Very appreciative to have received an invitation from the publisher to read this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a review. I love the eerie cover and the premise of danger and secrets in a wealthy DC suburb. Unfortunately, this was a subjective miss for me.

The novel opens with Alexis and Sam, parents to a son and a daughter on the way, who move from the city to a privileged neighborhood in DC. It's the worst house in the best neighborhood, and they're ready to take on much needed renovations to get into this exclusive spot.

But things quickly turn scary when their neighbor Teddy is found murdered. As the police slowly attempt to solve the crime, the neighborhood devolves into anger and innuendo, especially when Alexis becomes close to Teddy's widow, Blair.

For me, the most exciting part of this book was its summary. It's another case of a non-thriller being classified as such--this is too slow burn. And by that I mean nothing really happens. Teddy is killed and that's about it for that event. Most of it is Alexis's inner monologue about not being good enough--she spends so much time dwelling on her out of shape post partum body and the fact that she grew up poor than anything else. With the exception of complaining about the house and all its repairs--that she was well aware of and comfortable with before buying it. And something about the writing itself didn't really catch my attention. It's competent and all, but it didn't really feel alive to me.

But she's not the only character that dragged this book down. Her husband is atrocious--mean, condescending, really a complete jerk. I can't imagine how or why Alexis married him in the first place. Maybe if she'd take the chip off her shoulder she could see how awful he is. The rest of the cast isn't any better. They're all flat and petty and I really couldn't tell Laura from Jennifer from anyone else. Blair's the only one who felt real, but only because I was curious as to what her deal was. It was obvious from her demeanor right after Teddy's death that there was more to her story than met the eye.

The big reveal was fairly predictable (if you're paying attention to Alexis), but felt like it was created for shock value. This is going to sound ridiculously vague, because I'm trying to avoid spoiling anything, but you've really got to abandon all logical thinking to believe the twist is even possible. Blair's mom's allowing things to progress as the did makes no sense, among other things related to it. Looking back after closing this book, Alexis's peeping tom moment is even more questionable and sketchy, and not because of Alexis.

This was a fast, easy read, though it was less suspenseful than I had anticipated it would be. While I didn't particularly like any of the characters, I did like that the author chose to write the book from the alternating viewpoints of Alexis (the newest resident to the exclusive neighborhood) and Blair (recent widow of Teddy who was found dead on a nearby trail). The addition of subplots involving various other neighbors kept me reading on as I tried to determine who may have wanted to kill Teddy and why. While I had some theories, I can honestly say that I did not predict the ending of this book and applaud the author for the twist that I didn't see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although starting out slow, the plot in What the Neighbors Saw picked up and had me hooked waiting to find out all the connections.
When Alexis and Sam buy a fix me up house in an exclusive Cape Cod neighborhood, their dream is shattered with the discovery of a possible murder. They quickly discover not everyone is as perfect as they seem.
Good read! Recommended!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for my honest review

Alexis and Sam have just moved into their new neighborhood when a neighbor is mysteriously found dead. There are no clues, and no suspects. Other neighbors are creeping around their yard at night, and secrets continue to be uncovered. Alexis has befriended the widow of the murdered man, and discovers she has secrets, too.

This book was a slow burn domestic thriller with vibes from Desperate Housewives and Little Fires Everywhere. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit slow moving until the final pages. It also seemed a bit familiar and unsurprising. Id be willing to try another book from this author but this one was average for me.

Thank you to the author, Minotaur books, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Alexis and her husband Sam by the worst house in the best neighborhood of a DC suburb. But is it really the best neighborhood? Their neighbor Teddy is found dead near their house on the Potomac River.

This book has a lot of twists and turns as the police search for Teddy's murderer. More weird things happen around them. I usually gravitate towards these types of books, but this one felt like it dragged. I understand the focus on the fixer-upper house and the fights about money, but it was almost too much.

When we figure out who murdered Teddy (yes, there is resolution!), it was a bit of a surprise but I pretty much saw it coming. Still, it's a fun summer read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"What the Neighbors Saw" by Melissa Adelman is such a fun read! Filled with many twists I did not see coming, as well as an absolutely deplorable cast of characters, this domestic thriller held my rapt attention from the first page to the last. This book is definitely a page turner! "What the Neighbors Saw" is perfect for fans of "Desperate Housewives" or readers who want an entertaining read while on vacation. Four stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was well written and a fun read. I hope to read more from this author.

