Cover Image: Someone We Know

Someone We Know

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Member Reviews

What a neighbourhood! Seemingly quiet and middle-class on the surface but behind closed doors, there are affairs, secrets, a teenage boy breaking into their houses and a missing woman later found murdered. Lapena keeps us guessing as the murder suspects pile up and the police keep changing their focus. Some of the characters are not very likeable and some seem pleasant enough but are hiding unpleasant secrets. An engaging, suspenseful read with enough twists to keep the waters muddy until the murderer finally reveals themselves.

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Having read The Couple Next Door and thoroughly enjoyed it, I was very excited to read Someone We Know - it certainly did not disappoint. Set in an apparently quiet, close-knit neighbourhood in the Hudson Valley, when a woman goes missing and is later found dead, and a teenage boy has been breaking into the neighbours' houses, it transpires that the neighbourhood is full of secrets. As the search for the murderer develops, more and more people seem to be possible suspects.

There were so many twists and turns it was hard to keep up at times, but this just made me want to keep reading to see what happened next. You are kept guessing right till the end and as a result it is one of those books you just don't want to put down. I loved it and it confirmed that Shari Lapena is an author I am keen to read more of.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for an advance copy.

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I have loved every Shari Lapena book before. Giving them all 5 stars. That was until this one. But if I really broke down the rating I would probably give this 4.75. It was so close to 5. But I felt like I couldn't go with 5.

Usually I find myself captivated very quickly with Shari's writing. But with this it took me until around 25%. When the story was really going. Although I was enjoying it, I found myself not wanting to put it down once I past 25%.

I found myself only questioning the male characters. Never female. I don't know why. Especially as things started to unravel. It could have easily been a female.

I kept going back and forth between the main suspects. That was until the last 15% when I was pretty obvious to me who it was. But even then Shari threw in a twist that had me doubting myself.

I wasn't shocked in the end. But I was on the edge of my seat. Wondering just how many knew things about each other that they never even showed.

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Wow! Loved this book! Sounds like my Guarded, gated, golf course Community! Where a beautiful young wife, and model, was murdered by her husband; he threw her over for a very plain woman! These people are very believable, their troubled teenagers, we have the same, every few years, the kids in this wealthy neighborhood grow up, wanting attention from wealthy parents, not getting it, then home invasion, cars crashed, all within our vaunted gates! I can easily see this happening! I knew who it was for a long time, I wanted to make certain I was right, her husband was the only one not mentioned. What is it with women who don't put their husbands first, then are in shock when they cheat? Incredible! I loved the story, fast paced, a new shocker, enough to keep me interested, in all honesty, I felt like a voyuer in these people's lives! Loved the ending! Will this be a series?
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

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Someone We Know by Shari Lapena was a classic mystery who dunnit scenario…. When a missing woman from a leafy surburb in the Hudson Valley & Catskills turns up dead, the police are flummoxed, with no evidence to go on they go to the obvious suspect, the husband!

In a subplot, a local teenage boy, Raleigh Sharpe has been breaking into houses in the neighbourhood just for the craic, hacking the home computers to gain knowledge of hacking and he seems to be addicted to it…. When his mother (Olivia) finds out after seeing a text on his phone from his friend, she goes mental, Raleigh admits to 2 break ins, neighbours no less and one of them the house where the local woman, now found dead lived… intriguing… Olivia feels awful about what her son did and she writes anonymous letters of apology and posts them through the letter boxes of each house…. BIG MISTAKE!!!

The story is told from many POVs, we get all the background information this way and who has what to hide and what revelations each discovery means…. With so much lies, deceit, scandal, affairs being revealed, can they get to the bottom of who actually killed Amanda? So many people in the suspect pool with various motives, I loved the way the story was so interwoven, you just didn’t know how it would all come together, being drip fed information and thrown red herrings before the big reveal… the story had many twists that I personally didn’t see.

If you love a suspenseful, plot thrilling murder mystery, then you’ll enjoy this one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Uk for an advance copy of “Someone we Know “ for an advance copy for aa honest review.

