Book Review: 6 Ripley Avenue by Noelle Holten

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐

“There had been seven residents present and none of them were angels.”

Danny Wells, a violent offender and resident of a probation hostel that houses high-risk offenders released “on licence” to serve the remainder of their time in the community, is murdered in cold blood in the common area of the hostel.

Jeanette Macey, the Senior Probation Officer who manages the hostel is informed in the middle of the night by her Probation Service Officers. The malfunction of the surveillance equipment, a result of neglect on the part of the service officers in charge, has worked in the murderer’s favor. But in a house full of criminals, one can only expect that law enforcement wouldn’t have to look too far to find the culprit.

Ripley House Approved Premises or Ripley House has been a cause of concern for the local community ever since it opened two years ago. The presence of high-risk offenders in the neighborhood prompted the formation of a neighborhood watch led by sixty-eight-year-old Helen Burgess, who later volunteers in the kitchen of Ripley House to keep a closer eye on the goings-on.

Helen is friends with Sloane Armstrong, a freelance investigative journalist, who has been reporting on the probation hostel and how the locals have been reacting to the presence of the inhabitants ever since the Ripley House was established.

As the narrative progresses it becomes evident that there is much more going on at #6 Ripley Avenue other than rehabilitation and assessment of the criminal residents. Sloane makes it her business to get t the bottom of the shady activities occurring in Ripley House and with help of Helen starts investigating. Jeanette realizes that not only the murder but other illegal activities have been going on right under her nose. As manager of the hostel, she is accountable for anything that goes wrong. Who killed Danny Wells and why? Would a recently released criminal risk going back to prison by committing another heinous crime and if so, what could motivate such an act?

The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Jeanette, Sloane, Helen and the killer. Despite the intriguing premise of this novel, the pacing of the novel was uneven and lacked intensity. The novel starts well, the writing is good and the main characters are well-fleshed out (with an exception of the law enforcement officials, who, for the most part, were “chasing their own tails”) but it is not difficult to zero in on the probable suspects early on, which makes it hard to remain engaged through the length of the novel despite the twists that are introduced as the story progresses. In short, 6 Ripley Avenue by Noelle Holten has potential but falls short in its execution. While I did not dislike the novel in its totality, I was a tad disappointed.

Thank you, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the digital review copy of 6 Ripley Avenue. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due for release on September 27, 2022.