This book has a fun vibe reminiscent of the TV show, Desperate Housewives. There are plenty of secrets behind the closed doors in this Pleasant Court neighborhood, and there are enough twists and surprises along the way that kept me flipping the pages.

Altogether, this was a fun, entertaining read that was a refreshing change from some heavier reads. It was a nice easy read with a little mystery and conflict that kept me reading and wanting to know how it would all turn out. For a contemporary women’s fiction book, I give it 4 stars. I look forward to reading more from his author.

*Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-galley of the book in exchange for an honest review

You can tell immediately when a master storyteller has written the book in your hands. The story grips you from the beginning, pulls you in completely and doesn’t let you go until the author decides to release you.

This is one of those books. Sally Hepworth has described these young mothers so well, that I think women with children everywhere will see a bit of themselves in them. The character development was some of the best I have ever seen. On the outside, this group of women seem to have perfect lives with handsome husbands and children. They live in a community where the houses are lovely and the neighbors all wave at each other, but no real friendships have formed. Each woman is wrestling with something and the secrets are about to be exposed.

I enjoyed this well-developed story.

Worthy of noting: The f word is used a few times, and sex is mentioned between the married couples; however, there are no graphic scenes. Overall, compared with most books on the market, this was much cleaner in that respect.

I was very much looking forward to The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth, but felt it didn't quite live up to all the hype. "A gripping domestic page-turner full of shocking reveals, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Kerry Fisher." That is from the Goodreads listing.

The story wrapped up nicely, but it was the getting there that was spotty and unreliable for me. There was a lot of flitting about by the mothers in this book, but everything seemed to be very surface level until near the very end suddenly everyone was best buddies. We didn't see how they got there. **SLIGHT SPOILER** Perfect example, Essie leaves her baby, Mia, at the park. All by herself in a stroller. Then she walks home. Quite a while later Essie's mother, Barbara, comes by and wants to know where Mia is. We see them show up to get her and then *poof* it's years later.

Most of what happens in this book is approached this way. Things happen, but we never get the meat of the story, just the surface. It may just be me, but after seeing the hype and listening to others discuss this book, I wondered what I missed. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible book, but I was left wanting more out of the characters - the women carry the story and their husbands are primarily filler.

If you like suspense you'd probably enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it, which I was hoping to. Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for an early copy.

This is one of those stories that makes you examine the people around you and think that you really don't know anyone.

Neighbors, Secrets, and Scandals - one of my favorite genres!

This novel explores the themes of marriage, family, parenting, postpartum depression, friendship, and infidelity. It reminds us that each person is dealing with something beneath a cool, calm, and collected surface.

Essie, Ange, and Fran are cordial neighbors and mothers. They view the new neighbor Isabelle as mysterious because she doesn't fit the stereotypical mold of having a spouse and 2.5 kids.

I enjoyed this story, but for me, it wasn't as good as some of the other books that I've read with similar themes. I didn't really connect with any of the characters until 75% into the book. I had challenges keeping the characters straight because they were written so similarly.

I also felt that the characters didn't really even connect with each other. I wanted a stronger bond between the ladies with more chemistry. Each of these women are self-absorbed and mired in their own problems without looking up to see if their neighbors needed their support.

The story is entertaining and well paced but is not a standout for me. However, I have seen many 4 and 5 star reviews with many people loving this book, so please don't let my review sway you!

Why in the world did this beautiful single woman move into our family oriented cul-de-sac?

This is the question everyone on the street is asking and wondering about because she has no children. There are quite a few characters/families to keep up with, but it doesn't take long to sort them out because they each have have a unique story. I enjoyed the multiple POV's from the ladies themselves. It was like getting to peek behind their doors and see behind the facade.

I liked the way this mystery unfolded and caught me off guard.  At times, I felt the tension jumping from the pages and wanted to shake some of the ladies and ask them what they were thinking.  I enjoyed Hepworth's writing style and was totally pulled into all the drama of each household.  A page turner with a tidy ending (that left me wanting something a bit more tangled).
Each chapter ended with mini cliff hangers that had me devouring this one in no time. Fans of domestic suspense are in for a ride! Lot's of fun here.

Welcome to Wisteria Lane, or maybe Knots Landing, for those who remember that show, and of course Desperate Housewives. This book contains elements of all those shows. Good looking characters, drama, post partum depression, adultery, affairs, a missing child, and of course secrets. Where would fiction be without secrets. A rare book where except for one, I felt sorry for and liked the men more than the women.

A entertaining read, I have to admit, did want to find out how everyone's relationships turned out, what happened when their secrets were finally revealed. One plot twist was quite surprising, but all in all, a soap opera vibe, which isn't quite my thing. An ending that while I applauded one woman's decision to put on her big girl panties and grow a backbone, was just too good to be true. Too tidily resolved.

