Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of the latest thriller by Nicole Trope - 4.5 stars!

On a quiet street in Sydney during a heatwave, a gunshot rings out piercing the silence. What's going on behind that closed door? The story starts 7 hours earlier when things just don't seem right to delivery person, Logan, as he tries to deliver a package to the home of Katherine, John and their two children. Neighbor Gladys also notices that things are different at the neighbor's house, but she's called the police once too often to report insignificant things, so her husband tells her to wait.

Told from several different POV, this is a tense thriller that will keep you glued to the pages. The characters feel real, each with their own issues and past trauma. There are people who step up to do the right thing, no matter what. A good tale about second chances and looking past outward appearances. Another winner from Nicole Trope!

This is how you do thrillers. OMG, this story was amazing.
The plot was perfect and the intensity of the narrative, off the charts.
I don't want to give away anything but this cast of characters has their ordinary day upended by an incident that pitches the reader into a tightly-woven-at-the-end-of-your-seat-nail-biting read.
Ten glorious stars.
I need to raid this author's Amazon catalogue.

The Family Across the Street will grab you from page one and not let go.

I sat down to read one or two chapters and I could not put the book down , I just had to know what happened.

A few hours later I had my answer and I did not see that ending coming at all.

Gun shots ring out in a quiet neighbourhood .

Before that both the neighbour and a delivery driver just have a gut feeling that there is something wrong at the house of Katherine and John.

The book is tense and the pages turn themselves.

Nicole Trope always tells a good story but this is my favourite by her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a thrilling read.

The prologue just gets this book going! I was hooked - and couldn't put it down. Read in a day.
Katherine lives in a nice house - pool, nice yard, stay at home mom to twin five year olds - George and Sofie.
Her neighbor, Gladys, is the street busybody. She knows their routines, who is who, and calls the police to alert them to strangers.
Logan is just trying- he is trying so hard to leave behind the years of petty crime, break-ins, make peace with the tattoos decorating his body with hate and self loathing.
On this day - their entwined lives hang in the balance together. Will they all make ot out alive?
Wow. Page turning, must read, outrageous suspense up to the end.
Highly recommend.

The Family Across the Street is set on Hogarth Street, an idyllic street where life seems perfect and everyone gets on with each other. That is until The West's move in and there is something not quite right about them.
This book had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I devoured it in one sitting and really enjoyed how the story was told from 4 different points of view.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

È una torrida mattina d'estate.
La casa dei West ha qualcosa di strano: le finestre sono ancora chiuse e i bambini non sono usciti per andare a scuola, né si sentono le loro voci. Lo pensa l'anziana vicina Galdys, e lo pensa Logan, che avrebbe dovuto consegnare un pacco, e il cui tono della padrona di casa non smette di preoccuparlo.
Ma chi crederebbe all'impicciona del quartiere e a un ex-galeotto tatuato?
Intanto, per Katherine e i suoi gemellini va in scena un incubo...

Come nei romanzi precedenti, anche in The family across the street Nicole Trope affronta una delle situazioni più terribili in cui ci si possa trovare, e di cui purtroppo ascoltiamo di tanto in tanto le tristi conseguenze al telegiornale: quella dell'uomo che prende in ostaggio la donna che dovrebbe amare, ma a cui vuol farla pagare perché non si sente da lei amato, o non amato abbastanza, o perché non accetta che il loro rapporto sia finito.
È quanto accade a Katherine e ai suoi figli di cinque anni, una mattina che avrebbe dovuto essere routinaria come le altre, mentre i vicini sono rintanati in casa per proteggersi dalle elevatissime temperature.

Quando ho scelto di leggere il romanzo, fuorviata in questo senso anche dalla trama, pensavo che la storia avrebbe raccontato i vari eventi culminanti, poi, nella tragedia finale.
Invece tutti i capitoli, eccetto gli ultimi, rappresentano un'istantanea di ciò che sta accadendo nella bella casa dei West. Sin dall'inizio siamo catapultati nell'azione, sappiamo che qualcuno è in pericolo, che qualcun altro ha una pistola.
L'autrice, con la bravura di sempre, riesce a creare un background per ogni personaggio, anche per la giovane mamma che si chiede cosa stia succedendo e che non ha alcun ruolo negli eventi, diluendo così all'estremo la risoluzione della storia.

