Excellent psychological thriller!  It moved at a fast pace with twists and turns throughout!  Well-developed characters and plot.  Highly recommend!

Lucy is a fairly ordinary school teacher married to drama teaching husband, Matt. Their lives are perfectly normal & Lucy has a variety of friends she goes out with and a local bookgroup she attends. Then Amber arrives in Mulberry Avenue. A minor celebrity (a TV weather girl) and being more glamorous than most of the residents she soon has Lucy caught like a moth to a flame. Their friendship develops and when Amber is stalked it is natural that Lucy comes to her aid.

I very much enjoyed the relationships between people in this book. Lucy & Amber’s friendship becomes very claustrophobic very quickly. Old friends are dropped and Amber & Lucy become each other’s world – or so it seems. This was so well written & very believable – I know I have seen situations like this develop in friendships & it doesn’t always end well.

The plot itself isn’t that complex. There is a stalker & some strange goings on but the main interest of the book is how Lucy & Amber’s friendship works out. I had a fair idea of the stalker from quite early on but I enjoyed how the author made this all work out.

I liked this book. It is well written & interesting. There are amusing moments – Amber & Lucy in unicorn onesies watching romcoms! There are also tense moments. There are a few twists and surprises along the way. I shall certainly be on the lookout for further books by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Teacher Lucy lives in her lovely home in Mulberry Avenue with her lovely husband Matt. Lucy and Matt sadly cannot have children but live a happy life focused on their jobs and each other. Minor local celebrity Amber has just moved into the neighbourhood and it is not long until she and Lucy are firm friends. But Amber has a problem - she appears to have a stalker. A very jealous and threatening stalker that makes Amber feel unsafe enough that Lucy and Matt invite her to stay with them for a while. But is Amber really everything she appears to be?
The psychological, domestic drama genre is pretty well represented just now but this book did stand out for me. The writing style was pitched perfectly and the twists certainly gripped me - the ending was unusual and outstanding. The only flaw for me was that I didn't really like any of the characters and at times felt like shaking Lucy to be honest.
Overall though a very enjoyable read and I could imagine that this would make an excellent film/tv drama. This is an author that I will definitely be on the lookout for.
4 stars and thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance review copy.

Lucy's life seems perfect for her, great husband, good job, nice house and her good friend amber as her neighbour.   Then things get interesting with a real twist that I wasn't expecting.  I really enjoyed this book.

This is another good storyline from Sue Watson.  The friendship between Amber and Lucy will trouble you and stress you and make you want to connect all of the dots!

I could maybe persuade myself to go to a 3.5 stars but round down to 3. It was really slow for me. And I pegged the “whodunnit” from very early on. It didn’t really flesh out one other particular part either.

I was just very underwhelmed unfortunately because I loved her first book. Oh well. Can’t win them all!

A dark gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns.
Lucy has a normal life with a husband and a job as a teacher.
Then she becomes friends with Amber with the exciting job and high flyer boyfriend...and things begin to change 
The book took a little while to get into but I couldn’t put it down wanting to know what happened next.
Great read

I honestly wanted to love this book and, after reading early reviews, I was sure that I would.  However, I just didn’t seem to find it interesting or suspenseful.  Throughout the book there are multiple backstories but in many cases they seemed to be muddled and difficult to follow.  

The fact that I was unable to establish any attachment to or empathy with any of the characters was a major factor.  I found Lucy to be pathetic, Amber conniving and self-centered, and Matt just plain annoying.  The only character I liked was Kirsty.  

The book failed to hold my attention but the promise of a good and unexpected ending encouraged me to read to the last page.  All in all, it was somewhat of a disappointment.  I will give it 2.5 stars but bump it to 3 for a worthwhile effort.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

All Her secrets was such an addictive read with twists and turns that will have you hooked, I enjoyed this one very much.

Wow, what a fantastic darkly woven psychological thriller. I loved this. A story of stalking, friendship, deceit, betrayal and many secrets. I loved the sense of trepidation which built as the story progressed. So many twists and turns as secrets are revealed and the ending caught me completely by surprise which I loved. Such a clever plot so intricately woven. I love how well paced the book is - around halfway through I just couldn't put it down.

I have previously enjoyed Sue Watson's romantic comedies but have really loved both of her psychological thrillers. 

Highly recommended - I loved it and can't wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely not what I expected it to be. It was pretty good. I enjoyed the story and the characters. Got a little slow for me in the beginning but when it picked up I couldnt put it down. 

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman Next Door

Sue Watson writes about two of my favourite things, cakes and psychological thrillers and does both brilliantly. 

The Woman Next Door grabs hold of you and tears along at a terrifying pace. The story is told from two points of view, Lucy who is happily married to Matt and Amber, a glamorous celebrity who moves in next door. 

Lucy takes the vulnerable Amber under her wing when she becomes terrorised by a stalker, she gives her everything and Amber is happy to take it all. 

Sometimes I wanted to scream at Lucy to run away and tell Amber to get stuffed but then I had to accept that both women were getting something out of the relationship. 

This book is creepy, gripping and a compelling read, I couldn’t put it down but when I eventually did it was with a satisfying sigh that one can only get from a bloody good book. 

