So.

Multiple POVs✅
Arc✅
Cover love ✅

I picked up The Perfect Neighbor by Susanna Beard as an ARC from NetGalley. Yes, it came out already, but just LOOK at that cover and tell me that’s not immediately binge-able.

Beth and her family move from London to a private street with fences and hedges in a smaller English town. Beth's new dog loves getting into the neighbor's backyard and one day Beth sees something that her neighbor wishes she hadn't.

We know I love multiple narrators. And a good psychological twist. And that I’m darn GOOD at predicting the twist, which of course happened here, but this book was simply satisfying.

My college writing project was on a similar topic (no spoilers) so I picked up on the cues immediately. I fought for Sofia and cried at the 75% mark, and I think we all need a neighbor like Beth in our lives. Always trust a doggo. And, above all, your gut.

(Cross-posted to Instagram @neonbirdbooks)

I enjoyed The Perfect Neighbour by Susanna Beard very much. It is based on a deceptively simple premise. A family moves from London to the countryside and strives for acceptance by the local community. Dad begins an exciting new job and the kids settle in well at school, but Mum is in a social vacuum that can only be filled by good neighbours. The opening chapter sets the scene by introducing the character of Sofia, who is struggling to survive under the domination of a cruel employer. By the time Beth, her husband Adam and children Tom and Abi arrive from Kingston, the reader has realised that there is a dark side to their charming new neighbourhood.

Oksana and Keith, who live next door to Beth, are wealthy, good-looking and beautifully groomed. They ‘keep themselves to themselves’, but Oksana is occasionally persuaded to attend social events when Keith is away on business. While she is feeling her way around in her new environment, Beth picks up on some strange and worrying things about Oksana’s perfect house and garden. She becomes increasingly concerned about the lifestyle of her perfect neighbour, and finds herself in a dilemma. Should she ask questions and risk being accused of making false accusations, or keep quiet and allow a tragedy to unfold?

I enjoyed Beards’ clever use of everyday details - a rescue dog, a book club, a baking lesson. Beth and Sofia are intelligent, determined women who refuse to be cowed. Their journeys bring them gradually closer to each other's point of view and lead to horrific revelations. The way their stories are told in counterpoint builds up suspense and keeps the reader enthralled. Step by step, an intricate tale of cruelty and exploitation is revealed.

I recommend The Perfect Neighbour to readers who enjoy well-written crime novels with a streak of social awareness..

My advice to any potential readers is to go in blind if possible. If not possible, such as you have read the reviews, then don’t pay too much attention to the unfavorable reviews. This is written well. The setting is in England. It keeps your attention from the beginning, alternating between Beth’s story, the newbie on the block, and Sofia, a young girl who is kept next door against her will.

Both of their viewpoints are believable and portrayed well. One can’t help but get caught up in the emotional circumstances that Sofia has found herself in. Your heart breaks for her. One can also understand Beth’s hesitance to get involved on just a hunch of what may be going on, based on her past experience of inadvertently “meddling” in someone else’s business.

It’s a pretty fast read, that I am happy to recommend. I was recently provided a digital copy through NetGalley after the release date of 9/30/21. My thanks to them, to the publishers, Joffe Books and to the author Susanna Beard, who’s writing was a real treat.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this novel. Usually I like books like this. The description drew me in, and I was hoping for a thrilling mystery filled with twists and turns all leading to a perfect climax and resolution. That, however, was not what I received. I wanted to like this book; I really did. However, the first 3/4 of the book were very slow and the story felt very mundane. There was a lack of mystery as the reader gets told EVERYTHING, which leaves nothing to the imagination. There were really no surprises as I was reading this book, which I feel like is the cornerstone of this genre. I also did not understand a lot of the decisions that the characters made. I know that this is a work of fiction, but some of the stuff that the characters were doing just seemed too left field. The ending was ok, but nothing that I was not already expecting. I feel like if this book was marketed differently and was not being sold as a psychological thriller, it may have more success.

Interesting and intriguing storyline an in-depth look into what is going on in our society today.Newly moved into a new area wants to get involved in what’s happening around her,Beth founds herself a little more involved in what’s happening in the house next door a very good read left me wondering about the wardrobe though.

The Perfect Neighbor is a good story.. Susanna Beard is a new author to me & I really liked the writing style.. It is a good mystery.. I was waiting for a bigger twist and a shock, but that just never really happened.. Great story if you read it as a mystery.. :)

Well written! This insidious domestic thriller delves into our everyday lives and flips it all on its head in a dark and suspenseful way. What would you do if you'd just moved into a new house, in a new, posh neighborhood, and see someone in one of your neighbor's houses holding up a sign that says 'HELP ME'? Yikes!
Fabulous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this domestic thriller. Although the plot is fairly simplistic, it somehow captivates you and is almost addictive in drawing the reader in. As this switches between the POV of Beth, the neighbor next door, and Sofie, the girl being held prisoner, you get a good dose of happy, positive chapters mixed in with desperation and sadness. This makes for a great story. I loved Sofie's POV so much and found myself really wanting more from her story. I do wish we had gotten more of her backstory and an epilogue with her remaining story. I found the ending to be absolutely perfect. It wrapped up everything to nicely and explained away all of my remaining questions. The wardrobe at the end was the perfect last touch on this. Although there was definitely a bit of predictability to this, I didn't mind because it kept my mind thinking about what was coming next. I do wish we had gotten more background on Keith and Oksana as well. That could have added even more layers to their storyline and could have added a lot of value to a very heavy topic. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to more from Susanna Beard. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Found the beginning too graphic and uncomfortable. Will not be continuing. It did not compel me and just seemed like it wanted to be dark for the sake of being dark.

I gave it 5 Stars because I couldn't put it down until I finished it. It was well written with believable characters and story line. One of those books that keeps you guessing until the end.

Thank you to Joffee Books and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a little late in this review, but life happened.

This book frustrated me a bit. While the premise sounded promising, the synopsis gave away pretty much everything. The book took all the tropes of a "woman in the window" novel (of which there are many) and combined it with the extremely serious and real subject of forced labor that is presently going on all over the world. I felt like the main characters of Beth and Sofia were well fleshed out, and I understood Beth's motivation and hesitancy across the whole novel - which is something that is hard to make feel real. However, I felt like the stakes were never high enough, which made the story drag. Obviously, something bad was bound to happen to Sofia if she didn't escape, but we never got a clear picture as to what the possibilities were aside from a few cryptic hints. The conclusion of the story was also VERY quick. It wrapped things up, but I felt like it was too neat - if that's possible.

Despite this slowness, I did enjoy reading the book. I just had a hard time letting myself become invested in the story because of the lack of urgency.

Decent book but not very original. Unfortunately this genre it's hard find a book that's not like all the others. I liked the writing style and the characters depth to them to keep me entertained.

What a timely, thrilling tale of how you can never be sure about what is happening in your own back yard! You can live next to evil and be completely unaware, and you should not ignore take tell signs. I didn’t want the story to end, I hurt along with Sofia when plans did not go well. I rooted for her, cried for her and rejoiced with her. Matt will have you wanting to reach through the pages and smack him until his story unravels. A great read that will have you missing sleep because you have to see what happens!

A quick read which drew me in to find out what happens to Sofia, the 'maid' to the Russian woman living next door to Beth and her family. It was a bit predictable in parts but nonetheless it is good to draw attention to the horrific fact that modern day slavery is alive and well. Enjoyed it.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

I was just frustrated by this book, and it wasn’t for me. The description pretty much summed up the whole entire book, nothing thrilled me in this at all. I also did not care for the writing style of this. I got confused with the way it was written. When the story is written in third person in the other one is written in first person.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced ebook to review.
This book was an okay read with an interesting plot line, but I wouldn't describe it as a psychological thriller, as we pretty much know what the book is about from the get go! I felt more could have been given to us in the ending too. Overall it was unmemorable but not awful.

Sometimes when you look at someone else’s life they look so perfect. And you wish you could step into that life. These neighbors have that life you wish you could step into. Yet one day when a neighbor looks up she sees someone she has never seen before in a bedroom window of their house holding a sign - help me. Who is this girl. And why is she trapped in their house? And how far will she go to help a stranger? I did not see this ending coming AT ALL. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! This was a real page-turner! So many twists and turns and no disappointments at any point in the story. Great read!

This book does a really good job mixing classic thriller tropes with a difficult and sensitive subject but I’m sorry to say that it bored me. I didn’t mind the slow start as it allows you to get a sense of both Beth and Sofia’s characters, and helps to build up sympathy for Sofia. However, the chapters ended up feeling very repetitive and the plot seems dragged out which reduced any tension or sense of urgency.

I thought the characterisation was good and made for characters that were thought-out and convincing. The author did a good job expressing Beth’s reluctance to get involved, balancing her people-pleaser attitude with her genuine concern for the girl and I feel that it is clear why Beth acts the way she does. Sofia’s actions similarly make sense with the mix of fear and determination she feels.

I did mostly enjoy the ending of the book and as the pace picked up I found myself getting more drawn into the story. However, since it had taken so long to get there I was not very invested and I wished some of the resolution was given more detail as it got wrapped up very quickly and neatly.

I did not connect with this title. I was not interested in the story and could not hold focus. I did not complete the entire book.