**Many thanks to Shelf Awareness, Putnam, and Kia Abdullah for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren't true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Moving to the lovely neighborhood of Bleinheim was supposed to be a fresh start for Salma, Bil, and their son Zain. They soon discover that they are some of the only Bangladeshi inhabitants of their area, however, and their neighbors don't exactly greet them with a fruit basket. When they put up a Black Lives Matter flag in their front yard, stickler neighbor Tom icily informs them that banners aren't allowed....by knocking said banner down with a rock. Salma and Bil are stunned by the dramatic action, but Salma tries to adjust accordingly and moves the flag inside to display through the window instead. But the neighbors once again up the ante, and cover the front of the window with white paint so the flag is no longer visible...and Salma is furious.

Tom's glamorous wife Willa has appearances to maintain, and she feels the need to protect her husband Tom when he steps out of line. So when Salma shows up on her doorstop to confront Tom, the situation escalates and shouting ensues. When racial commentary TRULY enters the picture and is caught on video, things spiral even further out of control. In the background, Salma and Tom's son Jamie is forging a friendship with Zain, despite their feuding parents and the building hostility. But when a family dog goes missing...and then someone ends up in the HOSPITAL with an ominous diagnosis, leading the families to the courtroom...will it be determined WHICH member of these families was the one to go TOO far...and will the victim even survive?

Kia Abdullah is so gifted: her prose never fails to weave an intricate tale of law and order, right and wrong, all while exploring hot-button social topics in a thoughtful and unexpected way. Though this is only my second novel of hers, I noticed some fabulous commonalities between this and Take It Back: namely, the exploration of perception vs. reality and the class divide that seems to have been exacerbated by the rise of social media and also the tumultuous political clashes occurring both here in the US, and in the UK (where this book is set) as well. With such a dramatic and ever-changing cultural shift, it's easy for so many of us to lump people into "us vs. them" (even those striving to be accepting of all and to pass NO judgment) based on the stereotypes and preconceived notions that we get bombarded with on a daily basis.

What Abdullah does in this book though, is allow YOU the reader to change YOUR mind over...and over...and over again. Not only will you cycle through trusting each of the main characters while determining the perpetrator, you'll never truly feel like you can put full stock in any of their opinions: or your own either. Whether your political ideologies seemingly line up with one couple vs. another, trust me when I say you will be SHOCKED at least once before the credits roll (so to speak). Abdullah keeps enough tension and doubt throughout to keep any plot point from seeming like an obvious one, and much like the people you might meet on the street, there is more to ALL of these players than meets the eye at first glance.

And perhaps Adichie's statement could be pushed a bit further...maybe there is not only more than one story to be told in general, but there is instead limitless potential for MANY stories, lying dormant in each of us...and we simply need to have the courage to pen the bravest, kindest, and most compassionate one.

4 stars

A thriller fueled with racial tension made for the perfect end of summer reading! I was gripped from page one and never lost interest or rolled my eyes. While this wasn't all entirely plausible, Abdullah makes it feel that way with her intelligent writing.

Kia Abdullah’s latest thriller, Perfectly Nice Neighbors (Putnam, 2023), published in the U.K. as Those People Next Door (Harper Collins, 2023), takes the reader to a middle-class community in London, where Salma and Bilal Khatun and their teen-aged son Zain have moved to get away from a less desirable part of the city. From the beginning, differences between them and their neighbors arise. Their neighbor objects to the “Black Lives Matter” banner that Zain posts in the Khatun front yard. Salma finds it on the ground a few times and then she sees the neighbor knock it down. She confronts him and he is furious that she dared to challenge him. Complaints about parking and cooking smells ensue. Salma’s car is damaged. All the while, the unofficial community president and busybody keeps advising Salma that the neighborhood is nice and that she should try to fit in.

Zain records one of the confrontations between the neighbor and his mother, and he posts it to Twitter. The image of the large white man looming over the smaller brown woman goes viral, and the neighbor loses his job. Tension skyrockets, between the neighbors and between Salma and Bilal, who wants his wife to back down and ignore the abuse. He’s worried about money, having lost his restaurant during the pandemic shutdown; the family is barely making ends meet. They cannot afford to move again. Salma thinks that the meanness has to be faced or it will never stop.

The outcome of the animosity is completely unexpected and changes both families forever.

Abdullah describes the attempts of second- and third-generation immigrants in England to create a home and to go about their business while being viewed askance by those whose families have been in the country much longer. It makes for painful reading. Racism and intolerance appear in the most unlikely places; Abdullah makes it her mission to display the uncompromising reality.

The role of social media in polarizing contemporary society does not escape her eagle eye. The speed that word spread about the conflict via Twitter drew the line between the two families more deeply and left little room for easy resolution of their differences.

