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The Pool Next Door
Last summer, a little girl drowned in the pool next door. Now her mother wants to be my friend.
Erin moves to a quiet street hoping for a fresh start for herself and her son, away from her abusive husband.
Instead, she finds Rebecca, charming, watchful, and still living in the shadow of her daughter’s death.
At first, Erin is grateful for the attention. Rebecca understands things other people don’t. She makes Erin feel seen.
But something about the street feels off.
The neighbours go quiet when Erin asks questions. Rebecca keeps turning up when she least expects her. And the longer Erin stays, the clearer it becomes that the drowning next door was only the beginning.
Because trusting the wrong neighbour can be deadly...
Erin moves to a quiet street hoping for a fresh start for herself and her son, away from her abusive husband.
Instead, she finds Rebecca, charming, watchful, and still living in the shadow of her daughter’s death.
At first, Erin is grateful for the attention. Rebecca understands things other people don’t. She makes Erin feel seen.
But something about the street feels off.
The neighbours go quiet when Erin asks questions. Rebecca keeps turning up when she least expects her. And the longer Erin stays, the clearer it becomes that the drowning next door was only the beginning.
Because trusting the wrong neighbour can be deadly...
- GenresMystery Thriller
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2026
About the author
Harriet Warren
7 books31 followersHarriet is a British author, digital artist, and creative storyteller who writes emotionally charged psychological thrillers exploring trauma, truth, and the quiet battles people fight behind closed doors. Her work blends raw human emotion with suspenseful storytelling, focusing on characters who survive what they were never meant to.
Alongside writing, Harriet works professionally in the design field as a digital artist and creative consultant, bringing stories to life through both words and visuals. She also creates children’s books, illustrations, and creative projects across multiple platforms.
Harriet lives with her husband and two children, drawing inspiration from everyday moments, deep conversations, and the resilience of the human spirit. The Silence We Keep marks the beginning of her debut thriller series.
She believes stories can heal, disrupt, and wake us up and she hopes hers stay with you long after the final page.
Alongside writing, Harriet works professionally in the design field as a digital artist and creative consultant, bringing stories to life through both words and visuals. She also creates children’s books, illustrations, and creative projects across multiple platforms.
Harriet lives with her husband and two children, drawing inspiration from everyday moments, deep conversations, and the resilience of the human spirit. The Silence We Keep marks the beginning of her debut thriller series.
She believes stories can heal, disrupt, and wake us up and she hopes hers stay with you long after the final page.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 9, 2026
Erin and her son Leo move to a new house for a fresh start . Erin’s husband Matthew has been abusive for years, making Erin question everything about herself. She will do anything for Leo, who deserves a quiet home.
Mother and son settle in and meet their quiet neighbor, Rebecca. Her daughter was killed in an accident in the family pool, and Rebecca and Erin become fast friends. Rebecca bonds with Leo, and Erin loves talking with her new friend in the garden.
Things seem fine, but something is shifting just below the surface. Can the new friends help each other heal, or will things take an unexpected turn?
A solid story, but the dialogue felt choppy . Every feeling that the characters had was over explained, thus less impactful. The ending was good, and tied up the story well.
Thank you to the author, who kindly sent me an ARC.
Mother and son settle in and meet their quiet neighbor, Rebecca. Her daughter was killed in an accident in the family pool, and Rebecca and Erin become fast friends. Rebecca bonds with Leo, and Erin loves talking with her new friend in the garden.
Things seem fine, but something is shifting just below the surface. Can the new friends help each other heal, or will things take an unexpected turn?
A solid story, but the dialogue felt choppy . Every feeling that the characters had was over explained, thus less impactful. The ending was good, and tied up the story well.
Thank you to the author, who kindly sent me an ARC.
April 9, 2026
5⭐️👏🏻 I had the privilege of early reading this for my sweet friend and Author!!! AND LET ME TELL YOU!!!!! This book will grip u by the throat from the very beginning and have you on the edge of your seat the whole entire book!!! THE ENDING!!!!! Did not see that coming!!!! I flew through this book in one day!!! It was so dang good!! Add this to your tbr now if you love a good psychological thriller!!!!!!!! Harriet I am so proud of you girl!!!! This book is absolutely amazing just like all your others!! Thank you for taking me on this journey with you 🖤
June 12, 2026
an interesting read
It was interesting and diabolical . The characters were well defined . It keeps you interested wanting to find out more details of the next door neighbor and the horrific accident with her daughter and trying to fill in the pieces . Leo was intuitive and also had insight that isn’t always typical of an 8 yr old and the intuition of an adult .
The ending was a surprise .
