THOSE PEOPLE

Katharine McEwan delivers the main narrative of this mystery, which explores the sometimes incendiary dynamics of community relations. Police interview tapes, performed by various narrators, provide insight into the personalities of a group of neighbors who are suspected of committing serious crimes in their formerly idyllic community. As the novel’s title suggests—and as they would assert—it’s the fault of “those people”: disruptive new neighbors who don’t seem to care much about community norms. The audiobook satisfies as both a whodunit and a commentary on class divisions. McEwan is excellent as the impartial narrator and primary conveyor of all these characters’ personalities, and the production decision to bring in other narrators for the police interviews provides drama as amusing as it is illuminating. K.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]