Gossip Central — Patricia Lake

A retired woman, Shirley Jenkins, is hell-bent on enjoying a life of peaceful solitude, but finds herself constantly at the centre of the outrageous and sometimes, dangerous lives of her neighbours.
“ I lingered on the other side of the locked door debating against my better judgment and partly hoping that the boy would go away. But he didn't. He just stood there with his huge eyes darting this way and that, as though he expected to be attacked at any moment! ”