How many secrets are hidden within this exclusive neighborhood? A gripping domestic thriller that had me reading through the night until I finished!! Alexis and Sam are looking to move, and when a house in an exclusive upscale neighborhood comes up for sale, they look past all of the work that needs to be done and quickly put in an offer! Once they move in, pressures continue to mount as they realize just how much money needs to be spent, much more than they are bringing in. The financial pressures coupled with a shocking murder of a neighbor, causes Alexis to seriously reconsider their choices, but they are in too deep to change paths now.

I enjoyed the different POV between Blair and Alexis, offering unique perspectives into both of their lives. The flow of the story was very enjoyable, and of course I always love an unsuspected twist at the end!

thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure whether this is a story for Bravo or afternoon TV. The characters weren’t really of interest to me, but that’s really my problem. They were well defined and the novel was quick-paced.

Wonder a wonderful surprise this book was! It grabbed my attention right in the beginning and I couldn’t stop reading it! Great plot and character development. It really kept me on the edge of my seat. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to St. Martins Press, NetGalley and Melissa Adelman for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. Excellent book⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have just finished reading What The Neighbors Saw, by Author Melissa Adelman.

This storyline takes place in the outskirts of DC, when married couple Sam and Alexis decide to move from their city townhouse to an affluent neighborhood in the suburbs. They buy a large house which needs lots of repairs and updates. They have a young baby and are due to have another one.

It is a Mystery Suspense book that is like a Desperate Housewives, and a soap opera all combined.

A fairly good book, but not really my cup of tea.

I am sure it will have a strong audience.

Thank You to NetGalley, The Author and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

#netGalley #stmartinspress #minotaur_books

This was fast paced, kept me guessing, and you don’t be able to put it down so make sure you start it when you have time to read it in one sitting!

Good mystery involving a cast of believable characters in a wealthy neighborhood. Keeps you on the edge of your seat but not too scary/violent that I couldn’t finish.

I thought this was a very twisty book on a whole lot of things I did not see coming. It was very soap opera-ish and did remind me of Desperate Housewives which was a good thing. I will say that the main character, Alexis, was hard to take at times, I found her too passive and honestly naïve about a lot of things that did not square with her upbringing and what she knew about her past, but I just went with it. I really did want to yell at her to stand up for herself a half dozen times while reading about her and her terrible marriage to Sam. I do wish the author had touched upon the race angle more in this one (a Black woman married to a privileged white man). A few things read as false to me because of that dynamic and I started to get a wee bit frustrated while reading. Still, this had a solid plot, writing, messy characters, and a great ending.

"What the Neighbors Saw" follows Alexis. She and her husband Sam are moving to a suburb in D.C. Alexis wants to get ready for their new baby and thinks with their toddler son, that she and Sam need the room. Sam is resistant to moving and does not think they have the money for it. The dynamics between the two are not great to start. But something in the neighborhood calls to Alexis and she finds herself winning the argument with Sam to move. When the two move in after the birth of their daughter, things have become a bit more strained between them. The book shifts between Alexis and her neighbor Blair. Blair has her own problems. She loves her husband Teddy, but something or someone has come between them. When Teddy winds up dead in one of the trails near their home, the whole neighborhood becomes a much more unfriendly place. The book follows both women as the police investigate and even more messy secrets are revealed.

Alexis and Blair should be total opposites, but you see throughout the book Blair taking Alexis in her confidence, and something about Alexis speaking to her.

No reveals about anything but I honestly wished for more fire from Alexis about a lot of things. You start to get a bit stressed reading about what her husband was saying and doing and her head in the sand approach to things. And as I said, she's a Black woman, or Afro-Caribbean woman based on what she does reveal about her background and she felt very off to me throughout. Because of her upbringing? I just thought that she should have picked up on the nasty and honestly sometimes racist things her husband was thinking. She was quick to jump on others, but seemed to not notice his whole thing. She seemed very self aware that many people did not think she belonged, but I just thought there was a huge old gap there. I think Adelman tries to explain it away via some reveals, but it doesn't really work. You can't suddenly not really be naïve and totally get what's going on like five seconds later when you don't show us that side of the character at all.

Blair is struggling to keep things together while mourning her husband. But the woman is definitely the queen bee of the neighborhood. She knows everyone's dirty little secrets and just seems more amused by them then anything. And of course there are other women in the neighborhood that seem to have certain peoples number.

For the most part children are around, but not really part of things. This book is focused on the women and some of the men that live in the area.

The writing I thought was great. I thought the flow worked too.

The ending was great. Only quibble was I wished the book had jumped say 10 years or even 5 years into the future. I wanted to see where these women were next.

I just couldn’t like this book. It could have been so much better. The idea was there and it was a good one. The characters were just all so unlikeable. The story just dragged on. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

This book kept me guessing and wow, I did not see the ending coming. The ending/plot twist was a little questionable to me but really kept me thinking on what on earth do you do in that situation. I will say it moved slowly and I found some POVs less interesting than others. Overall, it was a decent read and held my attention.

This one is marketed as Desperate Housewives meets The Couple next door so I was immediately excited. I LOVE a domestic thriller. This one started off strong but then slogged. I love a dual POV book and appreciated the switch between Blair and Alexis. However the characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to really care about them so I started to lose interest. Halfway thru I thought to myself do I even care about this? This one had potential but just didn't do it for me in the end.

When Sam and Alexis find a fixer-upper in a wealthy DC suburb, they decide to take a chance and buy it, and plan to fix it up over time. But this is not your normal neighborhood! Secrets, lies, and some seriously disturbed people reside here behind the façade of their affluence and privilege. One day, a well-liked neighbor is murdered on the local public trail that runs along the Potomac River. In the months that follow, the murder is investigated and we as readers realize by the middle of the book that every character is terrible--especially the men--and any one of the characters could be the culprit.

