This novel shows the dark-side of living in suburbia. Alterman weaves a tale about the residents of affluent Oak Hill whose favorite past time is gossiping and judging their neighbors. But when little Billy goes missing everyone has an opinion on what has happened. This is a multi-layered story as we meet the many residents of Oak Hill and their own secrets. The book, coming out July, 2022, is well crafted and will make a great summer read. There are some sympathetic characters as well as those that are not relatable. I finished this in one day, it clearly kept my interest. I would high recommend. Four stars, Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane book for this advanced copy in exchange for an hones review.

Allison Langley ditches her husband and their supposed perfect life in their perfect house in Oak Hills in the middle of the night. In suburbia, everyone thinks they know your business, so the the tongues start flapping with gossip, true or not.

But then five year old Billy Barnes goes missing while walking home alone one day. Suddenly, everyone is a detective, or a pretender that their own lives are perfect while dumping on Billy's mom Rachel, whose marriage is rocky and who has a stepson who is as much a jackass as his father Ted, Rachel's husband, although for different reasons. They also lay blame on 18 year old Cassidy, the babysitter, who was late getting to the house. It's hard to say if Billy went missing as he was walking home, or if he made it home, and was taken from there. The police can't find anything, and when they drag the pond, it turns into a neighborhood event, with everyone watching.

Another child goes missing - also under Cassidy's care, and you can imagine how well that goes over with the neighborhood, which had started to feel sorry for her.

The story is told from various members of the neighborhood, but only the women. That includes Rachel, who is absolutely torn up about her missing boy, Cassidy, who can't bring herself to tell the truth about why she was late, and Allison, who has escaped the neighborhood for reasons she details in her pieces of the narrative, and who is obsessed by Billy's disappearance.

The story is interesting - what white bread shark's nest suburbia isn't, when they're ready to chop one another into pieces? - but there was at least one POV chapter I'd have stricken as not adding much to things other than trying to be Cassidy's conscience. The villain is not entirely out of the blue, and the ending hints at a possible not-sequel-but-next-book sort of thing.

The writing itself is fine, and while there are a couple of draggy bits here and there, I chalk that up to typical going about life things: most peoples' lives are boring and routine, and sometimes the narrative has to show that.

Three and half out of five stars, rounded up to four, because the book works.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

A strong 4.5, actually. I especially liked that the characters had believable individual motivations for doing things, rather than existing as an aspect of one character's narrative.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

Just finished reading “The Perfect Neighborhood” by Liz Alterman.

It opens with a woman leaving her husband and then goes to the story of a young boy who goes missing on his way home from school. Each chapter goes from the point of view of either the wife, the boy’s mom, his babysitter or a neighbour. It can be a little confusing at times especially if you are taking a bit of time between reading.

As the story unfolds you get caught up in the mystery and try to figure out who the guilty party is, especially when another child goes missing.

I really enjoyed trying to solve the mystery and found as it went on it was much harder to put down. It definitely gets you thinking about your neighbours and how well you really know someone.

A great read for this time of year!

Five year old Billy goes missing on his way home from kindergarten in what was thought to be a safe, close knit neighborhood. Gossip abounds, with fingers pointing everywhere. The Perfect Neighborhood is revealed to be anything but, as residents look at each other in a new light as the search continues for Billy. Unfortunately, there’s little tension in the book, as subsequent chapters are spent detailing why everyone has a motive, but it’s a weak plot, and reads more like a YA novel than a thriller. Liked the premise, but it just doesn’t deliver. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you #Netgalley for this advanced copy!

In this suburban thriller, we follow a few women, Cassidy (a local 18yo babysitter), Sarah and Rachel (moms) and Allison (local celeb on the run). This small town seems like the perfect little place to raise a family, at least that is what grabbed Allison and her husband Chris into quickly moving there. Everyone knows everyone, kids walk the neighborhood, parents look out for each other, the perfect place. That is until Cassidy arrives late to Rachel's house where she watches Billy after school, but Billy wasn't there. Panic erupted. Cassidy had a secret as to why she was late, Rachel had numerous secrets about her personal relationships. The town freaks out, wondering what could have happened to the 5yo boy. The story follows the twists and turns and new revelations, eventually Cassidy seems to be in the clear and she has been asked to babysit again, this time for Sarah. And then the unthinkable happens again....a child goes missing under Cassidy's watch. We watch as all the characters are intertwined and keeping their own secrets. This was a quick read as I eagerly wanted to find out what happened to those innocent children with so many locals playing a keep piece in the story.

