The Woman in Apartment 49

February 27, 2017
Bird and people watcher Lily Gullick, the narrator of Armstrong’s uneven debut, uses binoculars to observe her neighbors in nearby flats in London. She names them, invents stories about them, and talks to her husband, Aiden, about them. Lily lives in a new apartment building, while older buildings across the street are slated to be demolished and their residents “rehoused” elsewhere. Lily tries to befriend Jean, a resident resisting demolition, and when Jean is murdered, she becomes obsessed with finding the killer. Only gradually does the reader get a clear picture of Lily as she reveals more about herself and her troubles with other people, including the police. Alfred Hitchcock fans will appreciate the many nods to the famed director, from the obvious Rear Window scenario to Aiden’s planned book on Hitchcock, but this novel, with no memorable characters other than Lily, fails to generate much suspense. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Caskie Mushens Agency (U.K.).