I think it was the ending that really made this book 4 stars. The twists at the end had my jaw on the floor! I was ready to rate this 3 or 3.5 stars halfway through the book, but once the secrets started spilling out, it got really good. Told in first person POV from 2 different characters, Alexis and her neighbor Blair, while I initially had empathy for their individual plights, their way of handling their problems would never enter my mind. Alexis is a very troubled character, with her sleep deprivation, lack of eating, and constant drinking; her anxiety and desire to fit in are palpable. I don't think I'll ever understand why characters in thrillers (or maybe this happens more in real life than I am aware) will continuously ply themselves with copious amounts of alcohol while simultaneously fearing for their lives. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather be sober if I thought there was a murderer on the loose.

Either way, in this author's debut novel she does an excellent job of crafting a dark tale of mystery among a complicated cast of characters.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

4 stars out of 5.

Alexis and Sam find their dream house in a wealthy, desirable neighborhood. The house needs a lot of work but they put in an offer and it was accepted. Shortly after moving in tragedy strikes and one of their neighbors is murdered. It turns out there are a lot of secrets in the neighborhood and it is not as perfect as it seems.

Overall, I liked the book and really appreciated the plot twists in the story. This was a pretty quick read for me and I am looking forward to reading more from the author.

The plot and writing was good. It was a typical rich neighborhood thriller. The plot twist we got half in the book was huge surprise i didn't even expect it but rest of the book was predictable to me.



Thanks to netgalley and Victoria Cardoso for a eARC in exchange of a honest review.

‘What the Neighbors Saw’, is a debut novel by Melissa Adelman. Going by the synopsis, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book, seeing it was compared to a Desperate Housewives type of vibe. I’m not really into that, but this flawed neighborhood had everything I could ask for and more!

This story starts off with our main character, Alexis, and her husband Sam house hunting and buying a house in a very upscale neighborhood. The house needs a lot of work, basically a whole house renovation. Alexis is also pregnant and expecting their second child together. The stress can be unbearable at times.

After moving in, Alexis and Sam start to meet their neighbors. However, Alexis gets to know many of them after the tragic death of Teddy- who is their neighbor across the street. Teddy’s grieving widow, Blair, soon becomes very close with Alexis. Through Blair, Alexis is able to learn and hear about all of the neighborhood gossip- and then some.

What I loved most about this book was all of the rich character development, especially that of Alexis. I don’t think I have resonated with a character as much as I have with that of Alexis. I felt her personality matched mine pretty spot on. Her husband Sam however, is the perfect example of a total douche-canoe! I literally despised him!

What did I as a reader and Alexis learn from this story? Basically people are the same no matter what house or neighborhood they live in. In fact, Alexis stated it perfectly, “Only now, after these months of living here, do I see that the same dirty sins stain everyone. The clean, bright wash of wealth is just a more effective cover.”

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I highly recommend it to those who like a bit of domestic suspense and drama.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC of this book that I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 20, 2023.

I received a free copy of, What the Neighbors Saw, by Melissa Adelman, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Alexis is living her nest life, happily married, expecting baby number, two and living in a great town. It all changes when her neighbor is murdered, comforting his widow they grow close. Secrets, usually come out as they did in this book, I found this to be an enjoyable read. You never really know who your neighbors are.

This was described as a "Desperate Housewives" thriller and I think that is very accurate! This book had me hooked from the beginning, I am a huge fan of thrillers lately and I think this book gave the reader just the right amount of information to be intrigued but not enough that they knew what was coming next! It did have some slower parts in the middle, but because I was so intrigued from the start I wanted to keep going to see what happens, I think the pacing could have been just a little bit faster to keep the suspense feeling throughout. I think the ending was very out of the box and unexpected, def worth the read!

Wow. What a ride! Never heard of this author and thought the story sounded intriguing. This book was awesome!! Well written, enjoyed the characters and plot. I flew through this book, had to know how it ended! Would definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Thanks netgallery for a chance to read and review this advance readers copy of this book.
First off I want to say woah!
This book, I literally couldn't put it down.
It's full of rich lady drama and a murder ?! Hello I'm in! You spend so much time learning why and who murdered someone and the TWIST! LORD. ALEXIS, Blair, Sam. I will be thinking of you all.
Alexis and Sam is a young couple with small children moving into a rich out of their budget home and neighborhood. Blair a recent window is watching and be friends Alexis.
This book is a must read!

This book was getting a lot of buzz, so when I was offered a widget, I accepted. Domestic drama is always hit or miss for me, and unfortunately, this one was a miss.

Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected home in a pricey suburb. Sam is on track to make partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and they receive a warm welcome to the neighborhood from their neighbors Teddy and Blair. But when Blair is found murdered, Alexis does everything she can to comfort Blair. Is she comforting a grieving widow or someone else?

The minutiae in this book was excruciating, and I hated Sam's character. There was a lot of unnecessary bickering about the state of the house, the repairs that needed to be made, and Sam's barbs at his wife for choosing a less stressful firm to work at. He came across as cold and unsympathetic, and I hated the chapters that she was in. There was really nothing that set the female characters apart as they seemed stereotypes of any suburban housewife.

Even though this was a miss for me, many readers have enjoyed it, so check it out! Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the early copy. This title will publish June 20, 2023.

Whoa!! You just never really know who your neighbors are. Desperate Housewives is the perfect description for this debut domestic thriller by Melissa Adelman. What the Neighbors Saw was filled with twists, turns and plenty of neighborhood scandal. The surprise ending was just the icing on the cake. This was a very well written page turner that I will recommend to others. I can’t wait to see what else Melissa Adelman writes.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC of What the Neighbors Saw.