Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley; 2021. Hardcover.

In the middle of the bustle of London's Soho, among the theaters and sex shops and pubs, sits a building. It isn't particularly assuming. But it's a prime piece of real estate, and a young millionaire, Agatha Howard, wants to convert it into luxury condos as soon as she can kick out all the tenants. The problem is, the building in question houses a brothel, and Precious and Tabitha, two of the women who live and work there, are not going to go quietly. And another problem is, just where did Agatha's fortune come from?

The fight over this piece of property also draws in the men who visit, including Robert, a one-time member of a far-right group and enforcer for Agatha's father; Jackie, a policewoman intent on making London a safer place for all women; Bastian, a rich and dissatisfied party boy who pines for an ex-girlfriend; and a collection of vagabonds and strays who occupy the basement. These characters--with surprising hidden connections and shadowy pasts--converge, the fight over the property boils over into a hot stew.

Hot Stew is about property, ownership, wealth and inheritance. It is about the place we occupy in society, especially women, and the importance placed on class and money