This book hooked me from the beginning - it tracks two different women's stories that become intertwined. Sofia is a victim of a traffic ring that has her imprisoned in a house as a domestic for a cruel woman and her husband. Beth is new to the neighborhood and lives next door to the house where Sofia is trapped. I really liked the ingenuity and scrappiness of Sofia trying to survive and escape her situation. I must admit that the ending disappointed me but it was still a great diverting read.

This was a good read but, at times it was quite slow and dragged a little. Then towards the end it git exciting. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Oof this book was quite the let down. It had such an interesting premise, especially when it started to turn towards the domestic slavery route but it was just not well executed. The characters fell flat and the story was written more in a tell rather than a show format. It was like reading long lists of things each character did for the day. There wasn't any real sense of suspense or intrigue. For most of the book I just skimmed over looking for the interesting parts because half of the book was about Beth trying to form a book club.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I almost dnf-ed this one several times, but I’m glad I stuck it out until the end.

sofia, a victim of human trafficking, has been kept in the attic of a house for 2 years with little to no help of rescue. beth, a brand new neighbor to the neighborhood, is determined to meet all of her new street mates. we all see where this is going right?

there were a lot of elements that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout this one. I loved the bouncing point of view between beth and sofia and I kept thinking how similar these two women might be if one hadn’t been kidnapped. the emotions were super high in sofia’s chapter, and it made me feel disgusted and empowered to be more vigilant in my own neighborhood.

however, I felt the book was very centered on victim blaming at times. it went into great detail of sofia’s “mistake” that led her to be kidnapped. I would have loved to see a few chapters from sir and madam’s point of view to reassure the readers that they are the evil souls in this book, not sofia.

it was a quick and easy read, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read more about these very real scenarios.

thank you to netgalley and joffe books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

1.5/5 stars :’)

I really liked this book. It is the first thing that I have read about domestic slavery and I found it very interesting. The poor girl that was kidnapped was beaten, not given much to eat, and worked very long days for three years before she was rescued. It is a very sad, but realistic, story. The writing is superb and the characters are very true to life. I enjoyed this so much I am going to look for another book by this author. I highly recommend this to those who like this genre.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I was quickly gripped with the story and raced through to the end.
I was a little disappointed with the ending as I kept expecting a twist which didn’t really come.
I’ll definitely read more from this author in future.

Do you really know your neighbors?

What happens when you see something and just cant "unsee" it ?

The Perfect Neighbour is a WILD RIDE to say the least. Susanna Beard has a talent that that can not be overshadowed. I absolutely loved her writing style and can not wait to see what she will come out with next.

A GRIPPING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM A BESTSELLER.

Beth wants to love her new home on a quiet suburban street. She wishes she could make friends with her beautiful neighbour Oksana. She longs for a new group of friends. Welcoming neighbours to visit. Coffee dates and dinner parties.

But life here feels so closed. Then Beth runs into Oksana’s garden one day to fetch her runaway dog, and she sees something shocking that makes her wonder who her new neighbours really are.

On a stroll through town a girl is in a window. The girl scribbles two words. HELP ME. Who is this girl and what are the neighbors hiding.

Tune in September 30, 2021 to find out!

Seemingly Respectable Suburbia…..
Beth finds a new home on a street in seemingly peaceful and seemingly respectable suburbia. She hopes to make new friends, especially with her new neighbours. She is soon to discover that all is not what it seems. A slow burn suspense, told with sleight of hand and empathy both thought provoking and engaging.

Sad and heartbreaking tale of a young woman sold into domestic servitude. When Sofia was planning a trip to work in the UK, she was excited to see the world and get away from her small Bulgarian town. She never expected the horrific turn of events that would land her stuck in a strangers home enduring terrible conditions. Well written and fast paced.

