Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sally Hepworth, Goodreads and the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team for an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
This story centers around the lives of five women living in idyllic Pleasant Court, Melbourne, Australia. Essie is wife to Ben, a fitness studio owner, and mother to Mia and Polly. Ange, a realtor, wife to Lucas, a part-time photographer, and mother to Will and Ollie. Fran, a lawyer, is married to Nigel and mother to Rosie and Ava. Barbara is Essie's mother and she lives next door to Essie and Ben. Isabelle moves into the neighborhood. As the story unfolds and the characters are introduced, it becomes obvious that each woman holds a secret that may or may not change the course of their lives.
A twist I honestly didn't see coming revealed the biggest secret of all. Is anyone really who you think they are?
The Family Next Door is the fourth book by Sally Hepworth and a must read for anyone interested in complex characters and relationships with an unexpected twist or two to keep the reader in suspense.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.
Pleasant Court, Melbourne, Australia. The street everyone wants to be on. Close knit neighbors Esse, Fran, Ange and Barbara (Esse’s mom) seem to be living the suburban dream. But tucked away on a cul-de-sac, secrets are being kept. Betrayals are being formed. Friendships and marriages are being tested. How much do we let others see? How much do we really see ourselves? When a new neighbor Isabelle moves in, everything they thought they knew will be shattered and the long buried mysteries are brought to light. Relationships will be tested and friendships will never be the same. Sally Hepworth writes this roller coaster of a novel extremely well and and the details are very well thought out. It will definitely keep you reading and guessing until the very end.

The Family Next Door is a humorous and poignant look at life in suburbia.

Welcome to the manicured neighborhood in Melbourne, Pleasant Court. It is here where four women are raising the finest citizens in a perfect place. But some things are kept hidden well below the pristine surface.

Essie has suffered a dark silence after the birth of her daughter, Mia. She unwittingly left her baby at the park to fetch some tea. Essie, a mother of two, is married to Ben, her pillar of strength. Barbara, her mother, helps to keep the daily order but knows something is not right with Essie. After all, a mother knows her daughter.

Fran is a mother of two girls, Ava and Rosie. She is not sure about her role in motherhood and binge runs to help her numb her mind. But from what? Nigel, her husband, is struggling with some bad decisions made in the past. He medicates with alcohol to dull his thoughts while adding weight around his midsection.

Ange is the local real estate agent, married to a hunk and the envy of all the girls. She has two sons Will and Ollie but quietly wishes that she saw tutus and golden curls running around the house. But being married to her handsome husband has its web.

And mysterious and unconventional Isabelle arrives into Pleasant court to bring light into the underground. She piques curiosity while encumbering speculation as for the newcomer. And she seems to be more acquainted with the neighborhood than it’s own denizens.

The Family Next Door is told from the perspective of the five women, Essie, Barbara, Fran, Ange, and Isabelle. As the stories unfold, we learn that each has a dark family secret. Subtle hints are laid out in the beginning chapter and elaborates as the story progresses. This narrative is brilliant, allowing us to become familiar with the engaging characters gradually. When one story brakes off with one perspective, it is picked up seamlessly by the next character. The cast of Pleasant Court is well thought out and well developed, with a past story and flaws. And a propensity towards drama. That is all except Isabelle who remains alluring during the narrative, with a story that we are trying to unravel alongside the neighbors.

This well-written narrative is an addictive drama with humor and moments of reflection. Suburban housewives are comical and play out unique situations. Particularly refreshing is the Essie-Isabelle storyline where Essie seems to come alive while thinking she is harboring a love interest in her new friend. Several twists are entertaining and suspenseful.

I highly recommend The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth. Soon to be out in March of 2018.

I’ve enjoyed Sally Hepworth’s first three novels, so I was thrilled to receive an advanced reader’s copy of The Family Next Door, which is coming out in March. This one has a different feel than her previous novels. There are more characters and a level of suspense this time. It has the feel of a Liane Moriarty novel combined with Desperate Housewives. I started it on a Saturday morning and was almost halfway through by the evening. Then I would think about it when I wasn't reading it, and worry for all the characters. That’s how captivating it is!

There’s a lot happening throughout the story and the characters are all relatable. Essie is dealing with post-partum depression and is intrigued by her new neighbor, Isabelle, who is keeping a huge secret from everyone on their street. Ange is worried that her husband is still being unfaithful to her, even after she caught him one time. Fran is keeping some important information from her husband, which could potentially ruin their solid marriage. The characters are neighbors, so their lives intersect in some ways, but what they do in their own lives doesn’t really impact the others, except in one situation. I just liked seeing all their perspectives anyway and found myself caring about what happened to each of them. The suspense leads to an interesting twist that I did not see coming at all. I love being surprised by books!

