Melissa Adelman | What The Neighbors Saw

The Book: 

What The Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman
Published June 20, 2023 by Minotaur Books
Date read: June 19, 2023

The Characters: 

Alexis and Blair

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The Plot (from Goodreads):

Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb.

Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…

When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.

But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.

In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful and charismatic widow, Blair. But as the women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. And when the unthinkable truth behind Teddy’s murder is finally uncovered, both Blair and Alexis must reexamine their friendship and decide how far they are willing to go to preserve the lives they have so carefully constructed.

How did What The Neighbors Saw end?

Click here for book spoilers for What The Neighbors Saw
Book spoilers ahead–if you haven’t yet read What The Neighbors Saw, I suggest you turn back now.

The Reveal:

Teddy and Blair were half-siblings. Teddy’s dad had raped Blair’s mom in college. When Teddy suggested the family do a DNA kit, Blair’s mom told them the truth. Teddy wanted to tell everyone and blow up their lives, but Blair wanted to keep their shameful secret to themselves. She decided to kill Teddy, and started an affair with Sam to convince him to do her dirty work.

The Ending:

Alexis realized what had happened when she caught Sam at Blair’s the night she was supposed to be away on a business trip. She pushed him out of their broken window and cashed in on life insurance. She knew Blair wouldn’t say anything because it would implicate her in Teddy’s death.

The Review: 

I’m always down for a neighborhood drama, but I’ve read so many lately that they have to be really worth it to hold my attention. The premise and setup were good and I was interested to find out what happened to Teddy. I also love scenes of catty rich women behaving badly. Despite that, the middle of this book dragged a bit.

I wasn’t surprised by the ending, so that was a disappointment. There was a reveal I wasn’t expecting, but I wanted a little more drama from it.

I’ll happily read more by Adelman in the future–her writing style was intriguing even if this story didn’t completely do it for me.

Audio Review: These two narrators were both new to me, but I enjoyed both of their performances. I enjoy a cast of more than one narrator, and these two complicated each other well. The audio version was great!


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