A sisters read where most liked it more than I did. It happens.

ARC. From Netgalley.

I requested this title because of a recommendation from another reader. I really enjoyed this book. I love the idea of life happening all around us and we have no idea what’s going on with the people we are closest to. There is something about that that appeals to me.

This one also had a bit of mystery thrown in. When Isabelle moves into town talking about missing children, it throws the neighborhood for a loop, particularly Essie, who finds herself infatuated with Isabelle.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and would recommend it.

I was bored and did not care for the main character at all. I did not complete the book. I will not put up a review. Just because a book doesn't work for me, does not mean it might not work for someone else.

The 3 neighborhood couples introduced here are diverse, multilayered and flawed. Ange, Fran and Essie seem to have pretty good lives, though behind their enviable facades, their lives are anything but normal. Secrets, struggles and betrayals behind closed doors are uncovered and lives begin to unravel.

When single Isabel moves into this family-centric neighborhood, Essie, Fran and Ange are abuzz with curiosity. She’s an enigma. Essie becomes obsessed with her. Isabel was a puzzle I couldn’t figure out. She had a specific purpose for moving to town temporarily and it seemed to have something to do with Essie’s daughter, Mia. But then, BOOM!, a pretty great twist I didn’t see coming. My brain had gone in an entirely different direction. Love a good, unexpected surprise! This was a page-turner and the 4th book I’ve read by Hepworth - love her storytelling.

How well do we really know our neighbors? It seems that when single woman Isabelle moves into Pleasant Court, a lovely little neighborhood in Melbourne, secrets come flying out like balls from a tennis machine. Essie and Ben have two little daughters. It is not news that Essie once walked away from her baby at a park. She went back but how do you get past that? Nigel and Fran seem like the perfect couple. She seems to be the no-nonsense kind of mother, always prepared, but she is hiding a big secret from her husband. Ange and Lucas are raising their two boys and Ange seems to be in charge of the goings-on in the court but they too, are not what they seem. And then there is Barabara, Essie’s mother, who probably has the darkest secret of them all. Isabelle is there on a mission and when the truth comes out, all hell breaks loose.

This book reminded me of watching that lovely little soap Knots Landing. We get these neat little peeks into everyone’s homes. We are voyeurs in a way. Each character adds something to the story. No one is out of place. I love how everything falls together and we really get to know them all. There was one part that made me think “ew” but it was explained really well and I learned something new. Sally Hepworth is such a great author with a way of making you so involved with her characters. Loved this book and look forward to the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press (really becoming one of my favorite publishers) for this wonderful novel.

A quick and interesting read about a group of suburban families in Melbourne. I would have liked to see deeper character development, but if read as popular fiction, it definitely held my attention and had some interesting insights about adult friendship, marriage, motherhood.

4.5*
Do you ever secretly gaze at your neighbor and think, “wow, they have it all.” A beautiful home, a loving marriage, happy, healthy kids and a cute designer dog. Don’t you ever wish you could just have a fraction of that serene, picturesque life?
Well before you wish too hard...maybe just take a peek behind the scenes. As often happens, maybe their lives aren’t so perfect after all. And maybe, you in fact are the lucky one at the end of the day.

When a beautiful single woman moves into the neighborhood, everyone’s heads tilt with curious apprehension about her background and how she’s going to fit in. After all, she is single with no children in sight. And, she seems to be asking a lot of questions...🤔

Told from several POVs each with their own secrets and fears. Each voice is strong and distinctive. I joyfully had no trouble keeping all the characters apart. (Love that)

These are my favorite types of domestic shockers. I’m always trying to guess what lies each character is telling in order to keep their facade going. This book was so well done and kept me glued throughout. If domestic fiction is your thing, don’t miss out on this one!

A Traveling Sister read!

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

For this review and our Full Traveling Sister review please visit Norma and Brenda’s fabulous book blog:
http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

I really enjoyed this book and read it in just a few days! The story had me hooked from the very first chapter. It had everything I loved from family drama to unknown secrets. I enjoyed reading from each characters perspective, as they each had an important role to play within the story. It was very easy to follow along with each character which I thought allowed the story to progress nicely. Overall I gave this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5. I thought the story was sad but left me hopeful for these women. It was the first book I’ve read by Sally Hepworth and I look forward to reading more! Thank you again to St. Martin’s Press, Sally Hepworth and NetGalley for this digital copy.