It’s a great achievement to be able to write so well in two completely different genre’s and I’m looking forward to Sue’s next book whether about cakes or killers.

I'm hard on psychological suspense novels these days, especially domestic suspense. I feel like it's always the same storyline slightly altered, so I wasn't expecting much from this one. I have to say it surprised me. It truly was fast-paced and a fun, easy read. I wasn't ever 100% sure about the outcome until the very end. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre that want a quick read. Some readers may find it too similar to other books with unreliable narrators and slightly repetitive. Overall 3.5. Thank you to Bookouture for the ARC!

Mmmm, I was kind of on the fence about this book for a fair while maybe until the halfway mark when it picked up. The main problem for me is that Lucy one of the main characters is just so annoying! Lucy is an ‘every day Joe’ and has a normal life with her husband and a job as a teacher. When Amber moves into their street everything changes as Lucy becomes good friends with the semi-famous weather girl Amber. It becomes apparent quite early on that Lucy is the one doing all the running in the friendship, and when Amber starts to receive threatening messages the tables turn a bit and Amber starts to lean heavily on Lucy for support.

There is an air of sinister goings on from very early on and that sense of trepidation certainly builds giving the book that air of ‘danger around the next corner’. However at the same time as the book unfolds it becomes one of those, which person do I believe here. There are multiple possibilities and as the book progressed I really didn’t know which way it would go. The last part of the book was absolutely brilliant and I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Fundamentally there is zero wrong with this book because I think the readers are meant to dislike the characters but for me I always struggle if I dislike characters as I find I am just not that invested in finding out what happens to them. Thankfully the story pulled me in enough and and it was certainly worth it. Not my favourite of the two in this genre Sue has written but I will still be looking forward to the next release!

Sue Watson is one of my favourite authors and she has made the transission from rom com to psychological thriller absolutely seamlessly! This is SUCH a great read!  I LOVED it!

Lucy is a kind, gentle soul who goes out of her way to help everyone, especially those she loves.  She is surprised and excited when a local weather girl, Amber Young, moves into the neighborhood.  Lucy thrusts herself into the life of Amber, even though Amber does not welcome Lucy’s friendship.  Soon mysterious texts and packages threatening Amber arise.  This strengthens their friendship to a point where they become practically inseparable.  Chaos soon ensues.

Lucy is very likeable, even if a bit naive.  She truly treasures her friendship with Amber and supports her at every turn.  She has been married for 10 years and is still in love with her husband, Matt.  Unfortunately, the one thing that they most want in the world has been elusive – children.  Lucy puts that loss aside as she gives all she has to Matt and Amber.

Amber is rude and obnoxious then kind.  She doesn’t seem to truly be a trusted friend with Lucy but she does at times pretend to be.  Her character is strong throughout.  Even when crying or scared, you can still feel her strengths.  She is beautiful and uses her looks and fame to get what she wants and manipulates situations.

Matt is a wishy-washy man.  He is also a teacher, like Lucy.  He spends most of his time immersed in his drama productions for the school or local community theatre.  He clearly takes advantage of Lucy’s good nature but does capitulate when she asks if Amber can move in.  His character is well developed enough that I disliked him the entire book, even when he was being kind or helpful.

Without the chance of a spoiler, it is difficult to further discuss the plot or storyline.  Suffice to say a reader will find this book enjoyable.

I recommend this book.  It is a smooth read and has twists after twists at every turn.


I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This in no way affects my opinion or ratings of this book.

Lucy is happily married. She loves her teaching job & has just made her lovely house exactly the way she wants. She enjoys her Book Club & nights out with her friends. All in all it is a good life. When a new neighbour moves in Lucy is keen to welcome her. When she realises she is a minor celebrity- a TV weather broadcaster she is very excited. At first Amber is somewhat standoffish, but soon she reciprocates the friendly overtures & before long Lucy is completely under her spell.

I seem to be against the general flow of reviews as I'm afraid I had to give up about a quarter of the way in. My irritation with Lucy grew to the stage where I couldn't bear to read what else she would do to sabotage her life for her selfish neighbour. I also found it hard to forgive Lucy for the way she gossiped about Amber. All in all this one was not for me! 

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me try to read this book- you can't win them all!

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book was just okay for me. I think it really had potential. It really did not get interesting until about 50 percent through. Lucy and Amber are best friends. Lucy lets Amber move into her home with her husband Matt because Amber has a stalker and is afraid to be alone. Without giving away too much, Lucy was quite annoying and way too trusting with her best friend and husband. The story is told by both friends and the whole truth does not come out until the very last page which does make the book complete.

Quick read with twists you don’t see coming this is definitely a must read for anyone that likes a good thriller.  I would highly recommend this book I loved it.

I really enjoyed the tale..  I did think Lucy was quite gullible and naive but then she had to be for the story to work.  I found Amber to be very self obsessed and selfish. I thought I knew what the outcome was going to be but No!!! I was quite wrong.  I am a fan of Sue Watson's thrillers and have also read the last one she wrote.  She is becoming one of my go to authors.  Well worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley, She Watson and Bookouture for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.