I started this book forever ago and it took me so long to finish. I just did not enjoy it. Things took awhile to pickup and while I loved the different POVs, I felt like I was waiting the entire book for something to happen. This one just wasn’t for me!

3.5 stars

Though by no means did it blow me away, Melissa Adelman’s debut, "What the Neighbors Saw," is a decent domestic suspense novel.

It’s a neighborhood story, which I find fun, set in an affluent Washington, D.C. suburb with sprawling houses and chic residents. And like most of these sorts of tales, there’s a murder that rocks the community, causing new neighbors, Alexis and Sam, to wonder if they’ll ever feel safe in their new home.

If you’re looking for something different, you won’t find it here. But if all you want is an easy, intriguing read, then what Adelman offers will work fine.

Just don’t be surprised if you find it predictable, because I sure did. Only one of the twists shocked me, and it was a little too coincidental and far-fetched for me to buy it.

But hey, the genre has never been known for its believability. And bottom line, "What the Neighbors Saw" did its job: it entertained me until the very end.


My sincerest appreciation to Melissa Adelman, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Told in dualling narratives, What the Neighbors Saw: A Novel by Melissa Adelman was decent, but a bit of a slog for me. I was excited for what I thought would be a great tale of domestic suspense; indeed it got off to a promising start with a murder. But what followed was a long drawn-out tale where nothing happens until the book is 99% over.

At least 80% of the book is just filled with the author telling us how horrible the people in this neighbourhood are. It could have done with about half of that cut-out, and it would have done the same job. I would have given this one two stars as my rating, but it gets extra points for the audiobook narration being absolutely top-notch, and for the couple of curveballs that were thrown into the story at the end.

This story was all over the place and not in a good way. I love a good suburban drama but this one tried to do too many things at once and none of them were good. Will not be recommending.

Alexis and Sam are thrilled to buy a neglected cape cod house in an upscale area in Washington DC. They move in with their son, Caleb. Daughter Carter is soon added to the family. But the stress of living in a run-down house catches up with Sam. He begins to complain about the cost of all the renovations. The murder of a neighbor, Teddy, soon takes forefront in their lives. Alexis befriends the widow, Blair. Alexis begins to feel unsafe in the neighborhood. Is someone hiding a secret? Is more than someone hiding secrets? The ending has several twists that surprised me. I wish I had pulled this to the top of my TBR list sooner.

Thank you @minotaurbooks & @netgalley for my gifted ebook. My thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this domestic suspense, set in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

Alexis and Sam buy a rundown house in an exclusive neighborhood and soon discover they may have undertaken more than they can handle! As they meet their wealthy neighbors they feel slightly embarrassed and they start expensive renovations on their home. Remodeling the kitchen, replacing windows, perhaps adding a backyard patio and pool, and what about a personal trainer? I had to laugh at how Alexis and Sam bickered about money, yet kept on spending more!

Meanwhile, when one of their neighbors is murdered, Alexis begins her own investigation and becomes friends with Blair, the widow of the murder victim. Alexis gradually learns juicy secrets about the neighbors, and as she gets closer to the truth, an attempt is made on her life!

Balancing her neighborly suspicions along with her marriage, her two young children, her crumbling house, maternity leave, and returning to work may prove too much for Alexis!

This story unfolds through the perspectives of Alexis and Blair. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, the dynamic with the neighbors, and the bickering! The conclusion surprised me! Don’t miss this one!

This was the author’s debut novel. I can’t wait to read more of her work!

REALLY enjoyed this one and surprised i havent heard more about it! I thought the characters were funny in a dark way, it kept me guessing, and the twist totally had me in the end. I enjoyed the main character (even though her husband was an ass). I think desperate housewives is the perfect comparison for this one, anyone who loves dark suburban drama will love this. I do think it will be easily confused with another new title THE BLOCK PARTY, though.

Traveling With T’s thoughts

Well folks, I hate to write this; but that is 2 books I reviewed in a row that just disappointed me. This is a debut so I have nothing to compare her writing style with but the Desperate Housewives comparison, the cover and the soapy description just had me primed for a good book (in a bad TV kinda way) BUT this was a 2 star read for me and I don’t give out 2 stars much.

I was expecting some build up, some good tension, a soapy cliffhanger at some chapters that would make me furiously press the buttons on my Kindle for “just one more chapter before bed!”

Instead, I got a main character that I could never really figure out why she stayed with her husband. A new friend that you knew from jumpstreet was going to be trouble and some secrets that fizzed a bit… but were mainly like soda that was almost flat.

I did loathe Sam, so at least I had some FEEEEEELINGS about this book.

Bottom line: For me, it just didn’t work.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Rating: 3; suburban, domestic, drama: What the Neighbors Saw is a drawn-out thriller full of neighborhood drama and surprisingly very little thrill.

Alexis and her husband Sam move to the DC suburbs, just in time for a murder. Slowly, Alexis discovers that the neighbors all have their secrets, so who can she trust?

I picked up this book because it was set in the DC suburbs (a place I now find myself familiar with), but that was not enough to keep me interested. This book really could have taken place anywhere. It’s a neighborhood full of wealthy, quirky individuals who all are hiding some sort of secret. Except, most of the secrets are really quite dull.

The ending had some really adrenaline-inducing moments. But you have to trudge through the main character’s terrible choices to get there. Alexis wants to protect her family at the cost of her sanity, and I understand that heavy paranoia doesn’t make for good decision making. But she was making bad choices even before the book began. Her jealousy and insecurity led the decision making, which was exhausting as a reader.

