The Secrets Next Door

by Sally Royer-Derr

What does she know?

On a leafy, suburban street, curtains are subtly twitched to watch the new neighbor moving in.

Anne gets exactly the welcome to the neighborhood she expects: a basket of homemade cupcakes delivered by the woman next door and her best friend. One wears a curious smile while the other studies her every move. When Talia and Tabitha leave, Anne throws the treats in the trash.

She knows what to expect from the new neighbors. Talia with her perfect husband and pale-peach sweater sets, and Tabitha who reigns as queen in the close-knit community. That’s why she chose this house.

But they don’t know what to expect from her.

And if they get suspicious, well they can’t uncover Anne’s secrets without spilling their own…

An absolutely gripping and twisty psychological thriller that will have you questioning everything in a race to the jaw-dropping ending. The perfect read for fans of The Perfect Marriage, The Housemaid and Nicola Sanders.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2024

Reviews

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
Genre ~ domestic drama
Setting ~ New York
Publication date ~ March 4, 2024
Est page Count ~ 248 (p+ 48 chapters)
Audio length ~ 7 hours and 39 minutes
Narrator ~ Patricia Rodriguez
POV ~ mostly dual 1st with an extra pov at the end, present tense
Featuring ~ twins in their 30's, secrets (duh), infidelity, revenge

Talia & Tabitha are twins who live next door to each other with their spouses, Zach & Grant. They even own a bakery business together. That's a lot of time to be spending together, but that's just the only child introvert in me talking.

Told in the present tense mostly as inner thoughts. This is fine up to a point, but then the narrator becomes quite unreliable. And one character has insomnia, so that heightens the unreliableness. I do enjoy an unreliable narrator, but in turn it made the characters very unlikable. In fact I can't think of one character that I did like, oh wait maybe the part time worker at the bakery who we hear from on only a few pages. Since there is a fair amount of repetition, due to each twin telling us how they are better than the other, it slows down the pace. I did quite enjoy the whole revenge plot and I think that played out nicely.

Overall, a decent domestic drama with a little bit of mystery. I was quite pleased with the ending.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the info above for reference, however I do think at least 2 narrators would have been beneficial since I have a feeling the voices might not have differed much.

*Thanks to the author, Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

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[Heathers_readss · Rating 2 out of 5]

The secrets next door follow the lives of two grown up twins who are both married with children, who refused to separate as they grew in life and as a result live next door to each other and own a business together.

Everything is perfect until a new neighbour moves in next door. A mystery writer who lives up to the stereotype and causes the twins to be consumed by suspicion and paranoia, resulting in endless conspiracies and attempts at spying to find out answers.

I would put this in the suburbia domestic suspense genre category, the focus is more on secrets and lies and a few surprise twists. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Patricia Rodriguez.

This book is likely a great fit for those who enjoy the likes of Shari Lapena and her suburbia paranoia.

Thank you to Sally Royer-Derr, Dreamscape media and NetGalley for the ALC

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talia and Tabitha are twins. One of the feelings they share is their suspicion and sense of unease regarding their new neighbor Anne. Mystery surrounds everything about her. I was intrigued initially by the mysterious Anne and the amateur sleuthing attempts by the sisters. I was shocked at how the plot went from an innocent mystery to a dark, disturbing tale about jealousy, betrayal, and pure evil. Most of the characters were extremely unlikeable. The ending was surprising with elements I never could have predicted. While listening to the audiobook, I would have appreciated more distinction between the female characters. Overall, it was a satisfactory listen with a few highly implausible plot points. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for my audiobook.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fast-paced and I am always fascinated by twins, but I did figure out most of the twists early. The story centers on twins Talia and Tabitha, who are in their early 30's and live next door to each other as well as own a bakery together. When a well-known mystery author moves in on the other side of Talia, the women, specifically Tabitha, are immediately suspicious of her motives.

I had a bit of a hard time with both Talia's and Tabitha's characters, as some of the things that they did seemed out of character with the inner thoughts they shared earlier. I had trouble really getting to know either husband and they seemed like tertiary characters in the story. I think the characterization could have been built out just a little better. Though I did figure out what I consider to be the biggest twist early in the book, there were a couple other surprises thrown in throughout the way.

