Desperate Housewives meet The Couple Next Door? Sign me up!

Our story begins with Alexis and her husband Sam, house hunting in a wealthy neighborhood outside of Washington, D.C. Normally they wouldn’t be able to afford to live in such an upscale neighborhood, but the house they buy is in desperate need of repair-basically in need of a complete gut and redo. The couple is expecting their second child, and Sam is desperately trying to make partner at his law firm. Lots of change and stress for a young married couple.

When their neighbor Teddy is murdered by an unknown assailant, Alexis wonders if they made the right decision about where they moved. Is the wealthy neighborhood actually safer, or will the same crimes happen in this new location?

Alexis becomes friends with Blair, Teddy’s widow, soon after the murder. Blair is not shy about sharing all the neighborhood gossip with Alexis. Affairs, assaults, and predators are lurking up and down the wealthy street. Who is to be trusted, and is the murderer among them?

I love a good mystery, and Alexis must too because she takes matters into her own hands to discover who killed Teddy and why. The first half of the novel was slow, but the pace picked up once the big secret was revealed. I resonated with Alexis’ character and her personal struggles, and enjoyed rooting for her along the way. Sam is a complete creep, and I would like to extend a big “F You” to his character.

Read this if you love:
🕵️‍♀️Solving a mystery
🐢Slower storyline, heavy on character development
❓Wondering who you can trust

TW
Heavy discussion on an eating disorder. I would not recommend this to someone that is newly in recovery.

I was pretty meh in this book. It felt verrrry slow moving for me and I found it much easier to put down than most mysteries I read. I think that maybe was the issue, it ultimately felt more like a family drama than an actual mystery. Sure, there is a murder in the beginning but most of the story doesn’t focus on solving it.

The writing is good and the story moves between the point of view of Alexis, whose husband and kids have just moved into this upscale community, and Blair the widow of the murder victim. I found Blair’s chapters more interesting but they are much shorter compared to the time we spend with Alexis. And so much of that part centers around how much a complete jerk her husband Sam is. I was torn between feeling like he was a caricature of an overworked husband and wondering why she ever married him in the first place.

I will say that the end of this book and the outcome of everything is decent, but it felt like such a slog to get there.

Sam and Alexis thought they found the perfect neighborhood and a house that would fit their needs. Yes, the house needs some work, but it was worth it due to the area it was in. Then a neighbor is murdered in the 'almost non-existing crime' neighborhood. After a while, it appears that this place wasn't the big bargain they thought it was. The biggest surprise to me was the way thing turned out. There was a slight hint to part of it but not enough of one to have it stick in the reader's mind and develop. Great job Melissa! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This story is told from the perspective of two neighbors. Alexis, who recently gave birth to her second child, moved into an outdated house in an upscale neighborhood. Blair is an established woman whose husband is found dead. Much of the book focuses on their budding friendship and the mundane details of Alexis’s renovation plans.

I love a domestic thriller, but I found myself struggling with the pace of this one. Throughout the story, we get a lot of hints about secrets and untold stories but most of the unveiling only comes in the last 20% of the book. And, in the end, I feel like there were parts of the story left unfinished. I wish the story would have moved a bit quicker. However, the twisty ending almost made it worth it!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC is exchange for my honest feedback.

Excellent slow burn thriller reminiscent of a Desperate Housewives season. You think you know who dunnit, you have no idea why but are you right?

Alexis and Sam move to a tawny enclave in the DC suburbs. A street lined with huge houses and a bunch of seemingly upper crust neighbors with a lot of dirty laundry. After the murder of one of the residents, Alexis begins to doubt her decision to move the family and in an effort to allay her fears does a little snooping of her own.

What the Neighbors Saw got off to a bit of a slow start, but picks up some serious speed and suspense about 20% in. It was hard to put down.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Looking forward to more from this author!

What appealed to me most about this book was the premise - Desperate Housewives meets the Couple Next Door, both of which I loved. I can see somewhat of a comparison, but I found the first half to be incredibly slow, and lacking the liveliness, wit and humour I expected from these comparisons. I'm not entirely sure what the title has to do with the story, especially when we only get two POV's. It would have been fun to have a few more points of view, especially with the neighbouring women. I also think a different title and description would suit this slow burn drama better. I really enjoyed the last 20% and found it fun and fast-paced. I also appreciate more character development in the novels I read, and felt that I couldn't connect with either of these characters. Thanks for the ARC.

This one had me at Desperate Housewives meets the Couple Next Door. I loved the show, and really enjoyed that book.

This book had a good mystery to it.
The author was good at adding little details to keep you guessing as to who did what, what the mystery really was, and slowly building up to the ending with little bits of info throughout the book. It was interesting. I didn’t want to put it down every time I would read it. I had guessed some parts of what was happening, but other things were still a surprise right up to the end. Definitely enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Victoria Cardoso, St. Martin’s Publishing, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for reaching out to me, and giving me the opportunity to read this title before it comes out in June!

