Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: I found this to be a confusing read. There are a few things going wrong here. First we have confusing time jumps. Second, there is an attempt to have an omnicent neighbor/ narrator (think The Mothers) occasionally commenting on the happenings, but it is not introduced well or consistently done throughout the book. Also, the characters are flat, they're so forgettable and all the same, that I kept forgetting who was who. But in the end, does that matter? They are all the same.

Now, let's talk about editing. Keep in mind I was reading an ARC, so there may be things that were fixed by the final printing; however, this is my review and I shall gripe if I want to! Perspective changes should either happen at the top of each chapter or at a page break, not randomly between chapters. There were times I had to reread pages because the author kept jumping from one perspective to another without so much as a page break. Second, lines were not attributed to the character who spoke them. When there are more than 3 people present, we need to know who is talking. And finally, this was just so needlessly confusing. I get that the author wants to try to lead us in one direction so we don't see the (very obvious) twist coming, but alas.

I can save you a few hours reading and share this lesson: people aren't always who they seem; don't judge the cover.

2/5 Stars

This book was a slow burn about one neighborhood -gossip, lies, affairs, murder, friendships, parenting… The best part of the book is the Cottonwood book club that has themed drinks and snacks and talk about the book and a little gossip. The book was a good quick read and makes you think what is going on behind closed doors in your neighborhood.

Thank you Flatiron books for my gifted copy via NetGalley.

I flew this excellent psychological thriller about a neighborhood book club and all its members sordid secrets. There have been a rash of suspenses set in neighborhoods lately but this was unique from its book club angle and it also was incredibly humorous at times. Fans of Shari Lapena and Heather Gudenkauf will enjoy this.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Flatiron Books and L. Alison Heller for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars really. This book was good but not great. There was so many story angles and not a lot of substance behind them. Lena’s story fell flat for me especially the big twist. I almost missed it because it just felt buried.

This was a really great book! The thing I loved the most about it was the excellent story build and the added suspense. The characters were quality and intriguing and the writing style was suspenseful. If you like a good suspense novel, I highly recommend!

THE NEIGHBOR"S SECRET
BY L. ALISON HELLER

I was really looking forward to reading this novel but it was confusing. I usually end up liking this type of novel. The cover is intriguing. This one seemed to portray an interesting premise but I felt that it was choppy writing and I was disappointed. That is rare for me but my intention is to leave honest feedback. I wouldn't recommend this one as it just didn't deliver anything that I could say was intriguing.

The book club element was some of the most interesting parts of this novel. The email messages were the stand out enjoyable parts of this novel that I did appreciate. Maybe if it was more cohesive instead of all over the place I could have liked this more. Sadly, I found it just wasn't for me. I couldn't be more underwhelmed about the plot and characters. Thankfully, I managed to finish it but I would be dishonest if I recommended this.

I would encourage reading other reviews before deciding whether or not to pick this one up. You might like it more than I did. Thankfully, this was a quick read. I always feel badly leaving a bad review because I realize that writing a novel is hard and this is L. Alison Heller's labor of love. I would be willing to try other books written by this Author as maybe the timing of this one isn't right for me. I do have integrity to disclose my honest opinion when reviewing a novel or any book that has generously been shared with me. So I would be lying if I said that I loved this when it just didn't deliver throughout the entire reading experience. I kept hoping that this would improve and it did somewhat as I got to the end, but not enough to reflect on to recommend. Maybe it could have to do with the comparison to Lianne Moriarity who I know has a large following. I am not a huge fan so that could be why this was just not for me.

Publication Date: October 5, 2021. Available now!

Thank you to Net Galley, L. Allison Heller and Flatiron Books for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheNeighbor'sSecret #LAllisonHeller #FlatIronBooks #NetGalley

The Neighbor’s Secret
By: L. Alison Heller
Publication date: October 5, 2021
Review date: November/7, 2021

The Neighbor’s Secret was a page-turner for sure. I didn’t want to put it down! This author had me hooked & I’ll be looking forward to reading more of her work in the future. I’m giving 3 stars & will be recommending The Neighbor’s Secret go all my mystery-loving friends.
#TheNeighborsSecret #NetGalley #FlatironBooks

Huge thanks to Flatiron Books, NetGalley & L. Alison Heller for allowing me to read this arc. I’m leaving my review voluntarily.

3.5***
This is a really solid domestic drama with mystery elements. If you like that sort of thing, this book will be right up your alley. I'm not always a fan of domestic-focused books because I often find them too unbelievable and twisty for the sake of being twisty, but this one isn't like that. Has a solid mystery at its core and has some twists that weren't too over the top and kept me guessing.

This book was great! I highly recommend it. It was a non stop page turner! For sure will read more by this author!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I was so excited to be approved to read this as I had been hearing all the hype surrounding it and it did not disappoint. I loved it! Lots of suspense, a few laugh out loud moments and a bunch of nosy women! :) Once you start reading you will not be able to put it down so clear your schedule! Thanks for the chance to read and review this!

It is always a bad sign when a third of the way in I have to make a list of characters and relationships and still come across additional names which do not compute! The unknown character who thought she saw something and kept popping up was a big fizzle. The whole mystery was rather ho-hum.

In my opinion, The Husband’s Secret is Liane Moriarty’s strongest work, an enthralling and ultimately heartbreaking tale of domestic secrets held by people who could live next door. So her high praise of L. Alison Heller’s The Neighbor’s Secret prompted me to read the book right away. Moriarty’s words were not hyperbole: The Neighbor’s Secret delivers in all areas, and may even be better than Moriarty’s own masterpiece.