Abdullah is one of those contemporary thriller writers who tells a good story while highlighting serious social issues. It isn’t hard to see parallels between the experience of immigrants in the U.K. and here in the U.S. Her books are not easy to read but they always give me a lot to think about. Recommended.

DNF @ 35%. This storyline is just not for me. I do not enjoy politely charged books because I read to escape the horrible things you see on the news. Reading about said things just depresses me.

I also attempted the audiobook and wasn’t a huge fan of that either. I think it could have been done a little better with maybe 2 narrators, one for each main female character.

I would definitely read a book by this author again, though. This one was just too slow and couldn’t hold my interest.

Thank you to Netgalley, PRHAudio, Penguin Random House, and the author for the ARC and ALC.

I have conflicting thoughts about this book.

It follows Selma, Bil and Zain and their neighbors Willa, Tom and Jamie. Selma and Bil have just moved in and thr trouble starts with their neighbors. It seems like a nice neighborhood but things start happening that put them on edge. Nothing is as it seems.

The author is great at writing. It was very articulate and the writing style was on point. However, I couldn't keep focused. It was disappointing to me that all I was reading was a tit for tat. I almost didn't finish it but I powered thru. It did have a twist that I didn't see coming at the end but it seemed rushed and that happy ending I was hoping for to tie it all together just wasn't there. It lacked substance to me.

Thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Talented Kia Abdullah returns following Next of Kin (5 stars) with her latest engrossing twisty and thought-provoking family drama, domestic, psychological suspense, PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS —two neighbors on opposite sides, a war in suburbia, things escalate; how far will you go to keep your family safe.

Asian family Salma (teacher), her husband Bilal (Bil-restauranteur), and their teen son Zain (18) Khatun have moved to a safe suburban development of Blenheim. They have high hopes the move will be better than their last home for their son. He has been kicked out of college, and this move is their new beginning. They hope this will be a better environment.

They attend a neighborhood BBQ and meet their neighbors, Tom and Willa Hutton, with their son Jamie (16). They were offputting to Salma & Bil, thinking they were in social housing when they purchased the home privately.

Salma was more cynical than Bil, and this was the safest place they could afford. They needed to make the most of it.

However, their neighbor Tom soon takes an anti-racist banner out of Salma’s garden. She puts the flag/banner in their window and decides not to get into it with Tom.

She is shocked the next day when she discovers someone has painted her window white over the window—next, one nightmare after another.

The tension mounts between the two families, and they wonder where they have moved. Despite the friendship of their two sons, Zain and Jamie, the battle between the two neighboring families continues to escalate until they wind up in court. Things become dangerous.

With tempers flaring living that close, someone is bound to get hurt. Which neighbor will be forced out? With devastating consequences for both families—each will pay for their actions.

Revenge, Defiance, Insanity? Things are not as they appear.

PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS is a timely, powerful drama, and the author, as always, is a pro with her skillful writing, this time delving into human connections, allowing the reader to see both sides of the coin. The author skillfully captures the moral complexities of her characters.

A huge fan of the author, this one is an emotional rollercoaster read, with themes of class, prejudices, hypocrisy, race, and violence with the author's signature courtroom scenes and final unexpected TWIST.

Insightful and thought-provoking, challenging readers to check their attitudes and behaviors. For fans of Lisa Scottoline.

Thanks to Penguin G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for sharing a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Sept 12, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books

A Bangladeshi couple, Bil and Salma, along with their teenage son, Zain, move to Blenheim in hopes of securing a better future for their boy. When their Black Lives Matter banner is knocked down Salma assumes it toppled over of it's own accord so she affixes it and goes about her day. The next day she witnesses her white neighbor Tom knocking it down and she's aghast. In a moment of rebellion she takes the banner and displays it in their front window with a "take that" attitude. Imagine her surprise when she wakes the next morning to find someone has painted over her window that displayed the banner blocking it from view.

The animosity between the families continues to escalate from here until someone lies in a coma.

I won't say anything more about the plot because I will let you discover this gem for yourself. I am utterly convinced that Kia Abdullah can not and will not write a bad book. I am now 4 for 4 in loving what she writes. She seems to have her finger on the pulse of various social issues and spins them into compelling stories that leaves her readers pondering so many things. Often times I found myself asking what I would do in such a situation and sometimes my answer frightened even me. I don't take kindly to any form of bullying but is it right to become the aggressor in an effort to protect yourself and those you love? Is an eye for an eye really the right answer? As always the answers in Abdullah's stories are never straight forward and she always manages to shock me with her revelations and this story was no different. The ending was just ... wow! I never once suspected THAT. 😲 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my complimentary copy.

This book was not a thriller, and I found it way too politically charged for my tastes. I actually DNF’d at 70% because the story just didn’t grab my attention.

A brilliant and twisty domestic thriller!