E questo fa in modo che The family across the street risulti molto angosciante, tanto che spesso non sono riuscita a leggere più di un capitolo in un intero giorno. Volevo che l'agonia di quella donna e di quei bimbi finisse, ma allo stesso tempo non volevo ritrovarmi ancora in quell'incubo.

Ho trovato interessante quanto fossero simili il passato di Logan e quello dell'uomo che minaccia Katherine e i bambini, e quanto invece sia diverso il presente dei due, con l'uno che ha combattuto e combatte ogni giorno per riuscire a vivere una vita serena e normale, e l'altro che invece sceglie di mettere fine a tutto con un'arma da fuoco.
Ed è molto realistico e fa arrabbiare quanto Logan sia a priori (mal) giudicato a causa degli innumerevoli tatuaggi che ricoprono il suo corpo, e come debba temere di essere scambiato per colpevole, quando cerca di chiedere aiuto per Katherine.

Un colpo da maestro il plot twist finale, che non mi aspettavo e che fa riconsiderare tutta la storia.

It’s 15th December and a very hot day in Australia. At 2.30pm the quiet community of Hogarth Street is shattered by gunshots. The story backtracks seven hours to when Logan tries to deliver a parcel to the home of John and Katherine West and their five year old twins, George and Sophie. Katherine refuses to open the door to accept the parcel and the whole exchange makes Logan feel uneasy. Similarly, Katherine’s neighbour Gladys also feels there’s something wrong. The story is told from several points of view including Katherine, Logan and Gladys.

Wow! This is how you write a psychological thriller! It’s a well written, fast paced, compelling and gripping page turner from beginning to end. The characterisation is outstanding as each of them have really good backstories that makes them feel very authentic. They all have issues or problems in their lives which are conveyed well and you become invested in them as well as the unfolding drama in the West house. Inside their home the external high temperatures are reflected in the heat of the situation there. It’s fraught with unimaginable danger, there’s rage and hatred boiling over into heartbreaking acts of cruelty and callousness. There’s panic, despair and tension that is so taut it’s terrifying. There are also acts of bravery and initiative that fill you with hope. There are some clever twists in the high octane plot and I like how things link and connect together in the breathtaking finale. The novel ends with such huge possibilities of life giving a second chance to those so richly deserving of it and it feels like the right way to finish. One thing is absolutely for sure, life on Hogarth Street will never be the same again.

Overall, a high intensity, heart pounding domestic thriller that at times freezes your blood. It’s an emotional journey through to a satisfying ending. I’ve never read Nicole Trope before and if this is indicative of how she writes I’m kicking myself for not picking up a book by her before. Highly recommended to fans of this genre.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

3.25⭐️
My first introduction to this Australian domestic drama/psychological thriller author.

We hear from multiple points of view of the residents on the street,Margo ( a neighbour) Logan who has had a rough start in life, his presence in the story is as a delivery driver. Gladys an older lady with her ailing husband. Katherine who is married with twins, and at the centre of the unfolding drama. The unnamed antagonist.

The start is a very slow burn as we get to know the all the neighbours.
It’s a very character driven story. The characters are very well developed.
They are all very ordinary every day people, it’s something that you could envisage happening in your own suburban neighbourhood.
It’s easy to become invested with Katherine, the twins and Logan.

It’s strength is also it’s downside, it took half the book to get the characters back story across which for me makes the pace far too slow, and it struggled to hold my interest.
Then the interest level and tension kicks up several gears.
I don’t feel that the plot is complex enough, I guessed the who early on, but not the link.
There is a fair bit of repetition too.
It’s an ok read.

The Family Across The Street - Nicole Trope

Set in an Australian suburb on a scorcher of a summer's day. Already 34 degrees, early in the morning as Logan starts out on his courier van delivery round.

Billed as a psychological thriller the story is told from four perspectives. Logan is the reformed bad boy trying to turn his life around. Gladys is the neighbourly pensioner who some would consider a busybody. Katherine is a mother of two twins, eagerly anticipating their fifth birthday. The fourth perspective is that of an armed man, whose identity is not initially revealed, intent on doing harm to at least one of these characters.

