Slowly but surely my mojo for reading is coming back and I am listening more and more to audiobooks. I do find though if the narrator isn’t doing it for me, I have to turn the book off, like everyone. However, Lara Falkner gave the sleepy German village a whole breath of life and in fact, made me quite addicted to the book!

It’s not without some minor flaws but I easily overlooked this with the interwoven story of “Fiona” the unsureity of what is happening to Helen and then the murders! Smaller stories all intertwine. I would love to have more of a conclusion or discussion around Sascha’s storyline, there was a lot of heartbreak and I don’t think we even scratched the surface with them. With the Fiona storyline, I was completely WRONG with that, which I found all the more shocking when I realised the who, I really should have seen it all along especially when I decided on Sheppard!

Despite the length of the book, I don’t feel like we got to know the characters all that well, so when we do have a bit of a disastrous dinner party, I wasn’t saddened by the loss, just completely gobsmacked, that poor cake!

I seem to have found a bit more of a love for reading again, and this book has helped me along. Rachel is an author who has been on my list for ages and I am so pleased I got to listen to this one. Like I said, I found it addictive! I needed to find out the shocking truth behind it all, and well wow! It’s not what I was expecting and it will be something that will make me question EVERYONE I speak to now.

A very twisty addictive thriller! It’s definitely all the buzzwords, but it’s a book you have to just go with the flow with and suspend some disbelief! I can’t wait for the next outing!

A great psychological drama thriller outlining how easy it is to think you are loving in a perfect neighbourhood and then find out that nothing is as it seems. Well written, although it slumped a bit in the middle, but the powerful ending made up for it.

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

A really good read, it kept me guessing with all the twists in the story. I'd definitely recommend a read.

DNF at 55%, was quickly losing interest, I did to care much for the characters or the plot, found myself zoning out f the book so I was missing parts and not following along to the story.

*thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Sargeant, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


2 stars.

This book just wasn't for me. I really wanted to enjoy it because the sypnosis sounded amazing. But unfortunately I couldn't connect with the characters and the story just simply didn't interest me. It was not badly written. I struggled from the beginning and hoped it would pick up by sadly it didn't. I kept forgetting who was who. Unfortunately this is a miss from me but I would pass it along for others to try it out. I also would give this author another try.

Great story by Rachel Sargeant. Really fabulous story, that kept me turning the pages!! A thrilling plot, and characters.

Neighbors are not quite what they seem. Mysteries are afoot in this book and plot twists are a plenty, there is a lot to shock and amaze you, you won't want to put this one down

A story of expat English teachers and the German suburb they live in ... when Helen moves there to be with her husband, she finds her close-knit group of new neighbours all seem to be hiding something. I found this a good read, kept me guessing to the end. Glad I don't have any neighbours!
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

I was lucky enough to receive this book from netgalley wow this was an edge of your seat read I really enjoyed it

Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with this one.

The first thing I noticed was how many characters there were. I understand why Rachel needed a lot of characters in order to make the plot work, but in my opinion there were just far too many, and they all seemed to be introduced at the same time. I spent the whole book trying to remember who was married to who!

Secondly I was completely lost and confused with the chapters of the book that seemed to have its own plot and characters. There seems to be a secondary plot revolving around a girl who fell for a guy whilst attending university and ended up having to run away with him for protection. It kind of just came out of the blue and it wasn’t until the very end that things started to wrap up that it made any sense at all. Now don’t get me wrong, I liked that I didn’t know where it was heading, but at the same time I just spend the whole time confused and in all honestly, a little pissed off as I felt I had missed something.

Aside from the confusing elements, I also found that The Perfect Neighbours was the perfect example of a book that fell in the middle. The dreaded part of books that I sometimes find takes me weeks to convince myself to pick back up. It all became slightly dull with nothing much happening. I felt a bit claustrophobic like I was stuck in this little community of people and just wanted to get out. Certainty not a book I found myself wanting to pick up at every opportunity.

Also I was not a fan of any of the characters. Helen was okay in her own way but there wasn’t much to her. I felt like Rachel wanted to create this strong and interdependent woman but she just came across a little rude and disrespectful at times. As for her husband, I hated him from the get go. He didn’t show Helen any loyalty what so ever. The rest of the neighbours were just all pretty miserable, rude, unfriendly and fake.

Okay so I know I sound pretty negative, but some parts of the book were really good. There were some great twists, there were parts that I found myself addicted too and the ending was actually incredibly clever. Not to mention the fact that I really did not have a single clue how it was going to end. I just think I got suffocated by the bad parts which has slightly clouded my opinion.

I think if it were 100 pages shorter, introduced the characters periodically and evaluated the places it did, and did not need that bit more detail, then this would have been at least a 3 star for me.

I found this a very intriguing book. Every so often the story cuts to something happening away from the main story. I wasn't sure how this was going to fit into the main narrative but it did.
Helen reluctantly moves abroad, as her husband works as a teacher for an international school. When she meets the neighbours she just cant warm to them. Something doesn't seem right. Its a very close knit community, there really is no escaping the neighbours. In a bid to distance herself Helen goes to the local pool where she meets Sascha a local man who pretends to be working at the school. He isn't whom he seems. This is a fast paced thriller that will have you reading it till the early hours of the morning.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC ecopy for my Kindle.
Who really knows their neighbors or what goes on behind closed doors?
The neighbor is a little community of strange characters with some unbelievable things that actually go on behind closed doors. A strange story with an ending that really surprised me. The book was just o.k. for me.

It can be fun and exciting moving into a new neighbourhood. New house, new job, new neighbours.
That's just how it was for Helen. Looking around everything is perfect, even her neighbour. Until, they end up dead. Who would do such a horrifying act. Could it possibly be one of the perfect neighbours?
This is a psychological thriller. It does have it's twists and turns. The characters mesh well together. Each is described and given a distinct personality. Good storyline. Incredible ending. I did not see that coming!!
5 Stars

This was a fantastic train read for me. I loved the flow of the book and all the characters. Although i did guess the ending, it didn't ruin it for me, it was just fantastic

This book started off very slow for me and the characters were not very likeable.The ending was not a surprise to me. I pretty much had it figured out mid way the book. Not what I was expecting. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publsiher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this and it was good reading, however I did struggle to have any empathy with most of the characters, they just aren't a likeable bunch! I also guessed the 'unbelievable ending' However don't let that put you off, this is a good book, and is worth a read.

This book is a little surprising

Started off quite slow and some of the characters are unlikeable you sense something is not quite right but can’t quite put your finger on it

It’s worth perservering because the ending is a twist you won’t see coming and this is what gives this book a 4 star rating for me

This story was a bit of a bore. I didn’t really enjoy it that much.