Overall, this novel is definitely a page turner and one to check out when it releases in the spring. In the meantime, if you haven’t read her other novels, you have the next five months to get caught up! (They’re all stand-alones, and very much worth checking out, as well.)

Here is my dream movie cast. Since locations get changed for film anyway, I figured it wasn’t a big deal where the actors were from. They can always put on regional accents if needed.
Ange: Amanda Schull
Lucas: Geoff Stults
Essie: Yael Stone
Ben: Ryan Eggold
Isabelle: Michelle Monaghan
Fran: Elena Anaya
Nigel: Sam Worthington
Barbara: Mary Steenburgen

Suburbia, neighbors, families, secrets and not-so-quite-perfect lies.... this one keeps you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved every thing about this book. Can’t wait for it to come out so I can have all my friends read it.

This was an enjoyable book about a group of neighbors and things are not how they appear on the surface. I found this book very entertaining and reminds me of Liane Moriaty's books. I would consider this a great beach/vacation read.


I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

Fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced from beginning to end, and I loved how all of the characters were connected. I did not want to stop reading!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sally Hepworth is a brilliant writer. She makes characters so relatable, and she writes on subjects that most people are not willing to discuss. Every book has touched me, and this one blew me away. I kept referring to the saying "everybody's got something" . Each family in this book was dealing with their own issues and keeping so many secrets. I didn't know what to think of Essie initially. Her story grew on me quickly. This is one outstanding read!

In Pleasant Court, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, three families who are neighbors know each other well enough to wave hello, but are not close friends. Both internal and external family relationships change over the course of this story, with each family feeling the impact of a closely-kept secret. The author is adept at depicting scenes of family life, post-partum depression, and mother-child bonds. It is filled with twists and surprises for the reader. I found it a compelling and quick read.

Recommended to those interested in family dynamics from a woman’s point of view.

I was lucky enough to get an early reader copy via Netgalley. The book comes out next March. The story focuses on a neighborhood in Australia, which is made up of families with children who are buying their homes. Each of them has a different, but life-changing secret. Essie, Fran and Ange are the wives. Then Isabelle moves in, throwing the balance off. She’s single, no children, renting her house and obsessed with Essie.

The story moves fast by alternating between each woman’s point of view. The characters are well drawn, and you feel how hot it is the summer the novel takes place. I got a little mixed up between some of the characters and that may be because this is an ARC that still has proofreading errors in it. So go ahead and read this if family drama is your preferred genre. I think you’ll like it. I gave it four stars, because personally I felt that the mystery was solved too soon. You may feel differently.

I received this book "The Family Next Door" from Netgalley for my honest review.

It took me a little while to understand who all the characters were and how they connected. The writing seemed to jump around a bit. The story picked up quickly and can keep you guessing what everyone in the neighborhood is up to.

Isabelle in a newcomer to the neighborhood. She seems like an anomaly, no children or husband in sight. What Isabelle does have is a secret, but so do the other women living nearby: Fran, Essie, Barbara (Essie's mother) and Ange all have things in their past that they don't want to think about, though it haunts them. On the surface, each of these families seem picture perfect, the kind of families proudly plastered on Facebook feeds. But everything isn't as it seems.

I truly enjoyed reading this novel, and learning about each of these women's lives. Some of the twists were completely unexpected, and blew me away! There was one event at the end that seemed over the top, especially considering the tone of the rest of the novel. It almost seemed too convenient, more plot-device than organic story-telling. Other than that, however, I thought this was a quick, absorbing read.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC*

The family next door are not always what they seem, and that's perfectly illustrated in this story about the seemingly idyllic neighborhood of Pleasant Court, a suburb of Melbourne. Ange is a married mother of two pre-teen boys, a real estate agent, married to Lucas, a photographer. Essie is a stay at home mom of two girls, preschooler Mia and baby Polly. Essie's husband Ben owns a fitness studio. Fran is a lawyer, home on maternity leave. She's married to Ollie and they have a preschool aged daughter. Isabelle who is unmarried and childless moves to the street and for some reason the veneer of Pleasant Court begins to crack. It seems that everyone's got secrets, including Isabelle, but everyone is very busy pretending they are living the perfect life, until one day, they're not. I received this advanced reader copy from Great Thoughts Ninja Review team. All opinions are my own.

