House of Cards.

A new couple moves into Jane’s prestigious neighborhood but when she stops by to welcome them with a casserole and an offer to assist, things don’t seem quite right.

Hmmmm…

After an enticing prologue, a few inauspicious chapters ensue which caused me to question whether this would be a let down from how much I enjoyed two of the author’s other books.

However, no worries, because the story took hold soon after and morphed into quite the domestic thriller! I don’t want to give anything away, but there are numerous illegal and sordid elements at play here with a sinister undertone.

If you like neighborhood gossip, intrigue, infidelity, and crime, this may be for you too. I know that I won’t see a ‘For Sale’ sign quite the same way after reading this book!

Thank you to the author Alison James, Bookouture, and Netgalley for my electronic review copy due to publish on September 27, 2022.

'The New Couple' is a book written by an author who is 'new' to me, but after this cracking read, I will be sure to have Alison James on my radar for future reads!

The plot, while probably tending towards there extreme end of the believably spectrum was utterly fabulous! Entertaining, fast paced and very gripping!

When a couple win a home in an affluent London district, one particular neighbour becomes suspicious of their motives, intentions and general demeanour, as to whether she is correct or not, I will leave the prospective reader to find out!

Well written with great charter development. This is a novel I would 100% recommend for pure unadulterated entertainment!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

4 stars
This psychological thriller takes place on a quiet, posh street where every neighbour knows each other. When a new young couple moves onto the street after winning a once in the lifetime lottery, people begin to wonder if things are not quite as they seem in the couples seemingly perfect new life.

Full of twists, this story keeps you engaged and eagerly reading forward to know how things will end. Multiple POVs throughout the book help to tie the story together, and you see the plot from different perspectives.
Seeing the incompetence of a petty theft attempting to take on a large high stakes crimes makes for frustration on the readers end knowing how easily their plan could have fallen apart multiple times. Looking from the outside in is easy with all the facts, but would you notice something is amiss with your own neighbours given no context?

Unfortunately, the ending comes across as pretty rushed, and further explanation could be used to explain how everything was solved. For the most part the lose ends are tied up so at least there is some closure at the end.

Thanks you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

They say it's always the husband...or the boyfriend. A couple wins a house via lottery in a totally plush community. Is it too good to be true? Yes, but not for reasons you think,..I enjoyed this novel of twists and turns. I loved that it was written from differing perspectives. I must say Jane was a bit of an annoyance, but ultimately her personality scored one for the win. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

Richard and Stephanie Hamlin win a raffle and are the new proud owners of a fabulous house. They and their daughter and dog happily move in. Things aren’t a as they seem, because actually these people are Liam and Keren who somehow have the Hamlin’s baby Poppy. Nosey neighbour Jane having been asked to babysit, thinks something is off and turns amateur sleuth to try and find out.

This book is told from the prospectives of Jane, Keren and Liam. They each have a chunk of chapters where the initial part of the story is repeated from each point of view. I really don’t buoyed this style of writing and in fact would have liked to hear from other characters such as Irina, Fergus and Lance.

This is a good read. Plenty twists and turns to make you think.

I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book and am leaving my review voluntarily.
'The New Couple' is a light and entertaining domestic thriller presented from three different character points of view and centring around a young couple who have won a £3 million house in a charity raffle. However, all is not as it seems as the neighbours soon find out!
Whilst it is somewhat far-fetched at times I was still drawn in by the story and intrigued as to what twists and turns would be revealed as the book progressed. I can't say this is the greatest thriller I have ever read but I did enjoy it and would certainly read other books by this author in the future. Not one for the deep thinkers looking for a deep and meaningful experience from a book but certainly an enjoyable bit of escapism.

I have read so many books that I usually have some idea of the plot after I have read a few chapters, but that was not the case with The New Couple. Story had suspense, good character development and kept my interest till the very end. If you are a fan of Ruth Ware, Sally Hepworth, Shari Lapena this book is for you. I can't wait to read other books by the author Alison James. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review

The New Couple is about Stephanie and Richard, who move into a posh neighbourhood after winning a house in a lottery. Their neighbour Keren is nosey and feels suspicious about them because they keep to themselves a bit too much. Moreover, Stephanie keeps leaving her baby behind for hours. What's wrong with this couple?

One day Keren sees Richard kissing another woman and she decides to do something about it... poor Keren didn't know no good did comes unpunished...!

I loved this slow burn, the twist was great and I really liked the idea of three POVs and four different parts.

Recommended!

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review

Jane and her husband live in middle class suburb in London. All is peaceful until a couple move into a house there which they won in a lottery. But are this couple genuine and is Jane and her husband's marriage as it seems. We do meet the other neighbours some stand out more than others. I did enjoy this book but parts of it were a little hard to believe. Can a couple look so alike to another couple. The ending was satisfying though.

After reading the 1st chapter I thought i was reading a women’s suburban novel of desperate housewives a few chapters in i was hooked!
After winning a prize draw Stephanie and Richard Hamlin have won a new luxury House in a beautiful neighborhood, they set chins wagging around the neighbors as this lucky young couple raising there baby daughter Poppy, they seem normal enough but for one of the neighbors Jane something just doesn’t sit quite right, the more she becomes the nosey neighbor the more the plot twists into a gripping and intense read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book it was hard to put down I couldn’t wait to pick it up again to find out which way the story would unfold.
Hats off to the Author Alison James, it was beautifully written and i will definitely be looking out for the next installment.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me the digital copy to read it was a pleasure to read and have already told various people to keep an eye out for its release.

