I had not previously read anything by Kia Abdullah, but “legal thriller” is possibly my favorite genre, so I was happy to receive a copy of Perfectly Nice Neighbors from Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

The publisher’s blurb didn’t tell me much, other than that it was a “twisty and consuming thriller” and Lisa Jewell said “ One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars.” The focal point as the novel opens is Salma Khatun, who has recently moved to Blenheim, a suburban development where she, her husband, and their son Zain have moved, hoping for a new start. It isn’t clear at first why they needed a new start, but this one unfolds in ways that are subtle and surprising.

The underlying story of suburban racism is introduced when Salma notices her neighbor, Tom, removing a Black Lives Matter banner from the Khatun’s yard. She retrieves it, this time in her window, but the next day finds her window has been painted over. WTF? This introduction to Tom as a white man who wants reminders of racial issues GONE from the neighborhood is really well done. Salma tries speaking to Tom, but that doesn’t go well, and as for Tom’s wife, Willa, she “had been raised with a stiff upper lip and a suspicion of the “other,.”” As Salma talks with her son Zain about the situation between the two families, she says “You don’t understand, sweetheart, women like Willa wield power and if they choose to, they can wound far deeper.” Then clarifies she is referring to women who are “Pretty. Educated…White.” Later, during the trial that takes up much of the story, Salma thinks about Willa as one of the “Beautiful… Skinny white women who wore their looks with false humility…”

As for the racism, Salma had “…seen it all her life: tears used as a weapon against people like her…Sometimes, they were subtle, like the time Salma accidentally toes a classmate’s mat in their weekend yoga class. The look of revulsion made her feel like an ogre: larger, darker, hairier…People like Salma made a thousand adjustments for the sake of others’ comfort.”

The second half of the book becomes this grabber of a legal thriller, with family drama, teenage angst, financial and political issues, and friendship between teenage boys thrown in.

The racial and social tensions escalate slowly but surely, and the drama and tension are handled extremely well. There is a sense of foreboding as things spiral out of control, and plenty of twists along the way. I plan to read more of Ms. Abdullah’s work, and recommend this to fans of suburban mysteries, legal thrillers, and well-written stories. Five stars

Do you really know your neighbors??

Yikes, Perfect Nice Neighbors may just be the thriller for everyone. Salma and her family have just moved into their new home, hoping for a fresh start. A welcoming BBQ and meeting new neighbors… they all seem so nice. But you already begin to feel some undertones of racism.
Heated disagreements and acts of aggression ensue in the coming days and weeks - a banner kicked out of a yard, a window painted over, and the slurs begin to fly. And it all spirals out of control from there.

A great thriller, great plot and character development. Told from multiple POV. Amazing courtroom dialogue as well.

Many times I thought I had it all figured out and it came down to the very end and I was wrong.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this early release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 12 Sep 2023

This book is a very heavy read for a thriller, as it gives a very real depiction of racism, microagressions, and victim-blaming that occurs subtly in everyday society. This book made me very emotional and uncomfortable, but in the right ways - it has forced me to really reflect on the actions and words of each character in this book. That all said, it is still definitely a thriller, and the reader is left unsure who to trust and believe right until the very end. The last couple of pages left me in shock, making it an easy 5-star read for me.

I really enjoyed this! It has twists and turns and kept me on my toes. I wasn't sure how this book was going to end and was surprised and shocked by the ending. This is a well done thriller and I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Kia Abdullah, Penguin and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Bangladeshi family Bilal, Salma, and Zain Khatun have recently moved to the Blenheim neighborhood of London. After dealing with financial stress related to Bil's failed restaurant, as well as the social fallout from Zain's misbehavior in their old neighborhood, they're ready for a fresh start in their new home. Their new neighbors, Willa and Tom Hutton, seem nice enough at first, and Zain becomes fast friends with their teenage son Jamie. But then Salma witnesses Tom knocking down a Black Lives Matter banner the Khatuns have placed in their yard, and tensions between the families swiftly escalate -- until someone is hurt, and the families are forced to face off for a final time in a courtroom.

Perfectly Nice Neighbors is a domestic neighborhood drama, but not one that deals with salacious secrets. Instead, it focuses unflinchingly on heavy themes like racism and prejudice, classism, and the fraught political climate. No popcorn thriller vibes here: This book is straight-up not a good time -- it made me so stressed while I was reading it -- and that's exactly the point. It's meant to make the reader anxious and uncomfortable, to force us to face our own internalized prejudices and perceptions, to make us think about our answers to complex moral questions about bullying, race, and revenge.

Kia Abdullah doesn't take an overt side in the narrative, instead presenting us with multiple viewpoints so we understand each character's motivations and the complexities of the issues involved. Both the narrative and the characters are pretty in-your-face, without a lot of nuance, which again I think is precisely the point. Everything seems a bit exaggerated for effect as Abdullah spotlights these timely, charged social issues. I didn't really like any of the characters, but I absolutely understood where they were coming from, how their various life experiences affected their choices.