Excellently written book about the power of secrets that I completely related with. I had no idea what to expect next but I loved this book so much!! Five stars!!!

5 stars.

How well do you know the people closest to you? Are they who you think they are? Is anyone?

These are the questions at the heart of Sally Hepworth’s new novel “The Family Next Door.” It is a phenomenal novel that delves into the minds of several families and specifically five complicated women. Some are mothers and daughters; others friends or neighbors. The only thing I can tell you is that nothing is as it seems. Essie and her mother Barbara, as well as Ange, Fran and Isabelle live in a community where your become friends with your neighbors - and you think you know them and you think you know them well. All I can say is that no one is ever who you think they are. Eye-opener!

What Sally Hepworth does here is nothing short of brilliant. She writes about people’s idiosyncrasies; their secrets, what makes them human, what makes them tick and how they operate. And in “The Family Next Door” no one is left unscathed.

“The Family Next Door” is a must read. Like all of Sally Hepworth’s other novels it is compelling and extremely well written. Ms. Hepworth lured me in from the first sentence and kept me enthralled throughout. She has a way with words my friends. If you haven’t picked up one of her books, I highly suggest you do so.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Twitter on 10.2.17.

Will be published on Amazon on 3.13.18

Really enjoyed this read. It was a page turner for me trying to figure out who would be the most affected by all the kept secrets.

This excellent new book by Sally Hepworth is about secrets, both those that we keep from our friends and neighbors but as important the secrets that we keep within our families. The author does an amazing job of giving us a great plot with people that we all feel like we know in our day to day lives.

Pleasant Court is a small neighborhood and Essie, Fran and Ange all live their with the families. They are all parents of small children and even though they all wave to each other and talk everyday chatter, they aren't really good friends. They all wonder why Isabelle decided to move there since she's a single woman with no kids. The story is told from all 4 woman's point of view and as they each tell their story, secrets are revealed in each family. Even though mistakes were made - some major - all four women remain likable.

You never really know the secrets that someone else is keeping from the world. This book about friendship and motherhood and secrets is a great read.

Thanks to goodreads and the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ever been curious about that goes on in your neighbors' homes? Ever thought about what secrets your neighbors try to hide as they close their door and window shades at night? Surely, most of us have and that is the premise of this novel by Sally Hepworth.

The people of Pleasant Court have secrets and as we delve into the novel, we learn more and more about what is driving them. Some secrets are those of infidelity, some of a lost child, and some are of the illusions we sometimes see in marriages and relationships. Essie, the main character suffers from postpartum depression but is befriended by a new neighbor, Isabelle, who seems to take quite a big interest in Essie. That interest is returned as Essie seems more and more drawn towards Isabelle. Essie fears she might be harboring a gay relationship. Essie is the mother of two children with a doting husband yet why is there this overwhelming attraction to Isabelle?

Then there are the other residents of Pleasant Court. Ange, Fran, and Essie's mother hold within themselves their own secrets. Why is Ange such a controlling person? Why is Fran so afraid to let her husband near her newest child? Finally, why is Barbara, Essie's mother, always so solicitous? All of these questions are answered as the book continues to a somewhat surprising, yet to to this reader, a somewhat hard to believe conclusion.

The book is certainly a quick read, but the problem is some of the reasoning behind the secretive nature of the characters seems far fetched. I enjoyed the story however, as it leads one on a journey to find out what their neighbors hid behind their doors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for an arc of this book.

Strap on your seatbelt and get ready for a riveting read! I often “solve the mystery” before the end of a novel but an “aha” moment escaped me with this one…

There is a nagging memory of a child in a nearby suburb that went missing years ago. That child was never found. Something like that would never happen in Pleasant Court.

The novel centers around three families in a small Australian neighborhood and each home could be the family next door. Essie had a mental breakdown a few years ago. Her mum and Ben are concerned now that they have another baby. She seems to be handling the stress alright but you can never be too sure. Fran is a super intelligent attorney currently on maternity leave. She seems hyper-focused on her newborn and won’t let her sweet hubby near Ava. Ange is the quintessential control freak of the bunch. She’s happily married with two sons, owns a real estate agency and always looks spectacular.

As the women slowly form a bond, Isabelle moves into the neighborhood. She’s aloof and without a husband or children and what exactly does she do all day? She’s certainly secretive and doesn’t make an effort to fit in. What’s her story?

How well does anyone ever really know their neighbors and the dichotomy within their households? How long will they be able to keep their secrets secret?

I received an advance review copy of this book from Great Thoughts Ninjas. All opinions are my own.