You’ll have to decide for yourself whether this is a funny and gently satiric novel about house-hunting in Washington DC, or the confessions of a dangerous psychopath who seems incapable of remorse!

At the start of the novel, Margo is house-hunting. Evidently, it is very difficult to find houses of the nice kind in Washington and gazumping and open bidding seems to be the norm. The problem is that Margo and her husband Ian have moved into a small apartment to save money while they find a house and they are not having much success. They also want to have a baby, so there’s quite a lot of stress in the relationship.

Add to that, the fact that Ian doesn’t seem quite so keen, or not as motivated as Margo, so she has to take matters into own hands. Having found the dream house from a handy tip off, Margo will do anything – and she does – to secure it.

Along the way, she nearly loses her job, exploits her friends mercilessly, lies frequently to Ian and others, and really doesn’t seem to be too concerned about any of it as long she achieves her goal. In many ways it’s a witty book, a quick read and enjoyable but there’s a kind of dark centre to it and, if you’re house-hunting, you probably shouldn’t read it!