The Family at Number 11 by Kathryn Whitfield.
Penny and Jake live in a beautiful home in a beautiful neighbourhood with their beautiful baby boy. It's the perfect life. Except that Penny is desperately lonely and can't shake the feeling that she isn't bonding with her baby like she should be.
I did enjoy this book. gripping and twisty. I liked Penny and Jake. I didn't see that coming. Definitely recommend. 5*.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I wanted to give this book 3.5 stars but it doesn't allow half stars! This book was a decent mystery and did keep me guessing. For the most part, it held my interest throughout the book. What stops me from rating it higher is some of the plot felt a bit disjointed/disconnected for me. The main character, Penny, who is a new Mom struggling to bond with her baby and get through the first weeks of new motherhood and survive the exhaustion etc. was a bit irritating at times. I mean the entire book's premise was about her as a new mother, but it just seemed to bounce from 'I'm not bonding with my baby" to "I can't leave him for 5 seconds, even with my husband, who happens to be a doctor". There is really no gradual shift from one perspective to the other. She comes across as slightly neurotic and obsessive, but at the same time she also comes off as a sympathetic character because anyone that's had a baby can relate to some of the feelings. But there are parts where it's distracting. Also, the introduction of Penny's best friend Sarah seems rather pointless. Not to mention a scene with Penny's Mom where we find out she has cancer. This is not a spoiler, I promise because her mother is mentioned once or twice only...and other than one mention, we don't read another word about her mother, her cancer, her upcoming treatment. What daughter doesn't follow up to see how her mother is doing after cancer treatment?? It just makes Penny come off as all-consumed by her own issues and life. So if the author wasn't going to weave that relationship challenge into the story, then why bother mentioning it at all? It was lost on me as to why it was in there at all. But, that being said, the book got a bit stronger with the story in the end and had some minor plot twists. The character of Celia (the new and seemingly perfect new neighbour that moved in across the street and befriended Penny) was a bit one-dimensional, but the author made her story arc tie up with a bang! Good writing for the most part...decent story and mystery, but just a few things that stopped me from rating it higher than I did. I always appreciate the amount of effort that must go into writing a mystery/thriller. So many layers to worry about...so I give kudos to the author for mostly pulling it off.

A slow-burn domestic psychological thriller.

Essentially a story about a couple with a new-born. Penny is finding the transition to motherhood hard and is thrilled to befriend the new neighbour, Celia. But things with Celia and her husband Pete, are not as they first appear. They have a secret. A devastating secret that threatens to destroy everything.

Whilst primarily told in the first person by the protagonist, Penny – the story has multiple narrators and is split across various timelines. It remains easy enough to follow and these deviations from the first person really help reveal subtle insights into the other characters - their lives and motivations.

I thought I had the book figured out about half-way through, hoping that I was wrong – I was wrong. Many twists and turns in the latter half that kept me on my toes. It really picks up toward the end with a pretty climactic ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Headline and NetGalley for an early copy of The Family at Number 11. This was a great debut, it kept me guessing what exactly was going on. A true psychological! The only thing that was a bit far-fetched was the ending, the fighting was a bit unrealistic but otherwise the plot was Awesome. Keep writing Kathryn, can't wait for your next one.

This book is amazing, a proper page turner. Read this in 2 days as I just couldn't put it down. the plot getting thicker with every page turned and the need to know what was going to happen next. Did not expect that ending at all. My mind is literally blown 100% recommend.

Secrets Will Out..
Ah the perfect life. Or is it? Penny and Jake seem to have it made - a lovely home in the most perfect neighbourhood and a blissful family unit. Is everything as it seems? When Celia and Pete move into their new home across the road it seems like good fortune. New neighbours and new friends. Nobody, however, knows precisely what happens behind closed doors. Just know that secrets will out. A tense and gripping psychological suspense with twists and turns aplenty, a well observed cast of characters and a keen sense of underlying menace.

A great book, it had everything and was definitely one of my favourite books this year, I’m looking forward to reading more in the future

When I first started reading this I thought I wouldn’t like it but WOW was I wrong so glad I kept going. Fantastic thriller which had me hooked after the first few chapters.

Penny is a new mum which she was desperate to be but is struggling to bond with the baby. Her husband Jake is a doctor so not around very much so when Penny looks out from the nursery and sees a new family move she can’t help but feel maybe she could make a mum friend. Celia Seems perfect so put together with a small baby and a toddler how does she do it? Penny and Celia soon become good friends but at the same time everything around Penny seems to collapse who can Penny trust or can she even trust herself?

Fantastic thriller which I highly recommend. Hope to see more from this author soon.