Too Close For Comfort

by Eleanor Moran

Mia Cosgrove is a high-flying psychotherapist with a thriving practice, but when she receives a desperate phone call from her oldest friend, Lysette, she puts her London life on hold to rush to her side. A friend of Lysette’s, Sarah, has plunged to her death from the top of a multi-storey car park, a text message on her phone next to her, simply saying ‘I’m sorry’ with a single X, left unsent and unaddressed. 
 
At first the police are convinced it’s a suicide, but when another death rocks the rural community Mia is asked to help the ramped-up investigation. Why are the close-knit group of mums who surrounded Sarah so reluctant to share what they knew about their beautiful, troubled friend? And how high a price will Mia pay for her determination to unearth the truth and discover what really happened? 

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Unfinished

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2016

About the author

Eleanor Moran is an author and BBC TV producer.

Eleanor's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/EleanorMoranB...

Reviews

[Bookread2day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this story a page turner and I wouldn't rate it as a must buy, not like I normally do.

[Kirstie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit frustrating. I hated the whole 'my best friend' 'no she's my best friend' which I found hard to believe in a group on 30 something women. It was so bitchy too
But the story line was clever with plenty of twists and turns. I have to say the murder reveal you would blink and miss it, as I almost did! And the actual murderer was glossed over greatly, I thought

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Close For Comfort was an intriguing and genuinely absorbing psychological drama (I don't want the say thriller because this is more considered than that) about a group of friends who are caught up in a whole lot of secrets and lies.

A possible suicide takes Mia Cosgrove to the small close knit community in which her best friend from childhood lives - Lysette is grieving and needs support - but Mia finds herself caught up in a group dynamic that is baffling and even possibly dangerous.


I like how Eleanor Moran twists and turns her characters, giving them depth and an enigmatic quality that slowly unravels as you read. Mia attempts to get to the truth but the truth is buried beneath many layers of both grief and perception. Mia herself is an intriguing character, not always entirely likeable but determined to help Lysette no matter the cost.

This makes for some fascinating plot development and my engagement with all the characters varied between intense dislike, sympathy and occasionally wanting to throw shoes. To me that shows great writing and a great story, you get enveloped into it and feel every moment.

If I had one nitpick it would be that the ending was not entirely convincing in its eventual reveal but that really is nitpicking because this one wasnt about the reveal moments. It was about the interpersonal relationships and the ever changing ebb and flow of female friendship.

Recommended. Proper storytelling.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a boring slog from start to finish. Frankly I am proud I even managed to finish it.

[Mary Grand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book,gripping and different.The amateur sleuth is a psychologist and there are some really interesting insights. Highly recommend

[Friendly Fiend · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. I got this at a charity shop and upon reading the blurb, it got me hooked. However, I got one chapter in and I immediately regretted it... I gave it another chance and I found myself getting into the story on and off. The main character's consistent dialogues saying "Yeah, no", it got so annoying seeing her say the same thing over and over, also, over 100 pages in it was just the same thing about how Sarah was amazing blah blah and how she wouldn't have done that blah blah....
Overall, it was a snooze-fest with the occasional ups that got me on my toes but eventually had me crashing back down.

[Tracy Larner-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book as I couldn't put it down as I wanted to find out what really happened and I had the wrong person for most of the story, which is something I like! However, I did feel some parts of it were a bit long winded and the ending didn't satisfy me as much as I was hoping. I did like the protagonist, Mia though and how she fought for her oldest friend. Definitely read and cone to your own conclusion!

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Liza Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the main characters in the story and the reveal. I liked that Mia is great at her job and flawed in her personal life.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia Cosgrove is back, and is tackling a whole new case, although this time, arguably she perhaps shouldn't get herself involved in a professional capacity. She is a psychotherapist, who goes to Little Copping to support her best friend Lysette, after Lysette's other good friend Sarah appears to commit suicide.

However after being with her friend for not long, she senses, although she tries to ignore it, that there may be more to the story that meets the eyes, but it isn't until the police ask her to be involved and offer support to the small community that Mia becomes truly involved.

This is the second book featuring Mia Cosgrove, and does work as a complete standalone to A Daughter's Secret, however if you have read the first one you will have a more complex understanding of Mia, and her background.