Overall, I did think this was a fast read and I enjoyed it, but I think I would have enjoyed it just a little more if I felt more connected to the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jasmine Orton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ This was told from two POVs (twins Talia and Tabitha- which took me a bit to differentiate the two lol). This was a quick read with short chapters. I found myself skimming quite a bit- when the author was describing things in so much depth it was just too much for my brain. I found the story entertaining and easy to follow. The story had a few twists and I did enjoy how it all came together.
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*

[Anissa Yanira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually hooked from the first page. I really enjoyed the short chapters and how intriguing this story was from the beginning. The author does an amazing job depicting each character. The dual pov from both sisters was something I really loved about it. Everything just flowed so seamlessly. Even though some of the storyline was a little predictable, none the less it was really good! At one point, I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong. There was one of the twists I didn't see coming. I’m excited to read something else by Sally Royer-Derr!

Thank you NetGalley! #TheSecretsNextDoor #NetGalley

[Abi Smack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 2.5 stars out of 5. I like the concept, but I had some trouble feeling fully captivated by the book for a few reasons. I felt the writing was a bit catered to a particular generation, one which came across as cringey, for lack of a better word, to me personally. It felt like the characters were forced and trying too hard to be relatable yet quirky.

I also found the writing style a bit much for a novel, rather than a short story or poem. The author provides beautiful detailed descriptions that really help you visualize what you are reading, but these descriptions were so lengthy and happened so often that I found myself getting distracted from the plot and it felt like the narrative was a bit all over the place without much plot movement actually taking place. Additionally, detailed descriptions of the same things (ex: the picture of Talia and Nate at Niagra Falls) were repeated multiple times without adding anything to the story, which felt like a proofreading oversight. Much of the story seemed to focus on the internal thoughts of the characters, rather than dedicating as much space to what was actually happening.

Similarly, I appreciate how the ending tied up as many loose ends as possible, but I found there were some holes in the plot. It was frustrating that so much detail went into backgrounds and histories in the beginning of the novel, yet the character involved in the twist was never once introduced during those and seemed to come out of nowhere. Additionally the choice of Halloween costumes mirrored important events throughout the novel, yet these parallels were never touched on and it seemed like an accidental coincidence as the novel is currently written. Overall, I enjoyed the storyline, but I found the writing to be frustrating. I do think this book could be enjoyable, it just wasn't quite as enticing to someone of a younger generation. I will definitely give Royer-Derr's other novels a chance.

[Rachel the Page-Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talia and her identical twin Tabitha live next door to each other in the small town of Little Beak, New York. These twins may look the same, but they have many differences. They co-own a bakery, but the cupcake shop is really Talia’s dream. Tabitha found and married a wealthy man, Grant, and they have a son named Cole. Talia married her childhood sweetheart, Zach, and they haven’t had children…yet. Talia is the more shy, introspective and modest twin, while Tabitha is the glamorous-on-the-outside-but-insecure-and-falling-apart-on-the-inside sister.

One day, they get a new neighbor - and not just any neighbor. Anne Gravely, hugely successful and well-loved mystery author, has rented the house next to Talia’s, to get out of the city and have a quiet place to write a new trilogy. Soon, questions surface. Why is Anne always creeping around in her backyard, especially in the middle of the night? If she wanted to get out of the city, why does she seem to be gone a lot? Why did she move to this house, when she could be in a similar location on the water? Talia is more forgiving of odd things stacking up, but Tabitha is convinced that this woman is up to no good.

This book started with a bang of a prologue, and while it was slow to get into after that, it eventually picked up and the ending was done quite well. My (minor) complaints? The red herrings may have been a little too obvious. Sometimes details were left out, or something that seemed very relevant wouldn’t be resolved. Some parts were completely implausible. We also have a character struggling to sleep. When someone in a book has severe insomnia, there’s always a little thought in the back of my head that they are hallucinating from lack of sleep. That part, I like because it keeps you on your toes! Overall, not bad at all. 3.5 stars.

(Thank you to Storm Publishing, Sally Roger-Derr and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 4, 2024.)

[Deanna Loves to Read!!:) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possible vague spoilers ahead!!




