REALLY enjoyed this one and surprised i havent heard more about it! I thought the characters were funny in a dark way, it kept me guessing, and the twist totally had me in the end. I enjoyed the main character (even though her husband was an ass). I think desperate housewives is the perfect comparison for this one, anyone who loves dark suburban drama will love this. I do think it will be easily confused with another new title THE BLOCK PARTY, though.

Traveling With T’s thoughts

Well folks, I hate to write this; but that is 2 books I reviewed in a row that just disappointed me. This is a debut so I have nothing to compare her writing style with but the Desperate Housewives comparison, the cover and the soapy description just had me primed for a good book (in a bad TV kinda way) BUT this was a 2 star read for me and I don’t give out 2 stars much.

I was expecting some build up, some good tension, a soapy cliffhanger at some chapters that would make me furiously press the buttons on my Kindle for “just one more chapter before bed!”

Instead, I got a main character that I could never really figure out why she stayed with her husband. A new friend that you knew from jumpstreet was going to be trouble and some secrets that fizzed a bit… but were mainly like soda that was almost flat.

I did loathe Sam, so at least I had some FEEEEEELINGS about this book.

Bottom line: For me, it just didn’t work.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Rating: 3; suburban, domestic, drama: What the Neighbors Saw is a drawn-out thriller full of neighborhood drama and surprisingly very little thrill.

Alexis and her husband Sam move to the DC suburbs, just in time for a murder. Slowly, Alexis discovers that the neighbors all have their secrets, so who can she trust?

I picked up this book because it was set in the DC suburbs (a place I now find myself familiar with), but that was not enough to keep me interested. This book really could have taken place anywhere. It’s a neighborhood full of wealthy, quirky individuals who all are hiding some sort of secret. Except, most of the secrets are really quite dull.

The ending had some really adrenaline-inducing moments. But you have to trudge through the main character’s terrible choices to get there. Alexis wants to protect her family at the cost of her sanity, and I understand that heavy paranoia doesn’t make for good decision making. But she was making bad choices even before the book began. Her jealousy and insecurity led the decision making, which was exhausting as a reader.

What the Neighbors Saw isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best thriller. It had a lot less shock factor than I was expecting. If you are really into wealthy neighborhood drama that’s a bit slow moving, you will love this. Think Desperate Housewives or Little Fires Everywhere. But if you want something more inventive like Good Girls or even Revenge, keep looking.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel.

4.5 stars rounded up!

There aren't many other 5 star reviews - yet! But this whole book resonated with me, probably because my quiet little, rural neighborhood just had a murder/suicide incident a month ago, which strangely remains still open and under investigation even though it would seem to most of us open-and-shut. Many secrets resulting in many rumors and conspiracy theories!

So this book's mystery came at just the right time for me, plus the dual narrators totally nailed it. Very well constructed; super character development. I sympathized with stay-at-home Alexis in her struggle to fit in in her new group of so-called friends while her lawyer husband is off traveling and advancing in his law career. She's super smart and has a lot of time on her hands to figure out what the police couldn't, shocking as it turns out to be, while their new house is crumbling around them.

Minatore Books comped me an e-galley, but I'm so glad I went with the audio instead on this one. Thanks to them for bringing this fantastic debut to my attention.

So this was supposed to be a thriller, but it was more of a nosy rich people neighborhood drama.

Neighbors are hooking up with other neighbors, everyone’s in everybody’s business, and there’s also…incest??

Like, this whole book is just wild. I was waiting for the unreliable narrators, but no. We had two different character POV and I don’t know that we really needed that. The woman killing her husband because they find out they’re actually half siblings after YEARS of marriage and kids and her mother knew but didn’t tell them because she was a child of rape so they didn’t grow up even knowing each other, but the wife wanted to stay together and the husband wanted to break it off because incest, and she didn’t want to be publicly humiliated so she has the other MC’s husband kill her half brother husband.

And the MC’s husband does it because he starts hooking up with this lady and is an asshole character and the literal worst and the MC deserved better.

