Welcome to the Neighbourhood

by Jane Fallon

Kitty thought moving to London would spice up her life. Unfortunately, she ended up on Ashdown Close, where the hottest topic of gossip is a missed bin collection.

That was before the arrival of Sian and Rich at number 8. They are cool and glamorous, and Kitty is perfectly willing to be dazzled by their company.

But when she spots a mysterious woman furtively leaving their house, she realises they might not be the magnetic couple she thought. Aided and abetted by best friend Grace, Kitty feels she needs to investigate.

Do Sian and Richard really have something to hide, or are Kitty and Grace just being nosy neighbours?

And if they are, perhaps they are not the only ones.

Because on this street’s nobody’s business might just turn out to be everybody’s business ...

Genres: Audiobook, Humor

417 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 15, 2026

About the author

Jane Fallon is an English producer and novelist, most famous for her work on popular series Teachers, 20 Things To Do Before You're 30, Eastenders and This Life. She is author of ten novels on the Sunday Times Bestseller List — Getting Rid of Matthew, Got You Back, Foursome, The Ugly Sister, Skeletons, Strictly Between Us, My Sweet Revenge, Faking Friends, Tell Me A Secret, and Queen Bee. In 2011, Foursome was nominated for the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy Fiction, and in 2018, Faking Friends was nominated in the popular fiction category of the National Book Awards and in 2019 was long listed for the Comedy Women In Print prize.

Fallon has been in a relationship with popular comedian Ricky Gervais since 1982, after they met while studying together at the University College London. The couple has lived together since 1984 and are based in North London.

Reviews

[Gemma Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always fantastic Jane Fallon, no one writes female revenge like her. Auto buy author for me.

[Keeley Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Fallon got me back into reading with ‘Oversharing’, a book which I would re-read. So it’s with a heavy heart that I must say I did not enjoy this book. It is a very long book for story with irritating characters and underwhelming arcs.
The ending is the best part when we hear the voice of Sian, written in a similar fashion to that of Oversharing. Although Sian is perceived as the villain who all of the other characters conspire against to get ‘revenge’ this ultimately seems a bit overkill considering their own actions throughout the book. The lack of responsibility Kitty takes for her part in the story and Lottie’s wet approach to life just dampened the ending.
The flow of the story was also confusing with changes of location, time or days within the same paragraph with no clear divide. This may be more the publishers choice.
It’s ok for a quick beach read but wouldn’t recommend for anything more.

[Nicola W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read and adored lots of Jane Fallon books I had high hopes for this book but it really didn’t hit the spot for me unfortunately.

Right from the off I struggled to care about any of the characters. The name Kitty grated on me from page 2 and don’t even get me started on the names of Sian’s supposedly cool friends.

The main characters are supposed to be in their mid 40s but they behave like school children, obsessing over “finding evidence” and catching people out. Kitty and Grace are far too invested in other people’s lives for it to be realistic. I’d honestly had enough by page 100 but I can never leave a book unfinished so I speed read the rest.

Worst bit was the ending where there’s wooping and patting each other on the back saying “you were amazing” after humiliating Sian. The punishment definitely didn’t fit the crime considering the age group of these people. It was school playground behaviour. Don’t even get me started on Kitty seemingly getting away with sleeping with Lotties husband and them still being friends at the end. It was all just a bit cringe. (I’m cringing now remembering it).

Seems like lots of people loved the book so maybe I missed something. There were no shocking twists for me as I called them all. Maybe it’s that? I won’t let this put me off this author completely and I will undoubtedly pick up another Jane Fallon book in the future but for me this one was 2 stars.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and quirky novel. I liked all the characters and the way the story unraveled. Wasn’t sure where it was going in the end but the ending was resolved nicely. Grace was one of my faves! I read this in a day because the writing is just so easy to demolish. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Fallon’s books are normally quick and enjoyable reads with interesting characters so I was pleased to get hold of a copy of her latest.
Kitty moves into Ashdown Close after walking out on her longtime relationship with Geth. However her new life in London does not go as planned and she feels isolated and lonely, her only friend being Grace, who drives her mad most of the time.
When she starts to become friendly with her next door neighbours Sian and Rich, things start to look up and Kitty gradually becomes closer to Sian. However when she sees something she shouldn’t and eventually comes clean with Sian about what she has seen things become complicated and she is drawn into a situation that can only end in tears.
Although the premise of the story was good and it was an easy read, I just did not warm to any of the characters. Some of the interactions between the main protagonists did not ring true and even Kitty the person who is at the centre of the plot is annoying, particularly in her dealings with others. I’m surprised Grace is still speaking to her by the end of the book. And as for Lottie, she is obviously a very forgiving sort of person.
I found the ending itself rather trite although it did tie up most of the loose ends. All in all it was an okay read but I preferred some of the authors other books which I recommend you read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

[Natalie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A speedy entertaining read.

Fallon’s writing is always good and this book is no different. The change for me is the characters - they weren’t all likeable and some still hadn’t grown on me by the end. I think the blurb gave away too much and it is fairly clear what’s going to happen. The twists are unforeseen, but the main disaster was a given.

