Great concept. Everyone either knows of (or lives in) that weird cul-de-sac in their development where the residents have formed their own little tribe. But I had trouble getting into Raven Lane. When I read a book, I really want to connect with the characters to the point where I can't wait to see what happens next. Unfortunately I didn't connect with the characters who live on Raven Lane as much as I would've liked. However, the author does a great job with description, most notably when she describes the accident and its immediate aftermath in the beginning of the book. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was an interesting if somewhat slow read.The story was well developed and unfolded at a leisurely pace.I liked the main character and that helped to give me more focus as I wasn't keen on most of the other characters.I wish the book had been a bit faster pace but there were surprises along the way and it was well worth a read .I will give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

What I loved about Raven Lane was how brilliantly written it was. It was absolutely mesmerizing. So, this book being my first read by Amber Cowie, I am 100% looking forward to reading the author's debut.
As a suspense fiction addict, I went into this book with very high expectations, and I felt like the fact that I've been reading nothing but the twistiest, most shocking thrillers this year has definitely affected my reading of this novel.

What I should've known about Raven Lane, was that it isn't really a mystery. It's about family secrets coming to light due a sudden accident commited by Benedict, protagonist Esme's husband. The book goes on to focus on Esme's confusion and frustration about this new life that is collapsing all around her due to her husband's wrongdoing.

With that said, the reader needs to be truly invested in the characters in order to enjoy the book. In the end, there are moments that make you gasp. Nevertheless, I think what I struggled with was the suspenseful atmosphere, which wasn't in the intensity that I was hoping for.

This book is described perfectly: it is not a mystery, and implying otherwise would be doing this book a disservice. Rather, this story is a slow burn as the Raven Lane residents' monstrous secrets are exposed.

Primarily told from Esme's third person perspective, the book focuses on Esme, a former actress, and her husband, Benedict, a former model. Esme has dark secrets that she's tried to ignore for 2 decades, and Benedict has darker tendencies, also ignored by Esme. Thrown into the mix are the residents of Raven Lane, a neighborhood known for preferring "artistic" (aka partying and young-acting) residents. Wild parties are a monthly occurrence on Raven Lane, parenthood and marital responsibilities be damned, and they only stoke the embers of the fire that will slowly build and incinerate everything Esme has sought to build.

There are three different realities in this book, and the story alternates between them: the present, where Esme and Benedict deal with the fallout of a car accident; the past, where Esme deals with the fallout of her own secrets; and a fiction Esme novel, a bestseller, written by one of the residents of Raven Lane.

There's a #metoo aspect of this book. I understand why it's there, and it serves it's purpose, but I'm personally tired of this topic. I wasn't very interested in it, and I certainly didn't pity a woman who made a fortune as a result.

The fiction book within this book was unique. Dealing with the theme of monsters who've heard "the call", the fiction book paralleled and foreshadowed the events of the primary book. I definitely appreciated this literary device, and I found it effective.

I would never live in a neighborhood like Raven Lane. Those people were just asking for the troubles they found. Drinking and drugging with the neighbors on a monthly basis? Ridiculous, and everything that befell them should have been no surprise.

There's a minor "whodunnit" element to this book, and there are a few big and small reveals throughout. Some of the reveals were predictable, as the reader was basically spoonfed the information throughout the book, and some of the reveals were not surprises.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a slow build.

What I didn't like was the inaccurate legal element. NO lawyer would give legal advice of this nature. It's unethical to do so. Instead, if a real lawyer were trying to guide his clients this way, he would be far less obvious about it and he would protect himself from liability. As a lawyer, I cannot help but cringe when i read books like this.

I give this book 3 stars because I really could have put it down at any time and not really wondered about the ending, but I'm glad I finished it.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.