What the Neighbors Saw isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best thriller. It had a lot less shock factor than I was expecting. If you are really into wealthy neighborhood drama that’s a bit slow moving, you will love this. Think Desperate Housewives or Little Fires Everywhere. But if you want something more inventive like Good Girls or even Revenge, keep looking.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel.

4.5 stars rounded up!

There aren't many other 5 star reviews - yet! But this whole book resonated with me, probably because my quiet little, rural neighborhood just had a murder/suicide incident a month ago, which strangely remains still open and under investigation even though it would seem to most of us open-and-shut. Many secrets resulting in many rumors and conspiracy theories!

So this book's mystery came at just the right time for me, plus the dual narrators totally nailed it. Very well constructed; super character development. I sympathized with stay-at-home Alexis in her struggle to fit in in her new group of so-called friends while her lawyer husband is off traveling and advancing in his law career. She's super smart and has a lot of time on her hands to figure out what the police couldn't, shocking as it turns out to be, while their new house is crumbling around them.

Minatore Books comped me an e-galley, but I'm so glad I went with the audio instead on this one. Thanks to them for bringing this fantastic debut to my attention.

So this was supposed to be a thriller, but it was more of a nosy rich people neighborhood drama.

Neighbors are hooking up with other neighbors, everyone’s in everybody’s business, and there’s also…incest??

Like, this whole book is just wild. I was waiting for the unreliable narrators, but no. We had two different character POV and I don’t know that we really needed that. The woman killing her husband because they find out they’re actually half siblings after YEARS of marriage and kids and her mother knew but didn’t tell them because she was a child of rape so they didn’t grow up even knowing each other, but the wife wanted to stay together and the husband wanted to break it off because incest, and she didn’t want to be publicly humiliated so she has the other MC’s husband kill her half brother husband.

And the MC’s husband does it because he starts hooking up with this lady and is an asshole character and the literal worst and the MC deserved better.

Also there’s a lot of parents family drama with the MC that leads to nothing and also she has an eating disorder out of nowhere for no reason and it was all unnecessary.

The whole thing was all just sorts of messy. Not really thriller-ish. And everyone just gets away will killing somebody. As rich people do.

Overall this was sort of eh, if you’re looking for a neighborhood drama quick read this will work for you. If you’re looking for a thriller, this isn’t it.

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was just awful. Again 2 very unlikeable characters. A plot that is so painfully boring it took me quite awful to finish. Just when you think the plot it is about to amp up, it slows back down. This is most of the book. It was boring AF. Plus the ending was not believable. I was just glad for the book to be over.

What I did like:
The cover was pretty and the title was grabbing. I usually like book like this.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Melissa Adelman and St Martins Press Minotaur books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

Thanks netgalley and st.martins press for this e-book. When a chilling murder of a prominent figure is discovered in a posh DC suburb, all the neighbors are on edge. If you’re a fan of rich people drama, this is the read for you. I was truly shocked at a few of the twists, I never saw them coming. But, unfortunately the last twist was very predictable, this was originally going to be a 4 star read, but I ended up giving it 3 stars. I felt like it was kind of slow at times. I would definitely read from this author again.

It is rare for me to give up on a domestic suspense novel, but the dialogue in this one felt forced. It made it impossible for me to connect with the story and characters. Dialogue is huge for me in a novel — if it feels forced or fake, it completely kills it for me.

I do not share my DNF reviews publicly.

I love neighborhood dramas! This one tells the story of Sam and Alexis moving into a wealthy neighborhood and buying the “worst” house in the neighborhood. Alexis is pregnant, the renovations cause marital stress and one of their new neighbors is found murdered. None of this is what they signed up for! Unlikeable characters but a plot that will keep you interested. This is a wild ride!

This was described as "Desperate Housewives meets the Couple Next Door", and it was a poor version of that. I didn't enjoy it.

A neighborhood mystery with a few unexpected twists. I liked the dual voices and the side plots that ultimately fed into the mystery. However none of the characters were likable, and that made parts of the book difficult to get through. A solid 3 stars for me.

This landed right in the middle for me. I'm hard to please when it comes to domestic thrillers, so this one was just fine. It started with a lot and then after the fast pace it just ended up having a lot of run off throughout. I finished the book and was left with many questions that could've been answered if the writing was a little better. The plot itself was good. The dual POV's definitely helped.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Thanks to netgalley for an advanced reader copy. I felt this was a solid 3.5. Some parts were compelling, others a bit predictable. I would read this author again, as I felt there was good potential.

Why are more people not talking about What The Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman!? Ugh! This thriller was just SO good!

I'm going to start by shouting this statement from the rooftops: I LOVE BOOKS ABOUT NEIGHBOURHOOD DRAMA! And this one continued to scratch that itch for me!

I was hooked on this suspenseful suburban thriller from the get go. Both narrations from Alexis and Blair were unreliable at various times, and I ate up each of their twisted perspectives! I also found myself really relating with Alexis as a young mother - I love finding a character I can connect with but especially within this genre. As the story unraveled, I became aware that not everything was as it seemed, and quickly became suspicious of key characters in the story.

This one is like taking bits from The Whispers, None Of This Is True, and Everyone Here Is Lying - and I loved all three of those books, so it's no shock that I loved this one too! Cough cough - it also gave me Gone Girl vibes!

Have I mentioned that I like warped neighbourhood dramas yet?

Once more for those in the back: I loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.