I enjoyed reading this book, and I like this author, having read several of her books previously. I wouldn't say I particularly liked any of the characters, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. Good book, kept me amused.

The Couple Upstairs is the latest novel from Shalini Boland and once you start reading it, its impossible to put down. Billed as an addictive psychological thriller, it certainly lives up to it.

Nina and Zac are moving into their dream home. It’s their first gone together and just minutes from the sea. But it seems their dreams can quickly turn to nightmares. I devoured each page of this book, unable to put it down as I was completely gripped. A fantastic five star read that I can highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

This was a very compelling and additive book to read. From page one I was hooked and I loved the twists and turns. The ending was brilliant and I'm wondering if there will be a sequel. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book.
Zac and Nina move to a new flat and as the title suggests, there is a weird couple upstairs. The wife is pregnant but the husband keeps shouting at her during late hours. As Nina juggles with her relationship and her new business, strange things start happening. Her business starts going downhill as if someone was trying to sabotage it, and her relationship is littered with fights.

I like the writing style of the author, the words flow smoothly, and there is enough suspense to turn pages. I had to read it in one go, it felt gripping.

However, the story falls flat. Who was behind everything? That's too easy to predict right from the beginning. But what bothered me the most was the motive. After all that buildup, there could be a million reasons but the author picked the most stupid and irrelevant motive. And the character is dumb, ignoring obvious things.

There are so many boring parts especially the house party where too many characters show up and the story doesn't move forward. This novel is filled with dialogues. When two characters start talking, most of the time it's fluff and casual boring talk, again not moving the story forward, just filling pages.

The beginning is irrelevant and feels like a trick when you reach that part in the story.
The ending is a summary of all that happened in the novel, the character trying to recall everything which was not needed at all.

I liked that the story had a page turning effect but it didn't do the magic.

Nina and Zac bought their first house on the ground level at Mistletoe Lane. A perfect house by the sea which Nina had long dreamed of. On the day of their move, Chris and Vanessa Jackson, an upstairs neighbour, brought them a welcome chocolate cake. Nina and Zac got sick a bit later after consuming the cake. They don't know if it's the cake that makes them ill. They then rested for a few days with the help of Zac's mom unpacking some of their stuff.

Nina loves to work and her fashion business. She just started her fashion apparel business when she put a lot of effort into it. She kindly invited all her neighbours, family and close friends for a Mistletoe Lane party at home. Things are starting to happen in an odd way that Nina couldn't explain. She then suspects somebody is trying to sabotage her life, her relationship and her business.

My first book by Shalini Boland was The Secret Mother. And I really liked it. I was really excited for this one and certainly not disappointed. I can't share much, no spoiler here. The ending is definitely worth the read. So if you are looking for a fast and easy mystery thriller, this is certainly worth it.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC

Nina and Zac believe they found the perfect home by the sea. They meet the couple from the upstairs flat, Chris and Vanessa, who welcome them with a chocolate cake. Predictively, they become sick. Oh, but wait! Maybe it’s the stomach bug going around. Obviously things only go downhill from here with lots of ambiguous things happening around and to Nina. She begins to suspect that someone around her is sabotaging her life, business, and relationship with Zac. She just needs to figure out who before it’s too late.

Sounds intriguing enough but even the book synopsis is misleading, luring you to think something sinister will happen at their housewarming party. Nope! The frustration with this book continues to the very end. And yeah, the book title here gives everything away. Therefore, the story had to be told in such a different way to make this work, like if there was tangible history between the villain and Nina. Instead, Boland gives us overkill of the “villain's” past, focusing on the father’s death for sympathy? This is not character development at all. Now if Nina had something to do with his death, we’d have crackling tension in every scene.

I wouldn’t call this a thriller at all. Only lukewarm suspense. They were so many inconsistencies with characters motives and behaviors that this book makes little sense. Nina just comes across as paranoid and ungrateful all the time. If Nina was honestly worried about the husband upstairs fighting with his pregnant wife, wouldn’t she call the police instead of her boyfriend who couldn’t do anything about the situation. And wouldn’t her boyfriend of five years believe her over a stranger making baseless cheating accusations? And lastly, but most importantly, the entire story comes down to a grudge. A really insignificant silly grudge. The insane behaviors do not match up with the motives. Total miss here.


Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once again Shalini Boland does not disappoint. What a creepy great read where the odd twists and turns just never let up. So many deep dark secrets are buried in this treasure of a book.
Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Nina and Zac move into a new flat hoping for a fresh start. The idyllic setting turns out to be anything but. When strange things begin to happen, Nina begins to question everything.

I really enjoyed this book. The story grabbed my attention right away, and kept me turning the pages. The characters were very complex, and their motives really kept me guessing,

Thank you #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheCoupleUpstairs in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. So many people to suspect and I admit to not being entirely sure of any of them!
Nina and Jac move into their flat and have a new life together in front of them.
Vanessa and Chris, who live in the flat upstairs come round to welcome them and other neighbours follow suit a few days later.
Nina starts to be concerned when she hears Chris shouting at Vanessa and then loud bangs. Zac tells her not to get involved but she’s worried about her neighbour.
Vanessa then starts working part time for Nina and she seems happier in herself so Nina thinks Chris is bullying her at home.
Things start to change for Nina - bad reviews of her business, which she just about deals with but then she finds out someone is spreading malicious lies about her, which affects her relationship with Zac.
When it comes out who the person responsible for wrecking Nina’s life is, I was a bit surprised.
I initially suspected this person but as the story goes on they seem to redeem themselves - how wrong I was.
This is a great psychological thriller that will definitely keep you guessing.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

WoW.......The Couple Upstairs by Shalini Boland.......... I loved this book!! Then again I just love this author, all her books and I have read all of them now have been an excellent read! But, The Couple Upstairs was Superb!!! stand alone psychological thriller.

