This book will take you on a crazy ride! The twists and turns are at times a little jarring, but kept me on my toes and I was guessing until the end!

This book had me wanting to read all of it in one sitting once the story gripped me. It was very suspenseful with a new kid in the neighborhood who quickly learns her neighbors aren’t “perfect” at all but full of evil and betrayal. The plot has many twists that I didn’t see coming.

Whew! Lots of twists and turns that kept me entertained and turning pages as quickly as I could. Very much enjoyed this fun, fast read. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I was disappointed by this book. I did think I would enjoy this book from the title, cover and description but it wasn't to be. Just my opinion though

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. A great plot, full of drama and suspense with strong characters.
I thought I'd be put off by the German location and therefore a few unfamiliar names (I struggle with Scandinavian novels for example with long locations and Surnames) but this one flowed easily.
I found myself thoroughly disliking one of the neighbours (as I'm sure I was meant to) and feeling an instant empathy with another one (Same).
Add in a back story that punctuates the chapters and really gets you thinking and you have a highly successful book.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this one. And for getting me out of the housework most of the weekend whilst I finished it.

This novel started out with a great deal of promise but sadly deteriorated. None of the characters were likeable and I felt a little anti German rhetoric whether this was meant or not. However, the writing was good and other readers may enjoy it more than I did. I certainly wouldn’t discount reading a future novel by this author

Overall I enjoyed this book. I thought it was really slow and it was only towards the end that it became a gripping page turner. Towards the end there was suddenly a lot of answers. It was only at the end we found out the true character of the people in the neighbourhood.

I thought this book would be very good but I just couldn't get into it

I absolutely loved this. Very unnerving (in a good way!) I’ll definitely be recommending. Thank you.

I would like to thank Harper Impulse/Killer Reads and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Perfect Neighbours’ by Rachel Sargeant in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Helen Taylor moves to Germany to join her husband Gary who lands a position in the Niers International School. They live in a rented home in a road with fellow British expats but although their neighbours appear to be perfect they soon show themselves in their true colours, such as womanising head teacher Damian and his wife Louisa whose upper-class veneer slips when their son temporarily goes missing, to Chris Mowar who likes to film people unbeknown to those he’s watching. The novel starts with Helen locked in a police cell but the reason isn’t revealed until later on as the story progresses. Inserted throughout the novel are chapters about Fiona and ‘Shep’ but as we’re not told who they are the mystery increases.
I enjoyed ‘The Perfect Neighbours’ which I thought was well-written and with a growing number of suspects made it difficult to decide who to believe. It was easy to read and the twists and turns in the final pages created a tense and gripping ending that surprised me as it wasn’t what I’d expected.

Man, I was so disappointed by this book. I hate writing negative reviews, but I have to be honest. I thought this book would be perfect for me - I loved the cover, title, and description, and it tire touted itself as a top ten Kindle bestseller.

However, this book was a total slog for me to get through. I found the story boring, and when it finally picked up a bit just after 50% in (!!), it wasn't exiting enough to redeem how boring it was. Much of the book was confusing and made no sense, and there were several falling plot holes. The characters were all either annoying, unlikable, or boring. They weren't well fleshed out at all and felt like cardboard cutouts. I was so disengaged by the end of the book that I didn't even really care anymore by the time the big "twist" was revealed at the end. Others seem to like this book but it just wasn't for me, sadly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy for review.

Although parts of this novel were very convincing, on the whole I found it irritating to read and in the end I was unconvinced and sceptical.

Helen Taylor goes out to live in Germany with her husband Gary who teaches at an International School. Her neighbours try to make her feel welcome but she turns from them and instead forms a tentative friendship with a German man Sascha. This is frowned upon by her neighbours as he is suspected first of vandalising the garden of the head teacher, then of stalking and finally of burglary. Helen becomes increasingly isolated and unhappy. Then the horrific crime which is alluded to at the beginning of the book, happens and Helen's life is shattered.

This was a disjointed read. We veer from Helen's point of view to that of a seemingly unrelated character, Fiona whose narrative is hard to link in with the rest of the book. From time to time we are brought into the aftermath of the crime and in general this makes the plot quite hard to follow. At one point about a third of the way in I had to go right back to the beginning and start again as I wasn't sure at all what was going on. And even then...

Structure is only one part of the problem though. The plot is melodramatic with a reveal at the end which is frankly ludicrous. But it is the characterisation which is most disappointing. There is no one likeable, no one to root for. We ought to empathise with Helen but her reasons for disliking her neighbours are either stereotypical (sleazy Damien, lecherous Chris) or a bit petty (Louisa is the perfect hausfrau). Her reaction to the tragedy which strikes at the heart of this community is not believable either. Surely she would be absolutely shattered by it but no, not really.

What I did like was the feeling of claustrophobia that you get from being in an isolated community where everyone knows your business. Louisa, the alpha mother with her bitchy put downs of all the other women was probably the most believable character.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I made it through this book, but it was a challenge. The set up and the resolution to the book felt like they just didn't really go together. The premise is really interesting because these days a lot of people don't know their neighbors very well (I know I don't) but it was hard for me to identify with the narrator and to care about her or any of the other characters in the story.

