I received this book as an ARC (thank you to netgalley).

I could not tell what the plot was when I was reading. Due to this, the book
was difficult to follow with the different story lines inside of it. None seemed to add or take away from the possible main plot. (????)

Will I read another from this author? Most definitely. I feel this one just fell short for me. It does not mean it won't be outstanding to you so if the book sounds like a book you would like to read definitely pick it up and read it for yourself.

This is a good read.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as others by this author as this one felt a little disjointed.
The main story is around Clare who is a recent widow. Her best friend and neighbour from over the road, Vic, tells her she’s leaving her husband and Clare is happy to support her.
When Vic goes to collect some items she’s finds her husband dead in the house.
The investigation is underway to find his killer but it moves quite slowly.
Jed is trying to find his father after his Mum passed away and his enquiries lead him to Clare.
I’m used to gripping mystery thrillers from this author but I’m afraid this one fell a bit flat for me.
A good read overall though.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a decent book, but it felt like two in one. There were to separate plots that never came together. What did the extra son have to do with the murder? Also, Claire was too accepting of the son to be realistic… she wasn’t mad at her ex husband at all?? The murder plot was pretty good. Too many details about irrelevant things like Claire cleaning John’s room.

The Couple Across the Street…. I honestly am struggling to put into words how this book made me feel but I’m going to try!

One of the main story lines had so much potential! I think the author really could have made it a standalone novel and had more fun with the characters and gone way more in depth with the story line. I was enjoying trying to think of all the twists and turns it could take while I read - but it didn’t at all. Like, I honestly don’t even know what the purpose was at the end.

The other major story line had potential as well to be a standalone, but again, it was overshadowed by the other story.

The book ended up feeling disjointed because the two stories were not meaningful to each other in any way. It felt like 2 different books at times.

I also didn’t like that author changed character POV’s by the paragraph. It can be tedious having to make sure you don’t miss a switch.

The author is obviously a great writer and has a great way of putting a story together, I just wish she would’ve gone more in depth so I could’ve connected more with any of the characters.

Lastly, the ending of this book is so frustrating to me. The conclusion to the story lines were so ridiculous and out of nowhere I don’t even understand why they would be included. Jed’s final comment… what? Just totally out of the blue! Also, “the woman” at the end….. why? It didn’t even make sense to me! Why!!!

I have so many questions! I hope the author writes two separate books to follow up with these massive cliffhangers because they have potential but this novel never gave any one story the chance to really shine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC!

I liked this one well enough would not say it was a must read. Secrets and lies among neighbors as well as the past coming to haunt.

Positives:
Multiple subplots that made the book more intriguing
Told from multiple perspectives including the detectives which I always enjoy
Her writing is easy to read

Negatives:
There were multiple plotlines that I never really understood why the author would tie them together (cheating, murder, SA of a minor)
It took a lot of time with very dsecriptive writing about things like cleaning, rearranging furniture, painting, running errands, for the "mystery" to be revealed

A quick, easy read, which was enjoyable, but fairly predictable.

Claire’s best friend and neighbour, Vic, escapes a controlling marriage and soon after, her husband, Rob, is found murdered in their hallway.

There is a concurrent story about a young man called Jed, who is looking for his father,
however I didn’t feel the two stories were relevant and along with other sideline stories of someone else having an affair, it was a bit messy with more character development needed.

The premise was good and I really liked how the author built in the Queen’s death and funeral to the timeline, acknowledging the impact that had on policing numbers and how that impacted the investigation. A clever touch.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book had a decent plot, but a tad too many unnecessary details. I almost DNF at the beginning because I didn’t think I could tolerate one more sighting of the word “muddled” it was extreme. I think Jed needs to learn more about Google. He could’ve found an obituary pretty quick. It was an ok book for me.

I just reviewed The Couple Across The Street by Anita Waller. #TheCoupleAcrossTheStreet #NetGalley

There are two very different storylines running throughout the book, and I enjoyed watching them both play out. The 'whodunit' did feel like it was the secondary part of the story, so it read more like a dysfunctional family saga than a murder/mystery. That said, I absolutely loved it and read it in one sitting

The Couple Across The Street by Anita Waller is a totally gripping contemporary psychological thriller that I just could not put down.
Behind the curtains of suburbia one can find secrets and lies. Sometimes people spend a lifetime hiding a guilty secret, but even after death, secrets have a way of rising to the surface, leaving a trial of destruction. Suburbia is not always as cosy as one imagines.
Anita Waller has created a marvellous plotline that grabbed my attention from the start – a near tragedy in the past opens the book as I wondered – how does this fit in?
We see how loss draws a family closer. But even as there is grief, for some, freedom is just beginning.
The leading characters are mainly women. We see how alone they may be powerless but together they are stronger. Strength of character is needed to negotiate the highways of life.
The detective duo are a formidable pairing as they diligently search for the truth. They quietly ask their questions, poking around until the truth comes cascading down.
The Couple Across The Street was a marvellous crime thriller that would make a fabulous movie. Be ware the curtains of suburbia -you do not know what lurks behind! This was a cracking read.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Anita Waller has once again written a well plotted, twisted, psychological thriller which I could not put down. Luckily it is an extremely fast paced read as all my chores were stacking up!