I loved her writing style which brought the story completely to life for me and I was immersed in the story right from the first chapter! This book had Great twists and turns throughout and WoW the characters especially Vanessa (great name by the way) was perfect, they all worked so well together within this book. The characters development throughout was excellent with a cracking ending at the end!!! .Yet again I was gripped right through to the end – I was completely hooked!!

Well Done Shalini another Excellent book I highly recommend this book. Well all of your books.

Big 5 stars from me

Big Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of Shalini Boland's latest thriller - 4 stars for another great read by this author!

Nina and Zac bought their dream home - the bottom flat in a shared home that included the perfect outbuildings for Nina's business. But those upstairs neighbors - what's going on with them? The fights at night, the scared looks in the wife's eyes. Then things start happening to Nina's business - bad reviews, failed events. Suddenly everything seems to be going wrong.

Interspersed with snippets of past events, we follow along Nina's experiences with Zac and her new neighbors as her dreams become more like nightmares. This was a quick read that kept me turning the pages to see how it would all turn out. Another winner from a must-read author for me!

I think I’ve read all of this authors books now and this doesn’t disappoint. Lots of tension , great characters and an ending I didn’t predict . Definitely a 5 star read and I can’t wait for the next one . Highly recommend this book

The couple upstairs is yet another great read from shalini, totally drew me in from start to finish, great characterisation, so readable and plenty of twists and turns with a surprising ending!
Nina and Zac have just moved into a ground floor flat of a converted house and are keen to get established and meet the neighbours this is a new start for them and not just a house move but a business development for Nina too.
The upstairs neighbours Chris and Vanessa appear welcoming and friendly even bringing chocolate cake and fizz to greet the new arrivals! As time goes on it appears that appearances can be deceptive as lots of shouting, crying and noise can be heard from the flat above this worries Nina who feels that Vanessa is very subservient and reserved,when an opportunity appears to employ an extra pair of hands in Ninas fledgling business she employs Vanessa for a few hours a week in the hope of connecting with her snd getting to know her, coincidentally Ninas business starts to flag, poor reviews, less sales and strange occurrences, what follows is an intriguing rollercoaster of a read showing how past grudges, mental health and seemingly innocent business decisions can all culminate in an explosive ending!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

I've read a few Shalini Boland's and, though this has not been my favourite one, it's still a very good, well paced psychological thriller, with a great plot which is beautifully developed.
I found it a bit slow in some parts compared to her previous books, but the unputdownable effects is still there!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After five years together Nina and Zac buy a new home together. They both run successful businesses and have a great relationship. On moving day they meet their upstairs neighbours Chris and Vanessa. Chris is offish and Vanessa very quiet. And very soon strange things start happening, arguments, furniture moving and slamming doors. Zac quickly makes friends with Chris and cannot understand why Nina distrust him. Things soon go from bad to worse with Nina wishing she'd never moved in.
A great novel by Shalini, very fast paced, a really good psychological thriller.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Wow, this book wasn’t at all what I thought it would be. The book is atmospheric and keeps your mind spinning trying to make sense of what’s happening as the book progresses!! I loved the main characters - Nina and Zack and Nina’s struggles were very believable. You can really emphasise with her throughout!!

Will definitely read more by Shalini Boland, love her writing style and how descriptive she is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twists and turns and surprises are around every corner. I loved the characters and the atmosphere of this story. The plot was terrific, the end was fantastic. Deep deep buried hatred fuels this story along. I did find it to drag out a bit and it was a tad slow. But it had a good foundation and was well developed so overall I enjoyed the read. If I could half star it I would give this a 3.5

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Couple Upstairs’ by Shalini Boland in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Nina and Zac are overjoyed to have bought their first home together, a ground floor flat at 15A Mistletoe Lane near to the beach at Dorset’s Friars Cliff, and soon meet the couple upstairs, Vanessa and Chris Jackson. Nina thinks there’s something not right about them but can’t quite put her finger on what’s troubling her. But ever since moving into Mistletoe Lane everything’s deteriorating, her relationships, her business, her happiness, and Nina feels as if someone’s trying to sabotage her business, but why?

I love reading novels by Shalini Boland and her latest ‘The Couple Upstairs’ is tense, exciting, and as totally addictive as all her others. The story is exceptionally well-written with the story based in my part of Dorset (and who doesn’t enjoy reading of misdemeanours committed in towns known to them personally). It has a strong and plausible plot, believable characters, and bucket-loads of suspense, drama, intrigue, heart-stopping twists and turns, and a firecracker of an ending that had me so involved I couldn’t stop reading. Honestly, Shalini, I absolutely loved this thriller that I devoured in less than a day and I’d give it ten stars if I was allowed.

Wow I absolutely loved The Couple Upstairs. Just reading the description had my heart racing and I couldn't wait to get into it. I read it at lightning speed, it was just amazing.
This is my second book by Shalini Boland and I am very much looking forward to reading further books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

The Couple Upstairs
by Shalini Boland
WOW! I was so wrong in the who was the creepy person. My jaw fell open in the reveal of a crazy person. It was a brilliantly written book from start to finish. I love a good mystery, but I LOVED this great one. What a wild ride. KUDOS to Shalini Boland