I'm a fan of Sally Hepworth 's writing and have enjoyed her previous three books. Usually, her genre is Contemporary Fiction leaning towards Women's Fiction but this time out, she's written more of a suspense read set in suburbia that begs the question ... Just how well DO you know your neighbours? If it's anything like this bunch, there's a whole lot of lying, cheating and stealin' going on.

The Family Next Door focuses around a group of women who live on the same small court in suburban Melbourne. As the book progresses, readers witness the secrets, lies and betrayals that are occurring behind closed doors. Let's just say, per capita, it's a lot of secrets!

I think this book had good bones - a solid premise, lots of characters but it grazed over the many issues it raised and the characters felt flat. I liked that some of the struggles of early motherhood are raised but didn't feel the usual emotional connection I expect from a Hepworth novel.

This is a good choice for people who enjoy a book with a toned down Desperate Housewives/Big Little Lies feel. It's an easy read with a twist or two but with a lack of depth to the characters and issues, I fear it's not a story I'll remember for long.

Even though I wasn't as enamoured with this book as I have been with her previous books, I remain a Sally Hepworth fan and look forward to reading her next bookish offering.

Disclaimer: This ARC was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

My reviews of Sally Hepworth's previous books:

Click the links below for my reviews ...

The Secrets of Midwives
The Things We Keep
The Mother's Promise

Norma and I were lost in the sunny, cultivated rich lush coulee with five of our Traveling Sisters reading The Family Next Door and we all ended up in the same Coulee enjoying this thought-provoking and engaging story that led to an interesting and fun discussion amongst us.

The Family Next Door is an entertaining, emotional, compelling, and suspenseful domestic thriller that explores the secrets, deceits, and lies of five women who live in a small seemly perfect suburban neighborhood.

Sally Hepworth does a good job creating a group of interesting women here with all the secrets and conflicts in their lives and relationships. She also does a great job showing us how the conflicts affected the men in the story, allowing us to feel for them as well.

We do really love these types of stories and find them fascinating and often wonder what goes on behind those closed curtains in peoples homes. We enjoyed pulling back the curtains and discovering the layers of secrets as they were revealed leaving us all shocked with a twist that we didn’t see coming.

Even though we ended up in the same Coulee a couple of us ended up tangled in the weeds thinking this was a little too much drama. For the rest of us, we ended up soaking up that drama on the sunny side with a nice crisp glass of white wine not wanting to leave. We highly recommend.

Publication Date March 6, 2018

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for a copy to read and review.

All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog: http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereadi...

My oh my. Have you ever noticed when people post on social media they are grabbing their popcorn to watch the drama? That is exactly what The Family Next Door made me want, a nice big bowl of popcorn while I sat back and read the drama that oozed from the residents of Pleasant Court.

The story starts off with a flash of Essie’s life as she suffers a breakdown as a new mother. The lack of sleep dealing with a restless baby finally made her snap and she wandered off leaving her baby at the local park. One may ask just how could any loving mother possibly get to that point??

But then we dive into the suburb of Pleasant Court a few years later after Essie seems to have gotten her life back on track with the help of therapy. Thankfully her daughter was safe that day and now she has a second baby in her life and hopes to not repeat the past.

As a new resident moves into the neighborhood the ladies of Pleasant Court are left wondering just who has joined them. Isabelle is single and childless so she doesn’t exactly fit the family friendly picture of perfection but she quickly dives in and begins to get to know the residents.

The story switches the point of view between several of the characters as it dives into the secrets and lies of several of the families of this neighborhood. Along with all of the drama the story has a bit of a mystery involved with the new neighbor and a mysterious missing baby.

Practically everyone in the sleepy suburb had things to hide and problems behind their closed doors that kept the drama coming all throughout the story. Much of the story is reminiscent of a daytime soap opera that I just couldn’t turn away from as we take a peek at the lives of the characters in the story but with a bit of mystery mixed in it became even that much more addictive. With great writing and a non stop story I found myself engrossed until the very end and will definitely look for more from this author in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Essie Walker is a new mum to baby Mia and after 8 weeks, is just not feeling maternal. One day, Mia’s crying just gets to Essie and she leaves her in her pram in the park. Thankfully, Essie’s mother, Barbara, who lives next door, realizes what’s happened and gets Mia back home safely.

Three years later, Essie and her husband, Ben, have another daughter named Polly. After Essie’s postpartum depression with Mia, Ben had been reluctant to try for another child, however, Essie seems to be doing fairly well. With her mother close-by, she feels like she can call on her if she gets stressed.

Essie and Ben live on Pleasant Court which has nice family homes. When a new neighbor, Isabelle Heatherington, a single woman, moves in, the neighbors are intrigued and their first thought is that she is gay.

