Sally Hepworth has crafted a fast-moving story about a neighborhood and its inhabitants, all of whom are struggling with varying issues in their lives and relationships.

The arrival of a new, single neighbor disrupts the status quo and causes the prior residents to make assumptions about her personal life and be suspicious about her motives as she ingratiates herself into life on the block. It is clear that she has an ulterior motive about which Hepworth skillfully inserts clues at well-timed intervals.

Eventually, a crisis brings all of the simmering emotions, suspicions, and suppositions to the forefront and into focus. The fallout from the revelation of the truth is almost as illuminating and interesting as the intrigue.

The Family Next Door illustrates that it is impossible to ever completely know another human being . . . even your own family members. However, it is possible to come to grips with and learn from difficult truths.

Sally Hepworth, queen of domestic suspense, returns following The Mother's Promise with her latest domestic suspense, THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR—filled with neighborhood and family drama, scandal, twists, and dark secrets —what happens behind closed doors?

In the small suburb of Pleasant Court in Melbourne, you will find lovely families, children, and a safe neighborhood where the neighbors and children connect. It all looks so picturesque from the outside, but soon the cracks begin to develop.

Isabelle Heatherington (new neighbor) is unlike the other typical households. She is single with no children. The other three Pleasant Court mothers are more than curious about why this single woman rents his large house for herself. What does she do for a living, and why is she in the suburbs? What is her story?

What secrets is she hiding?

Ange, Fran, and Essie have their secrets. Told from multiple perspectives, the author slowly unravels all their scandalous betrayals, lies, fears, and juicy dark secrets. What are they hiding?

Their obsession with the new neighbor compounds, and they may get more than they bargained for the closer they get to the truth.

Barbara is the perfect mother (grandmother) next door—(Essie, daughter) —a perfect neighborhood for her.

Compelling! As always, Sally combines well-developed, highly relatable characters with everyday issues and struggles from motherhood, families, money, depression, and infidelity and adds a sinister spin combined with wit, mystery, drama, suspense, and many complex twists.

For those who enjoyed Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives, you will find a lot to like here.

I have read all of Sally's books (a huge fan) and just noticed I failed to review this one even though I read it back in 2017, out in 2018. I had a lot going on during this time, so not surprised I missed it.

You cannot go wrong with a Sally Hepworth book! Highly entertaining.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Barrie Kreinik for a highly entertaining and engaging performance for all voices, as always!

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My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pub Date: March 6, 2018

Thank you to St. Martins and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really great domestic thriller. Every character had their own backstory of drama and the end of the chapters were all mini cliffhangers, so I found myself continuing to read more and more to see what happened and ended up finishing it in one sitting. I really enjoyed this authors style of writing, this wasn't my first and certainly won't be my last.

Sally Hepworth writes such fabulous domestic suspense novels. This is a compulsively readable story, with twists and turns that keep you turning the pages to find out what is going on. Highly recommended- I’m always looking forward to what she writes next!

I need to remind myself that I just do not find psychological thrillers exciting or surprising anymore. I figured out the ending to this long before I finished the book. It was a quick read and I think many will enjoy it, but this one was just not my cup of tea.

I don’t know if it was me or the book, but this one just didn’t seem to be as good as Sally Hepworth’s other books. There were a lot of parents, a lot of kids, a lot of relationships, a lot of occupations ... and too much to keep up with. Fortunately I read it quickly - that would be the only way for me to remember who was who! Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Note: clearing old books from before 2019

I read this in April 2018 and rated it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Secrets lies and betrayal all within the same street in a melbourne suburb. It made for a fun page turning read, and I continue to be a huge fan of Hepworth's work.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Sally Hepworth's books always deliver a fine balance of family drama along with a story of suspense that make for compelling reading. This one was no exception and delivered a twist that I did not see coming, so that always makes for a good book in my opinion. The only reason that I didn't give this book 4 stars is that some of the characters started to get on my nerves towards the end of the book, but all in all, this was a good read with an interesting mystery that drove the story right up to the ending.

Good read and I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

This was definitely a thriller! I loved the mystery and intrigue. Beautifully written! I very much enjoy this author’s work.

This was an engrossing domestic drama with lots of surprises...and in spite of some of the main characters' bad behavior (affairs and the like), I really enjoyed it. I recommend this Australian author to fans of Liane Moriarty.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes we need reminders that things are never what they seem.  In Pleasant Court, we are introduced to three women: Ange, Fran, and Essie.  Although they are friends, each woman is suffering in silence.  These women are dealing with finding their own identities, being the perfect mother and spouse, connecting with others, regret, depression, and fear.  It's a story in which I feel a lot of women could easily connect to one or more of the women.  In a way, it's almost as if this is a more mature twist to Wisteria Lane, with only a quarter of the drama.

I felt a connection with Essie.  Essie was a young mother who was struggling to connect with her oldest daughter.  It was apparent that Essie was suffering from postpartum depression, and it makes you realize why more of her friends and family weren't acknowledging that she needed help.  Essie's life becomes even more complicated when she meets the new neighbor, Isabelle.  In a way, her desperate need for someone to see her, leads to her questioning even her own core truths.

