Member Reviews
A very enjoyable thriller. I've not read this author before so I will look out for some of her other books. Thanks Netgalley for the early review opportunity.
This book was a quick read but I had a hard time connecting to the main character. I felt like she was completely absorbed in her problems and I didn’t feel any connection to her husband. I didn’t figure out the twist in the end though.
I received this book for free from NetGalley thank you so much for this! I really enjoyed this book and am so glad to have read it as I’ve found a new author I like now too. The writing style was good character building was also good. My only problem was there were a lot of characters so it was a little hard to keep up with sometimes, but once I got them all straight I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. This was definitely a real page turner and had me on edge wondering when/if the children were going to get snatched. I really loved the ending and feel like it wrapped up the story well.
Oscar is cheating. Harriet is afraid of happening to the kids. The past comes to meet the future
Harriet wants to move before the past catches up with her and everyone finds out what happened or what she did
The premise of the book sounded promising, but the book started out a bit dull and ended up being chaotic but not in the best way. It was a page turner but that was because i just wanted to find out the truth behind it all. I will say that the author did a great job at misleading the readers into making Gabi the obvious choice. However, the ending was a but meh.
As for characters: I think Harriet let her husband off the hook too easily. She should not have downplayed Tilly's disappearance so lightly. Oliver is the father after wll, he needed to be there for her and them.
Oliver was a grade A douche bag, i hated him from the very first mention to the end of the book. He deserved worse, he deserved to be punished somehow.
In conclusion: it wasn't terrible but I unfortunately cant say was great either. I have been quite picky about my taste in mysteries/thrillers but oh well.
3.5/5
This was overall a fun read for me. It was a slow start until around halfway through, then I devoured the rest of it in a day. I liked the characters and the dynamics between them. I would have liked the mistress character to come back throughout the story, I really enjoyed her voice and wish she wasn’t just at the beginning. I was thoroughly investigating the wrong characters, the author did a good job of providing the husband motive/opportunity to cheat with so many women.
I liked this book ok, but it wasn’t my favorite. It centers on Harriet who lives in a fancy neighborhood with her husband Oliver and their 3 young girls. When one of the girls goes briefly missing, she realizes someone is trying to send her a message related to a terrible incident from her childhood. On top of that, Oliver is becoming increasingly distant and she believes he is having an affair.
The premise of the book was pretty cool and I always like the “hope no one finds out my secret” angle. The things that didn’t sit as well with me were how long the villain waited for revenge and how hard Harriet tried to ignore the truth. The whole ending caused me to have to suspend my disbelief a bit. I also felt that there were too many characters who weren’t well developed enough for me to differentiate them. I was torn on Harriet as a character- there were some aspects of her personality I really liked, like the dynamic with her kids and her ability to directly confront things that happened to her, but I also found her to be naive and to jump to ridiculous conclusions as some points.
Overall, this was a twisty read with a couple good surprises but I’m not sure how memorable it will be for me looking back later. I’d give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A woman always knows....deep down they know that something is wrong.
I was hooked from the start. I found the main character a bit annoying at times but she was well justified in her reasoning
I was enamored from the start up until the end. Lots of twists and turns. Noone to trust but yourself except Martin. I loved that character.
Definitely recommend. Lesley's work as always is impeccable.
Thanks Netgalley and publisher.
All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else.
Thank you NetGalley and Booktoure for this ARC! I really was excited about receiving this book since the synopsis gave me " Fatal Attraction " vibes, and it delivered. While the writing did seem all over the place, I still genuinely enjoyed the ride that was this book. I do wish we had more narration from the mistress since I am always curious to hear the villains POV. The wife told most of the story, and she wasn't nearly as exciting.
Harriet and Oliver live in a lovely neighborhood called Prospect Cove with their three children. One afternoon while at the park, Harriet’s daughter Tilly goes missing. Everyone frantically searches for the child and Harriet is especially disturbed because she feels like this is her past catching up with her. In her teens while babysitting, she was involved in the tragic loss of a child. Oliver, who is away on business is impossible to reach, which further alarms Harriet because of his past indiscretions. The child is found safely, but now Harriet starts receiving notes from someone referring to her past and threatening to take everything away from her, including her husband and children. She knows it has to be one of the neighbors and as she looks around she feels she can’t trust anyone, including her husband. The story is told in two different points of view, Harriet both present day and in some flashbacks, and by the “mistress” present day who is behind the threats. This was an entertaining read that keep me engaged and completely shocked at the ending. I gave this novel 3.5 stars.
