This was a good twisty book but I admit, I got a bit lost trying to keep up with so many POVs and timelines. I enjoyed the cult storyline however and this kept me reading on as I was keen to see what happened. Sadly, the ending fell a little flat for me. This is my first book by this author though and I would be keen to read more by her.

The Body Next Door by Maia Change is a fantastic suspenseful novel.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns and the unexpected ending.

Well developed characters and a story that kept me guessing.

Tense, full of suspense, twisty and dark. I had fun and enjoyed it
A more extensive review will follow
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this book so much! I was confused at first, but the author does such a good job of keeping your attention and pulling it all together. By the tail end, I was shocked by the twists and I was so stressed out. (In the best way if course. I highly recommend this book. It was such a great read.

The Body Next Door is a mystery with a storyline that I really didn't expect. It revolves around Hannah who has what seems to be a picture perfect life but it is about to all come crashing back due to secrets from the past. I was kind of surprised the turn this book took because the description didn't mention the different kind of past that Hannah had. That was actually refreshing. I like not knowing all the details going into a story.

Then, other characters are introduced and for a good part of the book, I was really wondering how they would all connect. And then, when it did, I was surprised. I also was surprised at one of the twists when one of those relationships were revealed.

The author did a great job connecting everything together and I finally got some twists in a book. Usually, books today promise twists and don't deliver, so I was excited to get some in a story where I wasn't expecting any. I had never heard of this author, and I was happy to see she has written other books. I will definitely be looking into them.

Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher.

Well, that was a wild ride! You have multiple characters, all with secrets related to the happenings on Orca Island several years ago with a crazy cult, rich guys who think they can own or buy anything, and people trying to survive all that. Add in a strange and unusual talent (really cool and I think it was a nice surprise) and a nice twist ( I did have my suspicions and I was right) and I really enjoyed the whole story.

Hannah was a good character, easy to like, especially when you learn about her backstory. She is a survivor and is doing the best she can with the hand dealt to her. This novel has several character POVs and the timeline jumps between past and present but I felt it melded well and revealed the story the best way. I did not get confused and each character added to the story from Greene and his special gift, to Caroline and her craziness, to Josh who had the violin with a mind of its own and then of course Allan, the uber rich guy who thinks the world revolves around him. I liked the magic realism and how it played a part in the book. Yes, it was a bit weird when first introduced but I rolled with it.

I liked this story a lot and the ending was nicely satisfying in how family (found and made) is more important than all the riches in the world.

A body discovered at a family's island home threatens to unearth secrets that night be better buried.

I thought the plot was interesting enough, but the writing style was really hard for me. Hannah's sections were fine, but Allan's were borderline painful to read. I'm not sure if Chance meant to write him that way - just really stiff and weird thoughts. The construction of sentences was also weird at times. For instance, the first time we get Allan's perspective, the syntax makes it seem like he is thinking of his wife as a corpse. I had to literally reread a few times to get what he was actually saying. Then there were more POVs and flashbacks and so much. I think if Chance had picked maybe two POVs and ~maybe~ flashbacks with those same characters it would've been an easier read.

This was an interesting read that was relatively slow paced, particularly for being billed a thriller. While I liked the interconnected components of the plot, I thought it was a little convoluted; the complexities and twists were easy to follow, but I got the impression from the description that it would be more focused on present day and less dual timeline with less build up of the cult. If I had gone into it expecting more of a story about domestic unraveling and cult life with a side dish of murder intrigue I probably would have been less disappointed. That said, taking it for what it is, I’m happy I read it and I really enjoyed the story once I hit Part 2.

This book hooked me right from the beginning but the plot and back and forth between characters become a little
difficult to follow

A dark, moody and mesmerizing tale filled with cult worship, intricate twists and complex relationships, oh, and importantly a bit of magical realism. I loved this book so much, I'd give it 10 stars if I could. Needless to say I devoured this book in almost one evening. It starts as a domestic psychological thriller and the author expertly yet casually builds the mystery that as you get into the depths of the book an eerie darkness is revealed. I can't reveal much other than rush out to your nearest bookseller and read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the author Maia Chance for this ARC. The book was published on August 6, 2024, so it's available in the wild to get!

The cover really intrigued me. That is why I picked this one. I won't lie though. I may not be smart enough for this one. This book has four perspectives and two timelines. I would have probably loved it as an audiobook so I could just roll with the voices instead of going back to see who was "talking" in the moment. This is a me issue.
I loved the mystery though.

