Possibly my favorite Shari Lapena book to date. I really enjoy how this author twists story lines and adds unexpected threads to each of her stories. Sometimes I can figure parts of it out but never the whole thing, which is awesome.

A gripping and suspenseful domestic thriller, The Couple Next Door unravels a web of secrets and lies, delivering a heart-pounding rollercoaster ride that will leave readers gasping until the very last page."

I was happy when the book didn't use mental illness as a deciding factor in the events that take place, and then the final twist happened. It felt unnecessary at best, and harmful at first. It wasn't needed and completely ruined the rest of the book for me.

I really enjoyed this! It kept me guessing the entire time. Lots of twists and turns and I felt like I couldn’t for sure figure things out. So well done to the author for that. I didn’t love the ending, but overall it was a solid mystery that I really enjoyed. I will definitely read more from this author.

The Couple Next Door: A Novel

Engrossing, but then by the end, it seemed a bit byzantine.



Review copy provided by publisher.

In The Couple Next Door, Marco and Anne leave their sleeping baby in her crib at their house while they attend a dinner party next door. Their sitter had canceled last minute and the hostess demanded no children at the party, so what could they do? They have the baby monitor on, (but the video part is broken, it's only audio) they check in on Cora every 30 minutes, and they are literally next door. What could go wrong?

There's so many layers to this novel! Just when you think you've been stunned more than you can handle, you're hit with another shocker! Full of lies, deception, and secrets, The Couple Next Door unravels more panic with every turn of the page. It was fast paced and kept me hooked the whole way through!

This is my second Lapena novel and I can't wait to read more. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Couple Next Door is a brilliant, page turner physiological thriller! There are so many twists and turns in each chapter. The ending left me with chills and wondering. Will definitely look for more books by this author. Highly recommend this debut novel!

What would you do if you were visiting the neighbors next door while your 6 month old daughter slept in her crib and returned home to find her gone? Kidnapped! That horrible scenario is the premise of the novel, The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena.The police are called but their investigation yields very little and not even the couples plea for help through the press or the offer of a lucrative reward (provided by some wealthy grandparents) turns up enough insight to provide a substantial lead in the case. As Detective Rasbach conducts multiple interviews with the parents, Anne and Marco Contis, he starts to believe it's an inside job involving either one or both of them despite their united front and obvious frantic distress. He even suspects the child, Cora, is dead.

Despite the lack of pertinent information, things begin to happen, secrets are revealed, marriages become stressful, and friendships are torn apart. Anne can't help but despise her once close friend, Cynthia Stillwell, who didn't want little Cora mucking up her dinner party, forcing them to leave their child home alone when the babysitter canceled at the last minute. On top of that, she's angry about the drunken hanky lanky on the porch, probably at the very moment her child was being kidnapped. How could her husband respond to their neighbor's flirtation? With everything going wrong, she suspects the worst.

It's up to Detective Rasbach to unravel the case, discover the real criminal(s), and hopefully recover a living babe and not a corpse. Numerous twists and turns keep the reader guessing until the final few chapters.

While this book had potential and did deliver on the suspense, there were a few flaws which took away from my enjoyment. Number one was the simplistic narrative and the use of present tense which at times made for awkward reading. Then there was the repetition, a constant "let me gather up the facts" - listing them over and over as if the readers are idiots who can't keep a thought in their head. However it is a quick read and there are enough clues that the climax is more of an "Oh yes, I see" and not a "Huh?" plus the ultimate conclusion has a sense of poetic justice. Still, the writing itself held the book back and there were a couple of loose ends which didn't make sense.

Three stars and a thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story of suspense was incredibly twisted, dark, and kept me guessing. I loved it and can't wait to read Ms. Lapena's next book.

WOW! I couldn't put this book down. The story was captivating, and the writing was sublime. The twists and turns kept me guessing until the end, and what an ending it was. I cannot wait to read more by this new author, and I wish this book had a sequel. I will definitely be recommending this title to my patrons.

A dinner party at their next door neighbor’s house turns into a nightmare for Anne and Marco Conti. When their babysitter cancels at the last minute, they decide to leave their six month old daughter alone with a baby monitor. They figure they will check on her every half hour and have the monitor to hear if anything goes wrong. Of course, nothing is that easy.

After dinner is over, they go home to find the baby’s crib empty. The child is nowhere to be found. They call the police and the investigation begins. The lead detective obviously suspects there is more to the Conti’s story than they are telling. Everyone in their lives is under great scrutiny and suspicion. Nobody can be overlooked until the child is returned safely. As the days go by, it’s becoming less likely that will happen.
I was mesmerized by this book. It grabbed me right in from page one. Like the police in the book, I suspected everyone. I don’t think there was one character that I trusted and that includes the parents.

Every character had their own dark secret. Just when you think you know what’s happening, you really don’t. There was one shock after another. The author does a great job with keeping the readers at the edge of their seats. I was so tempted to turn to the last page and see who the culprit was, but I was good and I let the story unfold as it should.

This is the first book I read by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last. It had everything I love in a thriller with many twists and turns throughout the book. It’s fast-paced, a well-written plot and well-developed characters. This is a hit with me.

This book was amazing. It had twists that you didn't see coming. I loved the way it was written, it kept me intrigued!

Enjoyed, but really felt like it fell flat in the end.

Such an excellent suspenseful story. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

This one kept me up late into the night with twists and turns. I wasn't sure who to trust, or what they were hiding. Excellent read.

Great psychological thriller! Kept me guessing all the way to the end.

The couple next door was sent to me by Netgalley and I'm so glad that I requested it.
So a book about a baby being taken from her house is very captivating. Once I started to read I just couldn't stop it was so suspenseful, I just wanted to know who took the baby, did the parents kill her and had her someone discard the body since they were rich?Did a crazy family meme we take the baby because they couldn't have one on their own? This books did not fail my expectations

I loved this book. It has so many twists and turns, every time I thought I had it figured out I was wrong. Bravo!!2!!

A well-written and enjoyable book, I am glad I requested this title and will be more than happy to pass the title along to my fellow library purchasers.

Good thriller. Would read others from this author!