RC

I really enjoyed reading this book!

Told from 3 different perspectives, the storyline unfolded with the missing pieces of the jigsaw filled in.

Firstly Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in return for an honest review.
This was a quick easy read, filled with plenty of drama and action, there was plenty going on. I enjoyed the main characters having their own parts and that way we got to see the whole thing from every angle. As soon as I started to read the second part I realised what the angle and plot really was and that was a surprise, never seen that coming. But it was a really good enjoyable one, with plenty of twists and turns and no real idea of how it would work itself out.
Glad it worked out the way it did for everyone concerned.

Richard and Stephanie Hamlin have just won a house in a very posh neighbourhood. In what should be a time of excitement they have to contend with a very nosey neighbour Jane. When Jane starts to become suspicious she realises that everything is not what it seems with the Hamlins and the answers are more than she bargains for.

This book is written in 3 different perspectives Jane, Keren and Liam and it takes a while to find out how these characters are linked. This was very fast paced and keeps you gripped wanting to find out what twist and turn is coming next. I liked that with every perspective you go back to the beginning so you can see how everyone deals with the Hamlins moving in.

The ending was a bit of a let down with everything happening very conveniently I feel like it could've been more suspenseful.

If you like fast paced mysteries that don't require a lot of attention you'll like this. Will definitely read more by this author too.

The premise of this book had me instantly intrigued. Stephanie Hamlin moves into the house of her dreams with her handsome husband, Richard and beautiful daughter, Poppy.
Their lives look perfect, but when they keep to themselves, it raises suspicions amongst the nosey neighbours.
Stephanie has a complicated past and secrets she is hiding - Her charming husband isn't really her husband... and she isn't Stephanie Hamlin.

I was so excited by the sound of this book and I was hooked reading the prologue.
After the first couple of chapters though, I did find it quite slow, until we reached the second part of the book, where it picked up and the main twist was revealed.

The idea for this book is very interesting and overall, I really enjoyed the story, although it didn't particularly leave me guessing or shocked at some of the reveals.

I really enjoyed Alison James writing, it made for a quick, easy read and I will definitely be looking into reading more from her in the future.

I loved this story and how it was written with alternating perspectives! Richard and Stephanie won a beautiful home in a posh neighborhood. Lucky them! Or so you would think. Greed and envy are powerful motivators that can have deadly consequences.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Bookouture and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Captivating from the moment I picked it up. Alison James has a sense of what fans want and delivers.

Book Title: The New Couple
Author: Alison James
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: September 27, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 Stars!

Aww the cherry red door on the new home that Stephanie and Richard Hamlin just won in the lottery is a dream come true! This multi-million dollar house is located at 12 Sycamore Gardens in the London suburbs.
The neighbors are excited with the ‘new couple’ and their adorable daughter Poppy.
But it appears the new couple has secrets.
We soon find out that they are not Mr. & Mrs. Hamlin.

The reviews on this were only okay but I found it more interesting than I thought.

I always like reading the authors notes and/or acknowledgements. Author, Alison James tells us in her “A Letter from Alison’ that she got the idea for this story when a house near where her lived in South West London was won in a house lottery by a young couple with a child. She knew this would have the potential for drama in a novel. She also states the neighborhoods provided a ready-made cast of characters. She was so correct. I read a lot of psychological thrillers and this was interesting!

This is my first Alison James novel and I look forward to another.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 27, 2022

The synopsis of the The New Couple caught my interest immediately and I was excited to read about just who Stephanie Hamlin really was. It's a clever idea for a story and definitely unpredictable. I doubt anyone would be able to guess what's really going on in the beginning, which is a rare thing nowadays.

Unfortunately I really don't care for the structure of this book. It's roughly split into thirds, with each section in the POV of one of the three main characters. I'm not really a fan of multiple POVs anyway, but it's worse here because each section essentially takes things back to the beginning, so I'm forced to read through the same events and conversations twice, sometimes three times. I did appreciate the parts taking place before the newcomers arrive at the house which explained their motivations, but after that it's like reading the same book three times over. Way too much repetition for me.

Overall I enjoyed The New Couple but it lacked that spark and 'unputdownable' factor I was hoping for, which combined with the structure, makes this a good read but not a great one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC

Sycarmore Gardens, an excusive and highly desirable neighborhood in a suburb of London, welcomes a new couple. The lucky couple, Stephanie and Richard Hamlin, won the house in a lottery. The neighborhood was filled with anticipation for the couple to move in, but when they did, the new neighbors weren't what they expected at all. Jane Headley extends a warm welcome to her new neighbors, but has an uneasy feeling from the beginning. As the story unfolds we realize that Jane was right to be suspicious because this new couple is not what they seem.
Secrets and intrigue abound in this slow burn mystery. With each character viewpoint, more details emerge which made this so hard to put down. I felt that this book was actually better than the description, the description does not accurately explain this story at all and is a bit misleading. Overall I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves mysteries, it was well written with vivid descriptions and well rounded characters. Thank you to Netgally and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this novel.

This was a good book that kept me gripped until the end.Keren and Liam are living together but Liam’s gambling is getting them into trouble and when they are evicted from their flat things go from bad to worse and they have to move in with Liam’s brother Lance,together they come up with a plan to Impersonate a couple who have just won a house in a raffle.But means taking over their lives completely and moving into the house the which the Hamlins won in the raffle. But they don’t take into account the nosy neighbours and things start to go downhill pretty much as soon they unpack,with plenty of twists and turns along the way this book had me gripped from the first page to the last,a great five star read for me.