Really enjoyed this diverse, rich-people, murder mystery. The audio was really great, and the pacing and plot kept me interested throughout. Read in two sittings. A solid 4 star read, in my opinion.
Thanks NetGalley for the ebook, and my library for the audio.

A fun neighborhood murder mystery with characters you love to hate. Told from the perspectives of neighbors in a rich community, this mystery novel emerges from one perspective at a time as one by one residents are getting murdered. Easy, fun read. Quality whodunit! Recommend.

In a well-off, suburban neighborhood in Alpharetta (a little north of Atlanta), a killer has started to target the morally corrupt within the neighborhood.

Overall, I liked this one. I think it started a little slow and took a little to build. Part of that is that there are a lot of POVs, which ultimately I understood why - it helps the reader understand who is a bad person and let's us into the moment of the characters' deaths. I will say I don't think it was as much sleuthing as the synopsis sets it out to be. Some characters do a little sleuthing, but overall, it was not as much of that. I think the killer was also obvious at about 75% through. I'm not sure if Reida intended that, but there are some big clues for those paying attention! I'd say anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller will not find that here. A decent somewhat whodunit though!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Neighborhood Watch is a clever satirical murder mystery thriller set in an upscale neighbourhood where people aren't always what they seem but sometimes, they are worse.

This is a multiple point-of-view tale narrated by different members of the neighbourhood, each filling in a bit more of the story and giving us a bit more background every time. It's very cleverly done, even if I did guess the killer early on - it became more of a when and whydunit rather than a whodunit for me at that point, but still fun.

Everyone on Oleander Court has a bit of good and bad in them. Those with more bad than good start getting murdered and nobody knows who's exacting justice. Soon everyone is a suspect and wondering - is anyone safe?


Thank you to Sarah Reida, Turner publishing company and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Neighborhood Watch by Sarah Reida

Rating: 5 Stars

From the moment I laid eyes on the cover of Neighborhood Watch by Sarah Reida, I knew I was in for a treat. And oh boy, was it a treat indeed! This book had me hooked from the first page to the last, and I couldn't put it down.

This novel was a riot to read. It's like a perfect blend of murder mystery and suburban drama with a generous sprinkle of humor on top. The upscale neighborhood of Oleander Court may seem idyllic on the outside, but as the bodies start piling up, the residents' dark secrets and questionable morals are exposed.

The way the author tells the story is just brilliant. The writing is sharp, the pacing is spot-on, and the humor is so infectious that I found myself laughing out loud more times than I can count. The camaraderie among the neighborhood ladies as they band together to uncover the killer is both heartwarming and hilarious.

Sure, I figure out the identity of the killer early on, but for me, it was all about the journey. The twists and turns, the witty dialogue, and the sheer entertainment value of this book make it a standout read. It's hands down one of my favorite books of the year so far.

In Neighborhood Watch, Sarah Reida has created a world that is equal parts absurd and relatable, making for a truly enjoyable reading experience. So if you're looking for a book that will keep you guessing, make you laugh, and leave you thoroughly entertained, look no further. Neighborhood Watch is a gem that deserves a spot on your bookshelf.

So do yourself a favor and dive into the chaos of Oleander Court with Neighborhood Watch. I promise you won't regret it!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

Thanks to Netgalley, Turner Publishing, and Sarah Reida for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Neighborhood Watch. It was full of drama, mystery and humour. The characters were interesting, dramatic, and charismatic, especially Adelaide, Faith and Ray. It was a bit like a mix between desperate housewives and an Agatha Christie novel, very entertaining, with a lot of characters you'll love to hate.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I thought this was a good book. I liked the plot and it was successful in keeping the sense of mystery throughout. One of my main issues was that there were A LOT of characters. It may be more of a personal flaw than one with the book, but I had trouble keeping track of who was who. I really did like how the chapters jumped back and forth between POVs, but in my opinion it would’ve been better with either less characters or ones that were more different from each other. For example, I had trouble distinguishing Pam from Beverly because they seemed very similar to eachother. Overall, it was a good mystery that I would recommend!

This was an excellent book. It is set within a fancy suburban neighborhood full of wealthy, unlikable, outlandish characters. The likable characters are few and far between.

I enjoyed the over-the-top elements in the book (who will wash the smoothie maker now?!) and the mystery. This book is a modern, dark, snarky version of the Agatha Christie book And Then There Were None...sort of like that book mixed with the Desperate Housewives TV show and the Death And Other Details TV show. And maybe some non-gory, Stephen King-like horror mixed in. I mean all of that as a compliment and in the best way possible.