I received this arc and would like to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing. I am not sure where to begin! Talia and Tabitha are twin adult sisters, each married and living next door to each other, when Anne moves in to the house next to Talia.
So this is described as a mystery. There are some aspects I like, and they are as follows.
1. I liked Talia. Not Tabitha so much! Enjoyed the over the top “gods twin/bad twin” relationship. (I am a mood reader and wanted to read for pure entertainment- not deep thought!!)
2 The mystery- when it finally appears- at 78% into the book.

Ok- what I didn’t like.

1. This story is mainly told from Talia’s perspective. And the “mystery” starts because her sister doesn’t like the new neighbor. There is a lot of inner dialogue and thoughts from Talia.
2. The constant description of the bake shop, the cupcakes, the icing, the decoration on the cakes. I get they owned a bakery- but more time was spent on this than mystery.
3. The mystery! We are barely given any backstory to Anne, or Talia, Tabitha and Zach (Talia’s husband). So the big reveal of what’s really going on was like thrown in!!! Between affairs, a death, then “oh yeah- when they were little this happened and this is who she is now”- kinda thing. WHAT??? There was NO build up to this, then wham! It would have been so much better if the author had really included the back stories in past/present more than she did. The character Anne is introduced, talked about, interacts maybe 3 times with the sisters- but the whole thing revolves around her, so it is very flimsy.
4. All the entanglements between characters. Twisted- yes- but maybe too obvious.

I feel it could have been very good if it wasn’t told by mainly one character, more info/clues about the mystery, and more inclusion in the story about what the heck Anne is doing!!

[Summer Bendle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. It kept me engaged and I wanted to know what was going to happen. There were several twists in the story that I didn’t see coming which made for a good read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a slow burn but gripping thriller told from the viewpoints of twins and neighbours Talia and Tabitha starting the day a new resident moves next food to Talia. Tabitha doesn’t trust the new neighbour but Talia tries to get to know her. The main elements of this story were the dynamics between the twins and in part their husbands, Tabitha was very controlling with Talia and her reaction to Talia trying to befriend the neighbour was interesting. There’s some great backstory here which turns the whole thing on its head but overall it’s a fascinating family drama.

[anzhelika ୨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 4 stars ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."

this book was so suspenseful! it's been a while since i've read a thriller and let me tell you, i was HOOKED from the very first page. the novel was filled with secrets and lies, and although i had theories on what would happen next, i wasn't right. i didn't see any of those plot twists coming and i was shocked when i found out the truth. i loved the short chapters and how well the writing flowed as the story progressed. the only thing i didn't really like was the fact that i couldn't connect to the characters, but that is probably because they are older than me and at a different life stage, so they weren't that relatable to me. but that's actually a good thing because i don't need the drama they went through. if you're looking for a fast-paced and thrilling mystery, then i highly recommend reading this! i look forward to reading more books by this author.

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley and Sally Royer-Derr for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting the twist in this one. I thought it was going one predictable direction but it went in the complete opposite.

The Secrets Next Door had all the small town vibes with just enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

The new neighbor has the whole neighborhood in a mixture of paranoia and awe, being she’s a famous mystery author. Twin sisters Talia and Tabitha do some amateur sleuthing…