The gunshots ring out in the prologue. Then chapter one takes us back to the start of the day.

It is deep in character, though I found it rather slow and rambling, with plenty of thoughts and feelings and memories following every little thing that happens.

I would have liked more plot, personally I felt there was a great depth of character in a fairly shallow plot. It picks up towards the end, and I liked the epilogue.

Comparisons are made to Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth in the blurb, but for me, sadly it doesn't live up to the comparison.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre

3.7 Stars

Hogarth Street has pretty houses with happy families, or so it seems. The West family with John, Katherine, and their five-year-old twins is one example.
Gladys and her husband Lou live in the neighboring house. Despite her worry about Lou’s health, Gladys is eager to know her neighbors and misses the good old friendship people used to have with others in their street.
Life goes on until it doesn’t on a hot sultry summer day. Is it the heat making Gladys jumpy, or are her instincts about the West’s family correct?
Do people know each other, or do they prefer not to? How do we draw a line between a helpful neighbor and a nosy one?
Burdened by his past, Logan knows he needs to stay away from anything that could risk his future. But can he stop himself knowing that a woman and two kids, even if they are strangers, are at risk? How will his decision cost him?
This is my first book by the author, and I must admit I’m impressed by her writing. The story has multiple POVs with Logan's, Gladys and Katherine’s are in the limited third person and one in the first person.
The chapters are medium to short and give us more information about the characters. Some of it makes us wonder why it’s needed, but we can see things come together towards the end. The constant struggle Logan and Gladys experience about their instincts was great to read. It’s so easy to get blamed and called names for trying to help. But what if the other person is really in trouble? Their doubts and concerns are relatable.
The pace is decent, though there’s this constant itch of wanting to skip a couple of chapters and read what happens next. Some events seem a bit too coincidental, and there are a couple of things I find a bit unconvincing.
I did guess what the twist could be, though I was trying to connect the dots in the right order. The twist was neither unbelievable nor bland. The hints are there and fit rather well once the major reveal is over.
I like how the book ended with a decent-sized epilogue. Things get better for most characters and end on a positive note. The book also highlights how people with similar abusive backgrounds can grow up to be two different people. It’s not the circumstances that change a person, but their attitude and approach to the situation.
To sum up, The Family Across the Street uses the same tropes of a traumatic childhood but uses them well to create a 250-page story full of suspense, tension, fear, determination, and hope.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I flew through this book in one afternoon. This book is about a terrifying day in one families life. I was immediately sucked into the story because I knew, I just knew, that it would contain a big twist. I was not disappointed. All I could say is “what!” One tragic day that reminded me of how small the world really is and the long arms of consequences.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Nicole Trope is on my list of must read authors and she did it again with this one. This one is heart stopping that makes you race through the pages and guessing until the very end. She hit it out of the park with this one! Loved it!

Thrilling, intense, creepy and all together amazingly constructed.
“Home Sweet Home” is a novel to any and all who love a good thriller with a twist.

From neglected children to domestic violence, from nosy and meddlesome neighbors to second chances – This book has it all, and it really is a thrilling reading experience. The story is told from several different viewpoints, and while this technique gives a very intense feeling of almost being there yourself, it can also be a challenge to keep track of all the various characters. But still – The story blows my mind!

Nicole Trope has written an impressively complex thriller. Viewing the story from multiple perspectives, it is fascinating to see how Trope tries all the different angles together in the end.

Thank you so much for the ARC <3 @netgalley and @bookouture
I will come back on August 6th and publish reviews on Goodreads and Instagram.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's exciting new thriller HOME SWEET HOME.

Nicole Trope never ceases to amaze me with her stories. From contemporary family drama to domestic thrillers to...this! HOME SWEET HOME is anything but and it is not what you would expect either. It is a day unlike any other in a house on Hogarth Street, a busybody neighbour and an unsuspecting delivery driver. The adrenaline rush I felt as I propelled through the pages to read this book in one day kept me absorbed and guessing till the end. Ms Trope almost fooled me...but not quite, as I unravelled everything in my mind to piece together possible scenarios...but I was still left reeling.