Also there’s a lot of parents family drama with the MC that leads to nothing and also she has an eating disorder out of nowhere for no reason and it was all unnecessary.

The whole thing was all just sorts of messy. Not really thriller-ish. And everyone just gets away will killing somebody. As rich people do.

Overall this was sort of eh, if you’re looking for a neighborhood drama quick read this will work for you. If you’re looking for a thriller, this isn’t it.

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was just awful. Again 2 very unlikeable characters. A plot that is so painfully boring it took me quite awful to finish. Just when you think the plot it is about to amp up, it slows back down. This is most of the book. It was boring AF. Plus the ending was not believable. I was just glad for the book to be over.

What I did like:
The cover was pretty and the title was grabbing. I usually like book like this.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Melissa Adelman and St Martins Press Minotaur books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

Thanks netgalley and st.martins press for this e-book. When a chilling murder of a prominent figure is discovered in a posh DC suburb, all the neighbors are on edge. If you’re a fan of rich people drama, this is the read for you. I was truly shocked at a few of the twists, I never saw them coming. But, unfortunately the last twist was very predictable, this was originally going to be a 4 star read, but I ended up giving it 3 stars. I felt like it was kind of slow at times. I would definitely read from this author again.

It is rare for me to give up on a domestic suspense novel, but the dialogue in this one felt forced. It made it impossible for me to connect with the story and characters. Dialogue is huge for me in a novel — if it feels forced or fake, it completely kills it for me.

I do not share my DNF reviews publicly.

I love neighborhood dramas! This one tells the story of Sam and Alexis moving into a wealthy neighborhood and buying the “worst” house in the neighborhood. Alexis is pregnant, the renovations cause marital stress and one of their new neighbors is found murdered. None of this is what they signed up for! Unlikeable characters but a plot that will keep you interested. This is a wild ride!

This was described as "Desperate Housewives meets the Couple Next Door", and it was a poor version of that. I didn't enjoy it.

A neighborhood mystery with a few unexpected twists. I liked the dual voices and the side plots that ultimately fed into the mystery. However none of the characters were likable, and that made parts of the book difficult to get through. A solid 3 stars for me.

This landed right in the middle for me. I'm hard to please when it comes to domestic thrillers, so this one was just fine. It started with a lot and then after the fast pace it just ended up having a lot of run off throughout. I finished the book and was left with many questions that could've been answered if the writing was a little better. The plot itself was good. The dual POV's definitely helped.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Thanks to netgalley for an advanced reader copy. I felt this was a solid 3.5. Some parts were compelling, others a bit predictable. I would read this author again, as I felt there was good potential.

Why are more people not talking about What The Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman!? Ugh! This thriller was just SO good!

I'm going to start by shouting this statement from the rooftops: I LOVE BOOKS ABOUT NEIGHBOURHOOD DRAMA! And this one continued to scratch that itch for me!

I was hooked on this suspenseful suburban thriller from the get go. Both narrations from Alexis and Blair were unreliable at various times, and I ate up each of their twisted perspectives! I also found myself really relating with Alexis as a young mother - I love finding a character I can connect with but especially within this genre. As the story unraveled, I became aware that not everything was as it seemed, and quickly became suspicious of key characters in the story.

This one is like taking bits from The Whispers, None Of This Is True, and Everyone Here Is Lying - and I loved all three of those books, so it's no shock that I loved this one too! Cough cough - it also gave me Gone Girl vibes!

Have I mentioned that I like warped neighbourhood dramas yet?

Once more for those in the back: I loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

This was a quick book that kept me turning pages. I loved the nosy neighbors. It made me miss the show Desparate Housewives, suburban dramas just draw me in.

What the Neighbors Saw had some unexpected twists that I enjoyed. The characters and their backstories were well developed that fingers for a death were pointed in multiple directions. I wouldn’t call it a “chilling read”, but it was a fun “who done it”.