This was my first book by Abdullah, and I'm not sure that her writing style is really for me -- it's a lot of telling vs. showing. Also, I was bothered that the animals were used as plot devices. Leave the pups out of the messy human conflicts, please! Overall, though, Perfectly Nice Neighbors is a thought-provoking, socially relevant examination of the most uncomfortable parts of humanity. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the complimentary reading opportunity.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars! This was such a great mystery/thriller! Kia is such an amazing writer and has me guessing all the way until the end. Salma and Bilal just wanted to move to a nice neighborhood for their son, Zane, so that he can be raised in a safer environment. What they got was not what they expected or wanted! Definitely recommend to anyone that enjoys mystery/thrillers!

3.5 stars. This book is about a family that moves into a new neighborhood and has conflict with one of the new neighbors. This is my first book by this author. It was a good book! I will definitely read more of hers. I really liked the plot of this book. The twists were good and I did not see the big one coming. I felt like the timeline was off a little bit a couple of times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Wow, what a wild ride!! Who is actually at fault here???

4 out of 5 stars and my respect to the author.

Perfectly nice neighbors is a taut, social thriller. A new family movies into a neighborhood and Selma catches her white neighbor removing a Black Lives Matter sign from the yard. She then places it into her window only to later find her window smashed. Believing it to be her neighbor, Selma confronts him and tensions between the two families escalate to the point of no return. What starts as a domestic thriller soon turns into a courtroom thriller. Hints of Celeste ng and Angie Kim’s influences are felt throughout. The story moves at a rapid pace and the characters are believable. Timely and relevant a great read for anyone looking for a thriller that will give the reader something to think about when finished.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

A Bangladeshi family moves into a suburban neighborhood in England and their white neighbors start a series of micro-aggressions and tensions and retaliations escalate. The story definitely kept me engaged trying to see where this would lead. The far-fetched ending let me down a bit--but overall it was a great ride.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this neighborly dispute book going into it, but once I got to know the characters, it was easy to became invested. The narration felt perfect for the story and was easy and enjoyable to listen to! I really loved the ending and how I never would’ve predicted where it was going from the start! If you like neighborhood psychological thrillers with a heavy focus on race, check this book out!

A unique domestic suspense that will give readers a lot to think about. Each of these characters is flawed and has something to hide. Abdullah’s writing is exquisite.

A London neighborhood-mostly white until the Khatun family moves in. They are invited to a neighborhood barbecue, but experience micro-aggressions right away, and some not so micro. They moved there to keep their teenage son from the trouble he was starting to get into in their old house. But things are not much better here, and he is struggling. The tension between the family and their next door neighbors increases, until tragedy strikes. This is kind of a thriller, but also an exploration of racism in the suburbs. I liked this one okay, definitely felt that both sides could have made better decisions in many cases. #perfectlyniceneighbors #kiaabdullah #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

I enjoyed this thriller and in no way did I see the ending coming. The courtroom scenes were well written and I enjoyed a how all the chat were written, except Tom. He was kinda all over the place and I just really couldn’t (good or bad) connect with him.

The story really made you think about how things are perceived and received with today’s “woke” culture. Racism, tolerance…do we no longer know what these words mean?!

Perfectly Nice Neighbors is the newest legal thriller/mystery by Kia Abdullah. I am a big fan of Abdullah's writing. I enjoy that her books feature a legal aspect as well as some great unexpected twists. This latest book now has me wanting to wave and smile at my neighbors so that I never get into an escalated situation like the characters experience in Perfectly Nice Neighbors. This book tackles race relations and perceptions as well as how quickly judgment occurs now that so much of our daily interactions are immediately posted online. A well-told book that will have you thinking about a lot. Read and enjoy!

Salma Khatun and her Bangladeshi family move into a mostly-white suburban neighbor, and quickly clash with neighbor Tom Hutton, who unceremoniously rips out the anti-racist banner her son put in their yard. When she puts it up inside the house instead, someone paints the window white so that the banner can't be seen outside.

This is a marvelously written thriller diving into the prickly topics of class and racism. As the issue ends up in court, we see the justice system at work (or not). I really appreciated the friendship between the two families' boys while the adults were in the middle of this dispute. I was surprised by the ending. Fascinating page turner. Absolutely loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a bit different than Kia Abdullah's other books I've read, which were legal thrillers. In Perfectly Nice Neighbors, a new family moves into the neighborhood - Salma, Bil and Zain are hoping to make a fresh start. After some odd interactions with their next-door neighbors, Willa and Tom, they notice their BLM banner taken down from their front yard. They put the banner back up in the front window of their home, and then the next morning, they notice someone has painted white over the banner. This must be an act of racism? It doesn't look like the fresh start they had anticipated.

I thought this was a thought-provoking psychological thriller that dives into our perception of others and things people do that can be interpreted as racism. When posts go up on social media, anger really flares between the neighbors. I think every reader can interpret things in this book in different ways, which I thought was very creative by the author.

I really enjoy how the suspense builds throughout the book. There are some good twists and unexpected surprises. Not everyone makes it out ok.

