凶手在隔壁(The Killer Next Door)

《凶手在隔壁》不仅仅是一本惊悚的推理小说，也是一场迷人的人性探索。在惊悚骇人的叙事底下，有一个关于爱与友谊的故事。我们以为死亡很遥远，其实它时时刻刻在发生，甚至就在我们身旁。说不定我们喝的每一口水、呼吸的每一口空气，都带有死者的气息……你真的了解你的邻居吗?因为目击犯罪现场而不得不亡命天涯、逃避追杀的科莱特，为了送母亲最后一程，冒险回到故乡英国，落脚在伦敦一栋阴森破烂的分租公寓里，接手不告而别的前任房客所留下的房间。这里的每样东西似乎都带有腐朽和死亡的气息，是一个当你没有选择时才会入住的地方，而每个房客也都各自怀抱着某些秘密：最年轻的雪儿明明没有工作，却总能弄到高价物品；伊朗来的难民侯赛因依然热衷政治活动；公务员托马斯友善但多嘴；音乐老师杰拉德足不出户，总是在播放古典音乐；以及在这里出生、很有可能也将在这里死去的老维斯塔，虽然梦想离开，却又没有勇气……在一个酷热难当的夏日夜晚，原本疏离的邻居们因为一桩可怕的意外，被迫成为共犯。但他们以为接下来的生活只需要隐瞒一件罪恶，却不知更令人坐立难安的恐怖还在后头等着……(It is not only a horrible detective fiction but also a charming human nature exploration. Under the horrible narration, there is a story about love and friendship. We think that death is far away; in fact it happens at every moment even around us. The water we drink and the air we breathe may have the breath of the dead. Do you really understand your neighbor? Colette has to travel around the world to escape murder because he witnessed the crime scene. He returns to his homeland England taking risks to take part in his mother’s funeral. He settles in a gloomy and broken sublet apartment in London. He takes over the room left by the previous tenant. It seems that everything here has a smell of decay and death. It is a place which you have to live in when you have no alternative. And every tenant has own secret: the youngest Cher has no job but she is always able to get luxurious articles; the refugee Hussein from Iran is still crazy about political activities; the civil servant Thomas is friendly but wordy; the music teacher Gerald is homebound and always playing classical music; and the old Vesta was born here and is likely to die here, he want to leave here but has no courage… The alienated neighbors are forced to be accomplices for a terrible accident on a hot summer evening. They would think that they needed only to hide one crime, but they do not know the antsy horrors are coming…)