Loved the gossipy, neighbourhood drama but thought both Grace and Lotte were far too forgiving (absolute saints).

Love the author, love her books and she will always be on my TBR List.

[Alyce King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listening to this!

[Beckee❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

witty...gritty...and downright dirty...think Mean Girls combined with Sex and The City!

[Lisa Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been 4 stars but the main character is just so very unlikeable for the majority of the book. I couldn’t root for Kitty, her treatment of Grace was too mean.

[Terry Mooney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tedious and Unsatisfying

I have enjoyed all of Jane Fallon's books and I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, however, it was very disappointing. The story was preposterous, the characters unlikable and it was so tedious that I couldn't wait to finish it. I hoped it would pick up and that something would happen but nothing much did.

[EmmaReadsCrime · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

Kitty breaks up with her long-term partner, gets a new job, and moves to London. However, she is not leading the exciting life she thought she would. She lives in a boring neighbourhood. Then one day, the cool and glamorous Rich and Sian move in next door…

I love Jane Fallon — I find her books to be the perfect palate cleansers! They’re rom-coms, but they’re written in a thriller-like format and are very addictive and moreish.

This started off slow and predictable, and I really wasn’t fond of the main character, Kitty. However, the second half of the story was so much better.

Kitty had some great character development, and there were some fantastic twists towards the end. Obviously no spoilers, but I really liked how the book ended too.

Nearly a four-star read for me, but not quite!

[Helena Wildsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh I do love a Jane Fallon book! I must admit that I expected this to have more plot twists than it did but I still greatly enjoyed it. Grace deserves her own book now!

[Joebella P Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Fallon is an auto buy author for me, I’ve loved reading her books for years and so I was beyond excited when @michaeljbooks messaged to ask if I’d like this advanced copy. Her books are always such fun reads, they’re entertaining and quite often involve brilliant revenge plans.

Kitty has upturned her life and has moved to London looking for adventure. Although things haven’t been overly exciting in Ashdown close. Sian and Rich move in next door and Kitty is instantly drawn to them and their glamorous lifestyle. However, one day sees a woman sneaking out of their house from the back whilst Sian is out. Is there more going on with this couple than meets the eye? Are they not so perfect after all?

This one was a little slower to get going compared to previous hooks. However it did really pick up pace about a third of the way in.

I really liked the characters in this book, particularly Grace. At time I did feel Kitty was a little unlikeable in how she treated Grace, but Grace was always there for her and was such a good friend to Kitty. This theme of friendship is thread through the story and a key part of the book.

I loved all the neighbours, and seeing the snippets from neighbourhood WhatsApp, it was all very relatable. It also raises that question of how well do we really know who is living next to us, and should we get involved in other people’s business.

I couldn’t actually work out how this was going to end, there were several surprises along the way that kept me wondering. I really liked the way it wrapped up the story overall.

This is an easy, fun read, about neighbourhood gossip, drama and at the heart of it all, friendship.

[Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a bit of a drag, with unlikeable main characters , and a unrealistic plot. Humerous in places though

[Tanya Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun, easy to read, lots of twists and turns to keep you hooked

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters in this “ soap opera” book. A good easy read for the holidays.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very soap opera, very predictable and at times preposterous. Sian's sudden flip from likeable character to EastEnders final boss didn't work for me, nor did Kitty's stupidly malleable moral compass.

[Lauren Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just took so long to get going and although the twist was good, it just felt slightly unhinged

[Abbie Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

*ARC read*

This was such a fun book! I love everything Jane writes and this was no exception.

This was a well-paced, intriguing story, I really liked all of the characters, and appreciated how rational they seemed to be. All of the twists felt well supported and like they made sense.

It would have been easy for this to tip into something much darker or much more frivolous, but it struck a happy medium and it worked.

[Lynne Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐
I'll start with the positive I found this quite humourous in places however, the main character Kitty was vile she spoke about and treated her friend terribly.
Storyline was a tad far-fetched and long -winded but still an easy read.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt like slapstick rom-com, which can be silly and fun when you’re in the mood or really enjoy this kind of thing. Personally, I don’t mind it from time to time. It was easy to read with colourful, if not entirely believable, characters and a storyline (also lacking realism) that kept me interested enough.

[EG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, convoluted story with great characters and clever twists. I could tell early on that all was not what it seemed, but it took me a while to put all the pieces together.

[Emily Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.25***
Enjoyable twisty story with complex characters who were basically very human. Funny and witty- nice easy read.

[Michelle Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read and good story I love Jane Fallon’s books and this one didn’t disappoint.

[Rebecca]

Not for me. Didn't like any of the characters and couldn't care enough about the plot to get to the end.

[Kelly Mace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 2.5 stars ideally. there were some interesting parts to it but the story wasn't very plausible and I didn't warm to any of the characters. on the whole it was a bit of a slog to get through.

[Carole Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

So easy to read as always. Loved it 🥰

[Alex Lily Curtis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

[Cath · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Read for book club! Took longer that it should have!

[Dianne Kavanagh · Rating 2 out of 5]

love all her books but disappointed with this one