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Behind The Pretty Pink Door

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What’s going on behind the pretty pink door?
Can something so pretty hide a dreadful truth?

Esme and Lucas thought they had moved up in the world.
They bought an impressive new house on a desirable development but do they fit in?

Nancy and Adrian moved to escape a secret they appear to have packed and brought with them.
What will the neighbours think if they discover what it is?

Jasmine and Liam appear to have it all. Their neighbours want what they have but did they go a step too far to achieve it?

Then there's Keith and Sandra Wickham who everyone wishes hadn't moved there at all.

They all have one thing in common and it's not the street they moved into.
It's their fascination for what goes on behind the pretty pink door.

Who lives there and what secrets does it hide?

Secrets have a habit of coming out and none of theirs are safe.
What happens when the pretty pink door opens and lets them all inside?

Sometimes it’s easier to turn a blind eye than to face the consequences but true evil is found in the ones who look away and do nothing.

From the author of the bestselling book, The Girl on Gander Green Lane.
How well do you really know your neighbours?

204 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2020

1123 people are currently reading
510 people want to read

About the author

M.J. Hardy

8 books62 followers
Pseudonym for author S.J. Crabb.


Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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5 stars
361 (33%)
4 stars
330 (30%)
3 stars
248 (22%)
2 stars
103 (9%)
1 star
37 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
Profile Image for Bren fall in love with the sea..
1,960 reviews478 followers
September 29, 2020
Secrets have a habit of coming out and none of theirs are safe,

what happens when the pretty pink door opens and lets them all inside?

Behind The Pretty Pink Door
by M.J. Hardy
Change edition

This book was, as many other reviewers have mentioned, weird.

In both good and not so good ways.

But I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it, weirdness and all.

This is a book that is compulsively readable and very easy to get lost in.

The plot concerns a group of neighbors, all living in an upscale development. We, as readers, get their stories and how they wind up living there.

But the enigmatic focus of the book is..the pretty pink door.

It exists..and the neighbors are all a little obsessed with it .

With good reason.

The Pretty pink door belongs to one of the houses in the development. This house appears to be occupied but nobody has ever met the people or person who lives there and nobody ever sees them. ALL THEY SEE IS A PRETTY PINK DOOR.

What is behind said door?

I LIKED this book. It was a breath of fresh air after some of the thrillers I have been reading lately. The characters are finely woven and you care about them and their lives. Nobody's life is what they seem,,that is not weird in itself..

The pink door is weird..what is going on behind it? We, the readers, get our answers but they come gradually..and with ever deepening horror...

So why not a five?

The ending. NOT that it is incomplete or anything..but it is..um weird.

It will be hard to talk about without spoilers but I shall try.

One of the characters..something happens to this character that is utterly crazy and not in a good way. I've no idea why it is even in there because it has nothing to do with the story. It sure did knock a point or two off for me. To say I was baffled was putting it mildly. I actually reread the page to make sure I was reading it correctly!

There is..um..also an update on a few people but not others and I take back my earlier words. It DOES sort of make the book feel incomplete.

This was a 4.5 star book that really lost me at the end. I am still recommending it. It's a really good read. Do not have any expectations about the end and who knows, you may feel different.

If you do read it, leave me a comment as this is a book that I would really be interested in hearing from others about.


Behind the Pretty Pink Door was a unique and well written book that I wish I could have given a five to. Still recommended. Compulsively readable.
Profile Image for Destiny.
203 reviews119 followers
September 7, 2020
This one was... different. It had an excellent cast of characters, all with very unique and interesting storylines. The suspense builds up nicely over the chapters... then falls flat with a very rushed and hurried ending.

The epilogues, yes there was more than one, held some appeal, but didn't do the first half of the book justice.