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tallia and Tabatha are twin sisters Tallia is married to Zack and Tabatha is married to grant. Talya is nice and down to earth in Tabitha is mean girl nice she likes the finer things in life. Ever since the twins were little they’ve known Zack he had first was in love with Tabatha and would do her every bidding but after college he wound up marrying Tallia instead. They also own a popular bakery in town and superficial Tabatha does the baking and down to earth Tallia decorates. On the day of Tabatha‘s son Cole’s sixth birthday party the sisters get a new neighbor because oh yes they live next-door to each other. The new neighbor is AN Hadley she’s had success with a couple of books but isn’t a household name as of yet. The next day when Tabatha and Thalia go to welcome Annie to the neighborhood Talia think she’s nice and excited she’s there but when they leave Tabatha immediately lets her sister know something is up with Annie she says her husband Grant has to take business meetings in hotel rooms because there was a spy in his security firm and people are leery about going to the Wall Street office in person.Tabatha believes that is why their new neighbor is there and it’se to investigate grant. Tallia lives in between Tabatha and their new neighbor and so she is privy to some strange things that occur at the neighbors house. Despite this she still invites Annie to lunch and find she really likes her. Tabitha has always liked having her twin to herself with no interference but when someone winds up dead marks the beginning of the end and unknown to one of them this isn’t the first dead body between them.. Let me start with Stacy Gonzalez, who’s narration I really love she doesn’t change her voice just the affect of each character I really think she would be really good at cartoons, but does great at narration as well. No on to the audiobook this story in many instances didn’t past the smell test but having said that I still found that I was totally engrossed in interested in the outcome of the story. After the prologue are usually forget the prologue and just dive deep into the story and in some cases I have even skipped the prologue. In the case of this book I forgot all about it by the time I was on chapter 2 so I didn’t know what was going to happen I didn’t know how everything was going to play out and so I was definitely riveted and couldn’t wait to see how it ended and boy what an ending it certainly didn’t end the way I thought it was going to so as far as recommending this book I definitely definitely recommend it! It was a great (although eyerolling is involved) a great story I definitely want to thank Net Galley and The publisher for the free Ark please forgive any mistakes I am blind.

[Alley Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twins Talia and Tabitha live next door to each other with their husbands in the town of Little Beak, New York. They own a bakery together and their lives couldn’t be better. But one day they get a new neighbor, mystery author Anne Gravely, and questions start to surface about what’s she doing in their small town and who she really is.

This was a fun domestic thriller! A bit of a slow start, but it did pick up quite nicely and the ending was very satisfying.

This book is full of juicy tea and that’s my favorite kind of suburban domestic thriller, so I was entertained the whole time. The secrets and lies run hot and heavy in this one.

My minor complaints were I did see some major twists coming from a mile away, but honestly, that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. There were also some parts that seemed completely implausible to me.

I listened to this on audio and thought the narrator did a fantastic job.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sally Royer-Derr for this ARC in exchange for a review!

[Gary Strange · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. It had me hook line and sinker from first chapter. I really liked the characters and got to know them well easily. Pace through the book was good and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. A great read overall.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio was done really well. The prologue locks you in and makes you want to keep reading as you try to figure out what is going on with all of these characters. So many twists and turns and honestly i didn’t seen the way things unfolded coming.

It flowed, was faced paced and enjoyable. I enjoyed the dual POV of the sisters as well.
I would have loved to see some chapters or an epilogue from Anna’s POV and just to have some things explained more than we kind of got left unanswered based on her mindset of why she did certain things, but overall was an enjoyable read.

[Tara Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Beak is a small town bursting with suspense. The relationships are intense, the mystery plentiful.

This book held my attention the entire time and kept me guessing throughout. I don't think I trusted a single character in this book.

Highly recommend this book if you enjoy suspense and small town mystery. Bonus points if you like stories involving twins, mystery neighbours & small town bakeries and bookstores.

Oh and there's cupcakes! I could really go for a cupcake right now.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for early access to this novel.

[Ashley Duda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. This book had a really entertaining story. Twins, who live next door to each other. They run a bakery and are basically best friends. Until a new neighbor moves in who shakes the sister’s relationship. If you like twin mystery stories this one is a fun one. I also enjoy when authors write about a main character being an author. I always think that is entertaining. I enjoyed this thriller and recommend this book.

[tals · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 STARS ROUNDED UP

I did enjoy this book but I found the first 60ish% really slow but the last 40% was excellent, I didn’t see any of the twists coming and was fully engrossed on those last few chapters.
———————
Thank you NetGalley and StormPublishing for the opportunity to review this book.

[Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Secrets Next Door. It was written very well and kept me engaged. Although some of the storyline was predictable, I still enjoyed it. Thank you NetGally and Storm Publishing for this arc!

