Recommendation: The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

“A compulsive read that builds to an unimaginable climax. I couldn’t put it down!” — Shari Lapena, author of Someone We Know

I love London, I have done since I was nine. I fell in love with the West End, with walking down the Thames, with being a stones throw away from something amazing. Now, I usually manage to get in London a couple of times a month, which still makes me really happy. Like most of the world, I’m currently in lockdown — although it is easing at the moment. But, for the last 75 days, I’ve been in a small village in the countryside.

The Other Passenger is set in London and reading it during the lockdown is reminding me how much I love the city, but also of how clever Louise Candlish has been with the setting alone — it’s London, as well all know and love — but there’s no boredom or mundanity about it. The Riverboat that goes up into central London is the perfect difference that sets this book apart from others. Move over Girl On The Train, we’ve got Guy On The Riverboat. I know that sound silly — but even as a small change in this opening setting, it feels so fresh.

It’s an incredible study on character, what we as humans need to feel loved, but also commentary on money and how wealth affects us all. Our lead character Jamie suffers from life-altering claustrophobia and with a new route to work comes a whole host of other problems.

“It all happens so quickly. One day you’re living the dream, commuting to work by rivers with your charismatic young neighbour Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn’t turned up for the boat and his wife Melia has reported him missing.

When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit raging on the boat home last night and the police say you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends — ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is the other passenger pointing the finger? What do the know about your lives?

No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent. Aren’t you?”

I was absolutely thrilled when Louise Candlish agreed to answer a couple of my questions for this recommendation. You can read these, here:

You write so well about not only the sentiment of home, but also the physical being of home in Our House, Those People and now with The Other Passenger. What does the location and luxury of Jamie’s home mean to you? Why is the concept of home so important?

LC: Property is about status in my books as much as security. On the surface, the lovely riverside Georgian square where Jamie and Clare live represents privilege and the dumb luck of their being the age they are (ie Gen X and able to afford property as young adults, whereas Kit and Melia, who are millennials, cannot). However, all is not as it first seems. Jamie’s name is not on the deeds, the house was actually inherited from Clare’s parents. He grows to feel diminished by this. As the author, I’m not suggesting a struggle to get on the property ladder is justification for crime, but I am saying that perhaps the issue of home ownership has become tragically divisive in our society and it really didn’t have to be this way.

I loved how the characters were created in The Other Passenger; I can see them so vividly in my mind and that made me think how well this would do in cinema, or as a gritty BBC Crime drama. I’m interested to know who’d you’d cast to play the main four characters, if budget were no option?

LC: Whoever our modern-day Barbara Stanwyck is would be the ideal choice for Melia, as she is my own Double Indemnity-style femme fatale. My favourite actor for Jamie has just agreed to read the audiobook, so I’d love him to go on to play the part on screen too! (Keep your eyes peeled for this audiobook announcement!)

Having grown up in and out of Central London, I loved the inclusion of ‘water rats’ and the Thames Riverboat Community. Can you tell me about your decision to set a large amount of the story on the boats? Did you spend a lot of time riding the riverboats up and down the Thames?

LC: I had wanted to write a thriller with a commuter theme, but it seemed crazy to use a train after the success of The Girl on the Train — I’m very careful not to copy and like to try to be surprising. I already had other strands of the book ready when I travelled one day on a Thames Clipper to the O2. It hit me that the answer was staring me in the face. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t already a thriller set on the riverbus. I think it makes it exciting for readers because the Thames is so iconic, so cinematic. We can look through the window with Jamie and Kit. When I was researching, I sailed up and down quite a bit, but not in lockdown, obviously. I walked a part of the river path a few weeks ago and the water was so smooth and empty, it was eerie.

This is an absolute must-read for any fans of Candlish’s previous work, but also anyone who has lived and loved in London. This book feels like London. I’d love to go on a walk inspired by the locations mentioned in the book; from the café, to the river taxi, up to Clare & Jamie’s house, with a view onto Kit and Melia’s flat.

If you want fast-paced, head-turning drama this book is for you — I know it sounds cliche but it really did keep me guessing up until the final page.

Out on June 25th, you can pre-order your copy here, or from your local independent bookshop.

Thanks to Jess at Simon & Schuster for my advance copy of the book, and also Louise for taking the time to have a chat with me.