A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon

A Tidy Ending is the third novel by Joanna Cannon (she has also written an autobiography/ memoir about life as a doctor – Breaking and Mending). Joanna Cannon wrote the wonderful The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and the almost-as-wonderful Three Things About Elsie, so I was very keen to read A Tidy Ending. Sadly, it never appeared for half price in our local Sainsbury’s, but I eventually borrowed it from a friend. (Before Covid, I used to borrow about a third of my books, mainly from this friend, but it’s the first book I’ve borrowed in three years.)

A Tidy Ending is the story of Linda, a very ordinary woman living on an ordinary street on an ordinary estate. The whole book is narrated by Linda as an inner monologue.

Linda is 43 (although she seems much older to me) and married to Terry. They have no children and don’t really seem to like each other. Linda has a part-time job and no real friends. She sees her mother (who she always calls ‘mother’ rather than ‘mum’) regularly, but has a difficult relationship with her.

Linda and Terry have just moved to a different house on the same estate. It’s not long before Linda realises that you can live somewhere different, but life doesn’t get any better. When she starts to open catalogues sent to the previous tenant, Rebecca, Linda begins to build a fantasy life in which she wears nice clothes, has a nice house and people find her interesting.

And then the murders start.

Young women living in the area are being strangled and it is all anyone on the estate can talk about or think about. The neighbours are suddenly experts in police procedure, especially Linda’s mother, who has watched a lot of crime dramas. But the police on the estate bring back troubling memories from Linda’s childhood.

I absolutely loved A Tidy Ending. For me, it was even better than Three Things About Elsie. Linda isn’t the most likeable of characters, but I really felt for her, as she tried so hard to fit in and often ended up being more left out. She has a certain amount of self-awareness, but not quite enough for navigating modern life.

The inner monologue and Linda’s character, including the difficult relationship with her mother and obvious childhood trauma, reminds me of both Eleanor Oliphant and Meredith from Meredith, Alone.

Although A Tidy Ending is a book about murders, it isn’t really a murder mystery, or even cosy crime. It is the story of a rather awkward woman trying to find her way in the world and make friends, but really not knowing how. It is a brilliant read and I would recommend it to anyone, whatever genres you enjoy.