The Book:
The Family Next Door, by Sally Hepworth, 2018
The Characters:
The residents of Pleasant Court: Essie and Ben, Essie’s mom Barbara, Fran and Nigel, Ange and Lucas, and the new neighbor Isabelle
The Plot (from the publisher):
The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbors, and children play in the street.
Isabelle Heatherington doesn’t fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers.
But Ange, Fran, and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange’s compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won’t let her sweet, gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park – and returned home without her.
As their obsession with their new neighbor grows, the secrets of these three women begin to spread – and they’ll soon find out that when you look at something too closely, you see things you never wanted to see.
The Review:
This domestic fiction novel delves into the fact that although your neighbors may seem perfect, nothing is ever as it seems. Sally Hepworth creates wonderful and relatable characters–many of the struggles that the characters encounter are likely happening to your own friends.
I enjoy these light mystery novels where you’re always trying to guess what lies the characters are telling to try to figure out where the story will go. The book was a very quick but enjoyable read–I finished it in a single day.
If you enjoyed The Family Next Door, you might also like…
- The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth
- Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
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