Common Decency - Tom Allen

 

Description

IT MAY BE QUIET IN THE SUBURBS, BUT IT'S FAR FROM PEACEFUL. . .

'A fantastic frothy read about suburbia with all Tom Allen's great style' JACQUELINE WILSON, international #1 bestseller

'A deliciously witty suburban comedy of manners with real bite, shot through with Tom Allen's trademark humour. A brilliant debut novel!' TERRY DEARY, #1 Sunday Times bestseller

'Absolutely fantastic, I love Tom Allen!' SARA COX

'I love it!' JEFF GOLDBLUM

'A brilliant book' CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN

'Genuinely charming and so well-written. Read this book instead of doom-scrolling and you will go to bed happy' JEREMY VINE

'A story that made me both spit out my tea with laughter and brought me close to tears. I LOVED IT!'
RUTH HOGAN, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things

'Charming and comical with a sardonic raised eyebrow. Very Tom Allen!' JO BRAND

'Tom writes with a perfect comic voice, about a place no one knows better, suburbia. A beautiful book about a much ignored area of British life' JOSH WIDDICOMBE


It may be quiet in the suburbs, but it's far from peaceful . . .

Oak Drive can be found nestled tidily in an unassuming English town. Its uniform front gardens overlook a midsized common which the street's residents survey with quiet, some might say smug, pride.

This is the sort of place where it pays to sweat the small stuff, and let the big things look after themselves. Bins should be placed back in their right positions in a timely fashion and paintwork should share the same tasteful but muted palette.

Sometimes, however, the big things do not look after themselves - and all hell can break loose in sleepy suburbia.

Common Decency chronicles the lives and interactions of the street's residents as they band together to save a beloved oak tree from destruction at the hands of ruthless developers.

As tensions rise and repressed neuroses and resentments seep out, the secrets of Oak Drive threaten to shatter the well-ordered veneer, revealing some rather more surprising truths. . .

Tom Allen brings his trademark dark comedy to the page in this brilliant novel about what it truly means to be a neighbourhood.

READERS ARE LOVING TOM ALLEN'S SPARKLING DEBUT
'What an exceptional piece of writing. It's witty, it's immersive, it makes you think'
'A fabulous read, a real comedy of manners'
'Tom Allen has a natural affinity for storytelling. I can't wait to see what he writes next'
'A humorous, charming book with a bit of edge to it'
'The cosiest of suburban observational dramas, with the smart sass and wit you'd expect from Tom Allen'
'I absolutely ADORED this book!'

Review

I've been really looking forward to reading this book so much, and it didn't disappoint.

On the surface this is a book about a neighbourhood coming together to fight developers and save a very old oak tree. It's the suburbs, not much happens, and if it should, one of the residents is there to maintain order and let everyone know if they step out of line with their bins.

I'm not one for overly descriptive writing and words that don't add value, but in this book every wonderful word counted. I was enjoying the wickedly funny observations of day to day life and expected nothing more. But then a twist and a flashback and the book turned into something far deeper than I had imagined.

My favourite character was Miranda, but I loved them all. The characters, their traits and the setting was so vividly written, that I could see it all in my mind. I am really going to miss them all and the writing style. I hope the author writes something else soon!

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Net Galley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 21 May 2026.