This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be looking for more. I absolutely loved this book and read it in one day. I would definitely recommend this book.

The premise of this one sounded good but I got so bared that I skimmed to the end. The characters were all awful and annoying, and there were large chunks of the book that were spent just discussing money and the house and had nothing to do with the thriller aspect of the plot.

Did not enjoy, would not recommend.

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
—Cat Ellington

𝐀 "𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐌" 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐔𝐒:

For Woe is a pity,
And none too pretty—are its ugly cries
Bitter from the menace of bane,
Like cold, acid rain—
Do the tears pour down from its lying eyes

For the one who eats the dust,
The same is serpentine:
Nipping at the heels
Of the gumshoes—
Who have no abounding fields to glean

They are barren,
Laid waste—
Full of dead men's bones,
And arrogantly unchaste,
As they play host to hypocrisy
And keep company with misery

Whiffing the savory aroma
Emanating from the pit of its den,
Their crooked mouths water
For the succulent taste of sin—

With needle-like teeth—
All the better to gnaw off the flesh of the blameless,
These are those beneath—
Who prove themselves to be savage, grievous, and shameless

They are cunning; they are perverse
They are vindictive; they are— for better or worse
They are the poisonous potion
Of a witches' brew;
They are— the stars of the murderous mystery thriller
Currently under review

Dear reader? Shall we go get ‘em in the proceeding analysis? Well, alright, then, let's do it.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒: 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑.

𝐎ur leading lady, Alexis Crawford, has been on the come-up for practically her entire life. The high-powered—and high-salaried—attorney has paid more than her fair share of dues, and she is worthy of the better life she pursues. The senior manager of a small consulting firm (and a law wiz), she shares her life with her husband and fellow attorney, Sam Crawford, the couple's toddler son Caleb, and little Caleb's Honduran nanny, Elena. They do alright, but Alexis wants more—and she will have more.

As the pages of this spiteful tale begin to turn, we meet the Crawfords at their residence—a quaint little row house in the heart of Washington, D.C. The day is hectic as Sam (working overtime to nab a partnership role at his prestigious law firm) and Alexis are moving quickly to make it to their appointment on time. They have an open house in River Forest, an exclusive community of multi-million dollar homes offset by lush forests and the scenic Potomac River. Alexis is desperate for an upscale change, but Sam? Not so much. At least not in the beginning. But he'll come around.

𝘖𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭.

𝐀 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐎𝐘: 𝐁𝐔𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝟓𝟏 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃.

The house that will soon belong to the Crawfords is a humongous million-dollar-plus fixer-upper that the couple plans to buy as is. 51 Shadow Road; that's the address. The 5,100-square-foot estate (boasting five bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms) needs a ton of renovation. But Alexis and Sam can't imagine the modifications the property will require (or the doctor's prices attached) until they close and move in. That was the first error of judgment, but no one seemed to care at the time. Alexis was so gung-ho about buying the home—to get away from the urban environment of their row house—that she pressed Sam to secure the sprawling estate in its current condition. Plus, it was a steal; the previous owners could not wait to get the house off their hands. And so they went, they saw, they bought. 51 Shadow Road (a glorified albatross) now belongs to the Crawfords.

Sam might be grunting, but Alexis—pregnant with baby number two—is beaming. She has finally done it! Alexis Crawford, of all people, has finally reached the pinnacle of society. Oh, if her poor, neglectful mother (𝘰𝘭' 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩) could see her now, she'd turn face down in her potter's field grave! If all the friends Alexis never had could see her now! If all her enemies could see her now! Rich, wealthy River Forest, here she comes! Alexis Crawford made it!

𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺!

𝐀 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐈𝐓: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘.

Who wouldn't want to live in a spacious Cape Cod Revival in an exclusive community inside the so-called Beltway? Sam thinks the new neighborhood is too expensive and says as much, but Alexis is content to brush off his negative opinions because, one, they need more space for their growing family; two, their piggy bank is only a dollar short of morbid obesity; and three, they can use the change of scenery. They can do this, and they will. They are 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴; Alexis won't have it any other way. Plus, the Potomac River flows right through their new neighborhood; they can hear the relaxing sounds of rushing waters from their patio. It doesn't get any better than that. Here, in River Forest, their happy place awaits. Or so Alexis thinks.
Alexis also makes a mental note that she and Sam will need a more top-end vehicle—as their humble Honda Civic Hatchback, compared to the Mercedes, BMWs, Porsches, and Jaguars cruising the paved roads of the neighborhood, looks like a broken-down piece of junk.

𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴—𝘰𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴.

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑: 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒.

There's "Bennifer," there's "TomKat," and then there's 𝘛𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳.

Blair and Teddy Bard are the so-called "Barbie" and "Ken" of River Forest. Blair is a talented interior designer, and Teddy, a highly successful businessman, is also a long-standing member of the Virginia House of Delegates. The sparkling couple shares three (secretly unwanted by Blair) children: Whit, the incompetent cross-country runner; Jamie, the soccer standout; and Rob, the badminton player. These three are all blond/blonde like their parents and troubled to various degrees. The Bards are outside their massive, jaw-droppingly beautiful home doing rainy-day yard work when they spot an odd, out-of-place-looking pair with a small child touring the neighborhood. Here, Blair Bard makes the acquaintance of her new neighbors, the Crawfords.

Alexis takes note of the striking blonde woman instantly—as the woman is the type that always seems to have more on the ball in life than women like Alexis. Those types were always the most popular girls who led privileged lifestyles financed by their wealthy families, while urchins like Alexis could only attend a good college on a scholarship. They were the mean girls, the hateful girls, the spoiled snobs. And Alexis despised them – 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘺, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳.

Already, Alexis (seething in her reverie) is enemy-centered toward a stranger whose name she doesn't even know until the smiling woman approaches the Crawfords to introduce herself. Her name is Blair. Of course, her name would be 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳. Alexis should've known her name would be something like 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳. However, despite her name, this woman, Blair, seems nice. She's nothing like those snotty brats from Alexis's high school and college years. And with that, Alexis backhands the salty chip off her shoulder and lets her guard down.

It may not be so bad after all. Alexis might love living in River Forest. And they all might become great friends and neighbors, Alexis, Sam, and these two perfect people, dubbed "TeddyBlair" by their closest associates.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯; 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦; 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘺-𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴.

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌.

The postpartum blues are all over Alexis Crawford, like a cheap suit, two weeks after the birth of her second child, a daughter she and Sam named Carter. But Sam is always away from home these days, with an excuse of working overtime to get that promotion to partner status at his firm. He's also (a lot) more aggressive and mentally abusive toward his once-mighty wife. Every chance the tall red-haired Sam gets to remind Alexis of just how much she's let herself go (since having children), he jumps at it. A jackass and then some, the snide and malicious Sam only seems to feel better when Alexis feels humiliated and lesser. Perhaps it would have been better if Alexis had gone after a partnership at her firm. Maybe then Sam, who has suddenly taken to referring to Alexis as an "old lady," to put in some overtime on her already fragile self-esteem, would be more loving and supportive. Perhaps then he would have something to boast about. Sam Crawford is an awful excuse for a husband; that much is true. But Teddy Bard? Teddy Bard has it all. He's the kind of man any woman would love to have for a husband—which is why Alexis couldn't help but feel envious when she caught a late-night glimpse of Blair "feeding" Teddy on one of the better couple's expensive sofas. Blair's golden head hung back, a look of otherworldly ecstasy on her flawless face, immersed in the passion of sensual oral pleasure. Alexis can only imagine the feeling because Sam hasn't made her feel that good in ages. She and Sam have not been intimate in months—and months; poor, pitiable Alexis.

Watching the erotic scene, her mouth agape, Alexis takes it all in, no pun. But what Alexis doesn't know is that this would be the last time she'd see Teddy Bard alive.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐃.

The morning sun and misty dew of early autumn pair excellently in the limiting confines of the tony River Forest: another day, another peachy-keen day. Alexis is busy with typical activities involving her emotionally abusive husband and small children when she hears the whir of helicopter blades and the wail of police sirens. Something unpleasant has befallen their ritzy little cul-de-sac, but what could it be? What it could be is a body—discovered by a fisherman along the banks of the Potomac River. The corpse, brutally battered, with its skull crushed in several places, lay on the rocks beneath the trail. No one saw anything, so they all say, but authorities have identified the dead man as Teddy Bard.