Mia tries to be a friend to everyone while supporting Lysette and trying to work out just what is going on, even though she isnt investigating, but trying to make sure everyone is ok with has occurred mentally. As Mia is incredibly intelligent though, she knows that things don't add up, but just can't quite put her finger on the reasoning.

Lysette is a complex character, who seems desperate to unload her secrets but can't quite bring herself to reach out fully to Mia, and her behaviour starts to become more and more erratic.

As the story progresses, I got to meet all of the main friendship group that Sarah was involved with, but I didn't really like any of them that much. When the truth finally comes out, as it always tends to in fiction, I couldn't help but feel marginally confused as to various motivations, or explicitly what happened.

This is a very readable book, I was definitely interested in Mia and her thoughts, and the way the story was told, was enjoyable. I loved the small hints at Sarah's diary spread in between some chapters, as well as small asides at the end of chapters, from Mia, implying something was big was coming, but that she couldn't tell you what it was yet.

Thank you to EDPR for my copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[J. Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 It was very intriguing but the excution failed, it seemed to be leading up to this dangerous confrontation which turned out to not be whatsoever so lil disappointed. I mean I though Kimberley wouldn't wield so easily, I expected her to kill to keep the secrets not agree to just twist the facts. It could have been done so much better.

[Geraldine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know why I persevered with this until the end.

Well, I thought that there was a story within it, and I thought that if I got to the end, all the hints and clues would coalesce into a 'whodunnit'.

But no. There was a twist. I'm going to have to go spoiler alert A possible suspicious death occurred. First of all, despite evidence to the contrary, the police jumped tot he conclusion it was suicide. But then, when someone else takes his life, it is immediately assumed all round that he was the murderer. And then, at the end, it was "X did it", even though there had been no foreshadowing, the stated motive was verging on implausible, and in any case we quickly moved onto peripheral matters. I've never met a 'murder' mystery where so little attention was paid to the denouement, the who-or-why-dunnit.

I felt by the end the author herself had become bored of the story, which was unsurprising, because the book was very boring. Cliched characters who were only ever revealed in very superficial ways,and carried no contradictions. We had hours and hours of extraneous detail - the event in Cambridge could have been conveyed in several thousand fewer chapters, and the dinner party at oh got whatever her name was the ghastly caricature Tory wife.

I couldn't really work out why the core female characters were friends with each other, given that the only thing they had in common was being parents at the same school.

As for the main character...her role made no sense. DEployed by the police to offer counselling to people in the village. That isn't the police's role. And if they had ulterior motive - they sort of did, they wanted her to be a grass - they wouldn't have picked someone who was friends with the core characters. Just didn't ring true.

I could write for ages about various plot devices that were in effect implausible - they could have happened within the laws of of physics, but really not within the patterns of sociology, psychology, criminology etc.

And I didn't like the writing style. Too many excursions into (attempts at) lyrical writing, which jarred with the genre. To many attempts at lame metaphors, and, just when I was getting really annoyed - train doors slamming. I also thought it had a poor sense of time, difficult to judge how much time was elapsing or what season it was set in.

I've just looked at other books by this author. I thought I had read one previously. Turns out that I did, less than 18 months ago - and this is actually the follow up to that, basically the second in a series. And I DIDN'T RECOGNISE a single recurring character, or anything from that book which was alluded to in this. I gave that 2 stars so heaven only knows why I even bothered with this one.

[aurelie *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

god that was a boring book. my struggle to get through that was so real, WHICH IS SO UPSETTING BECAUSE LIKE A FEW BOOKS I'VE READ THIS YEAR, there was actually a really promising start and a promising plot. THE BLURB actually sounded good. but this, this just ruined it all. starting from like a fifth into the book, everything went downhill, and it got so boring. i was straining just getting through the meaningnless description, the constant complaining of mia and her problems, the society and that 'tiny village' and their problems, and lystette.