I correctly guessed the killer early on, but the guess was based on instinct rather than clues for a good portion of the book. The mystery was fair.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy contemporary mystery, thriller, and suspense novels with diverse and strong female characters. I would read more from this author.

Thank you Turner Publishing Company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A story about terrible, wealthy people getting their just desserts is just soooo delicious. I know, lame pun, but I could not resist using it in the context of this fun mystery about a wealthy neighbourhood, Oleander Court, and the murders of its self-centred, bigoted, duplicitous and inconsiderate people by someone that they know.

In the bad category, we have
-an Homeowners' Association president who misuses her power
-a bigot waging a war on her happily married neighbours
-a politician with skeletons in his basement who also harms his wife
-a vengeful woman in love with plastic self-improvement, and
-a self-centred and neglectful husband.

In the decent or good category we have
-the happily married women who live next door to a virulent bigot
-an elderly artist who watches the antics of her neighbours from her porch
-a brilliant Asian American woman, and her family, who is constantly talked down to by the bigots around her
-an actor, and
-a family new to the neighbourhood.

Everyone has secrets, and as these are discovered, the bad people start dying. With each new murder, the people get increasingly scared, with some choosing to move, while a few stay in place, scared. Existing tensions and pressures are exacerbated, with already struggling marriages suffering.

The police focus on one person to the exclusion of everyone else, and while it's obvious this person had legitimate reasons to want the death of one of her neighbours, the real murderer goes unremarked by everyone, save one.

While it was not that hard to figure out who the murderer was, I still greatly enjoyed this book. The author gives us wish fulfilment in the form of bad people getting bumped off, but also deals with a number of heavy things, such as domestic abuse, transphobia, and racism. Though the author does not belabour the point that bigotry and abuse are terrible, she does show the harm they cause the people who are subject to these in this upscale neighbourhood.

I was a little puzzled as to what specifically was the impetus for the killer to begin their killing spree, as it was no secret who the horrible people were. I liked the somewhat implausible ending, and its open-endedness, but this is a quibble. As I said, I found this book's dramatic characters highly entertaining, and look forward to more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Turner Publishing Company for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you Netgalley, author & Turner Publishing Company for the ARC

Oleander Court is the epitome for suburban bliss in Alpharetta, Georgia, the most sort out neighborhood for the rich to love and reside. It's the poster child for the rich suburban life everyone dreams to attain. But lately a string of murders of the most prominent residents in the community has left everyone in deep shock and even scarier is the fact that someone amongst them could probably be the killer ! Beyond the perfectly maintained lawns, showcase of exuberant wealth dirty secrets are pouring out .....

This humor/satire filled murder mystery was absolutely entertaining to me. Have we all not wondered about our neighbors , end up having presumptive notions about others by the way they look, make judgments sometimes by just getting a glimpse into another person's behavior or an incident /their past if we are aware.... The author has brought life to such day to day observation in a community to life in the story. From Quirky to relatable you have all various personalities living in the same neighborhood. As bodies start dropping , us readers get to know more about the deceased, the remaining people and their lives or rather what's going on behind closed doors. The author also skillfully managed to insert current social issues into the storytelling , which was good to reflect upon. While one can easily place the motive and murderer half way through book, it was nevertheless interesting to see all the characters catch up to the truths and for me to see how it all plays out till the end.
Of this becomes a TV series, it has all the elements to make it watchable.
The only downside would be that there were several characters and names in the story and took me some time to catch up on who's who. But then again it's supposed to be suburban neighborhood, the several characters make sense .
Definitely recommend reading this if you like the gossipy satirical drama with a whodunnit factor .

It's a 4/5 🌟 read for me .

I requested an ARC of Neighborhood Watch after reading the description of the book. I was intrigued by the dark humor/murder mystery premise of the novel. Overall, I was so impressed -- I loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved the plot. I truly could not put Neighborhood Watch down!

In Neighborhood Watch, readers are transported to the affluent enclave of Oleander Court, where a captivating mystery unfolds amidst the backdrop of wealth and privilege. The initial intrigue sets the stage for a thrilling narrative, drawing readers into a web of secrets and deception. While the storyline may falter in pacing around the 70% mark, the richly developed characters and intricate plot keep readers engaged until the very end. Despite the early revelation of the killer's identity, the novel maintains an air of suspense, with twists and turns that keep readers guessing. The abundance of characters and backstory adds depth to the narrative, immersing readers in the intricacies of life in Oleander Court. Overall, Neighborhood Watch offers an entertaining and suspenseful read, making it a worthy addition to the mystery genre.