**Many thanks to Shelf Awareness, Putnam, and Kia Abdullah for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren't true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Moving to the lovely neighborhood of Bleinheim was supposed to be a fresh start for Salma, Bil, and their son Zain. They soon discover that they are some of the only Bangladeshi inhabitants of their area, however, and their neighbors don't exactly greet them with a fruit basket. When they put up a Black Lives Matter flag in their front yard, stickler neighbor Tom icily informs them that banners aren't allowed....by knocking said banner down with a rock. Salma and Bil are stunned by the dramatic action, but Salma tries to adjust accordingly and moves the flag inside to display through the window instead. But the neighbors once again up the ante, and cover the front of the window with white paint so the flag is no longer visible...and Salma is furious.

Tom's glamorous wife Willa has appearances to maintain, and she feels the need to protect her husband Tom when he steps out of line. So when Salma shows up on her doorstop to confront Tom, the situation escalates and shouting ensues. When racial commentary TRULY enters the picture and is caught on video, things spiral even further out of control. In the background, Salma and Tom's son Jamie is forging a friendship with Zain, despite their feuding parents and the building hostility. But when a family dog goes missing...and then someone ends up in the HOSPITAL with an ominous diagnosis, leading the families to the courtroom...will it be determined WHICH member of these families was the one to go TOO far...and will the victim even survive?

Kia Abdullah is so gifted: her prose never fails to weave an intricate tale of law and order, right and wrong, all while exploring hot-button social topics in a thoughtful and unexpected way. Though this is only my second novel of hers, I noticed some fabulous commonalities between this and Take It Back: namely, the exploration of perception vs. reality and the class divide that seems to have been exacerbated by the rise of social media and also the tumultuous political clashes occurring both here in the US, and in the UK (where this book is set) as well. With such a dramatic and ever-changing cultural shift, it's easy for so many of us to lump people into "us vs. them" (even those striving to be accepting of all and to pass NO judgment) based on the stereotypes and preconceived notions that we get bombarded with on a daily basis.

What Abdullah does in this book though, is allow YOU the reader to change YOUR mind over...and over...and over again. Not only will you cycle through trusting each of the main characters while determining the perpetrator, you'll never truly feel like you can put full stock in any of their opinions: or your own either. Whether your political ideologies seemingly line up with one couple vs. another, trust me when I say you will be SHOCKED at least once before the credits roll (so to speak). Abdullah keeps enough tension and doubt throughout to keep any plot point from seeming like an obvious one, and much like the people you might meet on the street, there is more to ALL of these players than meets the eye at first glance.

And perhaps Adichie's statement could be pushed a bit further...maybe there is not only more than one story to be told in general, but there is instead limitless potential for MANY stories, lying dormant in each of us...and we simply need to have the courage to pen the bravest, kindest, and most compassionate one.

4 stars

A thriller fueled with racial tension made for the perfect end of summer reading! I was gripped from page one and never lost interest or rolled my eyes. While this wasn't all entirely plausible, Abdullah makes it feel that way with her intelligent writing.

Kia Abdullah’s latest thriller, Perfectly Nice Neighbors (Putnam, 2023), published in the U.K. as Those People Next Door (Harper Collins, 2023), takes the reader to a middle-class community in London, where Salma and Bilal Khatun and their teen-aged son Zain have moved to get away from a less desirable part of the city. From the beginning, differences between them and their neighbors arise. Their neighbor objects to the “Black Lives Matter” banner that Zain posts in the Khatun front yard. Salma finds it on the ground a few times and then she sees the neighbor knock it down. She confronts him and he is furious that she dared to challenge him. Complaints about parking and cooking smells ensue. Salma’s car is damaged. All the while, the unofficial community president and busybody keeps advising Salma that the neighborhood is nice and that she should try to fit in.

Zain records one of the confrontations between the neighbor and his mother, and he posts it to Twitter. The image of the large white man looming over the smaller brown woman goes viral, and the neighbor loses his job. Tension skyrockets, between the neighbors and between Salma and Bilal, who wants his wife to back down and ignore the abuse. He’s worried about money, having lost his restaurant during the pandemic shutdown; the family is barely making ends meet. They cannot afford to move again. Salma thinks that the meanness has to be faced or it will never stop.

The outcome of the animosity is completely unexpected and changes both families forever.

Abdullah describes the attempts of second- and third-generation immigrants in England to create a home and to go about their business while being viewed askance by those whose families have been in the country much longer. It makes for painful reading. Racism and intolerance appear in the most unlikely places; Abdullah makes it her mission to display the uncompromising reality.

The role of social media in polarizing contemporary society does not escape her eagle eye. The speed that word spread about the conflict via Twitter drew the line between the two families more deeply and left little room for easy resolution of their differences.

Abdullah is one of those contemporary thriller writers who tells a good story while highlighting serious social issues. It isn’t hard to see parallels between the experience of immigrants in the U.K. and here in the U.S. Her books are not easy to read but they always give me a lot to think about. Recommended.