stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My only question mark? Those sparse brown winter leaves of the plane tree… 🍂😂

[Emily (the_bookdragons_den) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Jenkins’s new release Bad Neighbours is my first book by this author and it definitely won’t be my last. It’s a twisty and fun murder mystery set in a Sydney apartment complex where every resident is a suspect!

👀 I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They were eclectic, intriguing and each had a clear motive. The writing style would lead me in one direction only for a red herring to make me think it was someone else. Jenkins kept me guessing right up until the reveal.

It is a slow burn mystery, where the first part of the book sets the scene, the characters and the complexities of an owners corporation, before the pacing and tension picks up in the second half.

Ruth was a great protagonist and I enjoyed her relationship with Charlie and Jack. Ruth does feature in Jenkins prior two books, but I didn’t feel like I had missed anything not having read them. So absolutely this works as a standalone book.

This was an entertaining read with enjoyable twists and turns.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for a copy to review.

3.5 ⭐️

[Anita D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advanced reader copy review of Bad Neighbours by Joanna Jenkins
🌟🌟🌟.5 – I really liked this

This is Jenkins’ third book featuring Ruth Dawson. I still haven’t read the first one (oops!) so I can tell you that you don’t need to read the others to enjoy this book.

Following the murder of a local homeless man at her apartment complex, Ruth ends up embroiled in the subsequent investigations.

I did enjoy having more of Ruth’s son, Jack, in this book.

This book was full of intriguing twists and the short chapters kept the pace moving.

Plenty of different POVs gave enough perspective to progress the story but still kept me guessing.

A great read from an excellent Aussie author.

[Michele (michelethebookdragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could read about Ruth Dawson, our protagonist, all day. She is smart, feisty, no nonsense, sexy, loving and someone I would love to have as a friend.

Ruth is working at a new law firm and is happy that she has signed up a large, high fee paying client. She has found a great apartment in Potts Point in an eclectic Art Deco building. Some of the neighbours are a bit weird, but she can live with that.

Never in a million years could she see those two worlds colliding, but they do, and there are bodies involved. Ruth is placed in a very precarious position that has her as the main suspect. Her job is on the line and she has to try and find out what the hell is going on.

Ruth and two of her work colleagues try to get to the bottom of a tangled web of trusts, shelf companies, property deals and corruption to try to prove Ruth's innocence.

The pacing was perfect to keep the story going and keep my interest high. I loved all the little reveals and intrigue along the way and didn't see the ending coming.

This was a great read and I have really enjoyed getting to know Ruth, her son Jack, and her partner Charlie over the three books in this series.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An edge of your seat, humorous and engaging mystery thriller set within the corporate world, Bad Neighbours was full of twists and turns as well as numerous people being murdered with the main character Ruth getting pinned for the murders and her having to be adamant to clear her name.
The various victims range from being poor to being rich and the plot kept me guessing as to who the real culprits were with Ruth getting to the bottom of the entire situation whilst also clearing her name.
This was a solid read which I devoured in three sittings.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Allen and Unwin for an arc.

[Poppy Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Joanna Jenkins' third book and it’s her best book yet. It’s everything I love in a crime novel – a compelling plot that's cleverly constructed, the decadent luxury of inner Sydney is wonderfully imagined, there’s the author's trademark warm, quirky, complex, nuanced characters, and a very interesting social commentary on wealth inequality. Plus, it’s really funny. Bad Neighbours ticks all my boxes for a brilliant, engaging crime novel. I also loved the metaphor that The Lumen presents... a very accurate, revealing portrayal of a world in which some people want to take the stars, the moon, the sky and the sun for themselves, while others sleep rough under corrugated iron in a garden.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an ARC, I whipped through this book in record time as I just wanted to keep turning the pages and find out what happens next!! Showing here as a Kindle edition, I read it in book form thankfully, as there was quite a cast of characters and I needed to occasionally flip back for clarity. I really enjoyed the many plot points, potential suspects and storylines. Great characters in an interesting setting (with a scarily high body count) and a few good twists and turns. I liked having an Australian setting and confident female protagonist. Another awesome read by Joanna Jenkins!!

[Jay Dwight · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I must confess to finding the initial parts of this book a little slow, with quite a long set up.

Ruth Dawson is back on our pages, now having moved to a new apartment building in Potts Point. We learn early that a homeless man has been found dead in the building grounds, we learn later that he used to live in the building.

An interesting cast of characters, with evidence pointing more and more to the fact that one of Ruth's neighbours may have committed the crime.

The pace accelerates in the back half, with plenty of twists and turns. Overall, an enjoyable read.

[Lynne Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4 I found this to be a bit uneven - there was enough to keep me reading and I do like Ruth; I also liked the setting, description of building and Sydney. Some parts plodded along though and were a bit over explained with dialogue nit picky. Still the premise of the story and the thread of Ruth’s law career and relationship with Charlie (where’s that going) held me - I wanted to know why Ben died and what was Silver as a character all about - in all I don’t feel the standard set by ‘how to kill a client’ is met in this one but if another ‘Ruth’ appears I’ll certainly read.

[Joanne - booksjoreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Dawson has just moved to the city for a new job in commercial litigation, and when a colleague mentions an apartment for sale in her building, she jumps at the opportunity to see it

The apartment is perfect for Ruth, and she soon meets some of the other residents, including Ben, a homeless man living quietly in the garden.
Ruth soon learns that Ben and his father once lived in one of the apartments, but after his father's death the unit was sold, leaving Ben with nowhere to go.

When Ben is found dead one morning, was this a convenient occurrence or something more sinister

I loved getting to know the eclectic mix of people living in this building and watching how their relationships shifted as secrets surfaced.
I was constantly changing my mind about who might be responsible, which made the whole experience fun, twisty, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Definitely another Aussie author I would recommend you try