Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this on a Minotaur Sampler and definitely agree that this is a cross between Desperate Housewives and the Couple Next Door. A successful young couple with 1 child and another on the way purchase a fixer upper in a very exclusive neighborhood. With great career ambitions, both Sam and Alexis see this home, while a bit of a financial stretch for them, as their forever, impressive home. However, one of their 7 neighbors is found murdered on the trail that runs through the neighborhood.

This is a slow burn, neighborhood drama, suspenseful story. I thought that the character development was very well done. I found Alexis very relatable but I did not really care for her as a person. I also did not like Blair, and Sam was a gross, waspy jerk. Despite not liking a lot of the characters, I did want to read on to figure out who killed Teddy and how it all played out.

I did enjoy the read! Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Publishers for this Arc of What the Neighbors Saw expected June 20,2023.

This novel did not disappoint. Imagine growing up neglected in a way that you never really understood but knew was happening. Now imagine you meet a man who shows you in that moment; you are worth the repair and dedication to start a family and a life you not only want but deserve.

Now imagine you move into a neighborhood filled with the elite. The home at its essence is you as a house. A neglected cape cod with the potential you also had but was back lit. These are your dreams and your future. You deserve this house, this life, this street…even if your dark skin, your nanny, and your beat up old car scream otherwise. You belong here among the elite.

Now imagine a murder and all the hidden secrets of your creepy old neighbor with a young girl fetish, your not so attractive neighbor with a very attractive wife, and your techie neighbors who are just a little unhinged. But most importantly the grieving widow who actually sees you for you and wants to be your friend.

A murder, friendships, deceit, money, failing marriages all around make this novel a total page turner. How much does it cost to fit in and is it worth it in the end?

Until the very last page this novel keeps you guessing and doesn’t disappoint. What’s more important love, status, or money? Maybe they are all the same ……

This is a a quick read with some drama around the gossipy lives of the wealthy and the secrets they keep. Just after a couple moves into an old fixer-upper in a wealthy neighborhood that the wife is desperate to be part of, a murder takes place. The neighbors have their suspicions and their true colors are revealed. I would not say this a "thriller" as in you will be on the edge of your seat but it is a bit of a mystery. There are times I felt it was predictable but at the same time, it was not. I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It's a quick and enjoyable read.

I received a digital advance copy of What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman via NetGalley. What the Neighbors Saw is scheduled for release on June 20, 2023.

Alexis has finally landed a spot in her dream neighborhood. It meant convincing her husband to purchase the very neglected and outdated house, but Alexis is convinced this glamorous and well-to-do location will be the perfect place to raise her two children and forget her troubled past. Initially, the couple is mostly embraced by the neighbors (except for a few who think Alexis’s skin tone indicates she is hired help rather than a home owner). But when one neighbor is found dead on the trail leading to the river, Alexis begins to question her choice to move.

This story is told from two points of view. We hear from both Alexis and Blair, the wife of the man who is found dead. These two women have very different perspectives on the neighborhood and its inhabitants, which works well for revealing some of the relationships. Both of the women are keeping secrets from each other, as well as from other characters. They are also keeping secrets from the reader in a way that felt a bit manipulative at times, as the author controlled what the characters shared. I also found some of the characters to be inconsistent, acting in ways that made the plot work, but didn’t necessarily fit with their previous behavior or motivations.

This novel takes place on a quiet cul-de-sac outside of DC. While I did buy the overall vibe of the neighborhood, some elements of the setting were unclear to me. In the midst of this enormous, fancy houses, there is a stretch of woods as well as a running path with steep drops to the river. I struggled to see how these pieces fit together, as most of the descriptions and scenes are spent inside the homes.

What the Neighbors Saw presents some of the darkness behind the scenes of the perfect facades in one wealthy neighborhood. While I would have liked more depth and consistency in the characters and the plot, the overall experience was a decent read.

This just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t connect with either main character, and the secondary characters weren’t developed enough for me to tell them apart. I generally love a domestic thriller, but this one missed the mark.

Thanks netgalley for a copy
What the neighbors saw was told from more than one point of view and the writer did a great job distinguishing between the two. New author for me , highly recommend.

This book was mysterious, driving, and fun to read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book drew me in from the start, I had a really hard time putting it down and it made for the perfect travel companion during flights. I enjoyed the view that the author gave into the lives of the "rich and famous" via the neighborhood as a whole.

One of my favorite parts about this book was the long list of sketchy, ruthless, and unpredictable characters. Was some of it a little "too good to be true"? Yes- but that's kind of the point of it as a fiction book. I like a novel that takes me to another universe.

Some of the scenes bordered on salacious and I loved it, the ending especially so. I kind of saw it coming but also did not! The ending escalates to an extreme, but I think the building of the story and plot leading up to it made it work.

One last note: I would like to congratulate husband Sam for being one of my least favorite book characters of all time. That guy totally sucked! Gosh I was so angry at times reading how he spoke to and treated Alexis. I applaud Melissa Adelman for bringing such strong emotions out of me.