For some (including Alexis), news of Teddy's remorseless murder comes as a jolting shock, but for others, not so much. The inhumanity of his death, right out in the open, speaks volumes. Who would want to kill such a nice man like Teddy? What damaging information did Teddy have in his arsenal? And against whom did he plan to use it? Who wanted their secrets to remain unknown? Who hated Teddy enough to crush his skull to dust? Behind their white-washed tombs, disguised as prime real estate, which of the wealthy River Foresters can sleep at night—knowing they committed a heinous murder?

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?

𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑: 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐒.

As the narrative changes course to turn its glaring spotlight on the other residents of River Forest, Old Scratch breaks forth to gather up his obliging bondservants and shove them in it. As it happens, they number quite a few. Meet them as follows:

• Jennifer looks like a pin-up girl reminiscent of 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦! With luscious curves in all the right places and a doll-like face to match, many, including Alexis, wonder what the striking brunette sees in her tall, blubbery, sloppy, hot-headed, jealous, possessive, miserable, and unhandsome husband, Jeff. Perhaps it could be his money, as Jeff is nothing if not filthy rich.

𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺-𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 (𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴) 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭-𝘥𝘦-𝘴𝘢𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘨, 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴.

• Brash, big-boned, and Brazilian is the backstabbing, underhanded, two-faced, and ultra-horny alpha female named Laura. The 51-year-old vamp and her shady husband, Shawn, are the founders of a highly profitable security company—that Teddy wanted to snatch out from under them, much to their dismay—with agents stationed worldwide. But the dubious couple, especially Shawn, makes Alexis nervous; she thinks there is something suspicious about the former military man turned soccer coach. Why is Shawn always out in the woods, near the Crawford house, stalking the wee hours, claiming to be searching for his missing drones? Why is Shawn even operating drones in the neighborhood in the first place? And what nefarious activities have his little drones been recording? Did those drones record the killing of Teddy Bard? Are Shawn and Laura concealing information that may be vital to the murder investigation?

𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘠 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵.

• They might be new to money, but Silicon Valley tech company founders Emily and Dylan are worthy of River Forest, regardless of what that self-important elitist, Blair, thinks. Emily, the genius coder, is a mousy, annoying, unsophisticated, relatively unattractive, arrogant, famous-name-dropping heifer; and Dylan, the conceited half-Pakistani man-whore, is one adulterous affair away from an incurable venereal disease, an unspeakable death—or both. Dylan likes to screw around, and Emily knows this; nevertheless, she stays married to him, preferring to blame the other women rather than her philandering, vulva-chasing husband. Emily is a dishrag and a doormat; she has no class, and her self-esteem is bottomless. But that fancy Blair? She's so confident that it makes Emily sick. 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳 is the ultimate woman; she's everything the formerly poor Emily isn't. And Emily is envious, jealous, covetous—and enraged. Emily wholeheartedly believes that Dylan and Blair are carrying on (an affair) behind her back. And she sets out to prove it. She even uses a staged lunch date to recruit an unwilling ally to act as a second pair of eyes: her fellow doormat, Alexis.

𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘺-𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺, 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴? 𝘖𝘭' 𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘈𝘕𝘠𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

• Old man Mack likes them young; Mack likes them helpless. Old man Mack enjoys domination while engaged in copulation. Old man Mack is powerful, dangerous, and minted; Mack will pulverize any man (or woman) who dares to cross him. As he has done before, so will he do again—all one has to do is give him a reason. Mack can be a terrifying adversary, a man without mercy. And everyone in River Forest knows it. The old geezer gets what he wants when he wants it—or else. Old Mack will make one's blood run cold. And if he singles someone out, it will never end well. His eyes are beady, greedy, and lustful. And they are now roving the body of Alexis Crawford, the new neighbor. She looks ripe; she seems lost. She looks lonely; she seems sultry. She's quiet. She's defenseless. She's exotic. She's 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬.

𝘔𝘮𝘮, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 s̶c̶a̶r̶s̶ 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴? 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩—𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 h̶a̶v̶e̶ 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳) 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬-𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴.

𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘.

