Mrs. B is a widow who owns 6 little cottages surrounding a little courtyard in the Santa Barbara area. She rents out the cottages to people she likes, often giving a low rate to those who need it. Her tenants include Lily-Ann, who's a perfectionist who can't live with her husband anymore; Sophie, who has had a traumatic experience, but is trying to move past it; Hamilton, who is an agoraphobic; Ocean, a gay artist who has two children; and Nicholas, who mysteriously seems to avoid Mrs. B. and the others.
A dead man is found outside Sophie's cottage one morning. The local police immediately decide who the murderer is when they see Mrs. B's latest tenant, Anthony, a large man with a bad facial tattoo, who'd spent time in prison in the past. However, Mrs. B is sure that Anthony has not committed the murder. The rest of the tenants start meeting to learn more about the dead man and people he had associated with, and to figure out who killed him. The relationships that are forged between the tenants feel real. There are a number of secrets and surprises. But the real beauty is the clever plot that kept me guessing until the very end, and has me still ruminating over it a day later. Highly recommend this book.
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