It was interesting and diabolical . The characters were well defined . It keeps you interested wanting to find out more details of the next door neighbor and the horrific accident with her daughter and trying to fill in the pieces . Leo was intuitive and also had insight that isn’t always typical of an 8 yr old and the intuition of an adult .
The ending was a surprise .
June 5, 2026
Yet another great book by Harriet!! I loved the relationships and how you were always wondering what would happen next. I truly loved how the main character did whatever she needed to keep her son safe. The ending was perfect!
June 7, 2026
Great start!
The plot was great and the ending was justified but the over explanation of every feeling and situation was overdone. I see real potential in this author and can’t wait for the next story.
The plot was great and the ending was justified but the over explanation of every feeling and situation was overdone. I see real potential in this author and can’t wait for the next story.
June 9, 2026
Really enjoyed this book. Complete change of pace for me, really lovely written had moments of 'what the....' brilliant kept me wanting to read me will definitely be reading more books from Harriet going forward.
Definitely recommend.
Definitely recommend.
July 31, 2026
This book keeps you interested from start to finish. The ending was definitely a surprise! I didn't want to put this book down. Will be looking for more from this author.
June 4, 2026
Loved it! Another great book. I absolutely love how I’m reading minding my own business and then bam out of nowhere I’m hit with a twist. She never fails to bring a surprise when you are least expecting it. You absolutely must read this one.
Review of advance copy
Review of advance copy received from AuthorStack
I picked up The Pool Next Door expecting a suspenseful domestic thriller, but what surprised me most was how emotionally grounded it felt underneath all of the tension and unease. This ended up being a really strong four-star read for me.
The story follows Erin, who moves with her son to a quiet neighborhood while trying to rebuild her life after leaving an abusive marriage. Next door is Rebecca, a woman still grieving the tragic drowning of her young daughter the previous summer. What begins as an unexpected friendship slowly becomes more unsettling as Erin starts noticing that something about the neighborhood, and Rebecca herself, doesn’t quite add up.
This book really hooked me around the halfway point and became increasingly difficult to put down after that. The atmosphere grows heavier and more claustrophobic with every chapter, and I genuinely found myself second-guessing everyone and everything alongside Erin.
What stood out to me most, though, was the way Harriet Warren writes about grief, fear, and the emotional confusion that follows trauma. There were multiple lines throughout the novel that stopped me in my tracks because of how honest they felt. One quote that especially resonated with me was: “I hated more that grief and relief could sit so close together in the body that sometimes they felt almost identical.” That emotional complexity carries throughout the entire story.
As someone who has published qualitative research related to grief in widows and children, I really appreciated how accurately the novel captured the way loss affects both adults and children differently. Some of the strongest moments in the book came from Erin trying to protect her son while also realizing that children often understand far more than adults want to believe.
And while I won’t spoil anything, I will say the final portion of this book completely pulled the rug out from under me in the best way. I thought I knew where things were heading, and I absolutely did not.
Overall, this here is an emotionally layered psychological thriller that balances suspense with surprisingly thoughtful reflections on grief, motherhood, trust, and survival. Definitely worth picking up if you enjoy slow-building tension with strong emotional depth.
Thank you to AuthorStack and author Harriet Warren for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I picked up The Pool Next Door expecting a suspenseful domestic thriller, but what surprised me most was how emotionally grounded it felt underneath all of the tension and unease. This ended up being a really strong four-star read for me.
The story follows Erin, who moves with her son to a quiet neighborhood while trying to rebuild her life after leaving an abusive marriage. Next door is Rebecca, a woman still grieving the tragic drowning of her young daughter the previous summer. What begins as an unexpected friendship slowly becomes more unsettling as Erin starts noticing that something about the neighborhood, and Rebecca herself, doesn’t quite add up.
This book really hooked me around the halfway point and became increasingly difficult to put down after that. The atmosphere grows heavier and more claustrophobic with every chapter, and I genuinely found myself second-guessing everyone and everything alongside Erin.
What stood out to me most, though, was the way Harriet Warren writes about grief, fear, and the emotional confusion that follows trauma. There were multiple lines throughout the novel that stopped me in my tracks because of how honest they felt. One quote that especially resonated with me was: “I hated more that grief and relief could sit so close together in the body that sometimes they felt almost identical.” That emotional complexity carries throughout the entire story.
As someone who has published qualitative research related to grief in widows and children, I really appreciated how accurately the novel captured the way loss affects both adults and children differently. Some of the strongest moments in the book came from Erin trying to protect her son while also realizing that children often understand far more than adults want to believe.
And while I won’t spoil anything, I will say the final portion of this book completely pulled the rug out from under me in the best way. I thought I knew where things were heading, and I absolutely did not.