The second half of the book was just a train wreck and took what was going to be a 5 star rating down to a solid 3 star.
Profile Image for Melissa Borsey.
1,890 reviews38 followers
August 23, 2020
M.J. Hardy has done it again! I loved this exciting thriller about a family that moves into a posh house in a posh neighborhood and while trying to fit in with the new neighbors, stumble upon a mystery. What is going on inside the house with the pink door?!? A must read! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Tana.
443 reviews
September 14, 2020
Weird. That’s all there is to say. The storyline was weird. The characters were weird. The ending was weird. It was all weird. I understand and agree with the underlying meaning about life...but weird, weird, weird. Just weird. (Did I mention it was weird?)
781 reviews16 followers
October 9, 2020
Truly stunned by the numerous high ratings. This is one of the worst books I've ever read; I'm surprised I finished it. The plot and the actual writing were so shallow, callow and amateurish. It's like it was a short story written by a novice teen writer. Absolute dreck. How does this shit get published??
Profile Image for Zareen.
44 reviews
Read
December 11, 2020
i nvr had a DNF before. I always read a book no.matter how boring.
but this time...I just couldn't....
*sigh*
ig there's a first time for everything, r8?
Profile Image for Denny.
94 reviews2 followers
October 12, 2020
Interesting premise but not well developed

This was an interesting, if somewhat cliched, premise of what goes on behind closed doors in the homes of the middle classes.

There was little subtlety in the writing, particularly as the story reached its climax. Climax is too strong a word because that suggests a growing tension and pulling of threads together. The writing was flat and inexpressive. Chapters were divided according to which character was speaking, but I wasn’t able been to distinguish any difference in tone between any of them even between the upper class elderly woman and the young working class woman or even the girl in captivity.

It ended very suddenly with all endings described in a flat tone, without any mystery or intrigue.

The characters were one dimensional, the writing was flat and came across in a monotone.

Although it was disappointing and a lot more could have been done to develop the complexity of the characters and plot, it was easy to read. Still, if you want an easy read there are plenty of authors who can deliver that without sacrificing good writing techniques. If you want a mystery, find a good mystery writer.

679 reviews29 followers
November 20, 2020
You just never know what goes on behind a very pretty front door. Sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone.
Profile Image for Nicola Pritchard.
8 reviews
October 13, 2020
I read this book quickly as the plot kept me intrigued but I wasn’t overly impressed. This could have been a really good book with a great idea for a story, however it lacked something. The ending felt rushed and left me feeling disappointed. There were also a number of errors which didn’t take away from the story but was another reason to feel let down.
71 reviews
October 24, 2020
A young girl is held hostage in a house with a pink door. Her neighbors suspect something is going on but don't have proof. This was an ok read but there were so many characters that had interesting storylines that never really go anywhere. I think the book should have gone on a little longer & explored these characters. But the main plot was addressed so it is an easy read & would recommend it.
Profile Image for Lynda Kelly.
2,210 reviews108 followers
October 18, 2020
Oh dear......I really should've paid attention to prior reviewers who mentioned how woeful the editing is in this book. It's atrocious. I hate to leave a measly 1* but the author has no idea how to utilise an apostrophe and over-utilises commas to a bonkers extent. Therefore her sentences are SO long they leave you utterly breathless !! Try reading these passages to yourself, "He was a little straight and above himself but maybe I was just being harsh, I mean, it was kind of him to stop by, don't you think ?" or "I know not to push my luck any further and just fall into step beside my husband but I know how I feel, something is off about this place and I'm certain we're being watched, call it a sixth sense, I can feel it"........nobody could continue to think or speak like this without pause !! It makes for some difficult reading. We kept being told how Esme had moved to the house of her dreams as well. I'd read that about 3 times and I gave up on it at 19% !
She also mentions 4 differing housing styles on the estate, then goes on to describe their garage and states the other 2 have an alternative type......then this line speaks for itself, "....they have looked him after like they said he would"........it's pretty shocking all these errors made it through any proofreading exercise. I called it a day at this sentence, "The days have dragged into weeks and still now word."
The story sounded like it would be quite intriguing, a modern-day take on something like The Stepford Wives, I was thinking, but I can't wade through all these mistakes.
Profile Image for Dawn.
195 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2020
If this book would have either a) married the 2 styles it was trying to be, b) been a gossipy suburban book or c) been an edge of the chair kidnapping book, it would have been great. Sadly, it just felt messy. There were a ton of characters sketched out. Also, there were a TON of characters, so it was difficult to invest in any of them. The two epilogues were too much. The first epilogue went for some weird shock attempt with a character that didn't get much rooting value until more than halfway through. It kind of felt like the author wanted us to all of the sudden feel sympathy for her only to play off that sympathy with a ridiculous twist. The behavior of the kidnapping survivor in the second epilogue was unbelievable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
18 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2020
Disappointing