This domestic thriller was a slowburn. I’m glad I stayed with it, because I enjoyed the ending.

We start with Alexis, falling in love with a tragic fixer upper in a super ritzy neighborhood. Both lawyers, she and her husband Sam can afford it… but things are tight since Alexis cut back her work and is very pregnant with their second. I gotta say, right from the get go, Alexis was super unlikable. She whined and complained and gossiped. Nothing that happened to her surprised me at all.

Things go from idyllic to scary when a neighbor is found dead in the forest, right by their street. It’s been weeks with no leads… and Alexis befriends the widow.

I thought a lot of things about Alexis were distracting, and made parts of the book hard to read. Like how she was so quick to judge women and label them as weak… and just never looked in the mirror at herself. The eating disorder thing seemed irrelevant, unless it was going to play a bigger part in the story (which would have been interesting… but it did not).

All that to say, I had some hunches as to the “big twist” at the end, (and while I was on the right track with the dna 🤐🤐🤐), it was SO not what I was expecting. For that, it gets 3 solid stars.

If you are into domestic drama's that play out like Desperate housewife's/soap Opera, this book is for you. I on the other hand am kind of over them.

This book is full of Lies, gossip and secrets that can be fun, but it also dragged and fell flat for me.

So I think this is a 50/50 one. I wouldn't recommend it but wouldn't tell someone not to read it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: June 20, 2023
“What the Neighbors Saw” is another suburbia themed domestic thriller (the second of this genre I’ve read this year with “Neighbors” in the title in fact), and it is also the debut novel of author Melissa Adelman.
Alexis and her husband, Sam, purchase a neglected house in an affluent suburb, hoping that with a few renovations, they (and their house) will fit into the neighbourhod. Raising a toddler and a newborn baby, Alexis feels overwhelmed, exhausted and desperate and Sam is working overtime in order to obtain a partnership in his law firm. But the neighbourhood they once loved quickly turns tragic when the seemingly perfect woman next door, Blair, loses her equally perfect husband, Teddy, when he is murdered on the wooded track behind their house. Of course, everyone has their suspicions about what happened (and none of them are quiet about it) but Alexis’s theory will alter the entire trajectory of Blair’s life, and her own.
“What the Neighbours Saw” is narrated in alternating POV’s, by Blair and Alexis. Both women are likable and easy to root for, especially Alexis, who is the wrong-side-of-the-tracks daughter of a Honduran immigrant who doesn’t feel quite at home in her new affluent (and white) neighbourhood. All of the husbands in this book are awful, however, except maybe Teddy (and look where that got him). We get to meet a few of the other neighbours through interactions with our main protagonists, and it’s hard to guess right off the bat who the culprit is, as they are all suspicious and carrying around deep, dark secrets of their own. The ending delivered a disturbing punch, and managed to bring all the plot points to a clear and concise conclusion.
For a first novel, “Neighbours” is entertaining and engaging. The twists are well formulated and the plot is carefully crafted. The flow was smooth and the characters were well developed. Although the genre is done, done, and done some more, I think Adelman made one heck of a contribution with “Neighbors”. It’s worth a read!

This thriller was very slow and I almost gave up a few times. I seem to forget that I do not like reading thrillers about rich snobs. I also don’t enjoy books with lots of cheating. This wasn’t for me but, I’m sure people are going to really enjoy it.

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW is a neighborhood drama (I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller) set in an affluent area outside DC.

My thoughts:
-slow start
-no trustworthy or likeable characters
-lots of lying and cheating
-didn’t care for the ending

If you enjoy marital drama, nosy neighbors, and some murder thrown in then you may like this one, but unfortunately it wasn’t the one for me.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

☎️ Calling all fans of Desperate Housewives, Big Little Lies, The Wrong Family and Pretty Little Wife!!! “What the Neighbours Saw” by Melissa Adelman is a suspenseful neighbourhood D R A M A that will take you on a wild walk around the block! 🏘️

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Alexis and Sam are expecting baby #2 and have been looking for a bigger home to grow in. A fresh start for their family .. and their marriage. Alexis finds a Cape Cod style fixer-upper in a prestigious neighbourhood where EVERYONE knows EVERYONES business. Shortly after moving in, Alexis and Sam keep getting hit with disaster after disaster within the bones of the house. The house’s financial burden puts a strain on their marriage … but also the pressure to “fit in” within the neighbourhood and keep up with the Jones’ 💰 🚘

When one of the neighbours is found DEAD on the neighbourhood walking/running trail , EVERYONE is a suspect. Why was this neighbour TARGETED??