This my first read by Lesley and it definitely won’t be my last.
From the first few pages I was hooked. I haven’t read a thriller like this before, and to be honest the feeling it gave me from start to finish I haven’t had that feeling while reading in a very long time.
I had a lump in my throat from beginning to end. I even had a bit of anxiety while reading. It wasn’t a nice feeling. I won’t lie normally I can handle it but this time it was a lot. I still very much liked this read though.
It constantly kept me guessing. With these types of books I always think I know what’s happening but I never do. I get it wrong every time and that's why I keep reading them.
Oliver and Harriet live in a very close, small community with their children. Harriet believes Oliver is having an affair while she tries to undercover who this person is, her own secret comes back to haunt her.
A couple of times I found the plot to be a bit messy, with so many character sometimes i had to go back to remember whos who.
I loved it from the start to finish. The main character Harriet lives in a very desirable location, where everyone knows everyones business. Her and her husband have 3 small children. She is keeping a secret only her mum knows. One day her daughter disappears from the park ( she is found after few hours) and from that day she keeps getting threatening notes/messages about her past. Someone else who lives close knows what she did.
Great read. Highly recommend.
I am sorry to say this was a DNF for me. It was very slow and never pulled me in. I really did not care for Harriet, the main character. The plot was confusing and I found myself having to go back and re read parts to see if I missed something. I may give this book another try in the future.
Wow, what a page Turner. I fully enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down.
I was drawn into Harriets world quite early and found it hard to leave.
I even thought I'd figured it out early but I was so wrong.
Thank you.
I have read all books by Lesley Sanderson, and enjoyed them. This one does not disappoint, from the first few pages I was drawn in.
Prospect Close is a close knit community, and appears to be a lovely place to live, the houses much sought after. Neighbours are friendly, yet everyone seems to have a secret. Harriet certainly has her secret, but someone knows about it. Harriet has her suspicions, her husband? her best friend? another neighbour? The twists and turns of Harriets story kept me guessing throughout the book, and I did not see the twist at the end coming.
This book is addictive, well worth staying up late at night to finish it as I did.
DNF. maybe it’s the culture/ slang difference but I was struggling to keep up with what was happening. It didn’t pull me in and that caused me to loose interest and get bored. Maybe I’ll give it another try one day but as for now I’m going to have to DNF.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the book and got quite caught up in Harriet’s world. The reasons I gave it are three-star are :
- in the first couple of pages, you get bombarded with so many new characters ate the same time. It gets quite overwhelming and I thought that some of their stories had nothing to do with with the book.
- at one point in the book, the point of view switched from first person to third. It was confusing.
- there were quite a few spelling mistakes and names mixed up ( in one sentenced from 2006, Harriet says she needs to check up on Lucy, but the name of the baby is Lydia)
- I found the plot twist underwhelming. I was expecting a lot more from all the build up during the story.
Appart from that, I enjoyed the novel and thought it was a nice thriller.
THE MISTRESS NEXT DOOR by Lesley Sanderson is a fast paced thriller about a woman, Harriet, being convinced her husband is having an affair.
The book starts with one of her twin girls being kidnapped and later her receiving threatening notes and text messages claiming to either hurt her or her children. While this is happening, she is piecing together facts of her husband having an affair.
While I did enjoy the book, I did find myself skimming through some pages and was hoping for something more, either a direct threat or a break in would’ve been interesting from the note writer. The ending fell a bit flat for me and I had guessed who Oliver was having an affair with half way through the novel.
Overall an enjoyable read and it is addictive.
Entertaining thriller.
A story of obsession and secrets, and the blurred lines between love and lies.
Harriet and Oliver live in a small community at Prospect Close. We learn that Harriet has a secret in her past. She begins to be targeted by an unknown party, and she also believes her husband is having an affair with someone close to here. It’s a slow reveal that keeps you guessing, and keeps you reading trying to uncover all the secrets contained within.
My first read of this author and I’ll be looking for more.
This was a great page turner I couldn’t stop reading it. I loved it till the end i would give this book 5 stars!