In the midst of an Australian summer, 15th December, a day that is forecast to reach 39°c, slowly unfolds through the eyes of four people over seven epic action packed hours. It begins as a warm morning at 24° at 7.30am with ex-con Logan arriving at an address in Hogarth Street to deliver what is obviously a laptop computer. He takes in the affluent area, the two scooters laying in the front yard as he makes his way up the path to the front door before ringing the bell. He waits. Just as he thinks there is no one home he hears a shuffle behind the door as the woman says she cannot open the door and to just leave it on the doorstep. But he can't do that as this delivery requires a signature. Failing that he will leave it at the local post office for collection at a later time. But there is something in the woman's voice...a pleading to understand that she cannot open the door.

Ever since his three year stint in prison for break and enter whilst high in crystal meth, Logan has turned his life around and is trying to get back on track whilst struggling to put his neglected childhood with toxic parents behind him. He met and married Debbie, a midwife and nurse, and had taken on this delivery job with his brother-in-law Mack. All the while maintaining concern for his younger sister who had swapped an abusive father for an abusive partner. But if there's one thing his criminal past has given him it's an instinct for danger. And that is what he sensed when attempting to deliver that parcel to Katherine West. Something was not right at that house. But what, exactly? And should he get involved?

Seventy year old Gladys wakes a little later than usual on this bright and warm morning. Usually the noise of the twins next door have woken her but not today. She comments on this fact to husband Lou who lays in bed beside her to which he responds that he was woken by their father screeching out of the drive like a bat our of hell at 6am. As the day progresses, Gladys can't help but feel that something is amiss next door. The children's bright blinds are closed when normally they would be flung open, as are the rest of the blinds in the house. Lou says they are probably trying to keep the house cool and Gladys agrees that he is probably right. But...the twins haven't even walked past on their way to school, waving frantically at their elderly neighbours. And that is strange. Maybe she'll pop over there and see if everything is alright. But when she does, Katherine assures her that all is fine through the closed door. However, as the day progresses, Gladys has the continual growing feeling that something is definitely amiss.

Katherine holds her children, Sophie and George, closely as the man sitting in the recliner chair opposite points the gun at them unable to believe her decisions have lead to this moment. What does he want from them? She loved him and thought he loved her. But all Katherine can think about is saving her children, whatever the cost to herself.

And then there is the unnamed character who was once a boy and is now a man and the tragic tale that was his childhood that has left him bitter and hell bent on revenge with the parting words of his father to "never trust a woman" at the forefront of his mind. And the belief that Katherine has betrayed him.

Six foot four tattoo-clad Logan and 70 year old neighbourhood busybody Gladys have nothing in common and yet the days events bring them together. Neither of them can ignore the niggling feeling that something is very wrong at the West household. Will they follow their instincts and alert the authorities? Or will it be left up to them to save the family trapped inside?

HOME SWEET HOME begins with a bang as the tension mounts throughout the ensuing chapters told from the alternate perspectives of Logan, Gladys, Katherine and an unnamed mystery person. The pace remains edge-of-your-seat as the hours unfold over the course of this action packed day. To even provide backstories to the pertinent characters without ever leaving the present story at hand is so cleverly done it's ingenious. The emotional journey the reader is taken on through the lives of these characters is heartbreaking and poignant.

Whilst being a domestic thriller in one sense, the story also touches upon the very sensitive issue of marriage breakdowns and how all too often children become pawns for feuding parents. It also highlights the importance of second chances when one's past circumstances and the choices once made do not have to define them, as seen in the case of Logan in trying to put his past behind him and move on.

Nicole Trope never disappoints with her ability for storytelling complete with tension that is palpable throughout. As always, her writing is brilliant. There has not been a book of hers I haven't enjoyed and I always look forward to the next one. Each one is different and unique and HOME SWEET HOME is no exception. It certainly wasn't what I expected but boy, it was still sooooo good!

If you are looking for a compelling read that you will have difficulty putting down, look no further! HOME SWEET HOME will have you riveted from the very first page. If you love domestic thrillers and/or family drama, this is a must read.

I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HomeSweetHome in exchange for an honest review.