In the rather overcrowded field of thriller novels , all claiming to have a twist that no one will see coming, some of the genres authors stand out from the rest., Shari Lapena being one of the best.
I thoroughly enjoyed her previous novels, and have recommended them to several library users.
So I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to have an advanced copy of “Someone we know “ to give my opinions on, and it didn’t disappoint.
With so many characters in the mix it would be easy to get confused with ‘ who is who’, which with my awful memory has happened many times while trying to keep track of names in a story, but I found this story flowed beautifully and didn’t cause a problem for me.
Also with so many characters the suspense built up well, and I was constantly changing my mind with ‘whodunnit ‘. I didn’t guess !
I could easily see this serialised on tv and be a smash hit.
I will definitely be adding “Someone we know ‘“ to my recommendations

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I'm a fan of Lapena's writing and loved The Unwanted Guest. It was such a successful closed place/whodunit thriller.
With this book, I have some reservations, but my rating is high nevertheless considering I was glued to the book the whole time! I finished this in a day, and had a fantastic time despite some points I thought could be better.
This book takes place in a middle class neighbourhood. A woman gets killed in one of the houses and all gets tangled in a whodunit scenario. There were many characters, many secrets got revealed during the plot. It was really successful from that point of view.
It got me hooked from page one. Lapena's writing hypnotises me for sure. Somehow, her storytelling engages me like no other. I couldn't put it down.
So, that's why for me it's a 4 star read.
I guessed the person who did it quite early on, and for me it was very obvious. That's why my rating is lower. I also thought, she didn't develop that side of the story enough to satisfy with the motivation, character of the person, etc.
So, overall, it was a very good plot driver thriller that will keep you hooked. But, in my opinion it wasn't flawless.
Would I recommend it? Definitely! It's a lot of fun :)

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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A quiet ordinary neighbourhood? Trusted marriages and friendships? In this novel, Someone We Know, the author Shari Lapena, craftily turns everything and everyone upside down and inside out!! Such a page turner with twists every chapter, every page and with every character. With excellent character development the reader is taken on an unbelievable ride on what feels at times like a roller-coaster; twirling not just twisting, spinning around and back again as the plot and the characters unravel before your eyes. This is a thriller that I just couldn’t put down.

Highly recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers for a copy to read and review.

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As a great fan of Shari Lapena's début novel 'The Couple Next Door' I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read her latest psychological thriller, "Someone We Know".

I have read quite a few books with a similar premise to this one - a murder in a small community, lots of suspects; many characters and several twists, so I began this book in the knowledge of what was to come. This novel has also been a great delight, full of drama and fascinating characters. whether they were loved or hated and unexpected outcomes. There were so many lies, secrets and lots of suspense and it was definitely an enthralling reading experience that had me hooked throughout. ⠀⠀⠀⠀

I am already looking forward to my next read by Shari Lapena.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Random House UK, Bantam Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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As a huge fan of Shari's debut book The Couple Next Door I was delighted to be invited to take part in the blogtour for her latest standalone psychological thriller, SOMEONE WE KNOW.

I have read several books over the years with a similar premise - a murder in a small community; lots of neighbours and suspects; lots of characters and lots of twists, so I started this book in the knowledge I knew what to expect.

How wrong I was; firstly I was concerned I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the different characters (it's an age thing apparently!), but that was NOT a problem here. Each chapter and each character had their own individual voices and it was really easy to keep track of who was who.  What was difficult was to try and work out who did what and why and what everyone was hiding.

There were many layers to SOMEONE WE KNOW told through the many characters from Robert the husband of the murdered woman Amanda, to Olivia the mother of Rayleigh who has been caught breaking into the neighbours houses; and the rest of the neighbours trying to cover their tracks, guilt and secrets from one another.  This book has so many interwoven stories that I found myself totalling immersed in this small neighbourhood wondering who did kill Amanda and what are these people hiding.

If you like your thrillers with twists and turns at every corner, suspects and characters you can't quite work out and a cleverly plotted storyline than I am sure you will love SOMEONE WE KNOW.

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Although I didn’t really like any of the characters or get attached to them, I enjoyed this one. I thought the concept was interesting & there was a twist near the end that I didn’t see coming which is always a novelty! I will be recommending this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A clever plot, that just twisted and twisted. Suspects were suspects, then they weren't. Then they might be again, it just kept you guessing through the whole book. Very well written, but quite a lot of characters so I had to keep reminding myself, who was married to who, and why they might be under suspicion

It just goes to show that you never know who you're actually living next door to!

