I enjoyed this thriller read with fun twists galore that kept me thrilled to the very last page. Every thriller fan should read this one.

👋 Hey, Hey, Hey - Mini Reviews 👋

Hey! Zoe and I are still here, but it’s taking longer than anticipated for me to get back to regular posting. 😜 Having kids out of school makes unpacking harder and I knew we had a ton of stuff, but phew! 🫣 It’s ridiculous even with the excessive purging. 📦📦📦

Here are the books I’ve read since I’ve been absent/moving…I’m still reading! OK, so audiobooks mostly, but I’m getting them checked off! ✅✅✅

What the Neighbors Saw - Another good thriller here! I think more people should be talking about this one. This one had a double twist at the end…the first twist I was totally game for, but the second? 🤷‍♀️ Caused me to drop it a star. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I find it increasingly odd to describe thrillers and murders as "fun," but this one was actually a really easy and fun read if you love that genre. Twisty and full of mysterious characters, this neighborhood thriller will keep your attention and keep you in the dark until the very last page. Filled with lessons about wanting what is just out of your reach and what you can't have, this is an allegorical tale of excess and ego.

A married couple moves into a fancy neighborhood. One of their new neighbors is killed. Turns out their are a lot of secrets in their new neighborhood.

What the Neighbors Saw is told through the dual points of view of Alexis and Blair. Alexis is new to the neighborhood, pregnant, and grew up in poverty. Blair is wealthy, confident, and newly widowed. Alexis and Blair become friends, though Alexis suspects Blair may be hiding secrets.

Unlikable characters in a wealthy neighborhood is a favorite trope of mine, so I was excited to read this one. A slow-burning, suspenseful, and entertaining debut novel.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Don't let a fancy suburb and seemingly well to do people fool into thinking it's a "safe" neighborhood. Any number of things could be happening in the privacy of these homes and trust me, those things are happening in this book. What did the neighbors see? Well, a whole damn lot. And I have to ask, is ANYONE happily married with a normal relationship in this book?! Good grief!

Sam and Alexis buy a home in one of these neighborhoods and Alexis finally feels like she can stop looking over her shoulder. Until her neighbor ends up dead by the river. Alexis' view of her "safe and normal" neighborhood quickly crumbles as things come to light.

This book was so-so. I found the characters to be interesting and it was easy to get pulled into their lives but at the same time, the storyline felt a little too predictable and didn't have that "gasp" factor of a suspense/thriller.

If you read a lot of thrillers and mysteries, you get used to going along with a wide variety of twists for the sake of the story. But this one had one that was such a big yikes, out of nowhere, in the middle of a story that was already moving incredibly slowly and main characters that just seemed like brats, and I just could not go there with the author.

I really enjoyed this. Throughout the book I wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis and Sam buy a neglected house in the suburbs with more problems than they anticipated. The process of renovating creates a financial and emotional crisis for this couple expecting their second child. The stress is compounded when there s a murder of one of the neighborhood's residents. Strange occurrences start happening bringing to light lies and secrets of many of their neighbors.
The ending of this book will have your jaw dropping in disbelief.
A wild ride of suspense for all those thrill seeking readers.

A deadly neighborhood if you ask me!

Alexis and her husband Sam have moved into an exclusive neighborhood. This is what Alexis has always wanted. She wanted prestige and safety and she hoped her fixer-upper could deliver just that.

When Alexix moves to the neighborhood, she is pregnant with her second child. Sam is trying to become a partner at the firm he works at. Due to the financial drain the new house has become their relationship is strained. Sam belittles her and keeps on reminding her that when she changed her job, she made a mistake (getting paid less money, and no good promotions in her future). Thankfully, Alexis has in her corner, her live-in nanny who helps her out with anything her kids need.

Despite her marital problems, Alexis likes the neighborhood until Teddy, a successful handsome man, and father of three, is found murdered while jogging a trail on the bank of the Potomac River.

Alexis worries about the murder. Who did it? Is one of the neighbors responsible for it?

Alexis feels bad for Blair, the widow, and can't stay away and offers support. Soon a friendship develops until Alexis finds herself trying to piece together a deadly secret Blair might have.

A slow burn with some good twists, although I guessed the important ones.

From the main characters, I found myself liking Alexis and not so much Blair. All the neighborhood men were awful including Sam who was such an inconsiderate bully. I have no clue why Alexis would have picked him for her husband and father of her children. Thankfully, she had a live-in nanny because he was no help.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Minotaur Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

What The Neighbors Saw is a domestic thriller told from the POV's of two women, Alexis and Blair. Alexis is married and pregnant with their second child while Blair is recovering from the death of her husband. As the two women become friends, secrets are revealed and problems spill over until everything finally comes together.

