What do you think?
Rate this book
Living the Dream
*** M.J. Hardy is an exciting new voice in the psychological thriller genre ***
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have it all?
Four couples live a charmed life behind the security gates of an exclusive development. To everyone else, they have a dream life. Beautiful homes, designer clothes and more money than sense.
Behind closed doors, the story is very different.
Beauty is skin deep and when you scratch the surface the blood runs cold. Betrayal, dishonesty and lies are about to blow their worlds apart and not everyone will survive.
Who is telling the truth and who is hiding a secret they would do anything to protect?
Money doesn’t buy happiness; it buys a more expensive kind of trouble.
When your friends are your enemies in disguise, expect things to get ugly.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have it all?
Four couples live a charmed life behind the security gates of an exclusive development. To everyone else, they have a dream life. Beautiful homes, designer clothes and more money than sense.
Behind closed doors, the story is very different.
Beauty is skin deep and when you scratch the surface the blood runs cold. Betrayal, dishonesty and lies are about to blow their worlds apart and not everyone will survive.
Who is telling the truth and who is hiding a secret they would do anything to protect?
Money doesn’t buy happiness; it buys a more expensive kind of trouble.
When your friends are your enemies in disguise, expect things to get ugly.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 25, 2019
963 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Hardy
8 books62 followersPseudonym for author S.J. Crabb.
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
July 19, 2023
completely surprised!
What a great story, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the four main characters and could identify with some of the troubles they faced. A trip to the local fortune teller gets it all started.
I don’t want to give any spoilers out so you just have to read it for yourself. I never saw the events coming that turned their world upside down.
I highly recommend this book.
What a great story, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the four main characters and could identify with some of the troubles they faced. A trip to the local fortune teller gets it all started.
I don’t want to give any spoilers out so you just have to read it for yourself. I never saw the events coming that turned their world upside down.
I highly recommend this book.
August 7, 2021
Okay Plot
The story was somewhat entertaining, but the punctuation and misspelled words were so distracting. I don’t know how this made it to press with the mistakes. I had to reread sentences due to lack of punctuation or punctuation in the wrong place. It was annoying.
The story was somewhat entertaining, but the punctuation and misspelled words were so distracting. I don’t know how this made it to press with the mistakes. I had to reread sentences due to lack of punctuation or punctuation in the wrong place. It was annoying.
April 20, 2024
Fast paced read
This book kept me reading from the first page. I enjoyed getting to know the women and their special bond. But it was the mystery that kept me going. The ending is awesome.
This book kept me reading from the first page. I enjoyed getting to know the women and their special bond. But it was the mystery that kept me going. The ending is awesome.
February 11, 2020
Another excellent read from this author. Fantastic plot and good ending. Only criticism would be the speed with which the some of the characters changed their feeling frequently.
July 25, 2023
This book was ridiculous. The characters were obnoxious, entitled, and flat. There were also many errors in the book.
June 28, 2023
Wow! Just Wow!
This is a fantastic book! I loved it so much! I loved all the characters, with lots if action and it all came together at the end!! A very amazing author!!
This is a fantastic book! I loved it so much! I loved all the characters, with lots if action and it all came together at the end!! A very amazing author!!
January 19, 2025
I seldom find a book that I have a hard time putting down, not simply due to the story itself, but more that I have other things that need to get done. In the final 10 chapters, it was extremely difficult to put this one down. In fact, there were pages on which I had to cover all of the lines under the one I was reading in order to keep my eager eyes from jumping over important sections. The storyline was definitely something different for me, so that alone was refreshing. The women characters were well-described as they each have their own section of the book, although it was a little difficult at times for me to keep track of who was who, who was married to whom, and what occupations they all had. When there are several main characters, I always appreciate a small section at one end of the book that, at a quick glance, gives a small synopsis of each person to keep me on track. As others have mentioned, yes, there are editing mistakes, but nothing I couldn't overlook or that was overly-distracting to me.
This was my first read by this author, and I look forward to the next one!
This was my first read by this author, and I look forward to the next one!
August 12, 2023
Meh - Too "Perfect"
The first few paragraphs were intriguing. But, as I continued to read, I increasingly thought, "This is all so contrived." First, it reads as if the 4 women back-bite each other and are false friends. Next thing you know, they're this super duper sisters for life kind of gang. Their stories continue to intertwine, but as things are revealed, the amount of everyone loving, understanding and forgiving is so preposterous. Yes, fiction should be enjoyable - not a replication of real life. But, come on. Felt like a very poor Harlan Cobenn imitatation.
The first few paragraphs were intriguing. But, as I continued to read, I increasingly thought, "This is all so contrived." First, it reads as if the 4 women back-bite each other and are false friends. Next thing you know, they're this super duper sisters for life kind of gang. Their stories continue to intertwine, but as things are revealed, the amount of everyone loving, understanding and forgiving is so preposterous. Yes, fiction should be enjoyable - not a replication of real life. But, come on. Felt like a very poor Harlan Cobenn imitatation.
December 28, 2023
Four women, living in the same gated community, are out on the town when they decide to visit a fortune teller who says things that makes each women pause. She must be wrong because each woman is living the dream and are happy-ish. When the backstabbing and lies finally begin to show and someone is found murdered, each woman is finally forced to take a deep, hard look at the lives they have been living. This was a highly addictive read about some very dysfunctional couples that prove money cannot buy you happiness and stay away from fortune tellers!
July 19, 2023
4.5 *'s
I bought this when it was a kindle freebie and am so glad I did as I really enjoyed the book. I found it hard to put down as it had so many twists and turns and an ending that you would never be able to predict.
