DNF at 43%

This book was so uneventful, I literally didn’t care about one single character. Sam and Alexis have a horrible relationship & the way that they talk to each other is so uncalled for. Also the whole first half of the book, all they do is complain about how they’re running out of money, yet choose to by a $1.5 million dollar home that needs a complete reno, they have a live in nanny, a cleaning service, get their groceries delivered, buy a new BMW, have a lawn service and want to redo the whole back patio and get a pool. How are you going to complain about running out of money but then pay for all that?????? I’m sorry, I was just so annoyed reading this.

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I love nothing more than a good neighborhood thriller and I have read SO many that I'm always surprised at all the new ways authors can spin it! There were definitely new and fresh ideas in this one by debut author, Melissa Adelman.

I really liked the premise and that the story was told in two unique voices. When a murder happens out of nowhere, I was surprised and eager to figure out what was going on. I admittedly got a little lost around the 50% mark, but everything made sense for me by the end.

The ending was not one I saw coming and I liked how the twists came one after the other!

I'm excited to see what Melissa does next!

This book will be available on June 20th.

The desperate housewives of River Forest, inside the D.C. Beltway, are all living with various disfunctions in their marriages in this debut novel, What the Neighbors Saw, by Melissa Adelman, due out in late June.

Alexis and her husband Sam experience marital difficulties that are only increased by their “As Is” purchase in the neighborhood in 2014. Their neighbors Blair and Teddy have a secret that may explode their marriage. Jennifer is out of step with her much older husband Jeff. Laura seems to be unaware that Shawn is spying on the neighbors with his drones. Emily suspects her husband Dylan is cheating on her with a neighbor.

When one of the husbands is found dead on the banks of the Potomac River, the neighbors’ sense of safety is upended. One has been left a widow, and the police are finding all the leads running to dead ends.

Alexis and Blair bond while the other women distance themselves, seemingly dividing the neighborhood loyalties. When Alexis learns the truth about her neighbor’s death, she finds herself fighting for survival.

Melissa Adelman has managed to create a twisted thriller in her first book. She was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. suburbs and travels the world for her job as an international development economist. With a Ph.D. and B.A. in economics from Harvard University, she has authored several policy papers and research volumes. Adelman lives with her family just outside of D.C.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 14, 2023.

I would like to thank Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I love a mystery set in the rich suburbs so this book sounded right up my alley! It was a fast and twisty read with plenty of drama. I did struggle a bit with the pacing (it felt slow through most of the story) and the characters were hard to care about. The end did come as a surprise and it was a big reveal so I am glad I read until the end. Ultimately this was a good, light thriller with an engaging setting (at least for me). Thanks to Melissa Adelman, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes place where everyone is hiding these huge secrets. I'm glad my real-life suburban life isn't like this - or maybe all my neighbors, and I just don't know? Anyway. This is a domestic thriller that is both a slow burn, and it's got some huge reveals at the end. It's told with dual narrators (my favorite) - one of the women has been in the neighborhood for awhile, and the other is new. When a tragedy hits, it's a matter of them figuring out what happened, who they can trust, and who they can't. There is a big secret reveal at the end that I just didn't see coming, and y'all, it was a lot. This is very much your classic domestic thriller with a heaping helping of secrets and twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this June 2023 release.

DNF at 40%
I overall like the idea, the pacing is just a bit slow for me and I’m finding it hard to stay focused on the story. I may revisit later.

Man I do love me some drama. As long as its not my own than its my favorite. I also realized I really like rich neighborhoods. I thought this book was well written and will pick up more from this author.

2.5/5

Ooffff I just really didn’t like this one so I’m gonna keep it brief. This was a quick read and I was very curious to see where it was going but unfortunately I really didn’t like where it was going. Leading up to the freaking odd and silly ending everything was a slow burn with very unlikable characters and not in the fun love to hate them type of way. It was just a mess for me and about the only thing I liked was that at least it was a quick read.

✨Book Arc Review✨
📚 What the Neighbors Saw - Melissa Adelman
⭐️⭐️.5 / 5
🩵Pub date: Jun 20th, 2023

First I want to thank @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me this arc in return for an honest review.

This book was all over the place, and honestly, not in a good way. I felt like the author was trying to do too much to catch you off guard. It's sad cause I really feel like the idea of the book was good and if written differently, could have been great! Even though the author tried so hard to bring in a plot twist, I knew exactly what was going to happen after about 15% of the way through. I continued just hoping that I was wrong.

Although this book was not my cup of tea, I really enjoyed the characters. But sadly, I would not recommend this book.

I was excited to receive a widget of What the Neighbors Saw because I love a good domestic suspense/rich women behaving badly story. Unfortunately this one did not work for me. There was no drama, humor, or suspense in this story. The story felt all over the place and bogged down in details and side stories that didn’t matter. All of characters were horrible and I was not invested in the murder mystery at all.

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW is Melissa Adelman’s debut novel. I was hooked from the first page. I always enjoy a good neighborhood mystery that has deception, lies, betrayal and …Murder!

Alexis and Sam find their dream home in the neighborhood of River Forest, an elite suburb of DC. The house needs some work, but they ultimately decide it's the one they want to raise their children in. After living there for several weeks, their neighbor, Teddy, is found dead in the Potomac river and the police believe it is a homicide. Alexis becomes friends with Teddy's wife, Blair. Alexis also learns that all her neighbors are not who they seem and starts to become suspicious of all of them.