This one just didn't do it for me. It felt like it dragged on and on. By the time it got to the plot twists I just didn't care. The characters were quite annoying to say the least. Which could be an asset to the story if textbook whiney rich people are something that interests you. There was nothing to bring these characters out of two dimensions. They didn't have anything, good or bad, about their personalities that separated them from TV clones.

When I read the blurb and it said Desperate Housewives meets The couple next door I knew I was in! The community is thrown into upheaval when one of the neighbors is found dead and nothing in this picture perfect neighborhood is as it seems!
Thank you #minotaur and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you @stmartinpress @minotaurbooks for the #gifted copy!

Oh how I wanted to like this more 😕. While hoping for a gripping thriller, I found this book veering more towards gossipy drama.

The main characters came off as naggy, & I couldn't connect with either 😬 . Sam, the husband, was particularly unlikable 👎🏼, he was truly awful!!

The anticipated twist lacked the intended shock, with predictability undermining its impact. Despite potential, the execution fell flat, leaving me with a lukewarm experience 🤷🏼‍♀️

⚠️ bulimia, body shaming

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
◽️ alternating POV’s
◽️ gossip
◽️ a wealthy neighborhood
◽️ a murder

I really enjoyed this book! This had multi POV, which you know is my favorite. I loved getting to know the main characters and the relationships with their spouses & neighbors. 

There were a lot of times I said "what the what"!!! I didn't expect that ending. I think I finished this book in a day and a half? I flew through it. I loved the details that Alexis put together about her neighbor Blair. I would never have thought about it like her.

I also really liked that not everything revolved around Teddy's d3ath. (Yes, it is annoying that I can't spell certain words, but IG doesn't like it)
This is definitely a contender for top 23 in 2023!! I never would have guessed this is her first novel!

Alexis and her husband Sam seem to be on the right path in life. Sam, it seems, is about to be made a partner at the law firm he works for, Alexis is pregnant with the couple’s second child, and they have just bought their dream home, a Cape Cod house that does need a bit of work. Luckily the neighbors, who all seem so glamorous and well put together, welcome their new neighbors with open arms. All seems right in Alexis’s life, for a time, but soon the image of perfection that surrounds the neighborhood is shattered when Teddy, a long-time resident, is found dead on the banks of the Potomac River. While many are desperate for answers, they are less than prepared when secrets begin to make their way to the surface, secrets with the potential to change the lives of many who knew Teddy, and Alexis is no exception.

This novel was just okay in my opinion. It seemed like there were a lot of details and information presented that had little to nothing to do with the storyline, almost like it was there in an attempt to dissuade or trick the reader into thinking a certain way or just for filler. I also struggled to relate to any of the characters; they were either too unrealistic or too different from an average person. I really struggled to make it through this novel and I’m not sure I would have read it all if it wasn’t a review copy.

This book was pretty good. Lots of character development, and a good story line to follow. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future

This story is told in dual first person from Alexis and Blair. Alexis and her husband buy a house in an exclusive DC suburb though their finances are probably not conducive but justify the purchase with the thought that they are buying the worst house in the best neighborhood. Tons of arguments over renovations and priorities ensue. Blair and her family live in the house across the street.

There were some time jumps on this one that left me reeling, taking me out of the story and disrupting the pace as well as telling me background information that I might have enjoyed in a different format. I also had some issues with logistics in some of their situations, especially with regards to the home purchase and subsequent renovations. Several of the characters, but especially Alexis, were very inconsistent.

For most of the book, except for the initial murder, the neighbors were boring. As things began to develop later in the book, several of them were behaving badly, but for the most part had negligible to zero consequences, though that’s unsurprising given their positions in society. I didn’t even feel like it satisfied my gossipy neighbor quota. For a book about naughty neighbors in an affluent neighborhood, I thought it was rather disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

We do love peaking into windows, don't we? Neighborhood mysteries like this let us do just that, without being that creepy neighbor : )

Adelman crafts a supposedly safe suburban neighborhood filled with awful people doing awful things. A bit too much for me, but others might enjoy this luxury yacht of novel go down in flames.

What a great book by an author new to me. I wish there had been less plot holes but the propulsive nest of it made up for anything it was lacking. I thought they said it was a character in and of itself and I really enjoyed this book.

THis was a edge of your seat book. Sam and Alexis move into a new house in an up and coming neighborhood. As they get moved in things start to drastically change. It is defineatly not what Alexis saw thei future as..

It is a must read book.