A great thriller - where you start with one emotion for the main character, but they change throughout the story and you never know who’s good/bad. Lots of twists and turns!

This book bathed me in a sea of depression, anxiety and regret. This book is told from the widow's perspective, and her endless descriptions about getting older and being alone with no children really sent me into a downward mental spiral. Maybe it's because I have chosen not to have children and I will certainly die alone. Regardless, my experience with this book was not positive.

This book is "The Woman in the Window" meets "Rear Window". It's meant to be a thriller, as the audience lives vicariously through the widow who lives vicariously through her neighbors. I thought it would be a perfect fall read.

The plot: The widow gets a new set of shiny, newlywed neighbors, and she projects onto them all of the hopes and dreams of her younger years. She wants them to live the ideal life together; she needs them to be perfect. All she has in her life at this point are these neighbors and her cat. As she befriends the Mrs., Jane, the widow learns that Jane's life isn't as picturesque as she'd hoped. The widow is personally offended by Jane's handling of the situation. She rages internally with each argument she witnesses from her lonely window.

What worked: the widow's descriptions of getting older, living alone, and living through others' experiences are written nicely and make it easy for the reader to latch onto. Too easy, clearly, as she sent me spiraling into melancholy. The flashbacks are done well. There are enough flashbacks to understand where the widow is going with this story, and not too many to be overwhelming or unnecessary.

What didn't work: I've read this book before. Countless times. This isn't a new story, and I wasn't compelled find out the end (although I did complete the book). Also, it would have been a nice change to give the widow some more interaction with others. I know that seemingly contradicts the point of the story, but the widow's interactions at the grocery store and the doctor's office worked perfectly to underscore the end result of this story. I think a little more could have been introduced here to keep it more interesting.

Ultimately, this book is a thriller, but I found nothing thrilling about it. I was depressed as I trudged through the pages.

The Widow Next Door by L. A. Detwiler
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780008324636

This was a long drawn out narrative about an old lady who complains about the trials of aging, rehashes her sad past and falls asleep a lot. I would have quit reading after the first half of the book, but I felt obligated to finish it so I could write an honest opinion.

I kept waiting for the part that made it a gripping thriller as advertised. It wasn’t until the last few chapters that the plot got there. Even then, while the details were being filled in, I had already determined what the basic outcome would be.

The prose was good. I understood how it would feel to be old and unloved. But, there was just too much description of a sad lonely life and the difficulties old age brings without much happening to make it a star in its genre.
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This was not a book that I enjoyed spending time reading.

Reviewer: Nancy

"A beautiful house. A new beginning. The almost perfect neighbours… Jane and Alex Clarke move in to what will be their ‘forever home’, when an elderly neighbour, soon becomes a friend, she grows a little too interested in the couple next door as she sits watching them from the rocking chair in her window. Alex says it will be fine. After all, she’s a lonely widow who just wants some company. But when she invites Jane into her home, who knows what she’ll find there…"

I loved the story line that was set up for this book, however it didn't really fulfill what the description promised. I enjoyed it enough to finish it but there were parts in the story that were slow for me. I don't think I would label this as a thriller, but the ending did shock me.

Thank you #NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the Widow Next Door in exchange for an honest review.

This book was twisted, and brilliant. It gave me chills to my spine. I was not expecting the ending to be like that, but it added a sickness to it. Amazing.

I think I might have lost the will to live. Well, to temper that a bit – I think I might have lost the will to live a long life, if this is anything to go by. We have a story about a young married couple who move into a cul-de-sac with the only other house being occupied by an old lady and her cat. From this point on the old lady is positioned in her rocking chair looking at the young couple and being a witness to their lives – not just the coming and goings, but intrusive into their dining room. A window on the world indeed!

To be on honest I read the whole book. To be frank, I wish I had not bothered. Not a thriller, not psychological (as in my interpretation anyway). Mind you, I think the author might well be cleverer than I think; after all I haven’t written a book. I was so bored and maybe that is her intention, she is giving us insight into how bored the old lady was.

I really do apologise to the author, but I was so happy when I finished it.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

A tense psychological thriller my favorite kind of chilling read picked it up couldn’t put it down highly recommend.

I read this book in 3 days. I couldn’t put it down. I thought I had it figured out, but I didn’t. I love to be surprised.

The Widow Next Door is a intriguing idea and the ending was shocking. The story is a psychological thriller with a few dark topics.

I’m sorry and I really hate to do this but I’m still so confused about everything in this book, I was ready to give up when nothing had still happened by 35% and thought after reading the other reviews, there has to be something I was missing….so I trudged on, unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it, I did however finish it out for the sake of completeness but am thinking now, seriously, what exactly was this book about? Doesn’t fit the description of a psychological thriller and I should know, I’ve read loads, to me this was a big let down!

Many thanks to Netgalley & Avon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

After what I thought was a good start I couldn't get into this book, found it a long drawn out story and it just didn't grip me.

Based on this I don't think I would read more from this author.

A great book to read on the sofa with a cup of tea while it storms outside.

I really love domestic psychological thrillers and this book did not let me down!

The story flowed very well and the characters were entertaining to read about. Would recommend this!

Unfortunately, I found the synopsis of this book to be nothing like the blurb suggests. Yes a new couple move in next door and yes someone makes a pie and thats about as similar to the description as it gets.

I’m confused as to what country this is set in.. initially I presumed it to be USA due to references to “yards”, “station wagon” “mommy” etc but then a character dials 999 for the police and parents are referred to as “mum” and “dad”. The endless repetition of the address that the young couple lived also became increasingly annoying.

For me this was a long winded drawn out story which could have been a belter of a thriller but turned out to be an endless ramble of a confused old woman who makes many cups of tea and falls asleep quite a lot. Perhaps in the authors attempt to convey the old woman’s confusion is what ended up confusing me but I found myself a bit lost and willing the whole thing to come to an end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for ARC of the book and sorry that I hated it.

Thank you for letting me review this book.

I must say it had me gripped from the beginning. I felt a string emotional connection with the lead character as they called her the widow next door. I really could picture the drama through her eyes. My emotional view however did leave me with quite a shock at the end.
I read it in one sitting and would recommend!!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit. The story started out very slow and also to the point of me giving up on reading. However, the way the story is written it is quite intriguing. It kept me thinking about all the ways this story could end. Is the widow living in her own delusion? Is Jane really the widow? Is the house next door even real? So many questions and then the next thing you know it's the end. As a whole, it's a great read.

While the writing is definitely five stars, the story itself isn't really to my liking. Child abuse, murder, and mental illness combine to form a horrifying adult. I finished it, was appropriately shocked at the ending, but overall did not love the book. Can't really recommend

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This was a showstopper. I couldn’t put it down, and never wanted it to end. Will be late ok’ing for this author’s next book

A new home, new beginning, and a friendly new neighbor to boot. What could be better? This story hit home for me because I have had neighbors from hell before, not as bad obviously, but bad enough that I sold my house. Neighbors are worse off than the boggie man because they’re real!

The Widow Next Door by author L.A. Detwiler is an intense thriller! My FAVORITE type of a domestic thriller! The characters are well developed, some you can like more than others, the plot was right in as well. I truly enjoyed reading the widow next door!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of the widow next door in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are mine and in no way was my opinion persuaded.