Talented Kia Abdullah returns following Next of Kin (5 stars) with her latest engrossing twisty and thought-provoking family drama, domestic, psychological suspense, PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS —two neighbors on opposite sides, a war in suburbia, things escalate; how far will you go to keep your family safe.

Asian family Salma (teacher), her husband Bilal (Bil-restauranteur), and their teen son Zain (18) Khatun have moved to a safe suburban development of Blenheim. They have high hopes the move will be better than their last home for their son. He has been kicked out of college, and this move is their new beginning. They hope this will be a better environment.

They attend a neighborhood BBQ and meet their neighbors, Tom and Willa Hutton, with their son Jamie (16). They were offputting to Salma & Bil, thinking they were in social housing when they purchased the home privately.

Salma was more cynical than Bil, and this was the safest place they could afford. They needed to make the most of it.

However, their neighbor Tom soon takes an anti-racist banner out of Salma’s garden. She puts the flag/banner in their window and decides not to get into it with Tom.

She is shocked the next day when she discovers someone has painted her window white over the window—next, one nightmare after another.

The tension mounts between the two families, and they wonder where they have moved. Despite the friendship of their two sons, Zain and Jamie, the battle between the two neighboring families continues to escalate until they wind up in court. Things become dangerous.

With tempers flaring living that close, someone is bound to get hurt. Which neighbor will be forced out? With devastating consequences for both families—each will pay for their actions.

Revenge, Defiance, Insanity? Things are not as they appear.

PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS is a timely, powerful drama, and the author, as always, is a pro with her skillful writing, this time delving into human connections, allowing the reader to see both sides of the coin. The author skillfully captures the moral complexities of her characters.

A huge fan of the author, this one is an emotional rollercoaster read, with themes of class, prejudices, hypocrisy, race, and violence with the author's signature courtroom scenes and final unexpected TWIST.

Insightful and thought-provoking, challenging readers to check their attitudes and behaviors. For fans of Lisa Scottoline.

Thanks to Penguin G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for sharing a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Sept 12, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books

A Bangladeshi couple, Bil and Salma, along with their teenage son, Zain, move to Blenheim in hopes of securing a better future for their boy. When their Black Lives Matter banner is knocked down Salma assumes it toppled over of it's own accord so she affixes it and goes about her day. The next day she witnesses her white neighbor Tom knocking it down and she's aghast. In a moment of rebellion she takes the banner and displays it in their front window with a "take that" attitude. Imagine her surprise when she wakes the next morning to find someone has painted over her window that displayed the banner blocking it from view.

The animosity between the families continues to escalate from here until someone lies in a coma.

I won't say anything more about the plot because I will let you discover this gem for yourself. I am utterly convinced that Kia Abdullah can not and will not write a bad book. I am now 4 for 4 in loving what she writes. She seems to have her finger on the pulse of various social issues and spins them into compelling stories that leaves her readers pondering so many things. Often times I found myself asking what I would do in such a situation and sometimes my answer frightened even me. I don't take kindly to any form of bullying but is it right to become the aggressor in an effort to protect yourself and those you love? Is an eye for an eye really the right answer? As always the answers in Abdullah's stories are never straight forward and she always manages to shock me with her revelations and this story was no different. The ending was just ... wow! I never once suspected THAT. 😲 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my complimentary copy.

This book was not a thriller, and I found it way too politically charged for my tastes. I actually DNF’d at 70% because the story just didn’t grab my attention.

A brilliant and twisty domestic thriller!

Salma Khatun, her husband Bil, and teenage son Zain move to a nice neighborhood of Blenheim for a fresh start. Zain is expelled from his old school and Bil's restaurant closed up for good due to the pandemic.

Although there was some tension, their first neighborhood barbeque and meeting the neighbors went okay.

What's not okay is their neighbor next door, the Huttons. Tom Hutton works at an ad agency and always goes by the book. Tom sees his new neighbor has a banner on their lawn which is against the housing regulations. Tom doesn't like conflict so he decides to knock it over instead of telling the newcomers. It was a BLM banner. Salma sees Tom through her window and takes it that their white neighbors and his family are racist.