This was a really fun whodunnit! I picked this book because the description said “for fans of Desperate Housewives”, which is one of my favorite shows, and I was not disappointed! I’m always down for juicy drama!

There are A LOT of characters in this book, which provides an array of personalities, but I had a bit of a hard time keeping them all straight. Trying to remember who is married to whom, which couples have kids, etc was a little difficult for me!

I am not typically great at predicting the bad guy in these types of mysteries, but I had it figured out right away. I really liked the story but I was a little bummed that the “villain” was so obvious for me!

Overall, this was a really entertaining, fast paced mystery and I thought it was fun.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Turner Publishing for the gifted copy!

This book was a quick and entertaining read.
I absolutely love suburban thrillers, and this one has everything, well except a map. I love when books have maps. Still, this story of a killer terrorizing a swanky neighborhood is absolutely worth the read.
The characters were great and it took me a while to figure out too. Read this book!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 ⭐️’s

Life is about to change in the upscale neighborhood of Oleander Court. A killer is on the loose and none of the residents are safe. As suspicions are raised and secrets unfold, it soon becomes clear that there is a method to the killers madness. When one of their own (Ray) is arrested for the murders, some breathe a sigh of relief while others are sure there has been a mistake. Many scatter and several homes are now listed for sale, far below the market price of just a few short weeks ago. A small group have remained and have banded together to solve the case before it’s too late for Ray. This was an entertaining read, but with the crossover of so many characters, it had small areas of repetition and some storylines felt unfinished. It was easy for me to figure out the killer early on and this one was much more of a domestic drama than a thriller. Thank you to Turner Publishing Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This selection is another example of why everyone should have a ride-or-die, NetGalley addicted book bestie like Shelby in their life. <i>Neighborhood Watch</i> was her most recent recommendation to me. She said to ignore the ugly cover and go request a copy pronto before reader copies got pulled from NG and since I am her minion I did exactly what she asked of me. And I do agree the cover is fug, but put “neighborhood” in a title and Imma be down to clown.

The story here is about Wysteria Lane . . . errrr, I mean Alpharetta, Georgia, but I"m telling you this puppy was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo <i>Desperate Housewives</i> - fully of rich beetches in their McMansiony hood. Everyone is up in each other’s bidness courtesy of the local “book club” – and then the body count starts rising. Good news is they all had it comin' to 'em.

Talk about a chef’s kiss of poolside perfection. Add this to your summertime stabby TBR for sure!

All the Stars.

<i>Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!</i>

This was an enjoyable story about rich people behaving badly and the consequences some of them must face. I found the multiple perspectives confusing at times since there were so many of them and I figured out the killer fairly early, still the book kept my attention.

I loved this book! Originally, I picked it up for the cover but quickly became obsessed with the story. Ray was my favorite character ❤️ I need everyone to read this!! I had an idea of who the killer was and my suspicions were confirmed.

'Something so perfect can only hold for so long until it falls apart.'

Set in Oleander Court, an exclusive and privileged community where neighbours meet up for regular book clubs, openly and not so openly judge each other's houses, style and lives, and hire the help to do just about anything and everything from organising closets to childcare, a string of murders shakes the community.

I usually find books told from many different points-of-view hard to follow (and this had more points-of-view than any other book I've read), and this was no different, however, it was redeemed by a host of quirky, exaggerated characters. There was a mix of catty, superior women, everyday families and ones who came off as somewhat mysterious. I enjoyed their interactions and how each interaction revealed a bit more about their personality and background, often with humour thrown in.

I guessed who the killer was fairly early on, but it didn't take away from the experience. It was a fun murder mystery with insight into how the other half live.

Deliciously snarky and fun. Someone is bumping off rich people in an exclusive Atlanta suburb -- but only the ones who are jerks (which sadly, is not just a few).

It has to be someone in the neighborhood, and as the body count increases, the suspect pool decreases. Some of the neighbors are decent folks, but they have more than their fair share of shallow, narcissistic, racist, homophobic jerks.

Who is safe? And who is meting out justice?

A fun and suspenseful read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.