Oak Hill is the most quaint and lovely small suburban town. A town where the neighbors get together on the 4th of July, the crossing guard has been a town staple for many years, children can walk themselves to school. It's the perfect neighborhood. Or is it?
Every neighbor has their secrets. Rachel Barnes believed Oak Hill was a safe community, so much so her 5 year old son, Billy, walks himself to and from school every day. That is, until the day he never makes it home, disappearing without a trace. The nanny was late to meet him at his home, is she responsible? The entire town comes together to search for young Billy, searching parks and hidden corners, checking the local pond, but, nothing. Everyone begins to believe there is little hope left in finding Billy alive, and it's deemed a stranger kidnapping, until another child goes missing, yet again under the supervision of the same nanny.
The Perfect Neighborhood was the perfect weekend read with being under 300 pages. Each chapter hooks you in further and further as you learn more and more secrets about each neighbor. This thriller kept me guessing until close to the end! I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Liz Alterman, and Crooked Lane publishing for the e-arc of this book!

Reviews being posted to Barnes and Noble and Amazon now and awaiting approval.
Review being posted to Bookstagram in the next few days (8.15-8.18)

Oak Hill looks like a perfect neighborhood, close-knit community. When actress and model Allison Langley lives her former rockstar husband, Christopher, in the middle of the night, that seems to be the talk of the neighborhood. Until five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing while walking home from school. His teenage babysitter, Cassidy, arrives late that afternoon and when he doesn’t show up, she calls his mother Rachel. With the help of the police and the neighborhood, they search for Billy but unable to find a trace of him. Until another child goes missing, the police puts Oak Hill under the microscope and tries doubly hard to find the two missing kids before it’s too late.

This has multiple POVs, too many that I can’t keep track of whose it is anymore. There are lots of nosy neighbors, gossips, secrets, everybody suspecting everybody. There are POVs I like and some are irrelevant. The neighborhood seems perfect on the outside but it’s chaos in every household. I am okay with lots of POVs but in this case it’s case of just gossips and chatters that doesn’t add or help in the story. Then there is the case of the missing kids that adds up to the drama. The plot is predictable and they are just some plot holes you can’t miss. I am just a bit curious how this will end but the ending is okay, nothing to be wowed about.



Thanks to NetGalley for e-ARC in exchange for an honest view.

This book was fantastic. I was intrigued right away! And it kept my interest the whole book. I only guessed the ending with about 10% of it left, which was great.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One sentence review: This was just plain terrible and I'm hard-pressed to find a distinguishing interesting factor. A book that felt like a true waste of time.

This is an engaging domestic suspense novel. The recent gossip in the perfect neighborhood has been about the rock star and his wife that live there. The gossip quickly turns and cracks start to emerge among the neighbors when a little boy goes missing. It becomes even more alarming when another child vanishes. This is an interesting book and there is a great twist at the end.

"Who's more dangerous: the stranger who pick you up on a highway or the people in your neighborhood?"

Wow! What a crazy twisty story !! This is my first book from Liz Alterman but definitely won't be my last !! I loved the characters and the vibe this book gives off - very big little lies! This story is told from multiple POV's (which I love) - Rachel, the mother of the missing child, Cassidy, the babysitter and Allison, the famous actress. There were a few more sprinkled in just to give it the more gossipy feel and I was there for it!

Usually I NEVER guess what's gonna happen and who the "bad guy" but I actually did this time... I am not sure if I'm excited or disappointed hahaha! Overall, this book was very fast paced and twisty!! Definetely recommend if you love uppity neighborhood drama thrillers !!

This was a well written, fast paced domestic thriller! I liked the multiple POVs, although there were a lot of them and it was sometimes hard to keep track. I figured out the main twist early on, but that one at the end! WOAH! I did not see it coming! I'll definitely be watching for Liz Alterman's next book!

Thank you @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for the advanced e-copy of this book!

Strong 4.5⭐️
I actually really loved this. I had trouble putting it down once I got started. I was a bit confused with the different characters POV at first, wondering about their connection, but the pieces quickly started to fall into place. All of the characters are flawed and none are particularly likeable, but that worked well for the storyline. Full of twists, I was still trying to figure it out right up to the end! Highly recommend to fans of domestic suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley, Liz Alterman, and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Reading Between the Wines book review #64/135 for 2022:
Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: The Perfect Neighborhood
Author: Liz Alterman
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: Neighbors love each other, party together, everything all in one “perfect neighborhood”. Or is it? 2 kids go missing in a one-month period, I would say not. I guessed the kidnapper so early on and did not waiver. This did not, however, make the book less entertaining for me. There are trigger moments (besides the kidnapping) that I don’t want to give away. The last page was like OMG! I could not believe the final words and loved it all the same.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @CrookedLaneBooks for an advance copy of @ThePerfectNeighborhood.