Retaliation ensues and lots of it...back and forth and boy did it escalate!

I found both halves of the book to be really good. The first half is the neighborhood/domestic suspense with the second half being the courtroom scene. Certain parts of the trial can be repetitive but also provide new insights from witnesses.

There are many grey areas. I thought I knew who were the good guys and who weren't but the lines blurred as misperception and prejudice go both ways.

Needless to say, Perfectly Nice Neighbors keeps me hooked and surprises me with a twisty reveal. Kia Abdullah knows how to wrap it all up to a satisfying ending.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for this DRC.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛʟʏ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɴᴇɪɢʜʙᴏʀs ʙʏ ᴋɪᴀ ᴀʙᴅᴜʟʟᴀʜ

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

Half way through this book I thought I had this figured out..I was convinced I knew all the answers and how it was going to end. I love that I was wrong about everything!

I think that it is best to go into this one blind and not read to much about it because it could make you think it’s going to be political. The author covers a lot of topics including money problems during the pandemic, racism, cancel culture, and sexism. It touches on all of these while still maintaining a suspense/mystery storyline.

I do wish the ending would have had a little bit more than just a few pages and that some of my lingering questions would have been answered. I feel like I get anxiety not knowing what happened everything was revealed 😅

Overall, this book took me a few days to read (mom life) but you could easily knock this out as a 1-2 day read.

Salma Khatun moves into a suburban development in Blenheim with her husband and son, hoping for a fresh start. Her son was kicked out of school after an incident, and she has been worried about him getting involved with the wrong crowd in the neighborhood they just moved from. Her husband Bil, just lost his restaurant in the pandemic, so money is tight, and they have yet to sell their old house, but they felt like they needed the fresh start. Soon after they move in, Salma spots her White neighbor, Tom Hutton, ripping out the Black Lives Matter banner that her son put up on the lawn. Rather than confront Tom directly, Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window. But the next morning, she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint. As racial and social tensions escalate and the stakes rise, it’s clear that a reckoning is coming . . . and someone is going to get hurt.

I love this author's books, and this is one of my new favorites. It was easy to see how one small act can snowball , until it is out of control. This book has a lot of good discussion points, so it would be perfect for book clubs. It covers racial bias from both perspectives. It also brings up the very important point about what you post on social media coming back to bite you, sometimes years later. If you are a fan of authors like Jodi Picoult, then this book is perfect for you. I highly recommend it!

Salma Khatun and her husband Bilal along with their teenage sone Zain move to a new neighbourhood seeking a better life and peer group. Unfortunately, they get off to a wrong start with their neighbour Tom Hutton when he knocks down their "Black Lives Matter" banner. What follows is a full-on drama where each party plays a part in aggravating the conflict rather than toning it down with disastrous consequences. An easy to read novel from Kia Abdullah which deftly moves from neighbourhood squabbles to court-room battles and keeps you hooked till the end.

Thank you Netgalley, Kia Abdullah and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC

Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah
Format: ebook/audio hybrid
Release Date: 9/12/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whew this book was heavy but phenomenal. Perfectly Nice Neighbors was my first read by Abdullah but certainly won’t be my last.

This thriller is SO anxiety inducing as we watch main character Salma and her family navigate increasingly hostile and racially charged interactions with their new neighbors. The stakes keep climbing higher and higher and the reveals were perfectly paced and so well thought out.

What made this thriller terrifying is just how realistic it is. This could very easily be reality. It is a social commentary on how dangerous the smallest aggressions from white folks can be and how easily our society can make life a living hell for folks of color.

If you are looking for a fun and twisty popcorn thriller, this isn’t really it. This book has very real stakes and real consequences. However it is incredibly well written and still has the twists we all love and expect out of a thriller! I highly recommend picking this one up!