Salma Khatun, her husband Bil, and teenage son Zain move to a nice neighborhood of Blenheim for a fresh start. Zain is expelled from his old school and Bil's restaurant closed up for good due to the pandemic.

Although there was some tension, their first neighborhood barbeque and meeting the neighbors went okay.

What's not okay is their neighbor next door, the Huttons. Tom Hutton works at an ad agency and always goes by the book. Tom sees his new neighbor has a banner on their lawn which is against the housing regulations. Tom doesn't like conflict so he decides to knock it over instead of telling the newcomers. It was a BLM banner. Salma sees Tom through her window and takes it that their white neighbors and his family are racist.

Retaliation ensues and lots of it...back and forth and boy did it escalate!

I found both halves of the book to be really good. The first half is the neighborhood/domestic suspense with the second half being the courtroom scene. Certain parts of the trial can be repetitive but also provide new insights from witnesses.

There are many grey areas. I thought I knew who were the good guys and who weren't but the lines blurred as misperception and prejudice go both ways.

Needless to say, Perfectly Nice Neighbors keeps me hooked and surprises me with a twisty reveal. Kia Abdullah knows how to wrap it all up to a satisfying ending.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for this DRC.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛʟʏ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɴᴇɪɢʜʙᴏʀs ʙʏ ᴋɪᴀ ᴀʙᴅᴜʟʟᴀʜ

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

Half way through this book I thought I had this figured out..I was convinced I knew all the answers and how it was going to end. I love that I was wrong about everything!

I think that it is best to go into this one blind and not read to much about it because it could make you think it’s going to be political. The author covers a lot of topics including money problems during the pandemic, racism, cancel culture, and sexism. It touches on all of these while still maintaining a suspense/mystery storyline.

I do wish the ending would have had a little bit more than just a few pages and that some of my lingering questions would have been answered. I feel like I get anxiety not knowing what happened everything was revealed 😅

Overall, this book took me a few days to read (mom life) but you could easily knock this out as a 1-2 day read.

Salma Khatun moves into a suburban development in Blenheim with her husband and son, hoping for a fresh start. Her son was kicked out of school after an incident, and she has been worried about him getting involved with the wrong crowd in the neighborhood they just moved from. Her husband Bil, just lost his restaurant in the pandemic, so money is tight, and they have yet to sell their old house, but they felt like they needed the fresh start. Soon after they move in, Salma spots her White neighbor, Tom Hutton, ripping out the Black Lives Matter banner that her son put up on the lawn. Rather than confront Tom directly, Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window. But the next morning, she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint. As racial and social tensions escalate and the stakes rise, it’s clear that a reckoning is coming . . . and someone is going to get hurt.

I love this author's books, and this is one of my new favorites. It was easy to see how one small act can snowball , until it is out of control. This book has a lot of good discussion points, so it would be perfect for book clubs. It covers racial bias from both perspectives. It also brings up the very important point about what you post on social media coming back to bite you, sometimes years later. If you are a fan of authors like Jodi Picoult, then this book is perfect for you. I highly recommend it!

Salma Khatun and her husband Bilal along with their teenage sone Zain move to a new neighbourhood seeking a better life and peer group. Unfortunately, they get off to a wrong start with their neighbour Tom Hutton when he knocks down their "Black Lives Matter" banner. What follows is a full-on drama where each party plays a part in aggravating the conflict rather than toning it down with disastrous consequences. An easy to read novel from Kia Abdullah which deftly moves from neighbourhood squabbles to court-room battles and keeps you hooked till the end.

Thank you Netgalley, Kia Abdullah and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC

Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah
Format: ebook/audio hybrid
Release Date: 9/12/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whew this book was heavy but phenomenal. Perfectly Nice Neighbors was my first read by Abdullah but certainly won’t be my last.

This thriller is SO anxiety inducing as we watch main character Salma and her family navigate increasingly hostile and racially charged interactions with their new neighbors. The stakes keep climbing higher and higher and the reveals were perfectly paced and so well thought out.

What made this thriller terrifying is just how realistic it is. This could very easily be reality. It is a social commentary on how dangerous the smallest aggressions from white folks can be and how easily our society can make life a living hell for folks of color.

If you are looking for a fun and twisty popcorn thriller, this isn’t really it. This book has very real stakes and real consequences. However it is incredibly well written and still has the twists we all love and expect out of a thriller! I highly recommend picking this one up!

Salma and Bilal have just moved to Blenheim, a suburb of London, which they hope will offer a new start for the Khatun family as they want to provide a safer neighborhood for their son Zain. They meet their new neighbors at a community barbecue and hope for the best in their mostly white neighborhood. Soon after, Salma witnesses next-door neighbor Tom Hutton taking down Zain's 'Black Lives Matter' banner from their front yard. Outraged, Salma, a strong-willed teacher, puts the banner in their window only to soon find that the window has been painted over. So begins the back-and-forth tensions with Tom and his wife Willa. When confronted by Salma, Tom claims the banner was in violation of the community guidelines and denies painting the window. But he gets out of control blurting racially insensitive remarks, all caught on video by Zain, who has developed a friendship with the Hutton's son Jamie. As things escalate further, the situation gets uglier and dangerous.

