This psychological thriller started out with a bang but started getting bogged down as it went on. The ending was very predictable.

I received an eARC of The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
5 stars! This brilliantly crafted domestic thriller was fantastic! The suburbs aren't always what they seem. Highly recommend!

This was so good and then it wasn't. It grabbed me and then my interest waned; ok writing but abit wordy for a thriller.

This was a pretty fast-paced domestic thriller set in a rich suburb of New Jersey. There is tons of drama and the neighbors can't stop gossiping. Of course people cheat, lie, and steal. Children go missing and it turns the neighborhood upside down. I would recommend this to anyone new to thrillers who like fast-paced novels, but it honestly felt like every other domestic thriller I've ever read.

I love reading domestic crime and mystery stories. The perfect neighborhood was a great combination. Great characters, great twists and turns, kept me on the edge of my seat. Thank you for my advance copy

there are a lot of things this book does well, and a few it doesn’t, but it was a great suspenseful read and i always appreciate a story that can pull off multiple perspectives well. i think i’m general i just hate an epilogue because they feel so unnecessary trying to wrap everything up in a neat little bow, especially with the characters talking to you directly about it it just feels a too on the nose, i wish it was only allison’s chapter at the end but again it was still a fun read

I have to say while this novel did suck me in from the beginning & there were a few good shockers but unfortunately that's where it ends for the good things for me sadly. I saw a lot of what was coming early on and guessed 1/3 of the way through the who and why. Sadly
Allison, actress & model ups and leaves her husband, Chris, one night. It becomes the highlight of gossip in the Oak Hill community for a few months, until something more sinister happens. One afternoon, five year old Billy is on his way home from school, but disappears before he ever makes it to the door. Cassidy, the babysitter was a few minutes late to meet Billy and immediately becomes the target of looks and gossip. His mother, Rachel is absolutely beside herself with worry and regret. As the police continue to search, there's no leads or trace of Billy. Could Rachel have enemies? Could it be someone close to home? But soon, another child goes amiss and the clock is ticking down. Just how safe and secure is the tight knit suburb where secrets boil under the surface.
I will say the writing was very good & I did enjoy the premise she was trying to write. But the execution was lacking & fell short and needed more suspense and curveballs sadly.

Thank you to NetGalley & Crooked Lane Books for this DARC.
Release Date: July 12, 2022

I give this 2 / 5 Bouquets! 💐

I did enjoy the fact that this takes place in New Jersey (Hello, home state!). A quiet town is shaken when one of their own children goes missing.

The book bounces between multiple perspectives, uncovering their secrets and their growing concern over the missing child, and while the town is already reeling from the disappearance - another child goes missing. Super quick, engrossing read. The ending will leave you rattled at how easily this sort of thing can happen if one person isn't paying close enough attention.

📌 Pub Date: July 12, 2022

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read this book!

The start of the story was very interesting however halfway through I realized what the hook was and actually got a little bored with the story as it took too long for the truth to come out.,

We really never know what goes on in a marriage, and even the seemingly most idyllic ones have secrets that are hidden away from friends and family, and indeed the world at large.

When Chris and Allison move to to the 'perfect neighborhood' they are seen as the actress and musician with the enviable marriage. But no one knows the struggles they have had with fertility. Or that Allison is so unhappy she ups and leaves.

The disappearance of 5 year old Billy throws this town into an uproar. How could such a thing happen? Are they not as safe as they pretend to be? Told from several points of view, the story is cleverly woven together to reveal all of the back stories, casting suspicion on just about everyone.

A well written domestic thriller that every pubic library should own.

In THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD by Liz Alterman Allison and Chris seem to live a charmed life. The former child actress and her retired rock star husband live in a lavish home in an upscale neighborhood where successful people raise beautiful children. Then a child goes missing. Who is responsible for the shocking crime that sends this idyllic town reeling? Thrilling and tragic, this novel is a five star, edge of your seat read.

Great fast read that taps into mysteries relations and assumptions in a small so called perfect neighborhood..I enjoyed the writing style and strong character development
Solid read and grateful for the Arc!

TW: 18-adult relationship, missing child, mention of drugs.

This is perfect for those who enjoy books like Little Fires Everywhere, and if you enjoy a mystery book with neighborhood gossip.

The ending of the first chapter got me hooked to the story and was intrigued to see what will happen.