Salma and Bilal have just moved to Blenheim, a suburb of London, which they hope will offer a new start for the Khatun family as they want to provide a safer neighborhood for their son Zain. They meet their new neighbors at a community barbecue and hope for the best in their mostly white neighborhood. Soon after, Salma witnesses next-door neighbor Tom Hutton taking down Zain's 'Black Lives Matter' banner from their front yard. Outraged, Salma, a strong-willed teacher, puts the banner in their window only to soon find that the window has been painted over. So begins the back-and-forth tensions with Tom and his wife Willa. When confronted by Salma, Tom claims the banner was in violation of the community guidelines and denies painting the window. But he gets out of control blurting racially insensitive remarks, all caught on video by Zain, who has developed a friendship with the Hutton's son Jamie. As things escalate further, the situation gets uglier and dangerous.

In Perfectly Nice Neighbors (released earlier this year in the UK as Those People Next Door,) talented author Kia Abdullah has provided a gritty, thought-provoking domestic thriller. It deals with deep rooted prejudices, class differences, accusations, rushes to judgement and many more complexities of life. Things spiral out of control so quickly that it got very uncomfortable reading. It's worth getting through the cringy feelings as the book offers Abdullah's excellent twists and surprises. An engaging book with a relevant message. Check it out.

Perfectly Nice Neighbors is a novel of escalating tension about two families who find themselves pitted against each other. Bangladeshi-English Salma and Bilal move to a well to do neighborhood with their 18 year old son Zain, hoping he will get onto a better path after some trouble at school. The new neighbors, conservative white Tom and Willa, have a 16 year old son, Jamie.

They get off on the wrong foot almost immediately, but their troubles and tension only escalate. We see firsthand the devastating effects miscommunication and biases can have. And how communication and behavior can be misconstrued even with those you love most.

The audiobook narration by Tania Rodrigues was excellent. Thank you, Putnam Books, PRH Audio, and NetGalley, for providing this ARC.

Kia Abdullah has written a tightly paced tale of a new family moving into an established neighborhood and experiencing trouble with their neighbors. The trouble snowballs and becomes very serious and life altering. The reader is left wondering who is to blame, with various possibilities in the mix.
Salma and Bil move with their young adult son, Zain. Zain places a small flag with a political statement in their yard. Salma observes their neighbor, Tom, knock it over and confronts him. The dispute keeps escalating until…. Secrets and revelations from members of both families are slowly revealed, changing your thoughts midstream throughout this read.
The passages involving the court room trial were very compelling to read as I learned more about each of them. The lawyers arguments were so realistic in today’s world. I found myself cringing with disbelief at times.
The friendship between Zain and Jamie was a reminder that racism is a learned behavior but people can choose to not follow their elder’s actions and treat others with respect.
Kudos to the power of Kia Abdullah’s writing that the reader is left hanging until the very end of this book to determine exactly what happened. I literally could not close my eyes until I knew what had happened.
Many many thanks to Kia Abdullah, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this soon to be published book.

3.5/5

They use a dog as a way to creat apprehension and I love dogs too much for that. The book definitely

The author examines race, prejudice, and preconceived notions. When Bilal, Salma, and Zain move into a mostly white neighborhood in the suburbs. When they go to a neigborhood bbq the neighbors offend them while attempting to be “welcoming”.
The twist at the end was so good. I couldn’t put it down. My favorite parts of the book took place in the court room. The author did a great job writing those scenes. I really enjoyed them.

I love this author & get excited when I see her name. This was my least favorite book by her. Although it kept me engaged & I wanted to know the outcome, I didn’t enjoy it that much. This story touches on racism & equality in a thought provoking way. Recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!!

Holy cannoli I did not see that ending coming! It is so rare for a thriller to surprise me and wowzers!

I love Salma’s character so much. The writing perfectly captured the struggle of her wanting to stand up for herself, her family, and others in need versus being “a good immigrant” (HER WORDS, not mine!!) and not making waves.

My heart broke for her husband Bilal, and how right off the bat he anglicized his name to make it easier for the neighbors instead of them just taking two seconds to learn how to say his name and remembering it.