This book had a lot of elements that I do like--cults, creepy mysteries, suburban drama. But, I will say the one big thing that kept pulling me out of the story was the dual perspective dual timelines. I can appreciate what they each brought to the story, it was just a lot for me to mentally keep track of in a thriller mystery. Other than that, though, I did really like this book! I had a lot of fun with it.

Hannah is a trophy wife and stay at home mom to two children, her husband is a millionaire and they seem picture perfect--on the outside. A body is unearthed near their vacation home during construction and things go down hill from there. The body found belonged to a woman who was a member of an insane cult. Multiple POV's and it jumps back and forth between past and present. It got a bit confusing for a second nut everything pulled together in the end and made sense.

loved this mystery and keeping secrets and the different point of views. Also loved trying to figure out who did it . I enjoyed the mystery behind it.

I loved this book. It was creepy, involved a cult, and kept my interest from start to finish. The two timelines kept it interesting, and were well done,

The Body Next Door is quite the thriller. I am an avid fan of multi-perspective AND dueling timelines. However, I had a hard time following as there were 4 perspectives throughout two timelines. About half way through most of the connections began to click. I feel as though the use of magic was leveraged in order to make a plot point make sense and that took out a bit of the realism on how the story made sense as a whole. All in all, I give this book 3 stars because I genuinely didn't know who/what happened until nearly the very end which is always my favorite part. Everything tied together well and I certainly respect that.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

If you know me, you know I love a suspenseful thriller that I'm trying to figure out before the end of the story! This novel kept me reading and guessing well into the night. It toggled back and forth in time, giving information from the past that informed the present and dropping clues as to what might have occurred. A commune/cult, a wealthy family, a boy with supernatural powers, a talented musician, everything converges into a final climax that was worth the sleep I lost for it!

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

I was hooked on The Body Next Door by Maia Chance from the first chapter. Multiple POV and then/now chapters kept me fully engaged. I knew the characters and storylines would converge, but HOW? I was reading as fast as I could to finish.

This is the story of Hannah, a wealthy woman living a dream life, except everything is not as it seems. A body has just been discovered near her second home on Orcas Island up near Seattle. She has a connection to the body, but how did it get there? Who did it? And why was her husband’s artifact used in the murder?

As much as I loved many things about this book, there is an element of magical realism that I didn’t like. One character can do things with his mind like bend spoons, bust through brick walls, and make inanimate objects do what he tells them to do.

I wished this wasn’t part of the story, because it detracted from enjoying the book. This may not be a problem for other readers, but I do not like magical realism or science fiction and usually I’ll just stop reading.

If that wasn’t part of this story, it would have been a five-star read!

I look forward to reading anything else the author writes (as long as there is no magical realism).

They buried their secrets, but not deep enough…

Hannah McCullough’s life is far from perfect, but you’d never know it by looking at her. Instead, you’d see a beautiful young mother wholly devoted to her two children and a docile wife utterly besotted with her self-made millionaire husband, Allan. You’d see the designer clothes she wears, the luxury car she drives, the dewy-eyed au pair she employs.

You wouldn’t see the dark secret she carries.

But when a construction crew unearths the body of a young girl near the McCulloughs’ vacation home on Orcas Island, Hannah has no choice but to confront her past. She wonders how much Allan knows about the victim and the apocalyptic cult she was connected to. Meanwhile, Allan can’t seem to understand why his beautiful young bride, as polished and pristine as the collectible artifacts in his glass case, would threaten their fairy-tale lifestyle by digging too deep, in places she knows she shouldn’t.

As the police investigation into the gruesome discovery deepens, the facade of Hannah’s picture-perfect marriage starts to crumble, and she soon finds herself on a dire hunt for answers. And Hannah’s search takes an unexpected turn after she crosses paths with three strangers with shocking secrets of their own.

The premise of this book sounded so good but the execution was not for me. I found that I was 100% bored with this book. It was hard to get through and even harder to pick up. I almost dnf’ed it but I pushed through with the hopes it would get better. It had too many pov’s that o just didn’t care about. They all irritated me to no end.

Since this is a mystery / thriller, I'm not going to rehash the plot, but the blurb gives a good overview of the story. As I suspected when I started this title, everyone is just some degree of "off" -- whether that's a little or a lot. Sometimes that made things interesting, sometimes not so much.

The story is told from multiple points of view, so that made things a bit hard for this reader to follow until about halfway mark. There's lots to keep straight here. There is also a past/present timeline (s) that also makes the reader work to understand. Things got better in the second half, but I would have liked a bit more of a punch to the ending.

There are also some creepy elements of the story, with witches in the woods and strange behaviors and such. It gives the story a bit of a spooky feel.

Overall, this was an okay read for me, with some interesting characters that kept me reading.