Common Decency
The hilarious, smart debut novel from the beloved comedian - perfect for your next book club read!
$46.80
- Hardcover
320 pages
- Release Date
1 September 2026
Summary
It may be quiet in the suburbs, but it’s far from peaceful …
Oak Drive nestles tidily in an unassuming English town. Its uniform gardens overlook a small common and grand oak tree, which the street’s residents survey with smug pride.
It’s a place where it pays to sweat the small stuff. Bins should be placed back in position in a timely fashion, noise kept to a minimum past 9 pm. Sometimes, however, big problems come a calling - and all hell can break loose in …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781529397482 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1529397480 |
| Author: | Tom Allen |
| Publisher: | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Imprint: | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 1 September 2026 |
| Weight: | 531g |
| Dimensions: | 238mm x 158mm x 30mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
A fantastic frothy read about suburbia with all Tom Allen’s great style, teasing but tender-hearted. Make it a sit com! – Jacqueline Wilson, international #1 bestselling author
A deliciously witty suburban comedy of manners with real bite, shot through with Tom Allen’s trademark humour. A brilliant debut novel! – Terry Deary, international #1 bestselling author
Absolutely fantastic, I love Tom Allen! – Sara Cox, SUNDAY TIMES bestseller
Genuinely charming, and so well-written. With Tom Allen in charge of the narrative you know you will be held from the first page to the last. Some beautiful close-up characterisation, and always the sense that something big is about to go very wrong or very right for the central characters. I kept coming back to this book just to enjoy the sheer richness of these ordinary lives. Read this book instead of doom-scrolling and you will go to bed happy. Sharp and clever, just like Tom – Jeremy Vine, SUNDAY TIMES bestseller
Tom is a born storyteller and his acerbic wit, wicked humour and instinctive humanity combine triumphantly in Common Decency. His characters are brilliantly observed and comfortingly familiar, and the minutiae of their lives were as compelling as their dramas. I read it over two sittings and I LOVED IT! – Ruth Hogan, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author
Ever wonder what’s behind the twitching curtains in a respectable leafy middle-class suburb? Here’s your answer with knobs on. Charming and comical with a sardonic raised eyebrow. Very Tom Allen! – Jo Brand, SUNDAY TIMES bestseller
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
A confident move into fiction from the witty and charming comedian, with a sharp and affectionate dissection of stultifying suburbia and the garden-variety weirdos who call it home – Justin Myers
Allen’s incisive humour and descriptive prose make this light-touch domestic mystery a worthwhile read * Sunday Independent *
About The Author
Tom Allen
With his signature acerbic wit and riotous storytelling, Tom Allen has cemented himself as a household name and star on both stage and screen. He’s best known as the hilarious co-host of Cooking with the Stars alongside Emma Willis and is a regular on Bake Off: An Extra Slice.
He’s the author of two critically acclaimed memoirs: No Shame, which was a Sunday Times bestseller, and Too Much. Common Decency is his debut novel.
Tom’s sold-out Completely tour of 2023 and 2024 was extended multiple times, selling over a hundred and fifty thousand tickets. He co-hosts the hit podcast Like Minded Friends alongside Suzi Ruffell, and can also be seen and heard hosting his brand-new visualised podcast Pottering, where he invites you into his garden for a chat and a stroll, alongside some very special guests.
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