Alexis and Sam can’t believe their luck when they find a fixer upper in the posh part of town. Purchasing the house, and all of its baggage, is a tad erratic, but Alexis can’t help but to fall in love with the home’s potential.

But quickly after they move in, tragedy strikes the community- killing one of their own. Everyone always thinks these don’t happen in their neighborhood, but what if it hasn’t been your neighborhood that long? Suddenly everyone is a suspect and nothing is what it seems, making it harder to know what is really going on behind anyone’s closed doors.

What the Neighbors Saw had an interesting, albeit cliched premise. However, I for one could read about naughty neighbors til the cows come home, so I’d sign up for this type of neighborhood watch tens times over. But for all the juiciness this story could have had, I found myself disappointed, mainly because none of the characters were three dimensional, or particularly likable. So when the drawn out truth is finally revealed, not only did I find myself not buying what was being sold, I also wasn’t invested in the outcome.

Some neighborhood drama leaves you wanting to know more. Unfortunately this neighborhood just made me want to pack it in.

I'm a fan of juicy neighborhood stories, and while this one took a bit of time to get going, there are many unreliable characters and they all have secrets. The set up took a while to get going, but overall it was a pretty faced paced book. While I liked it, there were many missed opportunities to insert more twists and the overall book felt like it could you use editing but I look forward to more from this author.

I always remind myself that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. And just because something looks big and beautiful doesn't mean that it's better. I think Alexis discovers this when she moves into an exclusive DC suburb with manicured lawns and all that jazz.

I enjoyed the friendship that Alexis cultivated with Blair, being there for her in her time of need. I think the pregnancy hormones really encourage a woman to become a caretaker and more sympathetic to someone in need of being cared for. However, in the end, Alexis saw the true colors of the whole neighborhood - and just as I suspected, the grass wasn't any greener in this exclusive neighborhood.

Perfect for someone looking for a quick and easy read.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

The book was and engaging and easy read. The characters were likable and the story kept me guessing with every page turn. An excellent beach read.

Such an amazing thriller this book was a page turner. I was in love with the plot twist. I will for sure be looking forward to reading more by Melissa Adelman.

This was a great thriller that had me hooked from the beginning. An interesting cast of characters and setting and enough plot twists to keep me interested. A perfect light summer read, highly recommend,

Thank you so much @Minotaur_Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 20 June 2023)

SYNOPSIS | Alexis & Sam have just moved into an exclusive neighborhood & whilst there home is a bit of a fixer-upper, they believe this is the start of the next chapter of their life. The renovations end up costing far more than anticipated, their relationship is riddled with arguments & rocky at best and one of their neighbors turns up dead by the river trail.

WHAT I LIKED:
- I can never resist a "rich people behaving badly" story

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- extremely slow pacing (doesn't really get going until 85%)
- another story chock full of unlikeable characters
- a surprising amount of body shaming
- Sam came across as a condescending a-hole & I disliked every chapter where he spoke directly to Alexis

Couple buy a house in an affluent DC suburb where everyone is not as they would seem. It's definitely a neighborhood you wouldn't want to live in. A strong protagonist saves the story and keeps it interesting.

I found this book entertaining, especially since I grew up in the DC suburbs. I enjoyed the multiple POV and the unreliable narrators. I look forward to reading what Melissa Adelman writes next. A fun, quick summer thriller.

Read If You Enjoy:
- Neighborhood Drama
- Messy Marriages
- Dual POV
- Unlikeable Characters

Overall Thoughts:
This book is rich people problems at it's finest. It has a Desperate Housewives feel to it. Not everything is as shiny as it seems on the outside. Behind closed doors, its slowly revealed that all the marriages in this book are downright messy and there are plenty of secrets to go around. This makes the majority of the characters very unlikeable. We hear from two different wives, Alexis and Blair.

Alexis is new to the neighborhood and had grown up in poverty. She has had a long goal of living in an upscale neighborhood to feel like she has "made it" in life. When she and her husband take on a fixer upper of a home, she quickly finds out that the grass may not always be greener on the other side. The house turns out to be a total money pit. She finds herself juggling renovations, a new born baby, and attempting to fit in with her new neighbors. All of this just seems to be causing increasing strain on her marriage to Sam. Shortly after moving in, one of the neighbors is found murdered. Alexis begins to foster a friendship with the widow, Blair, who provides our second point of view. Though different, they also have similar qualities. At some point in the story, Alexis finds out some information and begins to put pieces together leading to a few major twists in the story (don't worry, no spoilers here!)

I grew to really dislike Alexis' husband. They mutually agreed to purchase their home and when the stress piles on with renovations, he is very disrespectful about it. Alexis certainly is not perfect herself, but I didn't think she was deserving of that POS husband that she has.

Alexis is my favorite character by far - all the other women in this book I found to be rather deplorable. Proof that money doesn't buy good character! Alexis does remain flawed with her desperation to put on appearances to fit in and borderline starving herself (with what sounded like an eating disorder),

The big reveal of the murderer wasn't a shock and awe moment, but there was still another twist I had seen going a very different direction than it did.

I think overall as a debut novel from this author, it was enjoyable. I would consider picking up another novel of hers in the future if I were to come across one.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This was a pretty quick thriller, but none of the characters are likeable, and the premise seemed unrealistic.

It took me a little while to get into this one, especially with how many characters there were to keep track of. Once I got them all straight I really enjoyed this. I love the dynamic of the neighborhood and thought the drama between them was entertaining. I was definitely surprised by the twists at the end and didn't see them coming at all. Although looking back maybe I should have. I would have liked a bit more development of the characters, but overall they were pretty entertaining and intriguing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC of What the Neighbors Saw. All opinions in this review are my own.