I never tire of suburbia thrillers. This one involves a neighborhood where a young boy named Billy has disappeared after walking home alone from school. Because his babysitter, Cassidy, was late getting to his house, no one knows if he arrived home and then was taken, or if he was taken while walking. He is only five years old, which causes many of the residents to blame the parents for letting a child so young walk home alone in the first place. They also prefer to believe that this is a domestic incident, based on the tension between the parents and the lack of emotions shown by the father. Considering it an isolated incident makes the other families feel that their safe neighborhood isn't in any real danger.

Of course that goes out the window when another child disappears. And this little girl was also under the watch of Cassidy, who was just starting to regain trust from the neighborhood parents. Cassidy swears she has no reason to be involved and has always loved the kids in her care. Billy's mom, Rachel, has felt the scrutiny of the others, and even though the second disappearance lessens the blame directed at her, she's having a hard time coping and is falling apart. It's clear that someone in this neighborhood must be involved, but who would do this to these families? And how many other children are at risk until the culprit is discovered?

It's a good little whodunit, with many viable suspects. There are typical characters like the gossipy neighbors who love the attention more than they care for the victims. There are also completely unlikeable characters, like Rachel's husband and stepson who you'll wish were the ones that vanished. Illicit affairs also come to light, as they often do in such situations. It's suburban melodrama more than riveting thriller, but that doesn't diminish the quality of this compelling read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

This is a mystery set in a tony suburb (Oak Hills) revolving around the disappearance of two children. The story has a Desperate Housewives (the old TV show) tone to it. Lots of rumors and gossip!

A teenage babysitter is on duty during both of the apparent kidnappings. Was she somehow responsible? If not, who else could have done it? What was the motive?

The author uses multiple narrators to develop the story and to capture the mood of the perfect neighborhood shaken by these two events. I expected a pretty spectacular conclusion after a big buildup, but I found the ending rather underwhelming.

A good story with a lot of not-so-perfect characters in the so-called perfect neighborhood.

Alterman writes a suspense novel that grabs you from the first page until the last, and she does it beautifully. Set in an upscale tony neighborhood the residents do love their gossip, particularly about Allison and Chris, movie star and ex rocker. When she leaves in the middle of the night the gossip mills go into overdrive. But that’s not the only thing that happens, and this once safe neighborhood is no longer secure.

The Perfect Neighborhood by L. Alterman, published by Crooked Lane Books, is a mystery/thriller, a stand-alone book that had me right from the first page.
Everything seems pechy perfect in a suburb, the neighbors are good, everyone is settled - so it seems, birds chirp and the sun's always shining. As if. A boy vanishes freom his way from kindergarden and everything changes in the blink of an eye.
The mother, the nanny, the neighbors, every single one has secrets, opinions, accusations. Nothing, literally nothing is as it seems in this masterpiece.
Excellent written,a can't put down read, 5 stars.

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, and a great who done it! I usually can figure everything out but this one had me stumped for a while! It had lots of twists and turns! I definitely recommend reading this book! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Dark, Neighbourhood Noir…
A seemingly perfect facade may just hide the darkest secrets in this perfectly blended neighbourhood noir. This little piece of suburbia, where apparently ideal couples with ideal families live, is definitely not all that it seems. An immersive tale, narrated well and the gossiping neighbourhood so perfectly well portrayed.

Crooked Lane Books.....
Thank you so much for this eARC! I dropped everything to read this book!

The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman is a wonderful thriller!
It kept me guessing and wondering for so long "what the actual heck"!
Alterman captures all the thrills I was expecting and she blended it so beautifully with the mystery at hand!
I couldn’t put this book down! It is completely addictive and I just wanted to solve the case.
Spoiler alert, I got it wrong!
This is a brilliant debut novel with a compelling mystery and a very original style.
I loved it!
I can't wait to read more from Liz..... She has a great gift here!
This dark suburbia novel will leave you wanting more!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you again Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley and Liz for this intriguing ebook!
I will post and cross post to my platforms closer to pub date!

This book was sent to me by Netgalley electronically for review…this is a mystery almost horror story of intrigue… missing child…every mom’s nightmare…a neighborhood of secrets and mysteries…gossip…there are so many characters, at times, it is distracting,,,and the characters divided up…I prefer a story told third person as a whole..however, his is a don’t put down novel…look forward to more by this author…

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, five year old Billy has disappeared on his walk home from school. His mother, Rachel is wracked with guilt for letting the little boy walk alone and his babysitter feels equally guilty for showing up late. There’s no trace of the missing child anywhere, and when police can’t come up with any leads, Rachel begins to look at the neighbors in her little neighborhood. Could she have made any of them angry enough to take her child? And then another child disappears. This tony little enclave that houses both the rich and the famous, has plenty of secrets. Are some of them dark enough to preclude the taking of children? Creepy and intense

This book is an incredibly creepy thriller about your neighbors. At least all of these people in this book will seem like neighbors you know except maybe one or two lol. This book is spine tingling and a good time.