WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW
Melissa Adelman


When I finished the book, I hated every character and felt lucky to have the neighbors I have. That is worth the price of this book alone.

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW is a recently released neighborhood thriller by Melissa Adelman. Its stars Alexis and her husband Sam. After scraping together all the funds they could, they were able to purchase their dream home. A Cape Cod fixer-upper in an affluent suburb of DC.

All is not as it seems and shortly after moving in, their next-door neighbor Teddy is found dead. Putting an end to the dream of safety and security within the neighborhood. We follow along as Alexis tries to fit into their new neighborhood which includes, not surprisingly making friends with Teddy’s widow, Blair, and trying to solve the mystery surrounding Teddy’s death.

To make the neighborhood safer, of course!

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW is basic with only the negative things to set it apart from the others. Months from now I likely won’t remember the specifics of the story, but I will remember that Alexis pissed me off.

As a reader, I feel that when you introduce a main character that is problematic you must correct that problematic behavior within the text. It’s not enough that I as the reader understand that the behavior is problematic, I need to know that the author understands that that character’s behavior is problematic as well. Otherwise, I’m left thinking this behavior is acceptable.

Unfortunately, with Alexis, she had a lot of thoughts about race and heritage and wealth and class, and none of those comments, interior or otherwise, were corrected. I understand it’s supposed to be part of the fun that these characters are so bad. It felt a lot more like unchecked racism than any fun I’ve had lately.

I might be the only reviewer that feels this way. For me, WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW is average and skippable, problematic, and forgettable.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW…⭐️⭐️

2.5 Stars
No likable characters and the story drags after the first quarter.

Alexis and her husband Sam just moved into an exclusive neighborhood. What was supposed to be a new and exciting start quickly turned into a nightmare. The new renovations cost more than expected, Alexis and Sam are constantly arguing, and not to mention one of their neighbors was found near the river. Who and why would anybody want to kill their neighbor?

The beginning and setup were interesting. Unfortunately, after the first quarter, the storyline started to drag. Nothing happens until the very end. But by then I didn't care anymore. All the characters were unlikable and one-dimensional.

Overall, not for me.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Adelman, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for graciously sending me the ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I had many issues with the story throughout and the ending sealed it for me.

I found it hard to believe that the woman in the story was with her husband. He was demeaning and mean.

There were mentions of eating disorders such as only eating one meal a day or just a cup of ice that might be triggering for some.

There were insensitive racial comments that were unnecessary to move the story along. They could have been left out and the story would have been intact. If they were being used to throw a reader off the trail of the murder then I dislike it even more.

Finally, the ending was just a no. I can't say a lot without spoiling it but just no.

I found the writing style to be engaging so I might read something else by this author but the plot of What the Neighbors Saw was not for me.

As a realtor, the first part of the book really drew me in. After that, I enjoyed the intrigue of the goings on in an affluent neighborhood. I guess we just really don't know what goes on behind closed door and I keep wondering what my neighbors see. Ha ha!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🏡 dual POV
🏡 neighbourhood drama

This is one of those mysteries where a new family moves into a seemingly perfect neighbourhood, and then they very quickly discover that this “perfect” neighbourhood is definitely not what it seems. Shortly after moving in, husband turns up murdered! Who could have done this?? What are the neighbour’s hiding??
The premise of this one sounded really good and since I had heard so much talk about this one, I was very excited to start reading! Unfortunately for me though the story fell kind of flat 😕 A man is murdered right at the beginning so I was expecting some suspense and thrill, but the story was a little boring to be honest. Not much happened throughout the book and I really had to force myself to power through it.
I did not much care for any of the characters (and there were a LOT of them). I actually found myself trying to figure out who was who way too often and it kind of ruined the story for me.
The ending did pick the story up a little bit, but this was just not the book for me unfortunately.

This was a fun book! I loved neighborhood thrillers. This book kept me guessing till the very end.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

This book was so good, I was so determined I knew everything but nope. The ending was shocking and so much came to light about the characters. I will definitely be recommending this book and purchasing for my collection.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Now this is a thriller and the ending completely shocked me. This a community of liss, secrets and neighbors no one wants. Highly recommend!

This was a very interesting debut story. it kept me guessing right up to the end. If you enjoy mystery and suspense, I think you would enjoy reading this story.


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

Alexis and Sam are young professionals with one child and another on the way and they are looking for something better than their current rowhouse in Washington DC. They are looking for their dreamhouse and when they get notification of a modest 1.6-million-dollar home in the beltway of Virgina they go have a look in the morning and their offer accepted by that evening. But just maybe in their haste they did not pay attention to all the many things that need to be fixed and this just may lead them to find that not only is this a steep financial cost but there could be other non-monetary cost they did not count on. As they settle in this exclusive neighborhood and meet the various residents' stories start to reveal themselves and things take a twist when one of the prominent men of the area is found murdered. How could this be when this is supposed to be a place of little to no crime, but you will find these people have quite a few twists and many of the relationships are not as they appear. This will keep you wondering right up to the end. I did find Sam to be a major pain in the rear.