OH MY GOD.

lysette. the whole reason this book even started. she pissed me off so much. she has problems with her life, she takes (presumably) drugs, she has relationship problems, grief over a dead friend, unable to process her words, and she can't think before she speaks. GOD LYSETTE, she was irritating. defintely one of the more annoying characters.

kimberly. the queen bee. the bitchy woman who couldn't shut up. and worst of all, she had some questionable motives. like wtf was she even doing. what was she in the whole book. she was cornering mia the whole day, back and forth up against a wall, rubbing everything she had to make mia feel as disgusted as possible.

even worst of this book was I STILL DONT REALLY KNOW WHO THE KILLER WAS ?! it was just super glossed over, the whole actual killer was just super brief that i'm still flustered. like who's the killer?! what actually happened? because all i know is that the village is messed up and has a bunch of bitchy women, cheating husbands and wives, affairs and illicit affairs. literally a bunch of randos bitching each other the whole time, and a lack of plot. if i could, i wish i could unread that, because it was the greatest waste of my time.

im frustrated and complaining. sorry to those who enjoyed it, but I DIDN'T LIKE IT.

Overall rating: 1/5
Genre: fiction, adult, thriller, horror, suspense, mystery-thriller, crime, contemporary
Dates read: 29/6/2023- 8/7/2023 (9 days, in reality 2 days)
Time period: 4-5 hrs (extremely slow read)
Amount of pages: 441 (physical, book copy, rectangle, small font, small book)
Word count: unknown.

[Christina Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

thrilling

[Anne Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and read it, more or less, in one go as I wanted to find out whodunnit! The characters were fairly unlikeable with a group of pretty unpleasant women at the centre. The plot was gripping enough for me, although a little confusing in places. I would have given the book four stars, but the author’s constant ominous predictions at the ends of chapters and sections became extremely irritating. This would put me right off reading any of her other books!

[Kerri Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a page turner, didn’t leave me wanting more, to be honest I was a little bored with the story. I didn’t really connect with the characters and I feel the whole thing was just slightly flat for a thriller.

[Hayley Fletcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoying end to every chapter implying something dramatic will happen which then never does. Too many characters which are difficult to keep up with too.

[Jane Woodcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing read. Really enjoyed it. Good plot, great characters, especially one who was a right bitch!!!

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

TWs and CWs for: alcohol and substance abuse, sexual assault, implied domestic violence/abuse, rich people's entitled attitudes + subsequent manipulative behaviour, suicide (and death/homicide, but this is a suspense thriller after all). A strong moralising anti-drug thread throughout. (There are also some insensitive comments regarding children/(in)fertility and body image, but I don't note them in this review except for here.)

--

My first thought: Too confusing due to a cast of indistinct characters (character soup?), felt like I was introduced to all of them too fast, but it could also be that I really wasn't given any reason to care about any of them. There were so many times I was tempted to turn back to the front of the book and reacquaint myself with all these indistinguishable shapes of people. Come to think of it, the only person I felt was drawn in "screaming colour", as Taylor Swift would put it, was the Head Bitch, Kimberley. The narrator talks about her so much that I felt we were back in Mean Girls - you hate her, and you hate to love her, but you just can't deny that she's absolutely gorgeous (physically, of course.) - yup, I felt the MC was transfixed by Kimberley's perfection to an extreme. (I mean. It's such an extreme that this is one of my sharpest memories of this damn book.)

The final reveal: I would only let myself feel a small twinge of satisfaction, the product of feeling so completely left in the dark that finally getting answers was a relief. And how, because this book started SO. SLOW. I never felt like much was happening or anything was being discovered, except for the assault scene, which only cemented my dislike of a character that was meant to be dislikable. Maybe I like my mysteries too obvious? But this was a pain and a chore to read. No one was really confiding in Mia or telling her anything useful that would let her investigate anything until the final hour; a lot of it was petty, peevish bullying directed towards our MC because... she is doing her job??? And people around her resent that???? (cue suspense of disbelief klaxon) Oh, well, THAT'S the nature of adult female friendships, right?! So much insecurity, so much transference (to use a psych term lol) - it really felt like Mia is this outsider intruder that they can all suddenly take it out on in lieu of Sarah. Also, I know this is the type of book where everyone is some kind of unlikable, but I really wish Mia had had some actual emotional support, because the raw callousness and self-interest of her home base (esp. her boss) towards her really had me doubting MYSELF. Damn. If she were a real person I would be making sure she was going to extensive therapy after this as well as building up her circle of support.

Stylistically: you can expect that style of pithy wordplay that seems to be so popular now in AF (I have quoted some of my favourites in the progress updates), as well as the hallmark suspense technique of questioning questions (haha) trailing after practically every utterance, trying to depict Mia's mental state of... mostly doubt, and trying to foreshadow some End of Days every time a section came to an end, when, spoiler alert, it was just her fiance wanting to end the relationship and her best friend almost ODing on a pharma cocktail. (Oh, yeah, and the moralising anti-hard drugs thread throughout? Hard to miss, did not sit well with me.) Were these disasters really that *mysterious*?? They seemed pretty foregone to me, not climactic in the slightest. (Oh, man, this particular aspect makes me so angry and I don't know why...)