Alexis starts seeing things out her window while up feeding her newborn … and this mixed with the murder suddenly makes this neighbourhood feel very UNsafe. WHO can she turn to and trust?? This fresh start has turned into an absolute nightmare!

Thank you kindly to @melissaadelmanauthor @minotaur_books @stmartinspress @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This page turning debut novel releases on June 20, 2023!

This was very readable with short chapters from alternating POVs, and very much in the “rich people behaving badly” genre. The book is paced well and I wanted to find out how everything would tie up — devoured this in a day.

There was SO much body talk in this book, in a way that became really triggering to me. It felt like too much, and in a way that didn’t add to the storyline. The character writing felt a little weak in a few places. Only one POV character was fleshed out, and the other felt a bit like a caricature.

I’d read another of the author’s books, and I can definitely see the Shari Lapena comparison—this reminded me a lot of Not a Happy Family.

Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I only read the first few chapters. I just couldn’t get into it. It’s not my usual style and I see it has good reviews, but it’s not for me. Thanks netgalley for the chance

I read this in less than 24 hours which is always a good sign to me. Was it well written? Not particularly. Was the ending satisfying? Not particularly. But I couldn’t put it down and that’s all I’m really looking for these days.

The description mentioned that "What the Neighbors Saw" is like Desperate Housewives; that seems like a decent comparison. This neighborhood is so dramatic and has lots of secrets. Alexis is the primary character. I liked her backstory and dynamic of being a black woman in this neighborhood. It added another layer to the elitism. I loved the book but wasn't in love with how it ended, not so much the result but how it got to that point. Thanks for the advance review copy.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

I so, so, SO enjoyed this book which is really, a well crafted character drama with a mystery that lingers on the periphery of each chapter.

I am a huge sucker for books that drop you unceremoniously into the middle of the lives of wealthy people, who inevitably have secrets and are behaving badly. This book serves that up in truckloads, and I devoured the entire thing in one delightfully entertaining afternoon.

The story starts with a murder of one of the husbands in the neighborhood, but with no leads and no suspects that mystery drifts off to the side of the story, and the focus becomes the messy and entangled relationships of the neighbors. I truly enjoyed this dynamic, even though I was deeply curious about when and how the murder would pop back into play.

And then it does! With some totally wild twists that I definitely wouldn't have guessed and the last few chapters are a whirlwind of drama cranked up to 10.

Totally, totally fun to escape into and totally, totally the right kind of book to spend a summer day with. I won't say more so you can enjoy the mayhem for yourself, but I will recommend this to thriller lovers who really enjoy the character backstory drivers.

The description of this book - "Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door' - couldn't be more accurate. Alexis and Sam buy the dream home they can't quite afford in a posh D.C. suburb where everyone has a secret. With Sam working long hours to make partner at his law firm, Alexis, on maternity leave with her newborn and toddler, feels isolated and out of her league with the tony neighbors. When one of them, a well-liked father of three, is murdered, Alexis befriends his widow, Blair, and becomes embroiled in the mystery. Little by little, we find out how the neighbors are not at all who they appear to be. Told from both women's POVs, this thriller will keep you turning pages as you try to figure out who killed the man and why. The twists are so unexpected, but when I went back and reread the pages, I saw how skillfully the author foreshadowed them without giving them away. I highly recommend this novel and now can't wait for Melissa Adelman's next one!

What the Neighbors Saw is a wild twist that will keep you guessing until the next chapter. Alexis and Sam buy a run-down house in an exclusive neighborhood where they are exposed to money, secrets, and false smiles. As they get to know their neighbors, they realize something might not be quite right.

Thanky ou, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.