Overall, this here is an emotionally layered psychological thriller that balances suspense with surprisingly thoughtful reflections on grief, motherhood, trust, and survival. Definitely worth picking up if you enjoy slow-building tension with strong emotional depth.
Thank you to AuthorStack and author Harriet Warren for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy
I received an ARC of this from AuthorStack.
This was a solid story - not exceptional but also not a bad read. The plot and premise was promising, very much in the same vein as Lucy Foley, Alice Feeney, Ally Condie, etc… but unfortunately not as well executed. The writing was clunky, repetitive and juvenile at times; there were sentences and passages that required you to reread two or three times to make sense of it, and some sentences felt forced in and not part of the conversation or narrative happening at the moment. I had a bit of a tough time staying invested in this book, but overall it was a solid read and I’d pick up another book by this author.
This was a solid story - not exceptional but also not a bad read. The plot and premise was promising, very much in the same vein as Lucy Foley, Alice Feeney, Ally Condie, etc… but unfortunately not as well executed. The writing was clunky, repetitive and juvenile at times; there were sentences and passages that required you to reread two or three times to make sense of it, and some sentences felt forced in and not part of the conversation or narrative happening at the moment. I had a bit of a tough time staying invested in this book, but overall it was a solid read and I’d pick up another book by this author.
August 3, 2026
Their was a chapter, in The Pool Next Door when Erin’s standing by the empty pool at night and she hears...no.... feels that splash that wasn’t real? Yeah. That’s the moment the book got under my skin and didn’t leave.
Harriet Warren doesn’t just write psychological tension, she writes bodily tension. You know that tightness in your chest when you’re walking past a dark window and you know something’s watching, even if nothing’s there? That’s this book.
I finished this at 2 a.m., heart pounding. If you like your thrillers with teeth, and a side of “why am I like this?” then this one’s for you.
Harriet Warren doesn’t just write psychological tension, she writes bodily tension. You know that tightness in your chest when you’re walking past a dark window and you know something’s watching, even if nothing’s there? That’s this book.
I finished this at 2 a.m., heart pounding. If you like your thrillers with teeth, and a side of “why am I like this?” then this one’s for you.
July 11, 2026
3.25
The storyline in the first fifty percent was so ominously compelling to the point where I was getting nervous at the mere idea of a pool lol, but unfortunately after that, the repetitive writing style started to REALLY stand out and the twist became a regrettably basic one. Even though that’s the case, I’d still recommend reading this independently published story if the description entices you, for I had a fun time flipping through the pages x
The storyline in the first fifty percent was so ominously compelling to the point where I was getting nervous at the mere idea of a pool lol, but unfortunately after that, the repetitive writing style started to REALLY stand out and the twist became a regrettably basic one. Even though that’s the case, I’d still recommend reading this independently published story if the description entices you, for I had a fun time flipping through the pages x
Review of advance copy
This book has many twists and will definitely keep you interested in finishing it. The characters are believable and definitely keep you wondering what will happen next. I only wish there was a bit more depth to the ending.
July 30, 2026
A psychological thriller based on Erin starting a new life for herself and her son, what is she running from?
Rebecca is her new neighbour who cannot do enough to help, but she has secrets.
This was an ARC.
Rebecca is her new neighbour who cannot do enough to help, but she has secrets.
This was an ARC.
July 7, 2026
I enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing and I liked the twists at the end. However, it was repetitive and slow for a bit in the middle.
Review of advance copy
This is the second book I have read by Harriett Warren and it definitely did not disappoint! It sneaks up slowly with feelings of unease, not really knowing why. Then you are blindsided by things you never expected!
Erin moves with her son to a quiet street, hoping for a fresh start. She left behind a controlling, psychologically abusive marriage. She hopes he will never find her. She meets her neighbor, Rebecca, whose daughter drowned in their pool a few years ago. Erin and Rebecca strike up a friendship quickly. Erin feels she has found someone she can trust. She is calm and level headed and always knows the perfect thing to say. But, things are not always the way they seem.
This book will grip you and keep you reading, with so many things I did not see coming! I loved this book!
Erin moves with her son to a quiet street, hoping for a fresh start. She left behind a controlling, psychologically abusive marriage. She hopes he will never find her. She meets her neighbor, Rebecca, whose daughter drowned in their pool a few years ago. Erin and Rebecca strike up a friendship quickly. Erin feels she has found someone she can trust. She is calm and level headed and always knows the perfect thing to say. But, things are not always the way they seem.
This book will grip you and keep you reading, with so many things I did not see coming! I loved this book!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews