Yet another book where I predicted the ending (and then some). It doesn't mean that the book is bad, but I do wish it was executed a bit better.

There are scenes where it becomes obvious who did the crime(s) early on, and the little seeds of doubt that are supposed to steer the reader in another direction weren't planted properly, at least not in my case.

The predictability isn't the main flaw of this book however, since I've previously enjoyed similar books, and I did enjoy this one too. No, I think the problem is that so many dialogues between the characters added nothing to the story. It just seemed like they were there to fill up the pages, making the book feel longer than it really was.

I was expecting something like Desperate Housewives, but scarier, and I got a very, very, VERY watered down version of that instead. I wasn't even scared once while reading, which is sad.

Anyway, the characters. I didn't have any strong feelings about them, other than Cassidy. She was a babysitter who was at the scene of the crime not once, but twice when the kids went missing and a big part of the community is convinced she had something to do with it. Did she?

Classidy was the most relatable to me, and the most realistic. The rest were fine, but they won't stick with me like she will.

And the atmosphere was nice, I like small town/suburban settings, especially in mysteries. I really loved the descriptions at the end when it rained. Because of that I'd read another book by this author in the future.

3.5

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I honestly dnfed this book... it was not getting me hooked and I think its the start of the book that wasn't really giving ...

Following on from her debut YA fiction book, The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman is a cosy domestic noir. It begins with the scandal of the separation of the glamour couple neigbours, before a five year old child goes missing as he walks home alone from kindergarten. The story is told in multiple voices, from the babysitter, the separated wife and the mother of the missing boy. As the police investigate, the neigbourhood gossip is rife and there’s plenty of judging and blame to go around. Then another child goes missing and the perfect neigbourhood is not all that it seems. So, an enjoyable psychological thriller that explores the darkness and secrets of suburban living with a three and a half star read rating. With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman is a highly recommended suburban drama.

It is the talk of the neighborhood gossips in Oak Hill, New Jersey, when actress and model Allison Langley leaves her former rockstar husband, Chris, at 4 AM. But this is overshadowed when five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing while walking home from kindergarten. Rachel, Billy's mother blames herself for her career and parenting. Cassidy, Billy's teenage babysitter blames herself because she was late to the Barnes house that day. Police are unable to find any trace of Billy. Perhaps Oak Hill isn't as idyllic as it appears to be on the surface?

The narrative is told mainly from the point-of-view of Allison, Rachel, and Cassidy, in alternating chapters with a few chapters from others in the neighborhood. As the search continues and the neighborhood gossips drink wine and discuss events, there are many secrets exposed and suspects are plentiful. Suspense and tension rises quickly. Everyone judges everyone else and we are privy to their pronouncements.

The quality of the writing is excellent in this suburban domestic drama. The characters resemble archetypes of different personalities rather than real people, but it works in a novel of this type. It is a quick read and an entertaining whodunit with a satisfying denouement. It is also a bit disappointing that whodunit is very predictable, but the appreciation is in the journey to the conclusion. 3.5 rounded up.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

I really struggled to read this book because I became confused on who was who, I had to read sentences twice because I found my attention wandering. The thing that kept me reading was i didn't know who had done it and I wanted to find out. Thank you netgalley and crooked lane for this ARC

I will always grab a neighborhood set thriller and this was really good. I loved how quickly the moms were to turn on each other. I didn’t figure out who took Billy until close to the reveal which I appreciated. There is a bit of an opening left at the end so I’ll be interested to see if there is a follow up!

A good book, but not a great book. 2.5 stars.

I was a tad disappointed with this book. Not because it was easy to figure out who-dun-it (it wasn't all that easy), but because this book was half YA and bad YA for that matter. A lot of what was very close to pedophilia sex and a ton of teen angst. I could see a lot of the angst since the teen was the babysitter who was watching the first child that went missing, but that is not what we really get with Cassidy. She seems more worried about her relationship than anything else. Yes, she feels guilt, but...

Allison and Christopher also have a ton of angst, which has nothing to do with the missing child/children. Or does it?

I was into this novel but not so deeply engaged that my mind didn't keep drifting as I was reading this book. I think the only reason I didn't give up was that I really had no clue who the abductor was and wanted to assuage my curiosity.

*ARC Supplied by the publisher Crooked Lane Books. there author, and NetGalley.

No neighborhood is perfect but the residents of Oak Hill have been patting themselves on the back and gossiping about Allison and Christopher- a model and her rock star husband- who just moved in. And then Allison, who has had it with him and with infertility, leaves. Poof. And then Billy Barnes, a five year old whose babysitter Cassidy was late to pick him up, disappears on the walk home, leaving his mother Rachel bereft and guilty. These three women tell the story which escalates when another child goes missing, another child who was in Cassidy's care. You, like me, might guess where this might be going but you, like me, might be wrong- no spoilers either way. It's an upscale brew of angry, resentment, and secrets (and really-a five year old with his own cellphone?). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

A domestic drama that was juicy from start to finish!

Oak Hill is a cozy place full of families, white-picket fences.. and a lot of small town gossip. The latest scoop is about the quasi-celebrities of the neighborhood. Chris and Allison Langley seem like the perfect couple, so why did she leave in the middle of the night?

Conspiracies are flying but it all comes to a halt when they're given something bigger to talk about. A neighborhood boy named Billy goes missing on his way home from school. The hot couple are on the back burner, we have to find this little guy!

Tensions are really flaring as already strained relationships are put to the test and suspicions rise about others in the neighborhood. Could it be the hyper-aware veteran? The crosswalk guard who's in AA? Was it an inside job? Will he be the only child taken?

This was great. I usually complain about too many narrators but it was done so well here. I was actually excited to hear from different people and it it gave the name and date at the beginning of the chapter so you could easily skim back to put the dates together. This was everything you could want in a quick summer read and I love the cover art!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

Thank you Netgalley, Liz Alterman, and Crooked Lane Books for my gifted copy!

Synopsis:
When little Billy Barnes disappears, the whole suburbian neighborhood is shaken. No one and everyone seems to be at fault at once: His mother, who let the boy walk home alone, at only five years old, his babysitter, who was late because she fell asleep at her lover's place, his father, who grew more and more impatient and distant - or was it someone else's fault entirely?

My thoughts:
Wow! The first chapter ended with a banger, and the final one did, too. Give me ALLL the juicy drama of this upperclass neighborhood! There was SO MUCH going on it really kept me on my toes. I'm kind of over the missing child trope, but it still was an exciting and suspenseful story, brilliantly told.

This was my first book by this author.

I struggled with this read. There’s lots of drama, which you would expect with a story that includes a woman that leaves under the cover of darkness & a missing boy. However, there is also an insight into small towns, where gossip & one-upmanship is rife & neighbours turn on each other. I thought that there were a lot of different viewpoints and at times it was confusing remembering who was who. I found many of the characters to be unlikeable - I think this would have been different if there were less viewpoints. However, I did enjoy the mystery of what happened to Billy - this had me eagerly turning the pages as I had to know the outcome! I had many theories about what had happened, and they all turned out to be wrong. It was interesting to see how it all played out in the end.

The Perfect Neighbourhood by Liz Alterman questions the security many parents feel about their children in the ‘big bad world’. Who can you trust? You think you live in a safe environment, a safe neighbourhood surrounded by trustworthy people ….. but do you??

Child kidnapping is appalling and this story explores every aspect of this. The story is told from many different perspectives of those who live in their neighbourhood and through this means all a range of emotions and feelings are shared. The characters were well developed and the plot had twists and unexpected turns that kept this reader interested.

Even though the issue of child kidnapping is disturbing I really enjoyed reading this novel. Well written and easy to read.


This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Of course you know immediately from the title, that the neighbourhood in the novel is not going to be perfect. Oak Hill is a close knit community, mostly upper middle class and wealthy with very low rates of crime. The sort of place where you feel safe, let your kids walk to school and hire teenagers to babysit them. But behind closed doors the neighbours love nothing better than to gossip about each other and all is not what it seems on the surface.