Fran and Ange are people who live on the street with their husbands and children. Although they see each other often, the neighbors aren’t all very close. However, they decide that it would be a good idea to put together a neighborhood watch and call a meeting. Instead of going to the meeting, Essie decides to drop in on Isabelle and get to know her better. They instantly click and Essie wants to be with her a lot.

Knowing her daughter like she does, Barbara feels that Essie may be about to have a breakdown. Soon, all kinds of secrets are becoming known and the solid families realize that things in their lives aren’t as perfect as they may have thought.

This is rather like a soap opera where the lives of each family is opened and examined. Some people are guilty of various things and others are the victims. However, the story is a good one and the ending is not what one thinks it will be. I’m sure readers will enjoy visiting Pleasant Court.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I requested a copy of Sally Hepworth's The Family Next Door because I was intrigued by the premise of a series of lies all coming together to a blow up finale. Call me a Liane Moriarity junkie, and I will agree. (Don't fret everyone, for reference, this book was compared to her work in the promo.)

Pleasant Court in Melbourne is a sleepy street where not much happens except the occasional child injury. Except what happens behind closed doors is always more salacious than anyone will let on. Fran and her husband have dealt with their fair share of ups and downs in the recent births of their two children. Ange spends an ungodly amount of time trying to portray the perfect life on social media with her husband and two boys. Essie and her family are trying to forget about her episode of post-partum depression after her first child and secretly guarding against it happening with their second. Thank goodness her mother lives just next door. When Isabelle moves in to a rental on the street, her urban glamour intrigues everyone, not the least of which features Essie. As the heat builds, both literally and figuratively, everyone's lives will come to a head as secrets come to light and families are changed.

This review takes two positions: the first is that the book itself is a little outlandish, and the second is that it was a fun read. I was reminded repeatedly of Big Little Lies, which, as I mentioned earlier in the post, shouldn't surprise anyone since the promotion for this book compared this book to her work. I'll start with the first statement so we can hurry up and get to why this book was a fun read.

I was into this book for a good long while, because Hepworth does a great job of creating interesting characters. Ange was insufferable in that way that you enjoy reading her and hating her all at the same time. We all know people like this in our lives, women who go out of their way to portray a perfect life on social media when you know your kid blows out his diaper just like mine. It's completely insufferable, and you can easily spot an Ange a mile away. Like, really, we aren't stupid. I dropped most of these people on social media during the Great Unfriending of 2016, but I still have a couple on my feed. I really felt for Fran and the difficulties in her marriage, as that was so easy to relate to. Essie fascinated me, and I wanted to get to the bottom of her issues. Isabelle was intriguing. So it's fair to say I was captivated by the characters, and their husbands too.

The story just went a little off the rails when we get to the crux of why Isabelle moved to Pleasant Court. It absolutely was not what I was expecting, I'll give the author that. It was a surprise, because it looks like Hepworth is leaning left and then she spins right. I liked that. However, once the motives are revealed, the story took a turn for the unrealistic in an eye-rolling way. I don't want to give anything away, because I think the book is definitely worth a read for the fun of it, but it's fair to say that the explosiveness of the revelation was downplayed by the melodramatic plot bits.

Back to the good parts of this book. I mentioned the characters earlier, and I think that the strong and intriguing character development is Hepworth's strength. I also loved the suspense that Hepworth was able to bring to the story, as it kept me intrigued enough to grab my Kindle and read that instead of the hard copy books I keep at my bedside. (I use my Kindle for commuting and don't often read it at home, so it's a testament to the intrigue that I wanted to read this book instead of one just an arm's reach away.) The intrigue is what kept me coming back and pushed me through to the end, and that's why I would recommend this book. It was exactly what I needed in the middle of an edit for my (very emotionally heavy) dissertation -- a bit of intrigue, a dash of character love, and a whole lot of page turning.

Happy Publishing Day to The Family Next Door!

I started this book mid morning yesterday and I finished it last night. It's a quick read and I found it to be intriguing enough to want to finish it all in the same day.

This is a story about 4 women who have secrets. We meet Essie, Ange, Fran and then a new neighbor, Isabelle moves in. This reminded me of Big Little Lies in that everyone wants to know everyone else's business. They also seem to have "Perfect lives" in Pleasant Court...I mean it's named Pleasant Court right? But each family "next door" has their own deep dark secrets and the novel unravels them at a nice pace.

I've read a lot of thriller/suspense novels as that's my preferred genre. As I read a story I always try to guess what may be the twist. I definitely thought I had the major one in this book but I was off slightly to where it gave me a "what??" moment.

If you like stories about families who may seem perfect but have secrets to share and want a fast read then definitely pick up The Family Next Door

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the Author Sally Hepworth for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.