Oak Hills is supposed to be a safe neighborhood, the perfect neighborhood. The neighborhood’s latest gossip was rounding on Alison Langley - the famous actress - sudden leaving in the middle of the night. However, that all changes when six year-old Billy goes missing after his walk from kindergarten. Some blamed the parents for leaving a child to walk alone unsupervised. And some blamed his babysitter - Cassidy - who was late to arrive to his house.

The writing was really good and kept me wanting to read more. It was fast paced and easy to read.

I’m not sure how I feel about multiple points of view, there was five points of view, even though it was nice to see from different perspectives some felt slightly unnecessary.

Each character had its own distinguish voice, they were all far from perfect which was interesting to read.

I definitely was creeped out by the 18 years old - married man relationship, felt really uncomfortable reading personally so look out for that.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book!

<b>4 Stars</b>

This book jumped out at me because it has houses on the front: and, due to a certain friend’s obsession with books that have houses on the front…I now find myself always noticing books with houses on the cover.

So there’s that.

Then I read the blurb and saw that this was about neighborhood/domestic drama, and I was…SOLD. Because I am apparently all about catty neighbors all up in other people’s business. It’s like honey and I am Pooh.

And the honey here was delicious, folks. Neighbor gossip, backbiting, constant hypocrisy, Revolutionary Road-esque judgement, kid’s club mama drama? Check, check, check, check, cheeeeeeck.

Insert the lazy popcorn eating gif I am too lazy to actually insert right here.

And then children go missing too?

It’s was like a warm reader hug and I devoured it on one day. A great way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

Gossip. It often creates problems. Add it to a small suburban town and things can get bad. Oak Hill is a picture perfect town. Then a boy goes missing and things spiral downward. I could not put this book down! Great beach read! Summer is coming.

“The Perfect Neighbourhood” is a twisty thriller about “the dark side of suburbia and the secrets of close knit communities”. I absolutely love thrillers which take place in neighbourhood communities and all the gossiping and back stabbing that takes place. And Oak Hill is no different. Between broken marriages and missing children, there is plenty to fuel the gossip amongst the neighbours. This made it interesting and I felt compelled to keep turning the page to get to the next chapter. Whilst it was quite formulaic in places (how many books feature a babysitter/nanny/maid/home help/best friend/crazy mother-in-law who’s hell bent on revenge or destruction of some sort), the book did keep my interest and was an engaging and quick read. I’d highly recommend this to all fans of thrillers. After all, who doesn’t love a psycho?

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It is set to be published in July 2022.

"The Perfect Neighborhood" by Liz Alterman is a deliciously creepy thriller about children going missing in suburbia.
The beginning of the novel is very much reminiscent of the Desperate Housewives TV series, but it gets darker and more twisted from there.
I loved how all the different POVs interlocked in a way that felt almost random in the beginning, only to make more and more sense as the story progressed toward the final showdown.
After such an ending as this, the unsettling, disturbing epilogue was just the icing on the cake.
The only thing that would have made me enjoy this book more would have been if the characters had more distinctive voices: I understand that they're roughly all women from the same demographic (except for Cassidy and Allison), but they're going through completely different life experiences, so it would have made sense to differentiate their first-person narrating voices further.
Overall, this was the first novel by the author I've ever read, and it's certainly made me want to check out the rest of her works.

The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman

Two small children disappear in a few week’s period. Who could be involved in this? Two families are going crazy,trying to find their children.

Well-written, keeps you in suspense not knowing where the children have gone. Many varied characters, with their own secrets. Didn’t care for the ending.. It was a cliff hanger.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an e-ARC of The Perfect Neighborhood, scheduled for release everywhere July 2022].

On the surface, Allison and Chris Langley have it all. A beautiful, well to do couple. A picturesque (and oversized!) new home in Oak Hill, New Jersey, that's the right size for expanding their family. They already have a golden retriever. What's left but the baby? But when Allison flees in the early morning hours, taking just a suitcase with her, the neighborhood gossip chain is activated. What could have caused her to leave so abruptly? Before anyone can settle on a reason, everyone's attention soon turns to the disappearance of Billy Barnes, a 5-year-old that vanished into thin air on his way home from school. Perhaps there's more that meets the eye when it comes to this idyllic community.

If you're a fan of domestic suspense and dark suburbia, this novel is likely for you but I don't think it was my jam. The novel was filled with too many extraneous details and points-of-views that didn't add anything to the plot. Some of the writing was also confusing to follow. I was able to figure out the kidnapper pretty quick as well.

An unreliable narrator is a great presentation for a literary class! This will be a fantastic read for those wanting to get into the genre or to analyze across text…