Thank you NetGallery and publisher for allowing me to read the arc ebook of,Perfectly Nice Neighbors.I found this novel highly enjoyable but disturbing in many ways. It’s how neighbors get into a minor disagreement which gets more and more out of hand.It’s escalates to the point there’s no going back without repercussions.I don’t want to tell more to spoil the ending which is a shocking surprise.

I felt that this was a great domestic thriller. The dynamic and the ongoing battle between the neighbors gives readers that tense and suspense feeling that leads to an exciting conclusion that they won't see coming. (I didn't). There is social commentary about race and how we use social media, but I think that makes it very relatable to the world we live in now, just adding suspense to the story. The battle between these neighbors makes me rethink moving to the suburbs.

This book has so much in it to discuss, the violence of two families in crisis, while one appears to be the sympathetic ones, no one is one thing, racism, financial issues and difference, bullying and much more. Many fruitful discussions could be opened up with this book.

A complicated book about families in conflict, racism overt and microaggresions, classism, lookism and the assumptions we make about each other. The need to hurt, get revenge builds up as other life pressure cause an explosive confrontation. As often with her books, the legal issues, a trial happens and will the guilty get punished and how can people move on, with their families after the worst happens

no one is right, and everyone is wrong in #perfectlyniceneighbors by @kiaabdullah. such a painful read about "perfectly nice" people who act and feel anything but. misjudgment, mistakes, overreactions and overcompensations abound - none of them seem to have bad intentions yet they each exist in their own bubbles, thinking they are so magnanimous and open-minded when again, they are anything but. and when i arrived, heartbroken, depleted and breathless, i find that the one character who might be redeemable, is...sorry...anything but! quite the page turner, i highly recommend for these woke times.

p.s. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. Readers will not be able to put this down. The feud between neighbors deepens and darkens with every chapter. The themes of justice, racism, and assimilation can all be discussed. I wish there wasn’t profanity so that I could recommend this for a school
library. Thank you for closure, even though it’s not a happy ending.

I really liked this book. I think the story is very timely shows the racism and microagressions people can face. This would be a great book for book discussions as I think it will lead to some very important discussions. I do not consider this a mystery or suspense novel by any means though, which is what it is being labeled as. This is domestic fiction with some court room drama (which isn't even a big part of the story). An overall satisfying read, which did leave me shocked at the end. I also ended up feeling sorry for everyone involved (minus one person). Great book with a complex and timely story, but this should not be in any mystery or suspense category.

WOW. MINDBLOWN is the first word that comes to mind. How have I never read any of this author's books before? I stayed up way past my bedtime (yes, I am an adult and yes, I do have a bedtime) just to finish reading Perfectly Nice Neighbors. Started off lowkey and quickly kept building up. It reminded me a bit of BEEF (Netflix) but with tons of microaggressions and racism. Holy hell, this was quite a ride. I felt so many emotions, mainly disbelief, shock, anger, sadness, and disgust. Highly recommend this book to anyone who also enjoyed BEEF or even When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. Thank you so so so much, Putnam and Netgalley, for my eARC. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this book now.

This book explores a lot of themes most of us are never really exposed to- the "expat" experience, the concept of race in other countries and the colonoial aftermath. The author explored these themes in a poignant way through the harrassment her family faces at the hands of their neighbour Tom. The reader is left stunned at the audacity of Tom to behave this way but the authorities still don't do much to stop him. I think this can be a powerful book to explore racism and colonoalism. I will suggest this book to my sister who is a high school history teacher because it's a good way to explore those themes in fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Kia Abdullah - 5 stars!

Selma and her husband, Bilah, moved into a "better" neighborhood, trying to get their son Zane away from bad influences. They have high hopes when they are invited to a neighborhood barbecue, but when Selma spots her neighbor, Tom, ripping out her Black Lives Matter banner, tensions between the neighbors quickly escalate. Soon, things become dangerous.

If you don't have Kia Abdullah as a must-read author, that needs to change. Her books are always 5 star reads for me and seem to get better all the time. This is a situation all too common - skirmishes between neighbors - but goes in depth into all the layers involved. There are a lot of relevant topics too - tolerance, racism, classism, protecting our families. Plus, society seems to be very sensitive and on the lookout for any perceived slights, so that things can be misinterpreted easily. I loved the twists but hated to see this book come to an end. Another book from this author that you won't be able to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Perfectly Nice Neighbors.

I've read books by this author before I was pleased when my request was approved.

The author has a flair for blending domestic and courtroom drama in just the right way; not too much or too little of either.

I also enjoy her writing style, the tone is comfortable, and the writing flows and moves smoothly.

In Perfectly Nice Neighbors, Salma and Bil, with their son, have just moved into a nice neighborhood, hoping to escape from their current financial and personal struggles.

An early clash with their next door neighbors leads to shocking consequences and the near destruction of both families.

At first, I wasn't sure the POV of the neighbors was necessary, I'm not a fan of multiple POV, but as I was reading, I understood the need for it.

Both families' perspectives demonstrate how we each 'lie' to ourselves, excuse our behaviors and the actions of those we love, and how we can't see past our own prejudices.