The book's mystery is regarding a child that had been stolen.  The author does an amazing job of creating just enough intrigue and clues to make the reader believe they know which woman did it.  It's a rare occurrence for a book to surprise me, but this one did.  Kudos to Sally Hepworth.

I'm never really one for giving away too much of the plot. However, I hope you'll check this novel out. It's been over a year since I read it and I instantly could recall how much I enjoyed the book.  It's not often that I can recall a book so vividly after so much time has passed.  This is the kind of book that sticks with you... in a good way.

The story revolves around four neighbors living in  Pleasant Court in Melbourne. When a new neighbor, Isabella,moves into Essie, Fran and Ange’s neighborhood, all three women seem to take interest in Isabella but their  curiosity results in resurfacing of old grudges and long-held secrets come tumbling out

Told from several POV's The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth is a domestic suspense with lies , secrets and fears.It has great characters and is a highly entertaining emotional read and will look for reading more from this author in the future

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This book reminds me of Desperate Housewives. Everything appears perfect with these couples in the neighborhood until you start to peel the onion back and they all have secrets. It was a fast read and will definitely recommend it to my book group.

Wow! This book had all the feels. Once again, Sally Hepworth takes us on a wonderful journey into the hearts and minds of everyday people. The Family Next Door is a perfect example of REAL suburbanites, with all of their foibles, problems, and small victories. Ms Hepworth tells a story that is very relatable, and at times, like looking in a mirror. I won't discuss the plot line or the characters other than to say they are well written, and totally believable. I don't think I could go into detail without revealing too much that the reader should have the pleasure of discovering.
I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I started off feeling like this was another Little Big Lies, you know, friendly moms in Australia, but it really turned out so good!! I kept trying to figure out everyone's lives and what the "issue" in each marriage was, but I was wrong! I LOVE when I can't figure it out! This was a very good and engrossing read!

Wonderfully written, I greatly enjoyed the book. The characters were well developed, the plot was suspenseful and it was more than the typical domestic book revolving around families. I really enjoy Sally Hepworth and highly recommend her books.

Sally Hepworth is the Queen of Twists! Her books are about real life. Women my age, family, work, children, sticky situations. She is the definition of Women's Literature. If you like Liane Moriarty, Jennifer Weiner, Swan Huntley, Jane Green, then Sally's books should be at the top of your TBR list. Especially, The Family Next Door. We all go through trials separately, living right next door to each other, thinking everyone around is perfect. Let's do it together. We're all messy. Not to mention, THE TWIST! You all know I love a good twist at the end.

In the perfect suburban Melbourne neighborhood, Essie, Fran, and Ange raise their children. All three women understand how hard it can be to care for children, keep their houses in order, and keep the spark in their marriages. Add in depression, job stresses, infidelity, secrets, and lies, and you get one crazy ride of a story.

And then Isabelle moves in.

Essie has two young girls to raise, and she feels especially fortunate when her mother moved close to help her out. Especially since she struggled so hard when her first was born. The postpartum depression was so hard for her, but she got help and was able to manage her stress. Things were better when her second daughter came along. But now the new neighbor is making Essie spin out of control once again. Will she be able to regain her balance, or will she suffer from another psychotic incident?

Fran also has two young kids. She’s still on maternity leave from her job as an attorney, and when things get too much at home, she goes running. But she worries. Her affair with the man at work was still going on when her daughter was conceived. Could it possibly be his, and how will her husband react if he ever finds? The secrets are eating her up inside, but she doesn’t know who to talk to. So she runs.

Ange’s two boys are older, no longer infants. Her real estate business is going strong. And she thinks her marriage is strong, until a chance encounter in a hospital waiting room causes her to wonder if she’s missing something. If he hasn’t been faithful to her, how will she react? What will happen to her family?

And then there’s Isabelle. The newest resident to this neighborhood has no children. She isn’t married. There must be a reason she chose to live in a neighborhood full of families, but what could that reason be? What is she hiding?

As the weeks go by, the temperatures rise, and the secrets come out, these neighbors find out what everyone is hiding behind their closed doors and realize that maybe they can build the kind of friendships that can help them endure whatever life may throw at them.

Sally Hepworth’s The Family Next Door is a moving novel about family and friendship, about making mistakes and finding forgiveness, about finding strength within yourself so you can be strong for others. I listened to this on audio, and narrator Barrie Kreinik brought these characters to live with a delightful Australian accent that added so much personality to these characters.

I really enjoyed The Family Next Door. I felt transported to another place that felt like it could be the neighborhood I live in here in America. I was really moved by these characters’ stories, and I was rooting for them to find the resolutions they so desperately wanted. The Family Next Door is a heart-warming novel of real life and family secrets that resonates long after the last page is read.

Galleys for The Family Next Door were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, but the audio was provided by me through Audible.

This wasn't my favorite Sally Hepworth book... A look inside the neighborhood and really goes on in other people's lives. To be honest, I felt there wasn't anything new from this book to add to this genre.