Neighbourly Mischief by Cristina Mîrzoi
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeIn this peculiar story, we follow the lives of a few distinctive individuals living in an old apartment building, ranging from angsty youth to middle-aged couples and senior citizens. Sorrows, insecurities, longings, frustrations, and, above all, secrets are concealed within each of these characters in an intricate maze of dysfunctional yet humorous relationships.
The intrusion of an outsider on a serene night unexpectedly impacts the building and its inhabitants, forever altering their lives and strangely mending some of their inner wounds.
Aristotle famously stated that humans are social creatures. The daily interactions among people, intentional or not, play a significant role in shaping their lives. As our characters struggle against it, loneliness becomes the driving force behind the central conflict, acting as the true antagonist.
Not everything in life is easy to classify.
The character development in this novella was strong and entertaining. This was a delightful mixture of folks, from grumpy to eccentric to whimsical among many other options, and sometimes wildly different traits would emerge from the same person depending on the day and their mood. I also enjoyed seeing how various neighbors brought out new aspects of each other’s personalities. Some of them were honestly not great matches for each other due to conflicting interests or preferred communication styles, but that was what made this such a charming read. Of course, not everyone will get along with everyone else or draw out the same reactions from one another! The same thing happens in real life all of the time, after all.
There were a few things about the mystery that I wish had been explained better. For example, when exactly was this tale set? It felt like it was no more recent than the 1970s, but even that was a fuzzy guess due to how little the characters talked about things like technology and current events. The reason why this mattered so much to me as a reader had to do with the development of crime scene investigation over the years. It would be nearly impossible to dispose of a body these days without being caught at some point, but a century ago there were no smartphones, DNA tests, fingerprint readers, or security cameras to provide additional clues about what really happened and who may or may not have been involved. With that being said, this a minor criticism of something I thought was otherwise quite well done.
Some of the most memorable passages were the ones that asked readers to think about the messiness of being human. That is to say, nobody is perfect or irredeemable. Terrible folks can be generous, and even the sweetest person one has ever met might still be harbouring a dark secret or two. The ambiguity of it all made these characters feel real to me. I never quite knew what to expect next, and I was surprised more than once by revelations about characters I thought I’d already figured out.
Neighbourly Mischief was a genuine exploration of what it means to be a good – or a not-so-good – person.
Speak Your Mind