(Published by Michael Joseph)
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Fifi Reynolds is the daughter of a middle class household. She lives in a pleasant suburb of Bristol with her family and is used to life’s luxuries; month-long holidays and afternoons of tennis and dancing.
Fifi’s life is trudging along at a predictable pace when she meets and falls in love with Dan. Knowing how disappointed her parents will be that her new boyfriend is a mere bricklayer raised in a variety of care homes, she keeps their relationship a secret. No secret can be kept forever though and eventually Dan meets her parents. Fifi’s mother barely disguises her contempt for Dan and before long Fifi becomes more distanced from her family. The couple eventually marry in secret and move to London, but a lack of money means that they can only afford to stay in a tiny flat in a deprived street in Kennington.
Fifi, whom her mother claimed was born nosy, quickly becomes fascinated with her colourful neighbours. There’s Yvette, the French dressmaker, retired widower Frank and Miss Diamond, the snobbish spinster downstairs. However, the reason for most of her curtain-twitching is the Muckles family, with their disgusting habits, intriguing card parties and brutal fights witnessed by the whole street.
Yet when Fifi’s nosiness gets the better of her she unwittingly stumbles across a world of murder, gangland crimes, class exploitation, child abuse and sexual harassment. Completely out of her depth, Fifi realises she and her family are in danger.
Lesley Pearse has an unerring knack for writing a page turner. Although some of her characters are quite fluffy, as the plot thickens so do the characters. While she does tend to lean towards clichéd plot lines, Pearse’s stories always have a darker side that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. 
Also by Lesley Pearse
Trust Me