Does an affluent neighborhood harbor no secrets? Not in this quick and easy read with twists & turns that keep you intrigued. Most of the characters were unlikable and normally I don't enjoy that, but it fits perfectly in this story.

3.5 stars

What the Neighbors Saw, by Melissa Adelman

Short Take: Almost a really great book.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello Duckies! I come to you from the land of “Stinky Wildfire Haze” and, at the same time, our neighbors across the street are getting some work done to their house, and Jonesy The Dog is losing his furry little mind and barking nonstop, all day. But I really like my neighbor, so I am going to try to tune it all out and be patient. TRY.

The whole “neighbor” thing is at the heart of today’s book (I know, duh, it’s right there in the title). Sam and Alexis, an up-and-coming couple with one toddler and a baby on the way, decide to buy a fixer-upper in the most exclusive neighborhood around. Of course, the house and its many money-sucking repairs immediately put a strain on their marriage, and of course, Nothing Is As It Seems in River Forest.

Blair and Teddy are the suburb’s golden couple, like literally - both they and their three teenage children are blond, athletic, etc. They are the wealthiest, their house the most perfect, and all the other “rich people” cliches, until the unthinkable happens: Teddy is found murdered in a nearby river.

In the wake of his death, Blair and Alexis become close friends, even as Alexis’s marriage becomes ever more fraught, and more and more ugly secrets of the beautiful people emerge.

My sweet Nerdlings, with a setup like that, how could this book go wrong? Well, to be blunt, in several ways.

First, there’s Alexis. She’s awful. And I don’t mean unlikeable, or even inconsistent (although she’s both of those). She’s a woman who had a terrible relationship with her own mother, and repeats endlessly how much better she’ll be with her own kids, while at the same time, she constantly foists them off on the nanny to get drunk. Oh yeah, she has an eating disorder and refuses to eat most food, but will suck down wine by the bottle (does she have ANY idea how many carbs and calories are in that? Like, GIRL).

So OK, she has some unresolved issues from her traumatic childhood (cough cliche cough) but she’s also just stupid. Here’s an example: Alexis suspects something about Blair and Teddy’s relationship. It has no effect on their friendship at all, it’s something deeply personal and would be a terrible secret that no couple would want revealed. So what does Alexis do? She immediately runs to Blair to ask her about it. WTF.

Alexis also repeatedly runs into the woods next to their house when she thinks she sees someone out there in the middle of the night, like she’s secretly Batman or something. And when something DOES happen, nothing about it makes sense. I won’t give it away, but it’s forced and ridiculous.

And that’s a problem with most of the story involving any of the other neighbors. There are too many to keep straight (and pretty much none of them have anything to do with the story, really) and their pointless plotlines are handwaved away when no longer needed.

Finally, the true identity of the killer was painfully obvious. Had Alexis pulled her head out of the bottle and taken a good look around, this would have been a much shorter book.

I did enjoy the house descriptions, though, as I’m one of those vaguely voyeuristic types who finds other people’s houses fascinating.

The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and some coffee, I feel drunk just reading this thing.)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins press for the eARC.

This was a slower domestic drama centered around a murder in a new neighborhood for one couple. There were some twists and turns in the later sections of the book. Most of it was relationship building.

I know it was the point but I freaken hated Sam and it was so hard to read anything that involved him. He was the wooooorst.

This one just wasn't for me. This was described as "a chilling story of murder and intrigue" but was really a slow build domestic drama with unlikable characters. With underdeveloped characters and a slow moving plot, I almost didn't finish it. Not recommended

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.......The story had a great concept however I found it to be a little lackluster. I could not get into the characters, I wanted more intrigue.

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of parts to follow, IT very enjoyable. I was surprised by how it ended

The perfect suspenseful domestic thriller set in a wealthy suburb of DC. We follow two women, Alexis and Blair, as some suspicious things occur after Blair's husband's murder. This suspenseful thriller is filled with lies, cheating, murder, in a wealthy community. Perfect for mystery/thriller lovers!

This was a very enjoyable domestic suspense story. You can feel something is not right about the affluent neighborhood that Alexis and Sam move into. Everything seems to good to be true and everyone seems to be hiding something. I loved all of the twists and turns in this story.

What did the neighbors see... well if you are nosey you will see alot.

If you like neighborhood drama, nosey people and lots of mystery this one is for you. Easily binge worthy
This had alot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming but just overall not my favorite.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.