Alexis and Sam finally find thier dream home, in an idyllic neighborhood that would normally be out of thier price range, it seems to good to be true. When a neighbor is found dead this "safe" neighborhood is on high alert. Meanwhile, the house that just needed a little TLC, is eating away thier savings at an alarming rate in repairs. As money issues become marital issues, thier relationship becomes strained. Alexis befriends the now widowed neighbor and finds that there is more to this neighborhood than meets the eye. Alexis and Sam moved to the suburbs to have a better life for thier family, but will this end up destroying thier marriage and with a killer on the loose, will they even get out alive?
This book has a great premise. There are some exciting and even scary moments, but overall there are far more unbelievable moments. The book was a quick, fun read, which I enjoyed to the end, however you need to look past logic.

This is a very slow burn. Alexis and Sam have bought a fixer-upper and Aexis is pregnant with child no.2. A neighbor is found dead, and Alexis befriends the widow. Whodunit? I loved the Cape Cod setting as I have always wanted to live in that area. The house details were great! The author did an excellent job of setting up the characters. Alexis just wants to feel like she belongs. I hated Sam. Now, gonna be honest. I almost did not finish this one, but right around the halfway mark I understood just how messed up this entire neighborhood was, and I realized I was very interested in the outcome. This is more of a mystery, and I was surprised by the ending. Definitely glad I stuck with it.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Melissa Adelman and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and various other retail and social media sites upon publication.

This was a decent domestic thriller, though it was more of a mystery in my opinion. It was pretty flat until the last 25% of the book, when the twists started. But for the duration of the novel, I was wondering who did it. They made every character look suspicious, so I wasn’t really set on anyone being the killer. The thing that bothered me the most was how much I despised the husband of the FMC, Alexis. He was mentally and emotionally abusive and took advantage of her poor self-esteem. Some parts were difficult to read, and I didn’t really get why they had to make him like and make him putting her down and treating her terribly be such a large part of the book, it didn’t really serve a purpose. I felt bad for Alexis for the whole duration of the book.
Overall it was a good read and kept my interest. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the E-ARC.

I was super-excited about this one. I love the title and I love the cover but sadly that is where my love ends.

This was too slow a burn for me and I couldn't get into any of the characters and the plot meandered
I struggled to get through this one. I don't like to not enjoy a book and I really tried to get into this story but it just fell flat and constantly felt like it was on a road to nowhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

Alexis and Sam move into a ritzy new neighborhood into a house that needs a ton of work. Not long after they move in, their neighbor is murdered.

That's about all I can tell you because that's really all that happened up to the point I stopped reading. I couldn't take another page of these characters. All they did was complain about everyone else. I made it 60% through before I realized that nothing was happening and I was bored, and I simply just didn't care about these characters. I don't mind a slow burn, but SOMETHING has to happen to keep me involved, and in this one, it just wasn't happening.

Alexis and her husband Sam buy a run down house in the best location to raise their children. They find it is worse shape then they thought. Alexis is spending most of her time scheduling repairs. She is kind of a recluse, so she is unsure of the neighbor Blair when she works on being Alexis friend. Blair's husband has been killed. Alexis and Blair start to share many things. Unknown to Alexis that includes her husband. What will happen with this new twist in Alexis life.. thanks netgalley

I read a small sample of What The Neighbors Saw a few months ago as part of a Minotaur Sampler. I really like these samplers! It’s like a slice of pie before you buy the whole thing and find out you don’t care for the flavor.

I liked this sample and the entire book. Would I buy it? Maybe not. It seemed to drag from the beginning to about 3/4 of the way through. I just didn’t have an inkling where it was going. Maybe that was a good thing?! Once I reached the 75% mark things began to fall into place and I began to put the puzzle together.

I must say this neighborhood and its host of despicable characters left me doubting if there was one redeemable person in the whole bunch. Alexis was the quintessential baby-brained, nosy neighbor. I just couldn’t imagine doing some of the ill-advised and downright dangerous things she did. However, she and Blair kept the story moving. Told in short chapters, this was quick sort of beach read.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC and share my opinion.

*Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for my gifted eARC. Publication date 6/20/23*

This was a slow burn domestic thriller that I really enjoyed. I like slow burns and getting to know the characters and their pasts and this book did a great job with that. I also love books about houses, so buying, renovating the house and all the details I loved. The only negative thing I would say is there are a bunch of neighbors in the neighborhood so I had to keep track of them all, but it wasn't to hard.

Alexis and her husband Sam find the perfect fixer upper house in a beautiful, high class neighborhood at a very good price. After they move in, a body is found by the walking trail by their house and it is one of their neighbors, Teddy. This perfect neighborhood is not so perfect anymore!

First let me say that this book was very well written and well plotted. I seriously did not see it ending the way that it did. I thought the author did an excellent job laying out the story and creating the suspense. The drawback for me was that none of the characters was likeable or even sympathetic. From the very start Sam and Alexis do nothing but complain about and to each other and in a particularly nasty way. My overriding emotion was what on earth are these two people doing married to each other? Sam was a complete misogynistic nightmare of a husband, and Alexis just couldn’t seem to find the self-worth to stand up for herself. The fact that they had a second child in the midst of all the mutual hostility was baffling to me. But others might find this compelling.

That being said, I think the book worked on a few levels. First the plot was well done and the characters were well developed. The suspense was good and not obvious. I wish I had been able to relate to the characters more.
I will give this author a second chance.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

Man oh man this one started off so strongly, slowed a bit in the middle and then had a dud ending. Being from the DC area I LOVE when a book is “local” because it just feels like I can connect more but this book could have honestly been set anywhere. I feel like the author missed out on an opportunity to take advantage of the DC area in terms of scenes etc. The storyline related to Alexis and her upbringing to me felt like it was trying too hard to add another dimension to the character that was not needed. As related to the main arc regarding the death of Teddy toward the end of the book it felt like more of an afterthought to resolve and instead became a bit lost. Overall this book just felt very long and while it had a strong premise fell a bit short for me.

The Couple Next Door is one of my favourite thrillers and I am a huge Real Housewives of Potomac fan so when I saw the description mentioning it's a cross I couldn't wait to read it! I pictured Alexis and Blair and their community just like Real Housewives of Potomac is which really helped me see the scene. I had a few theories on what Alexis's secret is but I never saw it coming. I also wanted to see what the neighbourhood was divided on. I couldn't put this book down because it was very fast paced and I wanted to see what Blair and Alexis secrets are. I will for sure read another book by this author!

A strong 3 star rating 3/out of 5 for the writing ability. Never having read this author I wasn't sure what to expect. I found I liked her style and the novel kept me interested enough to keep reading. This was written from 2 points of view. Two women, one rich, one not (Alexis) who live across the street from each other in an uber wealthy community.

Personally, I didn't find any of the characters likable. Even the main one, Alexis who is married to a jackass and just had a baby when they move into this house badly in need of renovation. She is a woman of color, the only one in this new neighborhood and is apprehensive about meeting her neighbors. She is used to just scraping by, but evidently they still qualified for a 7 figure house, go figure. The jackass husband is named Sam, a lawyer who insists on a new BMW to keep up with the Joneses, while she drives around in a beat up old Honda. I fluctuated between wanting to slap either one of them or both upside the head several times.

When an unexpected tragedy happens in the neighborhood these odd people get better acquainted by necessity, but boy, be careful what you wish for. What secrets are they hiding?

The ending left me feeling uneasy about everything and everyone. My digital review copy was provided by the publishers via NetGalley. I thank them for allowing me to read this and post my honest opinions of this work. This novel will be available at your favorite retailers on June 20, 2023.

Neighborhood thrillers with deep lurking secrets are usually my jam - unfortunately this one was really hard to get through . The drama was non existent in this ultimately super slow burn that never actually picked up and the characters were just to flat and unlikeable for me to invest into .
A good many plots that come around in this book never seem to be explained either - so I feel alot of questions are still up in the air .
The title itself didn't seem to make sense after reading this book .. and the ending seemed predictable. .
I did like the writing style and I would try another by this author . But this one wasn't for me .

This book had its ups and dows for me. It started strong, but then there was too much and nothing going on at the same time. I did like how it ended, a little twisted and messed up in a good way.

Thanks for this ARC!

