IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES

Elizabeth Mundy Loot.co.za (R142) Constabale

THE heroine of this debut novel is a Hungarian immigrant, Lena Szarka, who works in fashionable North London, cleaning rich people’s houses.

When her fellow cleaner, another Hungarian migrant named Timea, goes missing, Lena immediately suspects that one of their clients is to blame.

They all seem to have secrets to hide.

At first, the police do not seem interested, so Lena starts to investigate herself.

Then Timea’s body is found and the case suddenly takes a darker turn.

Lena’s tenacity and common sense illuminate this engaging story by the granddaughter of a Hungarian immigrant to the US, who now works at a London investment bank.