In Perfectly Nice Neighbors (released earlier this year in the UK as Those People Next Door,) talented author Kia Abdullah has provided a gritty, thought-provoking domestic thriller. It deals with deep rooted prejudices, class differences, accusations, rushes to judgement and many more complexities of life. Things spiral out of control so quickly that it got very uncomfortable reading. It's worth getting through the cringy feelings as the book offers Abdullah's excellent twists and surprises. An engaging book with a relevant message. Check it out.

Perfectly Nice Neighbors is a novel of escalating tension about two families who find themselves pitted against each other. Bangladeshi-English Salma and Bilal move to a well to do neighborhood with their 18 year old son Zain, hoping he will get onto a better path after some trouble at school. The new neighbors, conservative white Tom and Willa, have a 16 year old son, Jamie.

They get off on the wrong foot almost immediately, but their troubles and tension only escalate. We see firsthand the devastating effects miscommunication and biases can have. And how communication and behavior can be misconstrued even with those you love most.

The audiobook narration by Tania Rodrigues was excellent. Thank you, Putnam Books, PRH Audio, and NetGalley, for providing this ARC.

Kia Abdullah has written a tightly paced tale of a new family moving into an established neighborhood and experiencing trouble with their neighbors. The trouble snowballs and becomes very serious and life altering. The reader is left wondering who is to blame, with various possibilities in the mix.
Salma and Bil move with their young adult son, Zain. Zain places a small flag with a political statement in their yard. Salma observes their neighbor, Tom, knock it over and confronts him. The dispute keeps escalating until…. Secrets and revelations from members of both families are slowly revealed, changing your thoughts midstream throughout this read.
The passages involving the court room trial were very compelling to read as I learned more about each of them. The lawyers arguments were so realistic in today’s world. I found myself cringing with disbelief at times.
The friendship between Zain and Jamie was a reminder that racism is a learned behavior but people can choose to not follow their elder’s actions and treat others with respect.
Kudos to the power of Kia Abdullah’s writing that the reader is left hanging until the very end of this book to determine exactly what happened. I literally could not close my eyes until I knew what had happened.
Many many thanks to Kia Abdullah, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this soon to be published book.

3.5/5

They use a dog as a way to creat apprehension and I love dogs too much for that. The book definitely

The author examines race, prejudice, and preconceived notions. When Bilal, Salma, and Zain move into a mostly white neighborhood in the suburbs. When they go to a neigborhood bbq the neighbors offend them while attempting to be “welcoming”.
The twist at the end was so good. I couldn’t put it down. My favorite parts of the book took place in the court room. The author did a great job writing those scenes. I really enjoyed them.

I love this author & get excited when I see her name. This was my least favorite book by her. Although it kept me engaged & I wanted to know the outcome, I didn’t enjoy it that much. This story touches on racism & equality in a thought provoking way. Recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!!

Holy cannoli I did not see that ending coming! It is so rare for a thriller to surprise me and wowzers!

I love Salma’s character so much. The writing perfectly captured the struggle of her wanting to stand up for herself, her family, and others in need versus being “a good immigrant” (HER WORDS, not mine!!) and not making waves.

My heart broke for her husband Bilal, and how right off the bat he anglicized his name to make it easier for the neighbors instead of them just taking two seconds to learn how to say his name and remembering it.

Salma’s son Zain, and the neighbor’s son Jamie - ugh two young boys caught up in the crossfire, having to hide their friendship especially from Jamie’s dad Tom.

This book tackles heavy hitting issues such as racism, microaggressions, misconceptions, prejudices, even societal classes - and it does it well!

Highly recommend this neighborhood thriller!

Thank you @Netgalley and @PutnamBooks for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review was posted to Instagram (@rolandreviews) on Aug 31, 2023 and Goodreads (Katie&Roland) on Sept 7, 2023

🏘️I don't know how many neighborhood thrillers I've read, but it's been A LOT and I'm always surprised that authors are still coming up with fun new ways to spin them!

🏘️There was a lot going on here and it was pretty entertaining all the way around. I didn't really like any of people of this cray cray neighborhood, but that didn't take away from the experience at all. The ending took me by surprise, too!

🏘️Overall, a quick thriller that probably won't be super memorable, but I'm glad I read it!

🏘️Also, I know we all joke about thrillers with houses on the covers bur CLEARLY publishers know what they're doing, because they sell me every. single. time. 😂

⭐3.5

📖Thanks so much to @putnambooks for the gifted, beautiful finished copy of this book 📙