Salma’s son Zain, and the neighbor’s son Jamie - ugh two young boys caught up in the crossfire, having to hide their friendship especially from Jamie’s dad Tom.

This book tackles heavy hitting issues such as racism, microaggressions, misconceptions, prejudices, even societal classes - and it does it well!

Highly recommend this neighborhood thriller!

Thank you @Netgalley and @PutnamBooks for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review was posted to Instagram (@rolandreviews) on Aug 31, 2023 and Goodreads (Katie&Roland) on Sept 7, 2023

🏘️I don't know how many neighborhood thrillers I've read, but it's been A LOT and I'm always surprised that authors are still coming up with fun new ways to spin them!

🏘️There was a lot going on here and it was pretty entertaining all the way around. I didn't really like any of people of this cray cray neighborhood, but that didn't take away from the experience at all. The ending took me by surprise, too!

🏘️Overall, a quick thriller that probably won't be super memorable, but I'm glad I read it!

🏘️Also, I know we all joke about thrillers with houses on the covers bur CLEARLY publishers know what they're doing, because they sell me every. single. time. 😂

⭐3.5

📖Thanks so much to @putnambooks for the gifted, beautiful finished copy of this book 📙

I love a good thriller and was excited to receive the arc for this book! However I was quickly disappointed.

The first 50% of this book was honestly torture for me to get through. I didn’t like the characters who were mostly all awful humans. I also thought the dialogue was terrible and seemed fake. I really wanted to stop reading and give up but since I had an arc, I felt I should complete the book in order to leave a truly honest review.

Around Part 2, the book became more interesting to me. I was definitely curious where it was going and how it would end. However the twist was really unbelievable to me and overall I would not recommend this book.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a mix for me - it started strong, lagged in the middle, and then I liked the last parts of it and was surprised by the ending.

When Salma and her family new to a new housing development, she quickly becomes at odds with her neighbor Tom and his wife Willa. At the same time their conflicts begin, their teenage sons become fast friends and start working together developing an app. Everything escalates quickly and took turns that I did not see coming.

The writing in this felt a little uneven to me -- some of it was really engaging and then some of the dialogue was very forced and did not seem realistic at all.

The adults in this are pretty unpleasant and their actions made me cringe -- but I did really enjoy the teenagers and their interactions and sweet friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah. Thanks to @putnambooks and @netgalley for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Salma and Bilal start off on the wrong foot with their new neighbor after he tears down their anti-racism banner. When Salma confronts him, the disagreement escalates.

This was such a great story that surprised me several times. I loved how it changes from a thrilling suspense, to a court room drama, to a mystery. You’ll think you have some things figured out, but you likely don’t- get ready for some major twists. The plot reminded me a lot of the House of Sand and Fog, which is one my favorite books.

“When someone bullies you, you strike back with more force than expected.”

Perfectly Nice Neighbors comes out 9/12.

A Bangladeshi family moves in a new home on Blenheim. They are invited to a barbecue and are welcomed into the neighborhood. The new family lives next door to a “white” couple named Tom and Willa.

The first thing the family does is to allow their son to put a BLACK LIVES MATTER poster in the front yard. Right off, I find that offensive. It’s like an “in your face” invitation to start an incident and to announce to your neighbors how you feel politically. In this day of Woke policies being pushed down the throats of people, this book simply ignites more tensions between the races. I refuse to read such garbage. Therefore, I am not finishing this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Note: This woman had a chip on her shoulder from the first time she appeared in the book. I was so disappointed with this political BS.

I spent a majority of the time reading this book with my shoulders all tensed up. I could easily see this exact situation playing out in almost any neighborhood anywhere, including my own. One thing leads to another, no one willing to let something go without a response, and it just gets worse. I really liked the character development and how each one was given multiple layers. You couldn't just assume anyone was good or bad. I also appreciated the relationship between the two sons. It felt like a somewhat platonic Romeo and Juliet, though I am not sure that was the author's intent. Needless to say, this story will stay with me and I'll be reminded of it whenever I pass one of my neighbor's equality or BLM signs.