Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita Narrator: Aspen Vincent, Shannon Tyo, Anne Caputo
Published by Berkley, Penguin Audio on January 10, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 304
Length: 8 hours, 9 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter.
When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.
City Under One Roof caught my eye as being a bit different than usual. There are many aspects to the story. We get the point of view of three female characters. Cara is a widow and detective from Anchorage on disability leave. Amy is a teenager who has lived in Point Mettier, Alaska her whole life with her mother. Lonnie is a young women with some mental issues.
Over the story, we learn more about each woman over time. Cara is actively investigating a current homicide with body parts turning up. She thinks it might be related to her loss of her husband and son about a year ago. The locals are very quirky and have their secrets. She ends up stranded when the tunnel to the mainland closes in a blizzard.
Amy is nearing high school graduation and looking at more than her lifelong world. She is opening her eyes to more adult aspects of the world and what she might do after high school. She is in a teenage rebellion of sorts with her mother. When out with friends, they discovered the body parts.
Lonnie was put into a mental institute for a bit as a child, when her mother was murdered by an abusive boyfriend. She has some PTSD from the murder as well as from the “Institute.” She adopted a baby moose whose mother was also violently killed and they have a symbiotic life, providing each other with purpose.
Nothing is quite what it seems with these women or any other character. Cara teams up with a young police office and they do begin to gather some evidence. Everything comes to a head when some thieving drug dealers arrive to hunt for something they want. No one is really safe and most of them didn’t trust anyone from the beginning.
I enjoyed the characters and the odd, yet realistic quirks and secrets gradually revealed. The pace was well handled and I was engaged in the mysteries and the action. The main mysteries were resolved but a few loose ends remained which make me wonder if there will be a sequel or continuation of this world.
Narration:
The three female narrators were all new to me. They each narrated chapters from one of the three main characters point of view. This worked well and made it easy to tell whose thoughts we were hearing. Aspen Vincent handled Cara’s chapters. I liked her as Cara, which was the greater share of the entire book, but felt her male voices were a bit too high in tone. Shannon Tyo narrated Amy’s chapters and everything there was comfortable but it was almost completely in Amy’s stream of thought. The same was true of Anne Caputo’s performance of Lonnie, which was excellent. Overall I enjoyed the narration very much. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Iris Yamashita
Born in Missouri, raised in Hawaii and having lived in Guam, California, and Japan, Iris Yamashita was able to experience a diversity of culture while growing up. She studied engineering at U.C. San Diego and U.C. Berkeley and also spent a year at the University of Tokyo studying virtual reality. Her first love, however, has always been fiction writing, which she pursued as a hobby on the side.
Iris submitted her first screenplay to a competition where she was discovered by an agent at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) who offered to represent her. Her big break came when she was recruited to write the script Letters From Iwo Jima for Clint Eastwood. Letters was named “Best Picture” by both the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. It received a Golden Globe award for “Best Foreign Language Film” of 2006 and was nominated for 4 Oscars including “Best Picture” and “Best Original Screenplay.”
City Under One Roof is her debut mystery novel set in a tiny Alaskan town where all the residents lives in a single high-rise building. Village in the Dark is the follow-up to the Cara Kennedy series and is set to release in February 2024.
Iris continues to developing for both film and streaming media and has been commissioned to write an audio series for BBC Radio. She has also dabbled in writing a musical for a Japanese theme park with Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori. She has taught screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles and the American Film Institute.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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This does sound different! Especially the moose companion😁 Thanks for sharing, Anne!
yes Tammy you hit on the exact thing. This is full of flawed unusual characters who are a bit annoying and a bit likeable. So like real people, lol.
Wonderful review. I do enjoy reading about flawed characters so this one sounds a good fit for me.
I enjoyed this one. It’s characters are flawed and a bit selfish plus it’s a bit Wild West on this island in Alaska.
Thanks for this review this sounds like a book I would enjoy
It’s unique Victoria. I try to read some new authors and unusual stories and this one is both. I really liked it.
Having characters like this definitely makes for a different read! Great review!
Thanks Lisa. This one was really interesting in the end.
I love the setting, and it sounds very interesting!
Thanks Wendy. It’s a unique and twisty one.
This sounds like a good thriller and I like that setting too.
I thought this one was very unique with well developed characters.
I really like the sound of this one! I will have to add it to my wishlist.
Thanks Carole. I liked a lot of things about this one.
This does sound like a pretty unique story. All of the characters sound interesting, and I’m very intrigued by the friendship with the moose.
It all feels a bit off kilter and maybe that’s why I like it.
I like the sound of this one. Adopting a moose? That’s unusual and piques my interest. The setting of Alaska always captures my attention too. Great review, Anne!
yes there’s something wrong with all of them but they are trying. It makes for a good story.