These all populate the cul-de-sac of great wealth and influence. And each one harbors a dangerous secret capable of destroying the others. Attempting to keep herself busy while Sam is away, yet again (and now that he's made partner at his firm, he has more excuses to spend as much time away from Alexis and their children as possible), Alexis has taken to a new hobby: gardening. And she's become quite good at it. Weeds have joined her growing list of enemies. And it's not until her pruning saw goes missing that Alexis realizes something is off.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳—𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘖𝘩, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.

𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐃(𝐒): 𝐁𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒.

One woman could ask, Have you seen my husband? Another woman could say, I know you're having an affair with my husband! Followed by another woman who could say, I'll have your husband in as many ways as I want him; he'll do whatever I a̶s̶k̶ tell him to do. And then some other woman could demand, Stay away from my husband, you lying, whorish bitch!

But there is a forbidden woman who is like the harlot foretold in wisdom. She sits at the door of her house, calling out to the men who pass by, who go straight on their way. She entices the simple man with the sweetness of stolen water and the pleasantries of secretly eaten bread. She lures the simple man with the lie of her husband being away on a long journey, and with much seductive speech, she invites him into her bed, perfumed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon. But the Reaper is already there. And the hard object tenting her sheet is not the erection of a man—but a scythe.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵—𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰—𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.

𝐌𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐒.

Conniving, deceptive, hypocritical, cunning, adulterous, callous, malicious, jealous-hearted, passive-aggressive, sleazy, whorish, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, vindictive, scandalous, vile, and incestuous are the Housewives of River Forest. And Andy Cohen himself wouldn't be able to clip muzzles on these rabid bitches. No one can stop a dog from returning to lap up its vomit, and no matter how often the sow has a bath, even still, she will return to wallowing in the mire.

𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃.

It's been six weeks since Teddy's murder, and the investigating detectives still have no leads in the case. Alexis is the only person who seems to care about what happened to Teddy, and Alexis Crawford is nothing if not tenacious. She is determined to learn the truth about who killed Teddy Bard and why.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴? 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵? 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵—𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦-𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘥𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 (𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭) 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘.

Narrated in the dual viewpoints of kindred spirits Alexis Crawford and Blair Bard—two women who will form a somewhat co-dependent bond—𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸, co-starring Beryl Edwards as Blair's mean-spirited and bitter mother and Detectives Rich Bryan and Thomas Kim, two investigators around whom the residents of River Forest unbelievably continue to run rings, is a relatively well-written pincer grasp on the psyche; a composition of short, choppy chapters that read fast and ooze intrigue.

It is not until her plot on these pages nears its end that Melissa Adelman pushes down the plunger of her detonator to ignite a thunderous boom, blowing apart the mystery of the violent murder of Teddy Bard and the elaborate conspiracy that led up to it. Some readers might find this strategy annoying, but with this tale, Adelman will command forgiveness as her debut thriller boldly defends her honor, revealing intrinsic character development and flawless dialogue.

Adelman's strengths as a storyteller reveal themselves in the pros of her (literary) script. On the other hand, however, her weaknesses, minor as they might be here, are exposed in the cons, whereas the author left too many holes open in her haste to (finally) end it. Adelman was on a roll until her storyline became too bloated. There was some extra fat the plot could have done without, sure, but still, I understood Adelman's vision, and I must commend her for a job well done, even if a few blemishes caused the effort to fall short of a five-star review from me.

I do not possess the ability of a psychic, but if I had to guess, I would say that Melissa Adelman has what it takes to only get better with each succeeding effort, given she learns from her limited number of mistakes with this work.

My initial introduction to 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸 was with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘝𝘰𝘭. 8 (Macmillan Publishers, 2023), and I enjoyed the selection; I looked forward to completing the title. And so I have, and here we are. Melissa Adelman earned a new fan in me with this particular effort—of which she should be very proud—and I eagerly await her next release. Dear reader, I don't just recommend 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸; I highly recommend the title, especially if you like your mystery thrillers gritty, dramatic, action-packed, and unpredictable.

Happy reading, all.


𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: It is a pleasure to thank St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Publishers—in association with NetGalley—for the complimentary copy of 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸 for my reading pleasure.

Analysis of 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸 by Melissa Adelman is courtesy of Literary Criticism by Cat Ellington for The Arts©.

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄: The "Callous Poem" included in my analysis of 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘸 is an original piece created (by me) only for dramatic effect and to serve as a portion of my review.

©𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐤 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

What the Neighbors Saw is a domestic suspense that kept me guessing. Infidelity, racial tensions, murder, abusive spouses, bored housewives, and new motherhood - this book had quite a bit going on.

There were multiple narrators which helped the plot move along and kept me engaged. I found Alexa to be a frustrating character. She was a bit of a doormat letting her husband treat her like crap and take advantage of her. I didn't like how she hardly seemed to react to Sam's cruelties and put up with racism and disdain from her neighbors. Blair was an interesting character that held a lot of mystery for me. She seemed to truly love her husband but also wasn't really the grieving widow I would have expected her to be. Her friendship with Alexa felt genuine but I wasn't entirely sure how the other women in the neighborhood fit in the picture or why if they disliked each other so much, they kept spending time together.

There were points when I felt like the murder wasn't really a focal point of the story. So much more was going on and so many characters were involved that occasionally I felt a little swept up in the drama. It was easy to get stuck on a side plot and feel like I was missing something.

All in all this was entertaining but not one that will likely stick with me. I listened to this book on audio and thought the narrators were good.

Thank you to Minotaur for the copy.

What the Neighbors Saw was a lovely read about how a picture perfect neighborhood can have many dark secrets and how people are committed to preserving their lifestyles.

The cover, title, and premise pulled me in for this one but unfortunately it lost all it's luster while reading. I wish I could say I loved it but unfortunately it didn't fit the bill for what I thought it would be. Most of it read like a soap opera drama trying to give suspense that never really met the standard of suspense. I liked the dual POV's, the setting in a well to do bougie neighborhood with secrets of the rich, yes there is a murder, and of course there are lies to be uncovered and truths to come to light so those were some good aspects. The last 20 minutes of the book were probably the best. My dislikes which this to me even sounded crazy because I like details to set the scene, but I felt like the scene setting became the focus over the whole storyline and stole the show until the last 20 minutes when it balanced out. The reveal of who was behind the murder was revealed passively to me and I didn't feel much suspense to it.
I didn't mind Alexis's character and she did develop from her younger self into the present time with being a mother, independent, and how some things were just kept at face value to let those secrets stay buried. Sam was annoying, a tool, and literally I hated him as a character he was the typical wanna be. I wasn't really impressed with Blair either being a typical rich snob and just very surface level. I did like the twist of the plot with Teddy and Blair but it wasn't really developed enough to make it wow you in my opinion. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the gifted copy to review with my own opinions.

While I did find this story entertaining, I'm afraid it won't be a stand out for me and probably won't be super memorable.

It was more of a slow burn, but it did read fast, I think, due to the shorter chapters which I liked. There was enough action going on to keep my interest, but there weren't any super shocking twists. I love a good domestic thriller/neighbourhood drama and this one had all the makings to be really great. The premise was really intriguing, but I think it just fell a bit flat for me. I needed more. More of what, I'm not sure, but I was expecting more drama, and it was mildly predictable.

Most of the characters were also pretty unlikeable and not in the good way. I love to hate a character! But these ones were more on the annoying side, unfortunately.

I think a lot of people will definitely like this one! I think this is a case of me being someone who reads a lot of thrillers, and I've gotten a bit more picky with them. But like I said at the beginning, I did find this entertaining.

When Alexis and Sam purchased their new house, to raise their young family, little did they know they were moving to a neighbourhood where abuse, adultery, and murder ran rampant.

Blair and Teddy seem to be the perfect couple - her being from an upstanding family and him being on the city council. Their three children were also on an upward trajectory in life until a tragedy befell them all.

This “Desperate Housewives”-esque neighbourhood was teeming with characters who were unlikeable (even though they appeared to have some good qualities), and the dual POV between Alexis and Blair made the dissimilarities between everyone all the more discernible. Dirty secrets prevailed and, when the truths came out, the twists in this story revealed themselves one after the other. This was an entertaining mystery/thriller until the final page, complete with no repercussions for anyone.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

When Alexis and Sam buy the worst house in the best of a rich neighborhood to raise their two kids, they were not prepared for what was to come when they moved in.
After a murder shortly after moving in, Alexis becomes friends with the widow and finds that all of the couples have more to hide than any of them are letting on. As things get worse and Alexis becomes suspicious of everyone and everything around her, the true killer comes to light and I was not prepared for this ending.
I would recommend this read if anyone’s looking for a domestic thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman. Pub Date: June 20, 2023. Rating: 2 stars. When neighborhood drama meets Desperate Housewives and produces a storyline, this is that book. I would not categorize this novel as a triller, but more of a domestic suspense type of novel. Set in an affluent suburb of Washington DC, this story produces a murder that shakes up the community. The main character couple of Alexis and Sam are left wondering if their new neighborhood will ever be safe. Honestly, I found the twists predictable and was not very shocked by much in this novel. It was too much of a slow burn to me and I felt it could have benefitted from some more editing. Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this but I just didn’t. I’m not really sure how to rate it because I only read the first 35% and last 15%. The middle was just dragging and nothing was happening.

But I was curious enough about the twist and reveal to read the end. And that wasn’t super great either. Interesting idea but it was not the one for me.

The main character, I forgot her name, was annoying. The husband was terrible. The neighbors were awful. Just not for me.

What do you think the neighbors saw? Oh you thought I was going to tell you, NOPE! You will have to read this great book for yourself to get the answers! Thanks for writing such a great book!

A good domestic thriller is always perfect for a weekend read and Melissa Adelman brought her A-game. A high-end, wealthy neighborhood full of entitled people and murder? Sign me up for all the drama!

The story follows Alexis and Sam as they move into this slightly ritzy neighborhood into a fixer-upper and try and fit in when shortly after one of their neighbors is murdered. This reminded me very much of the show Desperate Housewives! I knew the level of drama was going to be high! Adelman did a great job of keeping me guessing. I suspected almost everyone at one point or another and was flipping pages waiting for the next clue or the big reveal.

We really got to know Alexis and Sam, and I must say, Adelman drew some very strong feelings out of me about these people. I really hated Sam and I found Alexis to be a little annoying, but also rightfully so at times towards her husband. He's the worst! Sorry for the spoiler. His whole attitude was bad the entire book and I was curious why they were even married. I wish the book had gone into the other characters a little more so we got to know them more, but that may have been on purpose due to not wanting to give too much away.

Other than that minor detail, I really enjoyed this story. Adelman wrote a book with lots of suspense, plenty of twists and events to keep you guessing, and a shocking ending. I would definitely read another book by her and recommend it to all suspense lovers. You won't be disappointed.

I really hoped I would enjoy this more than I did. The twists were pretty good, but I did not like any of the characters and that made it hard to enjoy the story.

This is the first novel I've read by Melissa Adelman and her strong character development and intriguing premise made this an engaging read. I will certainly be seeking more books of hers to read! What the Neighbors Saw is a thought-provoking story about hidden lives and how far someone will go to prevent their secret from coming out. Perfect for those who enjoy psychological and domestic thrillers.

This was a DNF for me. I tried to get into it, but found it to be a slow start. When it comes to thrillers, I definitely look for something that captures my attention really quickly.

Alexis and her husband buy a house in a fancy DC suburb. Life seems good. Until their neighbor Teddy is found dead. Alexis becomes friends with his widow Blair. But there seems to be more going on than meets the eye. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars, rounded up

An engrossing thriller that pulled me in from the first page. It was fun and twisty. With that said though, I somewhat expected parts of the big twist early on, I just wasn't sure how it was going to come about. How it was revealed and the details around it definitely caught me off guard. There were a number of smaller twists that definitely surprised me leading up to the big one which I enjoyed.

I recommend this quick, twisty thriller and I would love to read more by the author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. Too predictable, and full of unlikeable characters, and a flat plot. I would only recommend this book to readers who are new to the thriller world. Now, i did love the pace, and one character, other than that, just was not the one for me.

Alexis and Sam purchase a fixer-upper in an exclusive neighborhood and their life changes dramatically. The financial pressure and the added responsibility of the renovations, coupled with the birth of their second child, weigh heavily on their marriage. One of the neighbors, Teddy, is murdered on a trail, shortly after Alexis and Sam move to the neighborhood. As more oddities happen, Alexis questions whether the move was a good thing.
Quick read, but some of the plot twists were hard to believe.