2.5/5 stars! Neither a great nor a terrible entry in the thriller genre. The setup for this story was good and some of the follow-through went well. But the author's decision to put in different timelines made it challenging to follow and the author didn't do enough to make us want to root for the main character. It was a believable plot and I think the author has a real shot in the genre with some more work.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

“The Mistress Next Door” by Lesley Sanderson is a domestic thriller. This book started off with the infamous “shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph” manner that I like. That beginning hooked me into the book. This book had dual timelines, in this case one of the timelines gave background information. I cannot believe that I’m going to write this, but there were so many characters that I actually became lost trying to keep track of who was who, who was related to who, and who did what with the main character. I didn’t see the twist coming, which is unusual, though I was wondering how the dual timelines were going to connect in the present. This book had a lot of promise, but for me while it was engrossing, I could’ve done with fewer characters. I’ve read a few books by this author previously, so it could just be that this one wasn’t for me. However, I’ll be interested in picking up her next book as I do find her writing engaging. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I loved this book and raced through it. There are plenty of twists and unique characters which makes for a great domestic thriller.
It’s fast paced, engaging and a hugely entertaining read.

This book is not for me, my first DNF for this year. When you put in a lot of characters already in the first chapter, I dont know. Nice cover by the way.
But still thank you Netgalley

Firstly, thank you to Netgallery, Bookouture and Lesley Sanderson for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author and it definitely won’t be the last! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an action packed thriller!

It was a fast paced and kept me guessing throughout a perfect book for psychological thrillers fans alike! Wow the end I did not see coming! I would encourage everyone to read this book it’s brilliant!

Overall I throughly enjoyed this book and all the plot twists that it presented.
10/10

From start to finish this book had me enthralled. I swore I knew all the answers & I was wrong!!! I thought it was a great quick read. Took me less than 48 hours to finish it. Made me wanna read more by this author. Definitely a great start to 2023 books!

Wow so well written tense chilling.A book that kept me guessing had me reading late into the night could not put it down.A book and an author I will be recommending.#netgalley #bookouture

What a book!! I was hooked from the very beginning. I thought I had it figured out but then there was twists and turns and had me guessing to the end.

A truly surprising domestic thriller with lots of Who done It red herrings. I would love to see this as a Netflix show!
Harriet is doing her best to keep things together in her wealthy enclave but she needs help and Oliver, her so-called hard working husband is rarely around. Will the new Nanny be what she needs? Is her neighbor having an affair? Who is sending her these horrible notes?

Trust me, you will enjoy this one!
#Bookouture #TheMistressNextDoor #LesleySanderson

3.5 stars

We meet our main character Harriet, who is a mother of twins and a baby. She is struggling, building out her own business, keeping her household running now that the nanny has left them and has a husband who is a workaholic and always travelling for business. On the outside it may seem like Harriet has it all. With her lovely house in the nice community of Prospect Close, were neighbors are always watching and everything feels save. Until Harriet's daughter goes missing and mysterious notes turn up threatening Harriet.

I think The Mistress Next Door has everything to be a good thriller. And I quite enjoyed reading it. A main character with a deep dark secret, a community that likes to gossip, a cheating husband and a anonymous villain. The book took of with a bang and caught my attention right away. The story flowed nicely and the writing was engaging.

But and here comes the buts... I think this book needed a bit more editing before it enters the market of thrillers. Lets be honest... there is so much competition in the thriller department and this book, well... its not bad, but it isn't outstanding either.

The community and the inhabitants feel a little to much like a bunch of desperate housewives. Harriet is constantly complaining how busy her life is and she needs a nanny so she can expand her business further. But you don't see her working for even one minute in the book. When she finally gets a nanny she is going to the gym, eating cake in the locale cafe. Honestly how many pieces of cake can one person eat in one week time?

Then there is the deep dark secret she is hiding even from her husband. I was really expecting something dark and horrible. When it was finally revealed I was flabbergasted by what a sad little secret it was. I couldn't for the love of me understand why she would keep it a secret from her husband.

Also it was a shame that the villain was all ready giving itself away in the first chapter. In the first chapter the villain mentioned several things about herself that narrow the suspects down to two and a little further down the line to one. I think this is something an editor should have pointed out and fixed before publication.

Overall a decent story that will keep you entertaint. Not a book that will stay with you. but entertaining enough for a rainy afternoon.

My Review:
Enjoyed!!!!! Deep dark secrets, lies, affairs and so much more within a small tight knit community. What more could you want from a book? I know these are all my favorite things I look for in a great read. I want to start off by saying that this one does start off slower but hang in there and you will definitely not regret it. It picked up to an ending that left me shocked and speechless. The only negative thing and the main reason I’m docking it by one heart is at the very beginning they throw a lot of names at you all at once. It took me half the book to finally remember who each person was and who they were related to. Normally this wouldn’t throw me off but at the beginning of the book the author had a big event that happened and it was hard to catch up with all the names after that. With all this being said, this is not my first rodeo with this author and it certainly will not be my last. She always writes a book that leaves you wowed and stunned by the end. This one was no different. I couldn’t believe what was happening and why it even did. I can’t wait to read more from this author and hopefully the wait isn’t too long.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 4 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️

As soon as I opened The Mistress Next Door by Lesley Sanderson, I knew that I was in for a fun ride. Ms Sandersin has always been an automatic read for me, and her latest certainly reminds me of all of the reasons why.