There will be spoilers in this review because I don't know how to explain why I didn't like this book without giving away one of the larger plot points at the end. You have been warned.

Alexis and her husband decide to buy a crumbling house in an affluent neighbor. All seems well until one of their neighbors is found murdered. Between the stress of home renovations and the more and more horrifying actions of their neighbors, Alexis is struggling.

I thought the set up with Teddy's murder and the concerning actions of other neighbors kept you reading because you weren't quite sure who could be responsible for the murder. While this was definitely slower paced than other thrillers, there was enough happening to keep the story (and suspicion) moving.

I was really enjoying this sinster domestic thriller (even though I was hating Alexis's husband more and more as the story went on) until the big reveal. I appreciate how difficult it is to make an exciting twist in a thriller, but making one of the married couples half-siblings at 80% of the book seemed so far out of left field I thought Alexis's suspicions would be laughed at by the other character. The last 20% flew through the explanation of how this happened and why this character was actually the murderer. While it was supposed to draw comparisons between Alexis and this character, both their mothers had been put in a position by powerful men and resented their daughters for it, it just made the story completely abandon the first 80% of the story.

All this being said, What the Neighbors Saw is the author's first book and since I enjoyed such a large chunk of the story, I would be interested in reading her next book. Hopefully it doesn't involve any incest plotlines.

This is my first read from this author and I'm looking forward to her other books. it's a slow burn thriller filled with marriage nd neighbor drama. it's a pretty fast read and you won't be able to put it down. I highly recommend it.

2.5 stars (rounded down).

"What the Neighbors Saw" by Melissa Adelman is a short book with a couple of well-done plot points, but it feels like the story goes on forrrreeeeeevvvverrrrrr, which brought my opinion of it down quite a bit. This book feels like the tale of two stories, neither of which are resoundingly compelling. There is a relatively successful domestic drama portion and the murder-y mystery portion with a twist ending that left me annoyed because of how quickly and randomly it wraps up. This book is eerily similar to myriad other titles that have been released in the last few years involving awful wealthy people doing increasingly horrendous things to their family members, friends, and neighbors. The market for this kind of book is horribly oversaturated right now, so Adelman needed to do something unique and bold to differentiate her novel from the pack. Unfortunately, that just doesn't happen here. The first half is more engaging than the last half, but there is a woeful lack of character development throughout. I hated all of the characters here, and not just because they were rude or mean people. They are just so unlikable that it's hard to sympathize with any of them for anything. I have a feeling most wealthy people are like this in real life. It feels like some parts of the story drag on and on and on for little to no purpose other than filling a word count. I will admit, I thought the ending was fine, but it felt so abrupt and out of nowhere that I didn't have time to savor and enjoy the reveal. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book and didn't love it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Adelman, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

The majority of the characters in this book were easy to dislike. I have to admit, at the beginning of this book, I really struggled with the character of Alexis. I wanted to like her so badly, but she started out being so negative about herself that I had a really hard time wanting to continue reading her parts. However, as the story progressed and her relationship with Blair grew, I found myself liking her more, but it was hard for me to continue because the pace of the book was moving so slow. The last several chapters finally picked up, and I was able to finish, but if you struggle with books that are a slow burn, I wouldn't recommend this book. While it wasn't my style, it did have some interesting plot twists and surprises towards the end, and I'm glad I finished it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. This was an enjoyable thriller, perfect for fans of Desperate Housewives

Alexis, along with her husband and two young children, moves into a rundown house in an upscale neighborhood where she quickly finds herself enmeshed in murder and other mayhem.
This was pretty good; engaging enough, even though it seemed to take a long time to get to the point.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this #arc of #whattheneighborssaw in exchange for an honest review.

- Murder Mystery
- Gossipy Neighbors

While I am not a huge thriller reader, I do enjoy one occasionally. I came across this one on NetGalley and was immediately interested after reading the Desperate Housewives comparison in the blurb (I used to be obsessed with that show). I felt those vibes with all the gossipy neighbors wanting to know everyone's business.
While I did enjoy the overall murder mystery plotline, I am rating four stars as I felt like the story moved slowly and I was extremely annoyed by Alexis's constant whining.
This is the authors debut novel and I hope to read more by her in the future.

Well, I don't know what I was expecting from What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman, but I certainly wasn't expecting that wild ending! The road to get there is a bit of a slow burn, but between the viewpoint switches with Alexis and Blair and all the neighbor drama and cattiness, it goes by quickly. Each POV gives you something different, and while I suspected certain things, I never in a million years would have guessed where this was going. Adelman initially sneaks in the fact that Alexis is black, but once you know that, you can definitely see the ways in which she is treated differently by everyone including her own neighbors. That added an interesting element to the story, and while I still wouldn't say I liked her all that much, I was mad for her at the same time. And it didn't help at all that her husband Sam is clearly a tool.

The audiobook has a narrator for each viewpoint (yay!), and I was very excited that Hillary Huber was the narrator for Blair. She is amazing and one of my favorites, and she was certainly fitting to be the voice of the prim and proper but slightly obnoxious Blair. Sarah Hollis narrates Alexis, and I honestly loved her just as much. These women nailed their characters, and it was a joy to listen to them. I was extremely satisfied with the way the book concluded and I was able to fully immerse myself in Adelman's writing which was a huge plus! We basically fall into the lives and marriages of the two women, and while I would have enjoyed a bit more character development, they all provided for interesting reading all the same. I would recommend What the Neighbors Saw (on audio) if you enjoy slow-burn thrillers and plenty of neighbor/marriage drama.