Review: Other People's Houses by Clare Mackintosh

Other People's Houses (DC Morgan, #3)

by Clare Mackintosh

Release Date: September 16, 2025

2025 Sourcebooks Landmark

Ebook ARC; 368 Pages

ISBN: 978-1728296548

ASIN: B0DPR5W8GC

Audiobook: B0FNS5GM4T

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.

Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There's no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead - and why?

As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . .

 

My Thoughts

Other People's Houses is one of those books whereby I enjoyed the mystery element and thought the twists and turns were well done, but honestly, I could have done without the POV of one of the characters as she drove me absolutely bonkers. And while it may have been a technique used to get insight into the houses of the wealthy, I don't think it worked very well and I got to the point where I really wanted to just skip over those chapters.  

 

So, let's start with character development, shall we? Ffion is a strong character and I really enjoy learning more about her in each book. She has difficulty forming relationships with other co-workers and struggles to understand how to take her own personal relationship to the next level without having panic attacks and feeling trapped or being afraid to make a huge mistake; in effect, she has commitment issues and I have enjoyed her journey as she learns how to navigate feelings and a relationship all while doing her job. In this one, she is also taking steps to connect more with her colleagues and is making an effort to find out more about them. 

 

And while I enjoyed a lot of the character development arcs for many of the characters, there is definitely one I did not enjoy, Leo's ex-wife, one of the most self-absorbed, clueless people I have read in a long time. Sometimes I enjoy these characters as they are fun to read about, but she was just so annoying, I didn't enjoy her chapters at all. I definitely understood why those chapters were included, but personally, I don't think it worked the way they were intended, and I don't feel like I got to know any of the wealthy inhabitants at all through this woman's eyes because everything was about her.  Yes, the wealthy people didn't treat her well, but I don't necessarily think it had anything to do with wealth or position, but when you are so needy for acceptance and attention, it just bleeds through your pores and you can feel it. 

 

The plot itself was interesting, with lots of twists and turns, and I missed a couple of the clues as the culprit was not who I thought.  With an intriguing cold case thrown into the middle of an active crime investigation, I liked how the author blended the two investigations seamlessly. 

 

Verdict

Other People's Houses had an interesting plot and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the two investigations as they slowly came together. I liked Ffion and Leo's character development and how they are trying to manage both their personal and professional relationships, but the chapters with Leo's ex-wife could have been removed completely as they were useless. To be perfectly fair, I think Ffion's dog Dave is actually the star in this book and needs more time on the page, or in doggy behaviour school, at the least.