Harriet is fiercely protective of her young family, some would say overly so. What her neighbours in the Close don't realize, however, is that Harriet has a secret from her past, one that continues to haunt her. Someone very close knows what she is hiding, and poses a very real threat to all she holds dear. What will it take for Harriet to keep her secrets close, and her precious family even closer?

Lesley Sanderson has done it again, and I was flying through the pages to untangle this perfectly crafted tale of domestic suspense.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

2.5 stars rounded down. The synopsis sounded thrilling, and most of the reviews were positive, but this one just didn't work for me.

The whole plot was a clunky mess, and the dual timelines, which I normally love, were confusing and felt disjointed. The characters all seemed one-dimensional and flat, and I couldn't relate to any of them and found the main character extremely annoying.

I thought this would be a clever domestic suspense, and I think it would have been successful had the story focused on the one event that the title suggests instead of trying to have a dual plot line that just wasn't successfully tied in to the main story.

This was my first read by this author, and I'll try another to see if it was just this book or the author's writing style. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this early read. THE MISTRESS NEXT DOOR will publish February 15, 2023.

Harriet and Oliver live in Prospect Close with their three children. Oliver spends most of his time at work in London, and Harriet is starting out a new venture making children's clothing.

Harriet is haunted by her past, and is afraid that someone finds out what she did.

Her daughter, Tilly, is taken from the park, in full view of the many people who were there, and Harriet receives threatening notes, telling her that she does not deserve to have children.
Tilly is found, and Harriet vows that no harm will come to her children, and is very aware and careful of who she allows into her life.
Meanwhile, she is also suspicious of Oliver. Convinced he is having an affair, she does some investigating.

I was immediately drawn into this book. I found it well written and I was totally engrossed, intrigued to know what Harriet had done in her teenage years that haunted her so many years later.
I would definitely recommend this book to readers.

I hope the title (The Mistress Next Door) doesn't give the storyline and plot away; I'm already suspecting a certain person just in the first few chapters. Luckily, the writing was done well, so I continued to second-guess and question my assumptions.

One thing that bothered me was Harriet continually stating that her husband, Oliver, didn't know her secret. Yes, as a reader, we can remember these details and don't need to be hit over the head every other chapter about the same things already revealed.

The story was a slow burn. It was interesting, but it felt like it took forever to get to the end and the big reveal. I would not consider this "an utterly gripping thriller." It did have some good twists, though.

Overall, an okay read for me. It mostly held my interest, and the ending was good. I would rate this a 3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4).

#TheMistressNextDoor #NetGalley @bookouture

I loved this book by an author I have not read before. We join Harriett whose life is turned upside down when one of her twins vanishes from the local playground. As the whole street search start to search for the missing child not only is Harriet’s life thrown into turmoil but also it appears someone knows a secret from her past that may ruin the life she has built for herself and now her husband can’t be contacted. This book grabs your attention and does not let go and I was not expecting the ending. Loved it.

What a fantastic psychological thriller kept me on the edge right to the end with lots of twists and turns and what a great ending I thought I had it figured out but it shocked me.

Harriett and Her family live in a friendly community called Prospect Close. While at the park one of Harriet's twin daughters goes missing. She is later found unharmed. But then Harriett starts to receive threatening notes. Also Harriett's husband, Oliver, has cheated on her in the past and she has found a clue that it may be happening again. So not only is she dealing with threats also her husband playing away. It will keep you hooked right to the end. I will definitely be recommending this to all thriller book readers.

Such a great read! It takes you on the twists and turns of what it is like living in a perceived close knit community and the mysteries and deceit that occur. Will keep you guessing till the end! Can't wait to read more from this author.

Such a fun quick and easy read. My overall conclusion being just that the husband was horrendous and I hated him with a passion. Which I guess is a sign of good writing if it makes you dislike a fictional character so strongly. This is a pretty typical domestic noir. It has the twists and turns you'd expect. Its not the most realistic, this whole drama isn't something that would every be possible in the real world but hey, that's why the book is a fiction. The characters are well written and you do get invested. As I said, hubby is the most vile creature I've read about in quite some time. The ending is very abrupt, all of ansudden Its the James bond villain laying out the motivation, methods and background for every single thing they've ever done which...... really? I think most people would just stay quiet to avoid extra charges but again, fiction! Or why the police don't bother up a kindapping?! But I digress, the book is good and you will find yourself flying through it just to find out what's going on and who's behind it since our girl is out here just suspecting everyone!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for another AMAZING read!!!! I LOVED The Mistress Next Door. I didn’t see who the culprit was until the end, and what an amazing ending!!!!!!! This was a really good book, the only thing was there were too many characters heaped on you in the beginning so I was confused who went with whom. When that was figured out, I just kept enjoying Every chapter. You will soooo Enjoy this.