Many thanks to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read and review Zoe Deleuil’s first novel, The Night Village.
The Night Village falls under the genre Domestic Noir, a subgenre of psychological suspense that focuses on suspense within the domestic or home scenario.
If this is a genre that you are not familiar with and wanting to test your interest, then The Night Village would be a reasonable starting point. The suspense and tension, the questioning by the main character of whether what they are experiencing is real, the feeling of disquiet and twists are all there, but at a much ‘gentler’ level than others of this genre that I have read.
This doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the book, I very much did, but I had worked it out long before the ending, I felt the suspense wasn’t there until the climactic and surprising ending I have come to expect from this genre.
Australian ex-pat Simone moves to London from Perth. Discovering that money in London doesn’t stretch quite as far as in Australia, she finds herself renting a one-bedroom townhouse in Finsbury Park, where the landlord lives next door and puts the hearing on for exactly one hour each morning and night. Anyone who has ever been to London, in probably any season other than mid-summer, will know how cold it gets, and that level of heating is never going to cut it!
So when her boyfriend Paul suggests she moves into his apartment, with its long white tub, endless running hot water and underfloor heating in the heart of the financial district she can’t really think of a good reason not to, even if it does seem a bit soon in their relationship.
When Simone discovers she is pregnant she fully expects Paul to suggest a ‘good clinic he knows of.’ To her surprise Paul seems pleased, stating he wants her to have the baby, he’s wanted children for years.
Then when the baby, now named Thomas, is three weeks old, and Paul is due to return to work after taking parental leave, he gets a phone call and disappears into a room to take it.
When he returns he tells Simone that the call was from his cousin Rachel, she was going to be looking for work in London and wondered if she could come and stay with them while she found a job and place to live. When Simone questioned why anyone would want to come and live in the chaos that was home with a newborn, Paul answered simply “She said she wants to help you”.
And so Rachel moves into their lives.
Right from the beginning, Simone feels uncomfortable with Rachel there; something about her is not quite right. And there’s something very strange about the relationship between Paul and Rachel.
As she battles sleep deprivation, and the normal worries of being a new mum in a country far from her own family, Simone finds herself increasingly concerned about Rachel’s motives, and what it means for her, and Thomas.
ISBN: 9781925815634
Copy courtesy of Fremantle Press
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading The Night Village by Zoe Deleuil. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
I love to read, for many years my passion has been science fantasy but recently I’ve discovered many fabulous Australian women authors and am devouring all the new genres I am being exposed to.
In addition to reading and reviewing books I enjoy photography, spending time with my husband, daughter, grandson, 2 dogs and a cat and am an aspiring author.
The Night Village felt like a familiar warm blanket – comforting, soothing and relateable.
Zoe Deleuil has done a marvellous job of capturung the mixture of angst and wonder that comes with new motherhood.
This book was intriguing, beautifully written and kept my attention from start to finish. I loved how the little ‘night village’ and the Children’s museum mirrored Simone’s existence in the estate.
The relationship with Paul & his cousin Rachel had enough question marks and what-ifs to keep you guessing but I do have to say, I kind of wanted the ‘big reveal’ to be a little more juicy.
I also don’t think the word ‘thriller’ on the cover is accurate, this is more a suspense type book but I wouldn’t really say a thriller as such.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a great read and hope to see more of this author in the future.
Thank you so much Marcia and Debbie for reading The Night Village and sharing your thoughts – it’s lovely to hear how readers respond to it.
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read The Night Village by Zoe Deleuil.
The Night Village was a book that gripped me from the very first page. It was an easy to read and follow book, unlike some other books there wasn’t many characters so it was very easy to keep track of who was who and who was doing what.
Having Rachel come into the story was interesting and intriguing and there was no way that I could guess what was going to happen. Rachel taking the baby even in her room alone had me holding my breath everytime.
I finished The Night Village easily in a few sittings, the font was easy to read and large enough to make it a quick read.
Overall it was a great debut novel from Zoe, and I’ll keep an eye out for future releases.
Well worth a read 🙂
Simone has moved to London to progress her career in advertising, but a surprise pregnancy to her new boyfriend Paul changes everything. When Paul decides to invite his cousin Rachel to live with them and help out with the baby, Simone knows she should be grateful for the extra hands. Despite this, there is something about Rachel that brings out Simone’s protective instinct. Is Simone being emotional and overprotective, or are her baby and new family truly at risk?
Zoe Deleuil manages to capture the essence of what being the mother to a newborn can feel like. The bone-deep exhaustion, the self doubt, the paranoia, loss of identity, the jealousy and resentment of anyone still living a semi-normal life.
“What this what it was like, being a mother? The closing down of anything that was once enjoyable – going to bed after a long day at work, getting up full of energy after a rejuvenating eight hours of sleep, reading a paper, enjoying a plate of good food?”
The Night Village gives a small insight into the harder parts of new parenthood, while still reminding readers of the small moments of delight and the overwhelming sense of love and protectiveness you have for your new baby.
An easy read and one most parents will relate to in some manner. Many thanks to Beauty and Lace and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read and review The Night Village.
Firstly, thank you to Beauty and Lace and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This was the first novel I have read in this genre I think and so it was a bit of a shift in thinking for me. That being said, the plot did keep me guessing and concerned about some of the actions and intentions. I found Simone quite different to me, but can only imagine how I would have dealt if someone was suddenly moving in when my daughter was little.
Some beautiful heart warming moments and characters.