I felt like this was a slow burn in the beginning of the story (well, besides the murder) Once Alexis stumbles onto a secret that was worth killing for, the pace picked up for me. There are so many twists and turns, it kept me guessing and franticly turning pages. Melissa Adelman is an author I will be keeping an eye out for. Release date for What The Neighbors Saw is 6/20/23

Highly enjoyed this domestic suspense set in an affluent Northern Virginia neighborhood. When one of the neighbors is found murdered on a local trail, the neighborhood starts unraveling little by little. I loved the NOVA setting, the secrets and intrigue, rich people behaving badly. I was completely surprised by the ending.

I love a good thriller and wanted to enjoy reading this one as the hot summer weather hits in Ohio. However; the plot seemed to move very slowly and was filled with small details instead of large "aha" shock moments. I will give Melissa Adelman another try with another read however; this novel wasn't for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Love domestic thrillers and this one did not disappoint. Set in a bizarre neighborhood in a fixer upper house. I kept wondering what was going to happen next and what the ending will be.
This one kept me guessing.

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman is a highly recommended domestic psychological suspense novel set in a wealthy DC suburb.

Alexis and Sam buy a fixer-upper in an exclusive DC suburb. It's a stretch for their budget, but Sam is sure to make partner at his law firm soon. Besides, they need the space for their family since Alexis is pregnant with their second child. It becomes clear that they may have taken on more than they can handle, especially after their second child is born. Having a space for their live-in nanny does help Alexis even though Sam is often away and becoming increasingly distant.

Alexis soon starts to meet the neighbors. After neighbor Blair's husband Teddy is found murdered on the steep banks of the Potomac River off a neighborhood walking trail, a friendship begins to form between Alexis and Blair. Blair actually helps Alexis meet other women in the neighborhood. Soon it becomes clear that the upscale neighborhood may not be as safe as Alexis first thought.

What the Neighbors Saw is a compelling novel that will hold your attention, like really good gossip. And the discussion of all the neighbors and their secrets is a very real thing in this novel domestic suspense. Many of the characters are simply caricatures of types of people, but there is a lot of juicy gossip that will be shared about them. Additionally, since Alexis just had a baby, even with a nanny she is exhausted all the time.

The novel alternates between chapters narrated by the first-person points-of-view of Alexis and Blair, so readers have real insight into their characters and thoughts. It becomes clear that social status and wealth has little impact on actual character. Alexis was embarrassed by her background, but she clearly had nothing to be ashamed of, especially as the novel progresses. What the Neighbors Saw is an entertaining domestic suspense novel, even if you guess where the plot is going.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

Alexis is thrilled when she and her husband can buy the worst house in the best neighborhood in DC – they plan to fix it up so it’s appropriate for Sam to entertain colleagues and clients as he’s on the cusp of making partner at his law firm. (Alexis, on the other hand, scaled back on her own path to partner at a consulting firm in order to have / raise kids.) But right after they move in, a neighbor is murdered on the neighborhood trails. Out of morbid curiosity, Alexis befriends his widow, Blair, and she soon gets drawn into all the domestic drama of the neighborhood; the book is told from both Alexis and Blair’s perspectives. I found Alexis kind of annoying at times, but the plot was fast-paced and definitely suspenseful, and it kept me guessing until the end. Definitely a page-turning read!

Thanks to Minotaur Books for this ARC!

DNF @ 35%. I usually really enjoy domestic thrillers, but this one was just a little too slow paced for me. I prefer fast-paced thrillers where there are lots of twists and turns, and I felt like nothing was happening.

I absolutely loved this book! I read most of it in one sitting because it was unputdownable. I loved the domestic drama, the mystery and suspense. I loved all of the catty housewives and their drama. The ending was a total shocker! This is a great thriller. Highly recommend.

Thank to NetGalley and Minotaur for my ARC.

Alexis and Sam are thrilled to snag a dilapidated Cape Cod in a wealthy neighborhood full of mansions, if only for the status and space alone. However, when one of their affluent neighbors ends up murdered, they begin to question if the move was worth it. Up late with a newborn, Alexis sees things from their picturesque window that makes her wonder if anyone in their neighborhood can be trusted.

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW by Melissa Adelman is FULL 👏OF 👏DRAMA.

This book is a domestic suspense full of plenty of tea spillage and I could fully relate to Alexis’ want (need) to spy on her neighbors from the comfort of her own home a la REAR WINDOW.

There were characters to root for and characters to hate and a mysterious murder investigation to keep the tension going!

There were a few points/characteristics brought up throughout that didn’t seem to evolve into anything, hence this being a four-star review, but overall an enjoyable and quick read!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: June 20

Sam and Alexis are expecting their second baby and they’re looking to move to a bigger home. When they discover a fixer upper in a very desirable neighborhood, they can’t help but make an offer right away. The home and its neighbors end up being more than the couple bargains for.

What the Neighbors Saw is a domestic drama told in dual viewpoints of Alexis and her neighbor Blaire. I went into reading this thinking it was more a of a suspense novel, but that wasn’t the case. The pacing was fairly slow and the characters were not very likable. I did enjoy the unexpected ending of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.