When a child goes missing (five year old Billy allowed to walk home from school alone), the community is shocked. His mother blames herself for going back to work and agreeing with her husband that her son was old enough to walk by himself. Most of the community however blame his teenage baby sitter who was a little late arriving at the house to meet him that day. If they knew the reason she was late that day they would be deeply shocked. The question everyone wants answered is whether Billy was taken by a stranger or whether a member of their own perfect neighbourhood is responsible.

Told through multiple points of view, the suspense ramps up as the reader tries to work out what happened to Billy and why the police are not able to find any trace of him. I would have liked to feel more empathy with Allison, one of the main characters, who has had a very hard time, but she just seemed too remote and cold to evoke much interest. Her rock star husband Chris was also difficult to like despite his popularity in the neighbourhood. I did however feel sorry for Cassidy the babysitter, taken advantage of by everyone and then blamed for Billy’s disappearance.

I loved the cover of this book and it drew me into the plot.
A good premise for a plot and character development. Some characters I really liked and you see them change/ evolve over time and some just didn't stick with me.
Some dark truths start to appear in this cosy neighbourhood, gossip starts to unfold and it makes you reconsider who you think is in the wrong.
A well written domestic read.

Most people gossip, especially in a smaller close knit community. Oak Hills is whispering when Allison walks out on her husband. What’s the story there? But then a young boy vanishes on his way home from school. And as the community worries amd waits another child is snatched.
I loved all the different POVs from several characters. I couldn’t figure out who took the kids or where they were even.
When it’s revealed, I was disgusted with myself for not having figured it out before. But wait, the ending suggests another probability!!
Watch little kids like a hawk and make sure to vette the babysitters.

Celebrities Allison (an actress) and Chris (a musician) once found their forever home in Oak Hill. Alison has flown the coop, and the gossip has started. In the midst of this, a child foes missing. And then soon after, another goes missing. Both were being babysat by Cassidy. How could there be a connection between them?
On the surface, ‘The Perfect neighbourhood’ seemed like it was going to be suspenseful and mysterious: why did Allison run away? Why are the children missing? Why aren’t we hearing a lot from Chris? What is going on with Cassidy the babysitter? For a small close knit suburb that seemed to live on gossip, I’m afraid I might have missed the latest neighbourhood watch meeting. The story lines once they start are quite obvious, and it seemed to remind me of a couple books I read earlier this year. The police officers were useless, and no-one seemed to be offering any surveillance footage and just wanted to retreat behind closed doors. And Allison, as one of the main characters, really lacked any sympathy from me.
I did like how it came together at the end; that drama seemed to build and unfold really well, the lead up to it seemed slow, lacking a lot of detail, and was nothing different to what I have read before. I would recommend this as a holiday read – curled up on a beach lounge with a chilled iced tea or rugged up in front of a fire with a hot chocolate nearby.

I struggled with this book, there were too many characters for me. Most of them unlikable, and it just didn't work for me .Sorry.

Allison and Chris Langley are charmed. Allison is an actress/model and Chris was famous for his band until they broke up. With money at hand, Allison and Chris discovered Oak Hill - a perfectly charming little community - and chose it to be the perfect setting for their perfect family. But after several years, they are unable to start their family and Allison leaves Chris. Even though the young couple stayed to themselves, everyone was watching the Langleys. There is a lot of speculation about where Allison went and why. But after just a few days children start disappearing and this is the story that grabs the headlines. What has happened to the children and who is to blame?

There are MANY characters in this thriller and many different storylines about each of them. Secrets, lies, and imperfection is what Oak Hill is built on. This book kept me reading at a fast pace to find out WHODONEIT. I thought I had a good idea early on - but there were many red herrings that made me doubt my choice. If you love fast paced, modern family dramas with a mystery/thriller twist - this is the book for you.

This was just an average story. Some parts seemed unrealistic but my biggest issue was that there were too many characters. Its my biggest issue in stories.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and arent influenced by others

This book was not for me. It started off way too slow. Once I finally had the narrator describing her job in first person to the reader— I realized this was not my type of writing style.