#ThePerfectNeighborhood #LizAlterman #CrookedLaneBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I was really keen to read this book so it's quite possible I went into it with high expectations. The book started out strong but then unfortunately, lost it's way a little. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. In the end, it was an okay book. I enjoyed the multiple POV's and gossipy neighbors. Liz Alterman has a great writing style that keeps you reading so I'd definitely be keen to read more by her.

Many thanks to @NetGalley @crookedlanebooks @lizalterman
This was a quick read. I wish I loved it more, unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. It has multiple POV’s, almost too many - (I enjoyed Cassidy’s the most) add in - gossipy neighbours, secrets, jealousy, backstabbing and missing children.
It has received some fabulous reviews, so please check them out and give it a go if you enjoy a character driven, fast paced, domestic suspense with Desperate Housewives vibes.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

The neighborhood Oak Hill is infested with secrets. Secrets at every turn in an upper scale neighborhood where everyone tries to one up each other. A neighborhood where people are friendly to your face then stab you in the back.

At 4 pm one morning in April, model and actress Allison Langley leaves her rocker husband Chris. She leaves behind all jewelry, her phone, and a note - please do not try to find me. This is all anyone can comment on until a parents worse fear happens - a 5-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing in June. There are several suspects; however, no leads. Billy's mom is losing her mind - could someone have done this to get back at her for something? Does she have any enemies in this quiet community? Is her son still alive?

A few weeks later, another child from the community goes missing. The police are now under intense pressure to find both children, alive. Will they find them before it is too late? Will the secrets that this perfect neighborhood is hiding come to light?

I devoured this book in 5 hours. I could not put it down - I was reading it while cooking dinner!! I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Absolutely loved this book. It sucked me in from the getgo and had me guessing all the way to the end. Did not want it to end at all.

A woman, actress and model Allison Langley, leaves her husband on an April morning. Then a young boy, five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing on his way home from school. Three weeks later, another child vanishes, too.

This story moves between Allison; Billy's mum who is Rachel Barnes, an estate agent employee; Billy's childminder, teenager Cassidy McLean; and various neighbours. The pace of the tale is fast and I didn't work out who committed the crime from the large number of suspects. A thoroughly enjoyable psychological thriller that explores the darkness of suburban living, and a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Crooked Lane via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

This was a sort of Desperate Housewives type of book in a way. I throughly enjoyed this one and could picture the women gossiping and plotting with each other. It was a great read and I recommend this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

In the town of Oak Hill everybody is friendly and helpful that everybody wants to live in. Then one day a little boy is kidnapped while walking home from school.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publishers Crooked Lane.

What a fantastic read! A Perfect Neighborhood is a compelling trip through secret-laced suburbia.
No one truly knows what happens behind closed doors, even in what appears to be a close knit community. So when a child goes missing, the gossip mill churns and Oak Hill neighbors speculate what could have happened. It doesn't help that five-year-old Billy disappeared partially due to the fact that his teenage babysitter was running late that day; and there were already rumors flying since actress/model Allison left her former rockstar husband in the middle of the night. Police are unable to find any trace of Billy. His distraught mother, blaming herself, begins to wonder whether her neighbors could be capable of abducting and harming her son, especially those she's on poor terms with. The tension ramps up even further when a second child goes missing and the chance of discovering both children unharmed drops with every passing moment.
Alterman has created a gripping page-turner that explores the dark underbelly of sunny suburbia and what can happen among neighbors who thought they knew each other, as a parent's worst nightmare unfolds. The twists were perfectly timed, yet unexpected. I didn't guess the end result, but was gratified to find all the pieces fell into place. I look forward to reading whatever this author writes next!

For a book stuffed with clichés and stereotypes, I really enjoyed this story of one run away wife and two missing children in an idyllic small town. The book really shouldn't work for me but somehow it does. With the multiple points of view and little things that crop up during the story, it quickly moves past the expected and into a deeper story and that is what kept me reading. The writing made the story telling almost feel like a monologue version of "Our Town" with the spotlight moving from character to character as the book unfolds. Combine the different points of view with short chapters and the result is a book you can sit and read in an afternoon or one you can steal moments throughout the week to enjoy.

I love me some neighborhood drama. I may have Melrose Place and Desperate Housewives to thank (blame?) for that.

Oak Hill may be an affluent neighborhood, but that doesn't stop the gossip from traveling around.

Allison Langley, actress and model, and her husband Chris, former rockstar, move in and people are interested. Then one night, Allison just leaves in the middle of the night and gossip commences. Until five year old Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from school and police don't find a trace of him. Rachel, his mother, and Cassidy, his babysitter, feel responsible for different reasons.
The search continues without much success.

Another child goes missing while under the care of Cassidy. And this point things really amp up and we learn pretty much everyone in the 'hood has a secret of some kind. Who kidnapped the kids? And where are they?

I enjoyed this domestic drama. I did figure out the "whodunnit" prior to it being revealed, but the path taking us there still kept my interest.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Oak Hill has secrets and this book is going to tell us who did it! Enjoyed this book immensely, it was fast paced and the writing was suspenseful and intriguing. A must read for 2022!