The Perfect Neighbor, by Susanna Beard, is a fast paced thriller about human trafficking. A thriller always seems so much scarier when it's about something horrible that's actually happening all around us. I literally could not put this book down!
Beth and her husband Adam have recently moved from London to a quiet suburban street. After a horrible experience with a group of "her friends", who turn out to be channeling 'mean girls', she's hoping to make friends with her some of her new neighbours. She longs for welcoming neighbours to pop in on for coffee dates and occasional dinner parties.
Unfortunately, everyone seems so closed off. Then Beth's son and, later Beth, end up in their next door neighb6ors garden, trying to fetch their naughty dog. They see a pale girl in a window and she seems to be asking for help. Now Beth is wondering who the heck her new neighbours really are.

I found The Perfect Neighbour to be an OK read. I was really looking forward to it after reading the description but unfortunately it did not grip me as much as I was expecting as it was a little slow in places.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for my ARC.

Unfortunately this book was way too slow for me and the plot was rather predictable. I am afraid that for me it just did not deliver what it set out to.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is written from the viewpoints of Sofia and Beth, with each character clearly defined at the beginning of each chapter.
Beth moves into a large home with her family, and has become a stay-at-home Mum with time on her hands. Getting to know the neighbours is difficult in this community, and partway through the book the reader is made aware that her behaviour created a rift with her previous neighbours so she is now cautious of becoming closely involved with others. Sofia is a teenager from Bulgaria, who has been kidnapped and is now kept prisoner, and expected to work within the house for no money, little food and frequent beatings.
The book was very hard to put down as Susanna's writing clearly showed Sofia's emotions and how hard it was for Beth to notice her and raise an alarm. It was well-written, and I found myself empathising with Sofia's alternating hopelessness and determination. There was an extra twist to this tale, finally concluding in the final pages. It was an excellent book.
I had not read anything by Susanna Beard before reading this book, and I would definitely read more of her books.

I'm afraid this one wasn't for me. Too slow in paces, I couldn't find myself caring enough to want to keep turning pages.

This was a gripping read that i couldnt help but become captivated with, I loved every second of it, it was such a good read

Not a bad read overall, a bit slow in parts and it didn't have me on the edge of my seat or my heart racing. Most of the characters were well described and the storyline was easy to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

If you live in England never, and I mean NEVER, leave London. You will end up in either a suburb or a small town filled with people, keeping secrets ranging from benign to truly horrific. But they will be there. That is what I have learned from reading mystery/ thriller from across the pond. It’s like there was a class and the results are being released every few months for year.

This one was just not for me. The snail pace of the story the lack of mystery and true element of any kind of surprise was just ahhh so disappointing and slightly painful. I truuuuly dislike being such a negative reviewer but I must speak my truth and my truth is this book was a big nope.

It is told in two point of views. Sofia, a girl who is miserable and a cleaning slave to a ritzy couple. Then there is Beth who just moved into the neighborhood and is trying to adjust to the new atmosphere that isn’t as friendly as her previous home in London. She sees Sofia one day in the window holding a help me sign and is floored.

That’s it. That’s the story. Add in how it ends and that would give you the entire story that was just overly fluffed. Negative Nancy here on this one to suggest to the avid mystery thriller readers to skip over this one. Eek.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick (and short) family drama/psychological thriller. The storyline had me hooked from the start and I read this book straight through in a day. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

And it is a quick 207 pages read
But it’s not bad, new neighbours in a posh exclusive street, a Louboutin wearing Russian neighbour and a girl seen waving a ‘help me’ sign from an upstairs attic, add a mysterious gardener ‘Matt’, a bit of investigating work from the new neighbour and Bob’s your Uncle
There is of course more to it, the story is told by Beth, new neighbour and the mysterious girl and it does quite quite tense in places
As with some of this type of read it could all be solved if the kidnapped girl had actually tried to do more to escape and speak to people who came to the house ( visitors etc ) and as for Matt the gardener his excuse for not doing anything, although valid in reality meant he would have done the opposite to nothing
Some good bits on a book club and Beth’s previous job as a bookseller are in the story although not relevant to it
I have to admit to not understanding the ending at first,well I understood it but not sure why it was the ending, I think after a few more reads I have ‘got it’

5/10
2.5 Stars