Alexis and her family move into a slightly run down, high-maintenance house in their dream neighborhood near Washington DC. She can’t wait to meet all the neighbors, work on renovations, and lose her baby weight. Alexis is especially interested in her neighbor Blair, whose life with her state senator husband, Teddy, and three kids looks perfect. The two women become close after the body of Blair’s husband is found on the running path near their neighborhood. As Alexis gets to know more of her neighbors, she may uncover clues to Teddy’s death.

I have a soft spot for neighborhood mysteries with lots of characters and secrets, and WTNS definitely delivered. So many slightly unlikeable neighbors each hiding their own transgressions provided a multifaceted mystery that, for me, was not easy to solve. I would have loved to see a map of the neighborhood showing all the houses and their inhabitants in spatial relationship to each other, because it was a little hard to picture who lived where as well as keep track of who was married to whom. On a side note, one of my biggest storyline pet peeves is a jerky husband, and for me, Alexis’s husband and their relationship were the worst part of the book. I liked how all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and thought the ending tied everything up well without overly lengthy explanation.

What the Neighbors Saw will keep you on the edge of your seat. Full of intrigue and suspence, the book will keep you guessing as you travel with the characters through the web of deceit. Surprises will await you with each chapter. Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing and NetGalley.

Good story. Interesting enough to keep reading until the end. A little too much unnecessary information about background characters that slowed the story down. The twist at the end was good. Overall not super great but not super bad either.

At first, I was creeped out and nervous to read this just based on the title— A give away that I’m a major wimp with thrillers. I’m working through this a little at a time… Wimp alert! Wimp, alert!

author Melissa Adelman has written a drama filled mystery with lots of twists and turns. not all the characters are likable but i enjoyed this story...

thanks netgalley and st. martins press for allowing me to read this book

all thoughts and opinions are my own and arent influenced by anyone else,

What The Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman tells the story Blair and Alexis in alternating chapters. Alexis and Sam by a run down house in an exclusive neighborhood. The house needs more repairs and money than they realize which leads to marriage issues. Blair and Teddy are neighbors who seem to have it all then tragedy strikes their household. Blair and Alexis are both complicated characters who do become friends. I’m still not sure how I feel about them. The author kept me interested and reading. I did need to reread some paragraphs because I thought I missed something. I would recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Sam and Alexis buy into the dream of a huge home in an upscale DC neighborhood. Turns out the house is a disaster zone and the rest of the neighbors are pretty messy, too. Then, there’s a murder and everything is tossed into upheaval.

This is a fast little domestic mystery novel that will make for immersive poolside reading when it hits shelves in June. An examination of our perception of society gets tossed with a whodunnit that meshes Desperate Housewives vibes with the feel of a Shari Lapena novel. The last 25% of this one will have people talking.

What a compulsive read! I had a hard time putting this one down.

I think the description of Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door was pretty spot on. I loved all the petty neighborhood drama and gossip, and there were some darker domestic thriller plot lines in there too (without being scary).

I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives of Alexis and Blaire and the pacing kept me reading to see what was going to happen next.

I also felt like there were some great observations and moments that were so relatable regarding motherhood.

A great debut novel overall! Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy!

This was a pretty good mystery, lots of red herrings and working theories, although I was right in the end. I think the drawback for me was there wasn’t a single really like-able character in this. Alexis more than anyone, I mostly just felt really bad for her but it was annoying that she had no slime and was so immensely insecure. Everyone else was awful. And so much keeping-up-with-the-Joneses it was anxiety inducing watching Sam and Alexis be obsessed with status. Still, the mystery part of it was good though.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

A refreshingly modern day take on the classic soap opera. A neighbourhood full of drama and husband swapping and a new mom desperate to keep up with the social class she was dropped into. Throw in a murder and you have a 4 star novel indeed.

Sam and Alexis move into the nicest neighborhood but have the worst rundown house. That doesn’t stop them from trying to fit in with the wealthiest of people. Right as they are getting settled in their neighbor is murdered and more weird things keep happening!

First, you will not like Sam or maybe it’s me but he was kind of a jerk! I liked Alexis and Blair’s friendship but you know something will happen. The secrets revealed about each neighbor kept me reading. The two twists at the end 🤯

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC!

Kind of a fresh take on the whole neighbors behaving badly, woman overwhelmed with new motherhood, husbands who certainly won't win the husband of the year award because they are complete arseholes/cheating SOBs. There are many books of this variety out there, and I've read a LOT of them, but this one was refreshingly different enough!!

I thought the plot of this book was very good. It was really interesting getting to see a minority women's perspective living in a rich neighborhood that didn't necessarily, fully welcome her. Getting Alexis and Blair's perspectives throughout the whole book made the plot a lot more interesting. The twist at the end really caught me by surprise, which doesn't happen very often. I am usually pretty good at guessing the ending of mystery/thriller books. It was such a good twist that I really didn't expect. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend this book to my friends.