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A lot of us think we know our neighbours to some degree, we love together in the same streets side by side for years but do we really know our neighbours or even the people in our own homes that well?? Another great read from Shari Lapena. Her books just do not disappoint. This book centres around the suspicious death of a neighbour, another neighbour's son who breaks into houses in the neighbourhood to hack their computers...is he linked to the suspicious death?? What secrets has he uncovered during his break ins?! I was hooked from the first chapter another suspenseful plot twist filled read from Shari. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I love Shari's story telling and her books are one of the ones I automatically add to my TBR pile before they are released. #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #sharlapena #penguinbooks #litsy #amazon #kindle

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Shari Lapena does keep her reader hooked. . This book is just so twisty and saturated with so many false trails and red herrings it was enough to make me dizzy. Her story-telling is flawless - as is her characterisation . My only gripe about this latest offering is the numerous characters in the frame - and my goodness....her male characters are despicable! (Not that some of the females are anything to write home about either!) IMHO, yes, she has written better tales and despite this keeping me hooked I felt there was something lacking eg I would have liked more of the 2 detectives back story - but I guess with a book as populated as this was it would have been difficult to devote more time and pages. Overall though - an enjoyable read and I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

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I enjoyed this and it was an easy read. Certainly makes you think what your neighbours may be hiding! A woman is murdered and someone’s teenage son has been breaking into homes, is there a link?
The police investigating seem to reveal more secrets every time they interview someone.
When you think you have it figured out something changes and at one point I thought I had it but I was proven wrong.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#SomeoneWeKnow #NetGalley

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Another great read from the splendid pen of Shari Lapena. Every one of her novels has been a delight, full of drama and suspense, interesting characters and unexpected outcomes. Someone We Know follows this trend; a close-knit American community is rocked by the murder of one of the wives, and suspicion is thrown on a number of the locals. Culprits are presented and dismissed and re-presented until the crime is finally solved. Very satisfying!

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Fast paced and full of twists and turns. Great characters, all of whom are guarding their own secrets. Really enjoyed this, and would definitely recommend it.

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Thank you Netgalley and the Author. Another great thriller from a great author. I would recommend this to others, I read it in one sitting

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“This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out.” ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀

Just finished Shari Lapena’s 4th thriller and ooh was it a good one! I still haven’t rated one a full five stars yet unfortunately but I will continue to read them as there is something so compelling about her writing. This is possibly my favourite so far! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Someone We Know is a domestic thriller, following the lives of families living in a quiet suburb, who’s lives become entangled after a murder. There are lies, secrets and lots of suspense - kind of a desperate housewives vibe too! I really enjoyed it, although it was a little predictable, it was definitely an enthralling reading experience and I was hooked throughout! ⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’ve been a fan of this authors for a while now so was delighted to see she had another book coming out. The one thing I am always guaranteed with her books is that from picking it up, I know I won’t want to put it down anytime soon. This one was no exception.

The story is mainly set in the neighbourhood of where Amanda, the missing woman, lived. It does flick between different characters but the main one seemed to be Olivia. Olivia is just your everyday wife and mother but with the disappearance of her neighbour, seems to come a whole heap of people with suspicious minds and accusations.

This is one of those stories where it goes to show that you never know what truly goes on behind closed doors or how well do we know our neighbours, or for that fact, the people we live with. There are so many revelations that kept me swaying as to who I thought the murderer was. This is an author who truly knows how to mess with her readers head!

There really are so many suspects as to who could have killed the missing woman. Her husband I immensely disliked from the start. It’s obvious he is hiding something but quite what I was desperate to know more. The further into the story, the more suspects come to light and I loved the build of tension as we know there is only a matter of time before the police discover the killer. When that happens, woah! Didn’t see that coming!

Someone We Know is a truly brilliant psychological thriller that filled me full of intrigue and excitement. It felt like I was one of the residents, joining in on the gossiping and throwing accusations around. I was truly in my element with this book. So many secrets and lies and I couldn’t get enough. I thought the ending was great, my only niggle is it was a little open ended for me leaving a couple of things unanswered in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment as I absolutely loved this book but would love for the author to write a follow up just to tie everything up in my head as I’m a sucker for everything ending neatly.

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