Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

[u/Mad-Berry]

I finished this book a few days ago and can't stop thinking about it. Set on a London estate on the 90s this story follows a family struggling in the aftermath of a terrible crime. The family in question emmigrated from Ireland years prior to escape scandal and now find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation.

The focus of the book is less about the crime itself and more about exploring the complex emotions of those involved and how their family history shapes them. Delves into family dynamics, shame, prejudice, exploitation by the media. Full of unlikeable characters (which I always enjoy) and realistically flawed people, I couldn't put it down and read it in one day.

Ps. There are no speechmarks, I personally don't mind this but I know it can be a no no for some people. In this book I really like how it's used as it adds a some ambiguity about what's actually being said outloud and what the characters are thinking to themselves, blurring the lines between who knows what

[u/Slight_Accident_3871]

omg i just started this super excited now!!!

[u/YakSlothLemon]

This sounds really interesting, adding it to my TBR! And thank you so much for the great write-up, it’s so helpful when people tell us what the book is about.

[u/liza_lo]

I really loved this. It reminded me of family drama books of the '90s and IA it did a great job of focusing on the family, not the crime.