To read the complete review, click on the link below.

Thank you to Flatiron Book for my gifted review copy.

When I saw that the Neighbor's Secret was a domestic thriller and a Book of The Month club, I knew I needed to see what it was all about. I love a darker neighborhood drama, secrets being exposed along with the normalcy of middle age life in suburbia.

Overall, this was a well written slow burn mystery, I just struggled to totally engage. This might have just been one of those instances of timing, and the fact that I have read quite a few of these domestic thriller sub-genre lately.

There were definitely parts I really enjoyed (the nuanced look at life with teenagers) adult friendship (and the super witty bookclub emails) and dysfunctional families, but I just found myself struggling a bit with keeping everyone's stories straight because of the myriad of perspectives...

While this storyline was a just so-so for me, I am glad I read it and did enjoy Heller's smart writing style overall.

Something about fall makes me pick up more thrillers! Today’s choice was The Neighbor’s Secret by L. Alison Heller, courtesy of @flatiron_books on @netgalley.

I can see this being a good book for fans of Liane Moriarty, although I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the books I’ve read of hers. I think partly because it felt SO similar to her style but didn’t seem to offer a whole lot extra. I think this is one of those books that would make a wonderful televised miniseries, capturing the cattiness and closeness of an elite neighborhood.

The author is actually a really engaging writer, the style draws you in. I just felt like I had read this story before! It was a quick read though and didn’t feel drawn out. If people haven’t read a story in this style before, I’m sure they’ll enjoy it. I think I’ve oversaturated myself in thrillers in the same vein as this one and that’s where my problem lies.

The Neighbor’s Secret is, I think, better written than a lot of its contemporaries. The characters are very nuanced and the fast-paced plot will keep you reading. The Cottonwood neighborhood is a wonderful place to settle down and have a family, but each family has its own secrets.

Everyone who has a child, has probably asked theirself if their child is normal. Usually behavior is just a phase, but what if it isn’t? Join the neighbors at Cottonwood to see how each family handles its problems - you won’t regret it!

As a 4 star rating, I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. I was drawn to this book, not only for the storyline, but because of the shorter chapters. The book too a bit for me to get through, but I quickly finished it once I picked it back up. The beginning of the book could be seen as slow and boring to some, but the last half of the book takes a turn for the better. After finishing this book, I'm looking forward to whatever L. Alison Heller has in store next!

This book is a perfect weekend read for the upcoming holidays with a cup of your favorite coffee or tea. If you enjoyed reading this book, I would recommend reading Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson.

This is a great read for thriller and suspense lovers. The plot is focused on the women in a suspense and mystery book club and the strange things that start happening to them. I enjoyed this book very much. The character development is strong and the book overall is hard to put down.

This book was the definition of just fine for me. At the beginning I struggled to keep up with all the different characters, but even towards the end I still struggled to place kids with their parents and their husbands. There were also points where it felt like chapters were out of order, but that might have just been because it was an ARC.

Maybe because I’m not a mother, but I didn’t sympathize with any of them. The only character I found myself wanting to know more about was Abe surprisingly. He didn’t scare me and I never thought he was behind anything, but he felt like the only dynamic character.

I get the point of history repeating itself with Colin, but truthfully even that felt slapped together and unrealistic.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad read, but I wouldn’t recommend it and I doubt I’ll ever think about it again.

The Neighbors Secret is a great domestic thriller with characters that all have secrets. The story is about the members of Cottonwood Estates who belong to a book club. When a vandal in the neighborhood targets the ladies of the book club everyone is concerned. Jen is worried the vandal could be her troubled son Abe. Annie has a huge secret that she has kept for fifteen years from her daughter and Lena who is the recluse has the biggest secret of all. This is a delightfully delicious really twisty read that will keep you engaged til the very last page.
Thanks to Net Galley and Flat iron publishers for allowing me to read this amazing arc for my honest review.

This was an unexpected delight!

This is definitely a case of - I’m so glad I tried a book in a genre subset that I don’t normally read - because I usually don’t care for domestic suspense. I find so many of the books full of rich, white women who deal with issues like cheating spouses or crazy assistants or would be super detectives and those just aren’t for me. I know my limits. I’m way too serious of a person and I don’t like to suspend belief too much.

So I am SO happy to say that if you’re like me I’m thinking that way about most domestic suspense books - this is the book for you. It’s very similar to Big Little Lies, but not once did I ever think this was a copycat or that I’ve read this book before - I’m referencing BLL so you have something to compare it too - if you liked that then you’ll love this, etc.

I am so impressed by the writing. It was modern, fresh and oh so pitch perfect. I loved the diversity of characters and the book club meetings were amazing and some of my favorite parts. I loved how the author included emails from the President of Book Club. 🤪🤪 The formatting of the book was so creative and the dialogue was clever, truthful and fun. The pacing is very methodical, and if you’re a person that needs something super fast paced with a huge cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, be warned this is different. I thought the chapter endings were much more nuanced, yet they begged me to continue reading. It only took me so long to finish (about a week and a half) because my life is crazy at the moment. However, I thoroughly enjoyed cracking the book open each night and finding out what this neighborhood was up to. I really hope if you haven’t already, you decide to read this or put it on your tbr!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and the author for the gifted finished copy!

Review Date: 10/25/2021
Publication Date: 10/05/2021