At first I really did not like this book very much. I kept thinking "Stepford Wives in the 60's". I only kept on reading because I had reviews urging me to get on because it would get better. And boy, how it did! When I was half way through (kind of a struggle) something happened and it became so good I just could not stop reading. So: take the effort to get past the first part when you do not really like that, you will get rewarded! Now I am at the point that I will recommend it to anyone who asks for a book suggestion and will be looking forward to her other books.

From the title and the cover, I feel like this book is going to be a super suspenseful and creepy page-turner! The Perfect Neighbours by Rachel Sargeant is a worst case scenario if you move or you happened to not really know the people who live on your street.

When Helen moves abroad with her loving husband Gary, she can’t wait to meet her fellow expat teachers from the local International School. But her new start is about to become her worst nightmare…

As soon as the charming family across the way welcome Helen into their home, she begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. Then Gary starts to behave strangely and a child goes missing, vanished without a trace.

When violence and tragedy strike, cracks appear in the community, and Helen realises her perfect neighbours are capable of almost anything…

I am completely intrigued with the premise and cannot wait to start reading this!

Brilliant book. I started to read it, not quite sure what to expect, but then I couldn't put it down. It was full of twists and intriguing.

This was not my cup of tea. I found the story quite helter skelter which is too bad because this could have been quite sensational. I just found the whole thing quite flat.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the advance digital view!

Synopsis - The perfect neighbours tell the perfect lies…

When Helen moves into an exciting new neighbourhood, she finds herself in a web of evil with no escape

Behind the shutters lies a devastating secret…

When Helen moves abroad with her loving husband Gary, she can’t wait to meet her fellow expat teachers from the local International School. But her new start is about to become her worst nightmare…

As soon as the charming family across the way welcome Helen into their home, she begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. Then Gary starts to behave strangely and a child goes missing, vanished without a trace.

When violence and tragedy strike, cracks appear in the community, and Helen realises her perfect neighbours are capable of almost anything…


The Perfect Neighbours is a psychological thriller with an awesomely twisty and enthralling storyline and manipulative, unlikable characters who are certainly NOT the perfect neighbours. As we get to know these hellish neighbours we learn of the involvement they each have with one another - you definitely don't need enemies when you have friends like these!

Our protagonist, Helen, does her best to fit with everyone. Everyone appears to be hiding some dark secret and as often is the case in reality, there are dark things lurking beneath the perfect facade. Secrets that they will do anything to keep locked away.

The writing was fab for a debut novel, Sargeant is excellent at engaging you in the story and following the lives of these neighbours as their secrets emerge from the depths is compelling. It's a superbly addictive novel that just keeps on giving. The tension ratchets up over time and the book is even rather than fast paced with an air of unpredictability that runs throughout. Finally, the ending ties together all the loose ends successfully.

I would recommend this to those who love a good psychological thriller. I would certainly read more of the authors novels in the future.

I would like to thank Rachel Sargeant, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I originally picked this book as it was recommend based on another book I read so I thought I had to give Perfect Neighbours a go I liked the way the story unfolded. It took a while to really get into the book and develop a love for the characters. But I never gave up and once I got towards the last few chapters I was hooked and could not but it down .... the ending was so good and I defiantly would recommend it this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Rachel Sargeant for a copy of this book.

🌟🌟🌟1/2 STARS
The Perfect Neighbours By Rachel Sargent was my first read of 2018 and I'm very pleased to say it was an enjoyable one.
When Helen moves abroad to Germany to be with new husband Gary she is thrust into a tightknit expat neighbourhood.
All her neighbours and her husband work at the local international school and from the start, it becomes apparent that things are not quite what they seem and as our story progresses we are taken down a rabbit hole of secrets and lies with events eventually imploding into shocking consequences for all involved.
what I liked most about The perfect Neighbours have I had no bloody clue what was occurring at all, I mean absolutely none at all, I was left scratching my head in confusion throughout until finally all the threads of the story were woven together into a semblance of truth.
Deciphering that truth here was half the fun and the perfect neighbours was intercepted with numerous red herrings to mislead throughout.
I would have scored this higher but I really found the main character, Helen, to be extremely irritating and quite prejudiced in her attitude to her neighbours and this spoiled my enjoyment somewhat.
She was guilty of the same reverse snobbery that she liked to accuse her arch nemesis Louisa of and she never really gave any of them a chance deciding from day one that she was better than them.
I mean yeh there were some real dodgy characters here. but Helen herself snubbed her nose up before she had accumulated this information for herself.
Pre-judged totally.
And then there's the husband, Gary the five minutes we actually saw of him wasn't impressive to me at all.
It was like Hi Gary, By Gary, that was the extent of his input to this story.
He was like this none entity, so little was his involvement throughout this.
But yeh The perfect Neighbours does make you think, who are we living side by side with, what are people hiding behind closed doors
I mean yeh myself, I don't really know many of my own neighbours, well just to say hi to in the street, it's the world we live in today sadly.
Books like this do tell me to batten down the hatches and stay anti-social for LIFE!!!!
Neighbours are scary.
But yeh, that is the main reason I scored this down really Helen.
But besides that, this is a good psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Thank You to NetGalley for proving me with an ARC of The Perfect Neighbours by Rachel Sargeant of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
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