[mo • lesmotsdemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a quick and very enjoyable thriller. The plot is filled with some very interesting reveals and I did not see most of them coming. Part of the plot is a revenge arc and I do love a good revenge arc; this one did not disappoint me. I did not like Tabitha, one of the main characters, but Talia was an intriguing character and I liked to learn more about her. Anne was also quite mysterious and interesting. And the ending was really satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the air of mystery that surrounded the characters even at the beginning of the book. It plants you right in the midst of a very intriguing and puzzling situation. Enjoyed it. definitely a page-turner! I would recommend this for those in a reading slump. :)




Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. #TheSecretsNextDoor #NetGalley #StormPublishing #SallyRoyerDerr

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secrets Next Door by Sally Royer-Derr is a gripping and twisty psychological thriller.

Twin sisters Talia and Tabitha are close, live next door to each other, and run their own bakery. It's a slow burn of a story that unravels many good surprises and revelations about what secrets lurk within a family.

The ending was good. There were some slow parts in the book, but mostly, the story held my interest. It was a satisfying read.

I would rate this a 3.5 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars.

#TheSecretsNextDoor #NetGalley @Stormbooks_co

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was quite a read ! I loved the 1st person POV throughout. And the twists left me so shocked !! I really loved how it ended for everyone though.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Cláudia Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to describe this book in one sentence it would be: "I could not put it down"!!!!

WOW!! WHAT WAS THIS? I loved this book! Binged it in only one day! I'm so happy because I finally found my first 5-star read of the year!
I didn't know this author but now I want to read more books of hers! I was addicted to the story right from the beginning of it. It was impossible to put it down! The writing was so captivating and bewitching.
I loved the story, this is how you write a mystery/thriller. It was full of plot twists and surprises (I could predict none of them!!). I was totally in shock as I was finishing the book! The final part caught my attention even more and it was SO GOOD! I loved the final three moments: when they discovered what was happening; the confrontation and 2 years after justice was done.

I highly recommend you read this book! My first 5-star read of the year! Thank you !!!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me turning the pages right from the start. Twin sisters - Tabitha and talia- who are both married, live next door to each other in a small town. A new neighbour moves in, what is she hiding. She’s very mysterious…. This book had me hooked from the start. The writing style makes it easy to read and I enjoyed the first person point of view. I didn’t see the twist coming, that was very clever. I didn’t really like the characters at the beginning but Talia really grew on me. I liked the greys anatomy reference and I got desperate housewives vibes in places. give this book four stars.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me the ebook version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Heather Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeSelect for the book #TheSecretsNextDoor by #SallyRoyerDerr. This book is incredible brim the betrayal, murder and revenge. I love the way the story played out and the incredible plot twist. Highly recommend.

[Kim Scarlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Tropes:
Twin Sisters
Supernatural
Betrayal
Mental Health
Web Of Lies

✨ Let me give you a glimpse of the characters and plot: Talia Conner and her twin sister, Tabitha, have been the closest of friends since childhood, practically inseparable. But their world is about to get turned upside down with the arrival of Anne, a mysterious new neighbor who happens to be a famous thriller writer.

✨ My thoughts about it: Whoa! This story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and it moved way quicker than I imagined. The bond between Talia and Tabitha really struck a chord with me; their closeness was palpable. But you know, sometimes there's a fine line between being close and being a little too attached. And that twist? Completely caught me off guard! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story took a sharp turn in a direction I never saw coming. I found myself wanting more, even though it didn't end with a cliffhanger. It's the kind of book that could easily be longer and still keep me hooked till the very end.

✨ If you're looking for a thrilling, fast-paced mystery with a jaw-dropping plot twist, this book is right up your alley!

✨ A huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for letting me read this beautiful ARC.

[Márcia Brilhante · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secrets Next Door is a domestic thriller about two sisters that live next to each other and one day a mysterious woman, an author, moves into the house next to one of them and brings a lot of mystery and secrets with her. We follow the unravel of the secrets of the stranger, but also of the sisters themselves.

We have a dual POV and there’s a lot of description throughout the story and the character development was done nicely. The pace was perfect, and the final twist was unexpected. It’s a story full of secrets and a tale of revenge full of tension that start building up since the start.

Overall, it was a roller-coaster of twists and turns with some shocking reveals and a bit of drama. With all the tension building I start wondering who was hiding what and what really happens behind closed doors. It was a game where everyone was trying to keep their secrets locked away. In the end everything was perfectly tied, and I really enjoy it.

Thank you, Storm Publishing and NetGalley, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.