Summary: If you know me, you know I'm only driven to write about something if I HATE it... or, okay, if it evokes strong feelings about how it could have been improved, which this book has certainly done. You can read it if you want, but if you are anything like me, who likes my fiction to go down smoothly - which is to say that I can enjoy the story coming together in front of me because I don't have to solve the puzzle myself, much less get frustrated at the dearth of evidence and its pacing in getting to me - this is not that. You're gonna choke on how dry it is, actually. Should I be done with the awkward alcohol metaphor yet? I suggest if you want to give it a go, stay away from any and all intoxicating substances, because: 1) There's already enough booze and coke in here to do that for you, and 2) You're gonna need your wits as sharp as you can possibly get 'em. It's not your standard thriller by any means. Good luck! 🤞

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having enjoyed some of Eleanor Moran's early novels I bought A Daughter's Secret hoping for more enjoyable reading. No, it was thoroughly awful. The main protagonist, psychotherapist Mia, 'works' with her patient, Gemma, 'work' being the operative word. If Moran gave this phrase to Mia once, she gave it a hundred times. It is worked in where ever possible, as if Moran had learnt this is an expression that would give Mia some gravitas as an expert. Unfortunately, Mia's behaviour undermines her depiction as a person of trust and ability. On the positive side, Mia's relationship with her father, her mother and her best friend from teenager-hood are developed well to illustrate the foundation for her angst, limitations and ability to empathise with a teenager 'hooked' on her father's image of himself. It is this that encouraged me, together with my pleasure in the early novels, to try again with Too Close For Comfort.

This novel was another disappointment. Mia is invited by her 'best friend' Lysette to visit after Sarah (often described as Lysette's best friend, leading to Mia's discomfort) is believed to have committed suicide. As in Mia's earlier work, she becomes associated with the police investigation, while attempting to provide assistance to the family, friends and community left behind. The chapters describing Mia's work, her relationships with Lysette and her fiancé are interspersed with excerpts from Sarah's diary.

As the solution is dealt with so briefly it is apparent that it is Mia's relationships that are pivotal to the novel. So it is there that I looked for positive features to add to this review. Unfortunately, Mia became more annoying as the plot proceeded. What is most annoying is that somewhere in Mia there is an interesting character who could be the focus of a novel that shows Moran's earlier promise. I hope that, having found a character that some readers have found engaging, Moran develops her and her next story with some of the panache she showed in her earlier work.

[Laura Crosse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm... ok so this was a suspense thriller in its basest form but in more depth it was actually a detailed look at the ins and outs of a supposedly idyllic country village. I know some of this may seem far fetched with all the mummy’s taking drugs in the bathrooms and stuff but to be honest in this day and age I would be surprised if this didn’t go on in most areas. Not with everyone obviously but I think there’s always going to be drugs somewhere. And it may not be who you think taking them. That’s the scariest part.

I liked Mia as the main character well enough and Lysette was suitably grief stricken over the death of her friend. It was obvious to me from very early on that there was going to be drugs involved with Lysette but I was shocked to read the scenes about her doing lines while the kids were around. I think any mother that can read that and not be shocked has issues themselves they need to address quite frankly.

Kimberly was a good bitch character if a bit too predictable. I’ve read books with characters like her quite a lot and I could have done with her having something extra about her. In the end she was a pretty standard bitch.

This author, while good and I enjoy her work, does this really, really annoying thing of ending nearly every chapter with a foreboding sentence. For example it’ll end with ‘I should have know I’d never keep that promise’ or ‘If only I’d walked away then maybe things would have been different.’ It’s super annoying and it comes across as really amateur or something. It’s like something a school kid would do to make their essay more exciting. I understand once in awhile to throw in a sentence like that but this was literally at the end of almost every chapter. It got a bit cringeworthy by the end.

Other than that really annoying habit the author has this book was fast paced and enjoyable and I liked it.