Clare Stains is coming to terms with losing her husband to cancer. At the same time her best friend Vic has just found the courage to leave her abusive husband. How will these two women cope when deeply hidden secrets from the past start to emerge?

I loved that this story is set around the time of the Queen’s funeral. It added an extra dimension to the storyline, by linking them in grief and underlying family matters.

Mrs Waller has created compelling characters that come alive through their individual personalities. Although the book can be extremely emotional at times, there is always a chink of light in the beautiful and timely comedy moments.

The two investigating detectives, Franks and Waters were the consummate double act and worthy of an Oscar!
Don’t forget to add “The House Across The Street” to your shopping basket. Anita Waller should be an essential part of our daily diet!

This was a light read with characters without much depth. The main character Clare, is "muddled" A LOT at the start, when recently widowed but her behaviour doesn't reflect that at all. The parallel storyline of Jed/ kirsty and Eloise is disjointed and doesn't fit with the murder storyline. Add to that the odd little prologue and it felt even stranger. Also clare and her husband were only early 50s but acted as if they were elderly!

It didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t the book for me. I was thrown off from the start when the prologue jumped all around without context. Then the next chapter was all about being muddled. I had no clue what was going on and there was nothing for me to care about and keep me reading. Then there was this entirely different stream of thoughts that just appears to be a tangent. I never connected with the characters and the writing style was just not for me. I DNF’d this book and I will not be reviewing outside of netgalley. Best of luck.

Thank you so much to the publisher for this e-arc. I look forward to reading others in the future that are more my style.

Wow! I did not see that twist coming at the end, I just assumed her soon-to-be ex-husband was a run-of-the-mill abusive douchebag. But wait, there's more! I loved the different aspects of the story and the coming together with the unknown son. I am now adding Anita Waller to my list of authors that I will always read!

#TheCoupleAcrossTheStreet
#NetGalley

I've never been disappointed with this authors books and The Couple Across The Street was no exception. As usual the author creates some brilliant and believable characters which always adds to the story.. Clare Staines has recently lost her husband, her friend across the street, Vic is leaving her husband because he is abusive.. Vic's husband is found murdered The investigation into eho could have done this begins. Meanwhile Clare discovers her late husband had a son, who she knew nothing about. This is an intriguing suspenseful read There was always something happening in the two plot lines. It was interesting to read of the late Queen Elizabeth and her funeral being included in the story. Shocking revelations in the murder investigation complete this great read .

This was definitely a quick read, very quick! I found it a bit odd to be fair lol. I love a dual narrative and a complex plot with multiple plot lines being woven together buuuuuut I found this book struggled to pull it off. The plotlines just coexisted. For no apparently reason. And granted unrelated things can happen at once but I just didn't get why we'd decided to wrote a book about these 2 things without having them converge or crossover. There were twists but you see them coming a mile off. It just wasn't for me. I'd have preferred 2 seperate short stories

I really wanted to like this book better, but it fell flat for me. It almost felt as if two separate books had both been determined to be too short to publish on their own, so they were simply woven together. In addition, there was quite a bit of repetition in thoughts of characters - if I read anymore about how muddled Clare's thoughts were, I was worried I'd injure my eyeballs rolling them so hard. And despite Jed's search "skills," he NEVER came across an obituary? Not to mention the "letter" from the first dna test he took - I guess it sounded better than him getting results online if Eloise had to now.

While this certainly wasn't the worst I've read, it just didn't live up to the potential it had based on the description.

I really wanted to love this one but it was just OK for me. A solid 2.5-3/5 stars. I had a hard time with the dual plots and how they didn’t really fit together. You had the murder of a family friend and then the death of a husband and his mysterious life but there was nothing to blend them together and make a cohesive plot. The characters were not interesting enough to really care about. The “twist” was uneventful and slightly predictable and the writing itself was too formal for the story being told. That being said it was an easy fast read and did have some good parts that kept you wanting to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This crime thriller follows Clare Staines as she is trying to move on with her life after her husband’s death from Cancer.

When changing around furniture she uncovers a secret her husband had hidden from her and confides in her best friend across the street Vic. The pair build a plan to discover the truth.

Meanwhile Vic decides to leave her husband, but whilst going back to retrieve some of her items she comes across an unexpected scene.

Will Clare uncover the truth? What does Vic discover?

This crime thriller was gripping right from the start with plenty of secrets and mystery.

There are two main storylines interweaving throughout which adds more tension as they all entangle Clare, as she must help all involved whilst trying to solve her own mystery.

You get to hear from the police investigating the case too, and their sarcastic manor adds a little humour as well as helping to unravel the truth.

Overall, a gripping crime thriller with plenty of mystery and secrets for two households in the same street.

I absolutely loved this book . The story had just the right amount of tension and the characters were likeable . I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out who was the culprit. It was a well written novel and I would highly recommend this book to my readers. 5 star from me

Another good read from Anita Waller. Here Clare is mourning the loss of her husband of many years consoling her two daughters and bolstered by her best friend, Vic. While she realizes that she might be enjoying her time alone, masking her own decisions when her bf tells her that she is being abused by her husband and off we go, t Clare is a great character, likeable and relatable and we understand her mixed feelings. Things get more complicated then I expected when a large finds a photo of a young boy in her husbands desk. Quick read, good plot.