My goodness. Another favorite of 2019. Great book. Suspenseful. Likeable characters.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,this had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

The underlying story of RAVEN LANE isn’t bad but it’s lost behind too many over-the-top scenarios and characters. Within the story of the main characters, Esme and Benedict, are excerpts of a novel written by another character, author and fellow Raven Lane neighbor, Torn. I get why the excerpts were written but they don’t seem flow within the story as you are reading. Honestly, I began skipping over them halfway through. They did not add depth to the main story and became, IMO, unneeded filler.

While I didn’t hate RAVEN LANE, I didn’t love it either. With toned down characters and plot, RAVEN LANE would have been a half decent read.

*I received an ARC of RAVEN LANE from NetGalley for an honest review.

Raven Lane is a gripping read! While there were times of confusion for me as a reader (there was so much going on in the story) I felt the overall execution and plot was fantastic. I think many readers are going to devour this book in need of knowing how it would end.

There was a lot going on in this novel. At its core, Raven Lane is a mystery/romance focusing on a former actress (now chef), her husband, and the complex neighbors that reside with them on Raven Lane.

The author has an easy and conversational writing style which allows the reader to identify with and relate to the drama/dysfunction of the Raven Lane neighborhood. However, many of the characters in this novel seem over-the-top and, at times, unbelievable. This causes some of the storylines and backstories to appear excessive.

Also, throughout the novel, the author intersperses the story with “excerpts” from a book written by one of the characters residing on Raven Lane. The inclusion of these “excepts” acts as a sort of commentary about human behavior, actions, and choices. While I understand why the author included this commentary in this novel, I don’t feel it completely gelled with the story. I would have preferred for the “excerpts” to be their own chapters with no commentary from any of the characters as to the contents of the same.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2786187218

This one just wasn't for me. It was too unbelievable and when the partner swapping happened I just couldn't get I to the story.

Esme and Benedict live in an exclusive enclave, surrounded by what appears to be a strong community, but what follows an “accident “ soon turns the community into an armed camp and results in accusations of homicide.

There are endless twists in the story that looks back on the characters’ past as the plot unfolds. As a reader, I eagerly evaluated the unfolding plot to seek answers and motivations.

This is an enjoyable read, clearly written with fascinating, well drawn characters.

Wow, a neighborhood that is fully enmeshed in each other's lives. A woman that has it all on the outside but is wounded on the inside. Her husband that is egotistical. The same sex couple that are an author and a physician. The sports reporter who wants to be an author with his minature making artist wife, the real estate agent and daughter and the symphony players. What a neighborhood. You won't believe what happens in this tale

Esme and Benedict live in a very small community. Making friends with their neighbours was easy, because they are who they meet everyday of their lives. Attending and hosting get-togethers often, this neighbourhood seem very close. But is it, really? When a car accident happened, secrets and lies come up one by one, and at the end of the day, you wonder if these neighbours were even friends at all.

At first, I was a little confused. The accident happened right in front of everyone in broad daylight, so what mystery was there to solve? And then as I slowly went through the pages, I began to understand. The author's style of writing was extremely captivating. As each chapter passed, going between the past and present, I found myself looking forward to more. But the ending left a lot to be guessed, and I found that a good and a bad thing, but mostly bad, to be honest, because I was frustrated and wanted to know what would happen if things didn't go off-course all of a sudden. The question of 'what if?' is very real. It may seem unfair, but it felt too convenient for the author to pen the ending this way. Loopholes scream out at me, and glossing over details seemed pretty lazy. I wanted to know more.

That said, how the book had enraptured me could not be easily ignored. Even the poor decisions the characters have made — as an adult, mind you — did not turn me off as easily as if this book had been a YA instead. Reading how they dealt with the blows, how hateful some of them can be, made this a thrilling read.

Esme and Benedict Werner have an idyllic life in a tight-knit community until an accident in their cul-de-sac ends in the tragic sudden death of one of their dearest neighbors. After vindicating eyewitness accounts morph into contradictory memories, suspicion, and unaccountable accusations, Benedict is arrested. Esme’s life, too, is changed forever.