A great author is back with another good story,intense and intriguing this time we are in a ‘idyllic’ street where surely bad things don’t happen
Told from multiple POV’s it was well done and a goodish ending,
Very interesting how perfect can suddenly change

Home Sweet Home by Nicole Trope is a psychological thriller novel. The story in this one is told from multiple points of view as a hostage situation is unfolding in a quiet neighborhood.

One day on Hogarth Street neighbor Gladys notices that the house next door seems overly quiet. The West family consists of Katherine and John and their five year old twins who are never this quiet in the mornings. Gladys don’t want to interfere but she begins to keep an eye on their house.

Logan is beginning his day as a delivery driver when he pulls up to the quiet home on Hogarth Street. The box Logan takes to the door seems to be a computer and needs to be signed for so he patiently waits an answer at the door. When a lady does answer she refuses to open the door and seems off to Logan so as he goes about the rest of his day he can’t forget the home on Hogarth Street.

I have read a couple of other books by Nicole Trope so I figured once I picked this one up I would have trouble putting it down and sure enough that was the case yet again. This author just has a way of pulling you in and making those pages fly by. It seems though I always find something to nitpick when it comes to her thrillers with this time being that I found some of the twists to be a bit over the top. As much as I love some great twisty endings I don’t want them to be something that seems harder for it to really happen than picking winning lotto numbers. I think this one would probably have been a lot higher than my three and a half stars if only things weren’t forced together a bit too much in my mind.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is very intense. I liked how Nicole Trope gave us back ground on the characters. It made the story move slowly at times. I did not enjoy that children were part of this story, that was really hard to read.

The twist toward the end of the book was really interesting. I didn't see it coming, which made it even better.

Wow what a book! This book opens with gunshots - three! and then it goes back to the start of the day and lots of different information is revealed. The book tells the story through the eyes of different characters, Gladys the older woman who lives across the street who is caring for her ill husband, Lucas the delivery driver who has made a lot of mistakes but is trying to make them right, Katherine, a mum to twins who would do anything to protect her children and then an unknown man. This was a brilliant way to tell the story - it slowly gave little bits of information and it wasn't until the end that all the pieces of the puzzle were revealed and it all slotted into place!

This was fantastic book - i couldn't put it down at all and the plot twist at the end was fantastic. This was my first book by this author but it definitely wont be the last!

Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty tree-lined avenue with it's white houses. The new family, the Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and Josh seem to love their five year old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald -green lawn. But soon people start to notice: why don't they join backyard barbeques? Why do they brush off offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they just shut you out, rather than invite you in. Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out.

Logan has got himself a job as a delivery driver working for his brother-in-law when he has to drop off a computer, his first drop of that morning. But when he knocks on Katherine's door she tells him she can't open the door just now. Logan tells her if it's because she's got no clothes on, he'll wait, but Kathrine empathises she can't open the door just now. Something tells him that something is not right, but he carries on with his work. Katherine's nosey neighbour, Gladys, also thinks that something is wrong as the children's blinds aren't open yet. She tells her invalid husband Lou that she is going to see if they're needing help.

The story is told through multiple points of view. What a completely twisted thriller this turned out to be. I loved the authors style in writing this book. Each character had their own issues, some more than others. We are gradually drip fed the information behind this story but not all's as it seems. I was hooked into this story from the first page. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #NicoleTrope for my ARC of #HomeSweetHome in exchange for an honest review.

What an engrossing, nail-biting read! This compulsive novel grabbed me right from the start, with a shotgun being fired inside a neighbour’s house. And so begins the fast-paced action!
The story is told via flashbacks to the build up to this situation and from three POV:
Katherine, the mother inside the house with twins George and Sophie; Logan, a heavily tattooed ex-con, trying his hardest to conquer his anger issues and turn his life around; and Gladys, an elderly ‘nosy’ neighbour, looking after her husband whose health is rapidly declining.
This is a strongly emotional and all-absorbing story, all the back stories had me gripped, caring about all the characters and the complexities of their individual lives. It has been intricately plotted with twists aplenty. It is, at times, quite brutal, but always realistic and totally absorbing. I read late into the night to reach the final, nerve-wracking conclusion but was relieved that the story was completely wrapped up for me.
Totally recommend this book!