At the same time, we never really know what the other person is feeling and thinking.

We can't put ourselves in his or her own shoes because we come with our own set of issues, circumstances, and personal experiences no one else has but us.

What was interesting was that I didn't sympathize with anyone, except Jaime and Zain.

I did relate to Salma, and in some ways with Willa, but neither woman was sympathetic, and I think that's the image the author was aiming for.

There was plenty of suspense and tension, the pacing of the narrative was just right, interspersed with happy and anxious scenes between Jaime and Zain's budding friendship.

I read this pretty quickly, I was interested in what was going to happen even though I guessed the 'twist' at the end but I do read this genre 99% of the time.

This author is quickly becoming a favorite of mine and I look forward to her next book!

I will read anything and everything by this author. The writing sucks you in, and puts you right in the middle of family dynamics, social struggles, and in this case neighborly drama. At first I thought I would lose interest in the story since it seemed to be just that, neighbor drama, but it unfolded into so much more. And just as is the writer's style, the twists will feel like a gut punch, and leave you thinking about this book long after you read it.

Social media, neighborhood rules, racism, lies and hypocrisy collide in Perfectly Nice Neighbors, a domestic drama by the gifted writer Kia Abdullah. Their restaurant has failed because of the pandemic and their son Zain has dropped out of school but still Salma and Bil move into their new home in Blenheim, a definite step up for the couple. Things go wrong from the first week when, at a neighborhood barbecue, Salma interprets remarks as racist. Her next door neighbor Tom makes it easy to do so. A BLM banner begins the slow decline of neighborhood relationships into arguments, physical violence and finally the horrible, inevitable conclusion that no one wanted.

Perfectly Nice Neighbors will leave you breathless, wondering what happened and why. Kia Abdullah shows the subtlety of casual, generational racism, racism that affects both Salma and Tom’s behavior. The final scene will leave you surprised and disappointed. This thought provoking novel is perfect for book clubs everywhere. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Kia Abdullah for this ARC.

Kia Abdullah is one of my favorite authors, and this one doesn't disappoint. I was instantly hooked by this tale. It was disturbing and quite a stressful read given the topics...but highly unputdownable. I do have to say that the ending didn't shock me as much as Abdullah's previous novels, but it was still a great twist that I don't think many will see coming. I really hope she keeps gaining fans in the U.S. so we can continue to receive her fantastic books here. I highly recommend!

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abdullah’s previous 3 novels have all ended up in my year-end favourites list, so i obvious hold her future books to very high expectations and this one did not disappoint!
Her twisty, surprising legal thrillers always deal with topics and characters that you don’t see much of in modern fiction, and always have a really well done ‘what would you do in this situation’ type of moral dilemma…she writes not only an interesting story, but in a thought provoking way.
This most recent addition to her catalogue focuses on feuding neighbours and how things just keep escalating between the two sides, in which neither party is perfectly innocent…

My first Kia Abdullah book, but not my last! PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS escalated rapidly, but in a way that made perfect sense. A thought-provoking but still thrilling story.

This was a great book that deals with many issues going on today. The ending was the best part. I would recommend this book to others.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group- Putnam for my ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC - I had been hoping to read this! Without giving too much away, I can honestly say I truly loved most things about this read. I love a good neighborhood drama with characters that are fully fleshed out with personalities and their own lives, and this book did that super well. The ending however, felt a bit rushed and very sped up compared to the rest of the book and how it ended completely felt a bit off. Kind of like a rollercoaster abruptly ending right after the drop. I still truly loved it and will read more from this author!

This is me standing and giving a loud long round of applause. 4.5 stars, that I'm rounding up because of Kia Abdullah's amazing writing skills. The .5 reduction is based simply off the fact that about the ONLY thing I have an issue with in storytelling is when animals are treated poorly or hurt. It wasn't anything bad that should make a "normal" reader shy away. As an example of my weirdness about this, show me a busload of people killed in a crash and of course, I'm sad and horrified. Add an animal on that bus and I am inconsolable even if it's done fictitiously. Yeah, it's a personal quirk, but I own it!!! Anyway, back to the story and the writing. This woman has quite the gift. You will find yourself easily pulled in. I was so very tense throughout and could physically feel said tension between the neighbors. What an impossible situation to be in. And can we talk about that final plot twist? Even with reading so many thrillers over the past couple years, I did NOT see that twist coming. If you are looking for something that can still surprise you in the sea of thrillers that are flooding the market these days, this is one of those!!!

Bil and Salma make a hard decision and move to a seemingly nice neighbourhood to get their 18 year old son away from potential trouble of being in the wrong crowd in their currently neighbourhood.

They meet the new neighbours at a BBQ right after moving in and while they seemed ok, Salma did not know if they were "her people". It becomes apparent they are not when she see her neighbor Tom pull her Black Lives Matter banner from her front porch.

After confronting him, things quickly escalate. The families quickly become enemies and the antics become more drastic and downright dangerous.

Both families have sons who despite all of the tension have become friends, but ultimately pay the cost for the discord in the parents.