As the neighborhood largely turns against her and her family, Esme has time to think about her past and what to do next. Then her fellow residents start looking deeper, questioning one another, and themselves, about hidden lies and betrayals.

Esme has more than her share of secrets. And the consequences of what happened on that fateful late-summer evening on Raven Lane are far from over. When the mask of civility slips, can friends and neighbors recover from seeing the monstrous truths beneath?

I found the book good. Not GREAT, but a good book. There were just some parts which didn't seem right. I can say, I would not live on Raven lane.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of the book.

While mystery and suspense novels are always my favorite, at this point, I've read so many of them that I'm often let down by what others consider a truly suspenseful novel. Being that Raven Lane is only Amber Cowie's second novel, I honestly didn't have the bar set too high, but the book completely exceeded my expectations.

The story is set on Raven Lane, a small cul-de-sac filled with big name residents. The main character, Esme, is a one-time actress married to a modeling agent. They live with their teengae daughter on the same street as other notable people., but their past and present fame don't do them any favors when one member of the community is mistakenly killed by another. While the accident seems innocent enough (and I started out wondering how this could possibly turn into something interesting when the sequence of events leading to the death seemed so clear cut), past secrets begin to unravel the tight-knit community who maybe don't know each other as well as they thought.

The action starts off quickly and the death scene is almost immediate, but you get flashbacks of parties and hang-outs between the neighbors to give you context within current events as Benedict, Esme's husband, is on trial for murder. At first, I was really confused about who was who as the characters are introduced one after another and I had to keep pausing during the group conversations to make sure I remembered who each character was. Soon, I got a handle on each character and really started to enjoy how the story was unfolded.

Ultimately, Cowie cleverly crafts many moments of "Wait, did I just read that right?" that I didn't see coming and some other reveals that I did, but still found enjoyable. Her writing style is unique in the sense that she drops unexpected twists in the middle of a chapter, not waiting for the traditional end of chapter cliff-hanger or slow build up to the end of the novel. I devoured the book quickly, often seeing how many pages I could cram in (even when I knew I only had 5 minutes to spare) because I was that invested. I also spent a bit of time going over in my head everything I learned about the characters and their story immediately after finishing the book, which for me, is the mark of a truly great novel. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of hidden lies and juicy secrets reminiscent of a Liane Moriarty style. I'll definitely be picking up Cowie's previous novel and I'll be keeping an eye out for what she has in store for the future!

I hate to be unkind about a book. I couldn't finish it. While the story line was interesting enough, things starting going out of control and out of my pretty vast realm of tolerance. The party, the drugs, Esme going along with it all....a gay man's attraction and subsequent infidelity with a straight woman. It was just too much. I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, but this was just not for me.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Some books are hard to love. Some books are hard to like. This book is both

I loved to judge these characters, Benedict in particular. I was on the edge of my seat for the second half, having followed an intriguing beginning. I felt like I was in the neighbourhood, and I did love that creepy atmosphere. It's an incredibly quick read (I began and finished it within an evening).

This book takes place in a Idealic neighborhood , filled with beautiful houses, artistic people , with a lot of socializing going on amongst the neighbors. This was a great domestic thriller. Love the characters of Esme and Benedict .A great surprise ending. Thank you so much for my advance copy of this book. I will continue to follow this author and would certainly recommend this book to friends and family.

An excellent thriller! Kudos to the writer for bringing the characters to life, and for making the plot so fascinating. I enjoyed the book very much and woul love to read more by this talented author.

Esme and Benedict live in a charming, friendly neighborhood, but the death of one of their neighbors changes everything. Benedict is arrested and Ema finds herself tried and found guilty by the neighbors she previously regarded as friends. The picture perfect little neighborhood is revealed to be filled with jealousy, rage and hatred. This book struck a chord with me because I have lived in areas where neighbors are willing to throw neighbors under the bus. Forget serial killers, your next door neighbor is much scarier