The eight strangers who were participating in an apartment viewing could not, in their wildest imaginations, have thought this would have been a life-or-death situation. (And really it wasn’t, but they didn’t know that!) You see, a bank robber burst in and took them hostage, a bank robber with a gun! As the police surround the apartment building and TV crews arrive, the tension mounts, they begin talking with one another, about their lives, their anxieties. Thus, the title of this book.

This is a bittersweet comedy that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Fredrik Backman is good at that. I love his books, and this is one of his best. Don’t miss it.

eGalley review                                                      Publication date 9.8.2020