The only criticism I have and hence why it gets 4.5 stars, is that I lost track of who was married to who as their names were all very similar, Anthony, Anton, Arabella etc.
I bought this when it was a kindle freebie and am so glad I did as I really enjoyed the book. I found it hard to put down as it had so many twists and turns and an ending that you would never be able to predict.
The only criticism I have and hence why it gets 4.5 stars, is that I lost track of who was married to who as their names were all very similar, Anthony, Anton, Arabella etc.
April 1, 2023
Four lives living the Dream—so they think? They each are envious of something the others have? Crazy how it goes, but isn’t always true, the grass is greener over there. They really have trouble realizing what they have individually. They are all friends living in a cul-dis-sac near London. Pity how they destroy it all. 4.6
July 27, 2023
Enthralling story.
Four pairs of neighbours, each one seemingly "Living the dream". A visit to a clairvoyant leaves the four women shaken and scared. I liked the interactions between the eight friends. The dramatic events which unfolded , were unexpected, with twists which caused the emotional pressure cooker to boil over.
Four pairs of neighbours, each one seemingly "Living the dream". A visit to a clairvoyant leaves the four women shaken and scared. I liked the interactions between the eight friends. The dramatic events which unfolded , were unexpected, with twists which caused the emotional pressure cooker to boil over.
February 21, 2024
This is one of those books I really wanted to like. The premise was interesting (in a summer read kind of way). The characters were a bit flat. The twists weren't that twisty. Overall, it would have been a 3 or 4 star, except it was difficult to read with the apparent lack of editing. It also annoyed me because apparently bisexual people don't exist.
October 7, 2020
This book was very very good up until the very ending. I hate books which wrap up too well and leave every character who isn't basically the devil in human form happy and blissful. It annoyed me so much I gave it 3 stars.
November 9, 2020
Another brilliant read it is not often that you score a hat trick with one Author but M J Hardy has done this for me, I started this book late yesterday afternoon, woke up at 3.00 this morning and carried on,
Such twists to her stories that keep you wanted to find out what happens next.
Such twists to her stories that keep you wanted to find out what happens next.
August 8, 2021
Shocking
This book had so many things that it's hard to explain! I literally read it in one afternoon! Definitely worth your time! Now, I'm off to read Behind The Pink Door! Can't WAIT!!
This book had so many things that it's hard to explain! I literally read it in one afternoon! Definitely worth your time! Now, I'm off to read Behind The Pink Door! Can't WAIT!!
September 2, 2021
Oh the tangled webs. Does everyone have a secret? Or two or three? Even the closest of friends? That's what this book is about. Four close women who, throughout the book, find their friendships tested through secrets that are very much hidden. It was well written and a very quick read.
September 4, 2022
I cannot not stop reading books by MJ Hardy - so twisty and keep you guessing til the end. This one deals with 4 couples who live in an exclusive estate - they all have secrets and after a fortune teller predicts ominous thing to come, it all comes to pass. Amazing!
June 29, 2023
It had my interest at the first page
I couldn’t put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed how each character was intertwined with all of the others but managed to stand on their own. Each character carried their own secret and the end was fitting.
I couldn’t put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed how each character was intertwined with all of the others but managed to stand on their own. Each character carried their own secret and the end was fitting.
March 4, 2024
DNF at 14%. The gushy OTT writing style just did not gel with me. There was probably plot that happened after that point but the seemingly unending breathless descriptions of how perfect everyone and everything was had turned me off by chapter 2.
June 11, 2024
Mercifully short
Can't remember downloading this ! ! Not my kind if book.
However I found it entertaining in a weird way, impossible characters, not really any plot.
Wouldn't read any more by this writer.
Can't remember downloading this ! ! Not my kind if book.
However I found it entertaining in a weird way, impossible characters, not really any plot.
Wouldn't read any more by this writer.
August 4, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I like a story told from different perspectives. The women's lives looked on the surface as if they were all living the dream but as the book unfolds the secrets come out. The twist and turns made me want to know what would happen next.
October 10, 2024
This didn’t feel like a psychological thriller to me. It was more like women’s literature. There were a lot of characters and at times I was getting confused. Overall an entertaining plot but nothing special.
February 16, 2022
Kept me entertained enough to want to finish it. Would never claim its an amazing piece of literature but it's definitely not the worst thing I've ever read!
October 9, 2022
I got to page 83 and just couldn’t finish as it wasn’t keeping my interest.
June 27, 2023
Loads of twists and turns
I enjoyed this book and read through it quickly as I wanted to know how it ended. There were quite a few twists and turns and surprises
I enjoyed this book and read through it quickly as I wanted to know how it ended. There were quite a few twists and turns and surprises
July 2, 2023
great read
Enjoyed the book, hard to put down, great story and didn't expect the ending.
Would recommend. Still have more words to use!
Enjoyed the book, hard to put down, great story and didn't expect the ending.
Would recommend. Still have more words to use!
July 5, 2023
Fun read
So many twists and turns. Amazing way everything was revealed. These people were more complex than I first thought. Really a good read.
So many twists and turns. Amazing way everything was revealed. These people were more complex than I first thought. Really a good read.
July 16, 2023
excited and will keep you thinking
I loved the idea of the suspense. It was a book that held my interest and I couldn’t put it down.
I loved the idea of the suspense. It was a book that held my interest and I couldn’t put it down.
July 17, 2023
Couldn’t put this book down!
Excellent book with many surprising twists! Highly recommend it. I liked the way each main character told her part of the story.
Excellent book with many surprising twists! Highly recommend it. I liked the way each main character told her part of the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews