The Perfect Neighbor is mostly the cut and dry, foreign girl kidnapped and trafficked into becoming an abused maid for years until something deadlier occurs. We drift from Sofia's POV as she grapples with her situation and how she can escape, to a rich privileged white family with a nosy white mother who gets a dog who happens to be the reason Sofia is found at all.

The plot from the summary doesn't really kick in until the 50% mark, which is dissatisfying. I felt the author could have explored this topic more, delved into something more serious and uncovered more about what we don't know about human trafficking and black market.

Instead, this was rather cliché and I found myself skimming towards the end to get to the big reveal and rescue. I found myself wondering, could the author not think of a more important family of characters than the modern, white, privileged sort? Isn't the narrative always centered around the white woman who has nothing better to do because her family is lucky enough to be doing well off and she has no responsibilities besides poking into the other rich neighbor's house? I understand the situation, of course only someone so close to the crime could have been involved and seen it, but... this novel left me feeling confused about it's importance or entertainment, and least of all, the lack of education on the matter.

It was okay.

What a privilege it was to get an early copy of this book in order to give an open and honest review. A huge thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher. This was the first book I’ve read by Susanna Beard and I will definitely be looking out for more of her books. Any way on with the review.

Beth and her family are looking to start a new life in a new home after her husband gets a new job meaning this will be less of a commute to work for him. Not only that Beth has had a falling out with her previous friends and no longer felt welcome in her old town so decided a new life was in sore for her and her family.

Beth is determined to get off to a good start with her new neighbours and make lots of friends. She throws a house warming party and invites all of her neighbours, she finds she gets along well with all of them however the couple that live next door to her Oxana and Keith seem strange and Beth gets a gut feeling somethings not quite right about them.

Apparently it’s not only Beth who is intrigued by her new neighbours, beths dog has a habit of escaping and it seems his favourite place to escape to is next doors garden. One day when Beth goes to retrieve her dog from the garden she sees a young girl Sofia in the window with a sign in her hand saying “help me” in that instance Beth knows she must help this poor girl and find out what is going on with her neighbours. With the police telling Beth they need more evidence it’s up to Beth and Beth alone to go it alone to prove she is right about her neighbours and help to uncover the truth of what has happened to poor Sofia.

I really wanted to like this book. However the first 70% can be found.I'm the description. It finally got interesting over halfway in but ultimately was a let down. So much potential but just didn't do it for me.

I wouldn’t call this a psychological thriller but more a sad story of how some people really do get exploited and treated badly. Unfortunately the characters were all a bit flat so I lost interest and found it hard to finish. I did read to the end but a confused ending didn’t help my overall opinion.

1.5 *stars*
I was expecting something more from this one that's for sure!

My thoughts:
Beth's story is written in the third person while Sofia's is in first. It felt like two separate stories and it was so annoying.
Beth is desperate for attention and human socialization. I know where this is heading but it makes her too desperate. The random book club was so unnecessary, It felt like it was just there for no reason at all. She is socially too dependent but she isn't really trying.

I was seeking more drama or more thriller parts from this story. The grand escape should have been more dramatic.

Thank you for the experience!

#THEPERFECTNEIGHBOUR #NetGalley

Not necessarily my usual type of book but I did enjoy it and would like to read many more like it. Well written!

The writer definitely caught my attention with this excellent domestic thriller. The seemingly perfect appearance of the houses in this neighborhood definitely hides something very dangerous and sinister. The book reminded me of a darker version of the TV show Desperate Housewives, in that crazy suburban neighbor manner!

I would like to thank NetGallery and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
The Perfect Neighbour is about a girl Sofia, who is kept captive by a husband and wife. Beth, the woman next door, is new to the area and wants to get to know her neighbours. It’s not until her puppy escapes through a hole in the fence that she notices a girl standing in the window with a ‘HELP ME’ sign.

HOOKED from the first chapter! WOW!
I found myself trying to read faster and faster, excited to see what was going to happen to Sofia. This book takes you on a journey between the two main characters Beth and Sofia. I found myself holding my breath during the intense read and found at points my heart rate picked up, nervous and anxious for Sofia. Unfortunately as I got further into the book the pace started to slow down. I thought having the Salvation Army involved in this story tied it back to reality. The amount of research that has gone into this book is amazing and thought provoking. Do you ever really know your neighbours? Towards the end, the pace started to pick up again and had me again on the edge of my seat. However, I struggled to understand the ending of this book, due to this I am giving it 3 stars out of 5.

The Perfect Neighbour is a great read for a blistery afternoon, when you can get comfy on the sofa with a cup of tea,
Very interesting plot and characters, I would highly recommend this

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

Something about this story reminded me of Wattpad maybe the writing? It took quite a bit of time to really get going plot wise because we spent so much time learning about Beth settling in and then it felt like the story wrapped up super quickly. Adam was quite annoying because he never just agreed with/supported his wife. I was also thrown off with the whole Matt storyline. I think aspects of the story were very strong, such as Sofia's perspective but it didn't quite work for me

AMAZING!!

SO for this month, I decided to read all horror novels for my pleasure, as it is October now. And this was an AMAZING book to start off with!

This book wasn't reinventing the wheel but it is a very well written take on the topics (don't want to give any spoilers away) and it's a good fast paced read that will keep you glued to the pages. It's not a book with shocking twists and turns but it does get under your skin and keep you wondering until the end

Another great read by this author - I loved the alternate chapters by Sofia and Beth which allowed the story to build and give background and the characters lives - a real edge of your seat read about a challenging subject of human trafficking and modern day slavery

The Perfect Neighbour by Susanna Beard was a fast-paced and enjoyable read. The storyline drew me in quickly and kept me turning pages right through the end. The tale was told through the perspectives of two main characters. I could feel their pain as they struggled in dealing with their personal circumstances. I admired their diligence which led to a satisfying ending. I would recommend this book to a friend and look forward to more by this author.

A quick read that was somewhat predictable but held my interest from beginning to end. My heart was captured immediately by Sofia. Loved the way her character gained strength and intelligence, especially at the end. Oksana was the perfect hated beautiful trophy wife. Beth the struggling woman, coming to grips with the loss of her former best friends and a move to escape their desertion.
Ruff was the true hero of the book. I could clearly picture him galloping around the muddy yard after digging his tunnel.
Many thanks to Susanna Beard and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this book.

Beth wants to love her new home on a quiet suburban street. She wishes she could make friends with her beautiful neighbour Oksana. She longs for a new group of friends. Welcoming neighbours to visit. Coffee dates and dinner parties. But life here feels so closed. Then Beth runs into Oksana's garden one day to fetch her runaway dog, she sees something shocking that makes her wonder who are neighbours really are.

Plenty of twists and turns

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #SusannaBeard for my ARC of #ThePerfectNeighbour in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to summarize the book because I think you're best going in blind and it would be too easy to give away a snippet of information that the whole book hinges on. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. Strangely enough, I think this is the third time recently that I've said that. I found the book easy to read with a nice flow and some interesting characters. The storyline was different from anything I've read before and there were many moments of tension. I would guess that the author did a lot of research for this book and it was nice to see her nod to the Salvation Army. This is the first Susanna Beard book that I've read but I'll definitely be looking at some of her previous novels.

Many thanks to Joffe Books via Netgalley for a chance to read an advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Great book! I love to read a locked room kind of suspense story and this had the added thriller aspect of touching on human trafficking. Very interesting read that shows you never know what goes on behind closed doors! Thanks for the ARC!

Quick read. I have to say I kind of liked the Russian neighbor, reminded me of my own. It was a little slow in the middle but overall a great read.

This was a superb read. A normal family moving into a suburban street in a new town and finding all is not as seems with the glamorous, wealthy neighbours. The subject matter is dark and one that we know exists but it was heartbreaking to read. Though this is fiction it has been so well researched and makes for a gripping, tense story. I will be looking to read more of this authors books.