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress #ltbreaderteam #whattheneighborssaw #melissaadelman

Alexis and her husband Sam are ready for their new life. They've bought a severely neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb. It's a lot of work, but, they are ecstatic. Sam is working hard at his law firm and Alexis is pregnant. They are both so excited.

When their new neighbor Teddy turns up dead, the whole community's image is shattered. Who is the killer? Why is Teddy dead? What did he do? This one kept me interested until the end, guessing who did it?

What The Neighbors Saw written by Melissa Adelman left me feeling on the fence. I really enjoyed this book, but the author portrayed one of the characters with an eating disorder, that had absolutely <b>NOTHING</b> to do with the plot. Body shaming in books is just not okay with me, so for that reason alone I had to take a star off. This book is like something you watch on the Lifetime channel, it was just one of those fascinating domestic suspense thrillers, you could even read this book during Halloween. I enjoyed this book, but I just didn't love it that much, but the ending completely took my breath away, I didn't see this book ending the way it did. What The Neighbors Saw meets Desperate Housewives in this bone chilling novel. The cover is so beautifully detailed, it definitely gives me read this book with a flashlight vibes. Despite having to lower my rating, I still enjoyed this book nonetheless, but I just didn't love it. I will still recommend What The Neighbors Saw for those of you who love domestic suspense thrillers, but for those of you who don't maybe this is your sign to give it a go. I have never read this author before, but maybe I will give her another try in the near future.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

Alexis and her husband Sam decide to buy a neglected million dollar fixer upper in a DC suburb. Alexis and Sam decide to make renovations on their dream house, but once they finally fix something, something else needs fixing up, slowly their savings are getting low. Sam and Alexis are ecstatic, this could be their perfect dream house. Alexis is a stay at home mom with their toddler son, and now she's pregnant with their second child, they have a in house nanny, and Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm. When Alexis and Sam arrive to their new house, their neighbors welcome them with opened arms and baked goods, but there's other neighbors who look at Sam and Alexis differently because they are a bi-racial couple. None of the characters in this book were perfect at all, in my opinion Sam wasn't a very loving husband, he would always call Alexis "old lady" and treat her like garbage. I liked Alexis at first, but when she would just bow down to Sam and his negative trash talk, it made me lose sympathy for her. Things are looking up for their lives and their new home, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.

The neighborhood's picture perfect image is shattered when their neighbor, Teddy is found dead on the neighborhood's hiking trial. Teddy is married to Blair who welcomed Sam and Alexis with opened arms. Teddy is a handsome and successful father of three. Who could have possibly wanted Teddy dead? Could it have been his wife, Blair? Because she never really showed that many emotions. Well, I'll tell you this, read the book to find out. The community is pretty shaken up learning about Teddy's death, but as the police struggle to identify the killer, tension in the neighborhood is now rising and long buried secrets are starting to emerge. Sam and Alexis were never a part of this neighborhood's drama, but since they are new, they are instantly dragged into the neighborhood drama that has been brewing, not so much Sam because he's always working, trying to make partner at the law firm. Alexis feels sympathy for Blair, Teddy's widow, so Alexis and Blair instantly form a budding friendship. As the two women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. When the truth behind Teddy's murder is uncovered, Alexis and Blair must reexamine their friendship, are they willing to take that risk?

I liked the first half of the book but kind of lost interest in the second half. The starting premise was excellent - a young couple moves into a new neighborhood, a house they can barely afford, meets neighbors who are so different from their old lives...and then of course, there is the murder. The story didn't really work for me after that. The twists seemed too many or too bizarre to add intrigue.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Although not my favourite thriller I’ve read this year, I read through this book pretty quickly. A bit slow for the majority of the novel, it did wrap up and had some enjoyable twists. I will definitely look for Adelman’s next book,
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.

This was another quick and enjoyable read for me. I found the main character likeable and was invested in the story. It was fast paced and I loved the neighborhood setting. None of the neighbors are what they seem and Alexis is forced to figure out who she is dealing with. Her husband is not terribly supportive of her. I enjoy a wealthy people behaving badly book and this fit the bill. Highly enjoyable, not likely memorable.