Alexis and her husband Sam have just bought a new home. The historic home at 51 Shadow Road is being sold “As Is” and calling it a fixer upper would be putting it lightly. However, it is in a terrific and exclusive neighborhood. Homes in this area are almost never put up for sale and never at the price Alexis and Sam paid. Alexis thinks it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The family moves in and are warmly welcomed by the neighborhood. But the unexpected death of one of their neighbors has Alexis wondering if she may have made a big mistake moving her family into the home on Shadow Road. And as more neighborhood secrets are revealed we will see just how far some people will go to maintain the status quo. For some people it’s all about keeping up appearances.

“Doing what looks good and making sure everyone walks away with the right impression.”

The story is told from the two main characters, Alexis and Blair’s point of view. There is a lot going on with many of the characters and at times I had a hard time keep all of the couples (and their issues) straight. But the plot was intriguing and I was excited to read what would happen next. There was lots of foreshadowing and red Herrings. At times I found the direction a bit hard to follow. However, I enjoyed the twists and liked how things came together in the end. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. A very good debut novel.

I look forward to reading more from Melissa Adelman.



I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

neighborhood thrillers with catty rich moms and their first world problems are usually my jam - just a fun, bingeable time, and not too serious, so I thought this would be right up my alley. unfortunately this one was a slog to get through, the drama was barely existent and the characters were too flat for me to get invested in anything happening. for a book like this i want to have FUN and this just wasn’t

Alexis and her husband, Sam, purchased a fixer upper house in an exclusive suburb. The story was told alternately between Alexis and her neighbor, Blair. Alexis was envious of the lives her neighbors’s lived. The only character that I really liked, was Elena ~ nanny to Alexis and Sam’s children. I don’t think anyone in the book was happy.
I felt that “the twist” that came about ¾ of the way in the book was strange and came out of left field.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW in advance.

great murder mystery read set in a high end dc neighborhood. I will definitely be read this again doing it on audiobook.

Alexis and Sam purchase a fixer-upper in a "nice" neighborhood. They make a few updates and move in after the birth of their second child. Shortly thereafter, a neighbor meets an unfortunate end. The police seem to have no leads. With nerves on end, Alexis begins to question what she sees and what she knows to be true.

I loved this book. I felt for Alexis. She was so worried about appearances and fitting in that she forgot about loving herself. Her childhood was a factor in how she saw herself, but she is bright and capable. I'm not sure how she put up with Sam and his nonsense. Laughing at her injury when she thought he would be upset about it was a clear indicator of his callousness. Blair seemed to adopt Alexis as a friend, but Blair's inner thoughts seemed quite at odds with true friendship. The neighbors in this nicer area were something else, but then you really cannot judge books by their covers. When some of their pasts were revealed, you start to understand the idea of live and let live.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It's thought-provoking. It's heartwarming. It's maddening. I had no idea of the ending. So, yes, great job on this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for an e-arc of this book for an honest review.

⭐️: 3.5/5

After moving into a fixer-upper in an exclusive neighborhood in the suburbs of DC, Alexis and her husband are determined to make the most of their future. When their neighbor Blair’s husband, Teddy, is found dead nearby, the whole neighborhood is shaken as the police try to find the killer. As Alexis and Blair grow closer and secrets and the truth about Teddy’s murder begin to come out, both women are confronted with the lengths to which they’ll go to preserve their carefully cultivated lives.

The cover of this one really drew me in, since I think the color and overall theme of it remind me of some thrillers that I really enjoyed. This one was a relatively quick read, that was overall good, but not great. One of my favorite things about it was the setting, since it was set in a Northern VA, DC suburb community, and that area (and those type of people) is what I grew up in and went to school around, so it was entertaining to read about. I had trouble staying interested in the book though because both Alexis and her husband Sam were just so annoying, unlikeable, and nonsensical that it was hard to empathize with anything they were going through. They just seemed to ~want~ everything so badly, and it kind of gave me the ick. Alexis is constantly complaining in a “whyyy does everything bad always happen to meeee” type of way, and Sam was just a verified asshole that it was hard to understand anything about them as a couple or family. The book as a whole ended up going in a little bit of a different direction than I initially thought, and while I enjoyed the surprise, it still didn’t fully make up for the things I didn’t like about the book.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!