[Nona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am currently listening to this book and doubt it will get past one star, if that. The reader is intent on giving everyone of these women a posh voice and boy is she using every upper crust London district she can muster.
There really is no actual story, it just goes from the narrator's quandries over every situation, her indecision, and her silly situation.
I would definitely not want to have her as my councillor or confidant. Eleanor MORAN has completely stuffed up her character in this one.
I am only a quarter through and will see how much I can take. Can add here I am glad we did not know Sarah before she 'passed away'. A character in contradiciton of terms...............(10.3.2019)
A couple of times I thought of coming back here and writing bits and pieces as to how the book was going but decided not to - wasting time actually.
Eleanor MORAN has a habit of making a statement at the end of every chapter, "I would come to realise how bad this was," "I would learn how true this was" etc. etc., and in effect none of them actually had any relevance to the ending of the story. Which in fact was a continuation of the boriing monologue.
This is one of the worst I have ever read/listened. Full of absolute rubbish - totally implausable characters, riduculous scenarios, a stupid plot. Several times I left the disc going and left the room coming back 5, 10 even 30 minutes later did not miss anything. The same boring situations were being played over and over again by the same stale characters.
Not recommended at all.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book and, as I can usually rely on her recommendations, I persevered with it. However, within a very short time I found myself becoming irritated by most of the main characters (with friends like these, who needs enemies!) and the totally implausible plot. As a therapeutic counsellor myself, I was horrified by Mia's frequently unprofessional behaviour and found myself feeling outraged about all her regular clients who were neglected whilst she was faffing about in the toxic relationships of the group of friends her "best friend" had become involved with ... although there was a passing reference to offering them sessions via Skype, there was absolutely no evidence of when she fitted these in! I'm really not sure why I persevered to the end ... the story didn't get any better and the conclusion was risible!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows Mia, who goes to help her friend after a suicide. Whilst there the police asks Mia to help with the investigation into the death in her role as a psychologist. Mia enters the world of Little Copping and it's residents, getting to know the politician and his wife, the school teachers, friends, and Max, the bereaved little boy. She starts to become unsure of the facts but gets tangled up with the press in the process and starts to mess up her own relationship with her fiancee, all of which clouds her judgement. It's good, it was just exactly the same format as another book I had read recently so enjoyed it less than I hoped.

[Nikki Deeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mia receives a phone call from her oldest friend Lysette which causes her to rush home. Lysette’s friend Sarah has plunged to her death in what looks like a suicide, but as Mia sticks around longer and uses her psychotherapist skills to delve deeper into the case, it proves to be a lot more complicated with a web of sophisticated lies and coverups.

Too Close For Comfort was an intriguing read which I enjoyed throughout, I felt gripped at the start and had a few theories during the read, however I did find the ending to be a little rushed and unexpected in an underwhelming sense rather than a shock twist sense.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read by this author but it was recommended to me by a friend. It did seem a bit long winded but was a good story nevertheless. It didn't have me as hooked as I'd expected, but saying that I didn't see the twist coming. I was convinced I knew what had happened and who was involved - but I was wrong. Slightly annoying that one person got away with things though! Some things were not made clear. It seems strange that somebody apparently did it and confessed, yet there was no actual evidence mentioned to prove they had done it or were involved in any way.

[Katie Baker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't like this book but I had to keep reading it to find out what had happened. T didn't warm to any of the characters, the half finished sentences and almost revelations really annoyed me and the way people behaved was just bizarre. Not for me at all. Felt like telling the characters to stop being so silly and just ask the question or go home, not socialise with people they hated at every possible opportunity.

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really slow burner and I felt as though for most of the book it was going nowhere. There were a few interesting bits here and there which kept me engaged and wanting to read to the end to find out what it was all about, but other than that I felt the story was too fluffy and had lots of unnecessary separate storylines going on. The ending was okay with a slight twist at the last minute but other than that it was just an okay book for me.

[Shirley Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book hard going due to the dithering of the characters in the story line. The story is based around Mia who is a psychotherapist who visits her friend after a tragic incident. What follows with the events didn't ring true, the friends and family members were weak and the hints at what they may or may not say to each other drove me mad!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very disappointing book! Not a very nice group of friends, and Mia as a Therapist did not ring entirely true. I had to skip the middle bit as I found the story a bit boring. I read the end as I wanted to know how the story ended, and what had actually happened to Sarah. Not how I imagined, so clever there I guess.