What a juicy little thriller! Things are too good to be true in Alexis’ new neighborhood, with her handsome husband, and darling children. I love an unreliable narrator and Adelman excels at two of them, peppering in seemingly random statements that raise more questions than they answer, while still making us root for Alexis and Blair, the dynamic duo vs their unscrupulous neighbors. Altogether, much wicked fun.

Ebook/Women's Fiction/Mystery: I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the book in lieu of an honest review.
This is what I term a " gotcha thriller" where it chugs along until the big twist at the end. While I liked the book, I had a problem with the two character POV. Both were in first person (my favorite), but the two characters, Alexia & Blair were too much alike. I expected more sleuthing, but each one was slugging along.

This book started off strong. A young family buying a house in a neighborhood that had secrets. I was intrigued by the fixer-upper aspect and wanted to see how they would settle into the neighborhood.

What followed was pages and pages with characters I at one time or another wanted to have a talk with so they could snap out of it. There is very little if anything to like about the people in this book. They are all up to something.

The twists come close to the end of the book, and I have to admit I didn’t see them coming. I do wish they would have come earlier so maybe the characters and their actions would have made more sense. No one was happy in this book!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

This was a slow-burning domestic drama with hints of a thriller tossed in. It missed the mark a little for me, but I will say I didn’t see some of the twists coming!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance digital copy for my honest review.

This felt more like a domestic drama than a thriller to me. The murder was practically a footnote to the rest of the story.
The twists involving Blair and Alexis were easy to guess early on, but I eat/sleep/breathe thrillers so that could be chalked up to overexposure.
Honestly I thought the scandals involving the other neighbors were more interesting lol
The characters were all pretty terrible people, but I really liked Blair.
For anyone who struggles with or is triggered by disordered eating, give this one a pass. Alexis hates herself for not losing the baby weight two weeks after giving birth and puts herself on a harsh diet

Thank you to @Netgalley @StMartinsPress @minotaur_books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Posted to Instagram: 5/15/23
Posted to Goodreads: 5/18/23

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. This is Adelman's fiction debut that Goodreads describes as "Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door", and I think that is pretty accurate. Alexis and Sam move into a fixer-upper in a high-end neighborhood in DC. After moving in, Alexis gives birth to the couple's second child, and not long after a neighbor is found dead on the nearby running trail. Everyone has secrets, and Alexis's and Sam's marriage is struggling with small kids, growing careers, and an unmanageable home. I was sucked in pretty quickly to the story, but then much of the rest of the book was a very slow burn thriller, which is not what I expected. The ending did make sense, but it was almost shared as an afterthought. This is not how I like my thrillers. Ultimately, this was just fine for me - a nice change from the heavier things I am reading - but forgettable.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

I had to give this one a 2/5 Stars.
The beginning premise of the book is quite intriguing. A young couple with two kids, buy a fixer upper mansion in a wealthy neighbourhood and soon after moving in, a man across the street is murdered.
This was all within the first 40 pages or so. But there’s about 300 pages after, that hardly even mention said Murder and we don’t even get the reveal until the absolute very end.

What follows after said Murder is a slow paced gathering of infidelity, slander, abuse and secret spilling between the entire neighbourhood. Essentially none of the characters are likeable and the sub-plot story telling is mostly confusing and moronic.

This book definitely had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat on suspense, mystery and overall capturing the reader; in my IPO.

Again, thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this advanced copy, for said honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the Arc of What the Neighbors Saw. This is my personal review.
I started this book with the hopes it would keep me deep in to the story. I love a good mystery book but sadly this one just chugged along with not one heart stopping gasp to be found in the story.
I wanted to be always trying to guess why things were happening. I finished the book without having any true feelings for any one in the story.

This one was a slow burn domestic thriller on the order of Big little lies but I didn’t connect with it . I felt the plot dragged and just didn’t like the characters but if you’re a fan of Desperate Housewives you will like it
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

I enjoyed this one! It was a slow burn, domestic suspense novel that I read quickly and couldn’t wait to see how it ended. I predicted one of the characters being involved in the murder but not the other which was a good twist. Fans of Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies will enjoy this one! This was Melissa Adelman’s debut novel and I can’t wait to hopefully read more from her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance digital copy for my honest review!

This was a juicy read! Alexis and Sam are a young couple looking for a bigger house for their growing family when they find a fixer-upper in a very exclusive neighborhood. Alexis is enchanted by the house and convinces Sam that they should take the plunge, but the renovations are more than they bargained for even before one of the neighbors is murdered. Then they begin is really doubt their decision. Their wealthy neighbors are a collection of people who turn out to have a lot of secrets and a lot of problems. I enjoyed the gossipy tone of this fast paced book, at least until the end. Although I had guessed part of the ending, the part I didn’t see coming was mostly because it didn’t seem completely logical and I felt as though the resolution was a bit too quick and not as satisfying as I would have liked. But I really enjoyed most of the book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this debut novel.

I didn’t finish this book. Actually read 3/4 of it and just couldn’t continue. It was going so slowly nowhere. The plot started off with a murder and there was hope of some decent drama but, it never gained any traction.

Hard pass on this one. Unsympathetic, annoying characters that just got boring. What did Alexis ever see in Sam? And he in her, for that matter. Much better choices in this genre.