What should have been an engaging read is ruined by yet another author who wants to write in the first person while also writing from the point of view of multiple characters. It really would be preferable if authors would either pick a character and stick to it or write in the third person.
Profile Image for Stephen Clynes.
661 reviews40 followers
October 19, 2024
On a new build housing estate called Meadow Vale in Sussex, people are moving in and slowly getting to know their new neighbours. Have these strangers brought any secrets with them? One thing they do have in common is a blossoming obsession with what may be going on behind the pretty pink door of 9 Willow Drive.

I found Behind The Pretty Pink Door to be a psychological thriller with the tension turned down as low as it can go. The drama is lightweight and more of a soap opera but without any witty humour.

I did like how the story started as my mind was suddenly a buzz as the reader is launched quickly into the characters of Esme and Lucas, Nancy and Adrian, Jasmine and Liam, Keith and Sandra plus the person or persons unknown behind the pretty pink door.

Although this story got off to a promising start, the drama began to simply plod along. Backgrounds and secrets were slowly revealed but nothing was exciting or unusual - all rather run of the mill in the great scheme of things. Even the secrets behind the pretty pink door were quite disappointing with the author not enlightening the reader with essential details of exactly what was occurring. The “victim” simply referred to it as the worst thing that had happened in their life.

I found Behind The Pretty Pink Door to be an OKAY 3 star read with a weak plot, a lack of sharp, witty dialogue making me unable to quote a sparkling snippet in my review.
89 reviews
July 23, 2021
As others have already said, it appears at first to be a Stepford Wives plot but it turns out not to be. The characters are not quite flat but could have been developed a bit more fully. However, they are people I recognize. They start out being annoying but as the story goes on and their secrets revealed and their true "selves" emerge we get to experience the fact that they are flawed people with compassion and humanity and a desire to help. The subject matter is pretty grim but the worst details occur "off stage" which I appreciate. The reader knows what is going on but does not have to read the graphic details. I wish other authors could learn to do this. I guess there is an audience for the crude details and I cannot understand that mindset.

The one truly glaring issue to me was the husband who chose to leave his wife "for god". I used a lower case "g" because the true God would not ask a man to leave his family, nor even approve of it. The author must go beyond simple unbelief and be anti-faith.

I might read more by this author but not actively seek other works.
Profile Image for hannahlovesliteracy.
66 reviews50 followers
September 4, 2023
Behind The Pretty Pink Door by M J Hardy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Esme and Lucas.
Nancy and Adrian.
Jasmine and Liam.
Keith and Sandra.

This book is about multiple couples keeping secrets and living within the same neighborhood. Will they all be able to keep their secrets safe? Also, what is behind the pretty pink door? All the couples learn they truly might not know their neighbors after all.

This book had me questioning everyone in my neighborhood 😂 Behind The Pretty Pink Door was a short read with a thriller plot. It was a good one but i wish there was a just a bit more character development in the beginning and editing throughout. The second half of the book also then a turn for sure.

Available Now! Behind The Pretty Pink Door: Have you met the new neighbours yet? https://a.co/d/7wcLfgA

#behindtheprettypinkdoor #mjhardy #review #amazon #goodreads #honest #review #bookreview
Profile Image for Dipti.
42 reviews14 followers
November 6, 2020
“Yes, this is your typical housing development, respectable on the outside but when those front doors close, they hide a multitude of sins."
The quote reflects the storyline of the book and also throws light on the reality of the world.

Very well weaved stories with interesting sketches of the characters makes you want to know what happens next. There are multiple characters introduced right from the start so I recommend you to remember them early so that you can enjoy the smooth transition of the stories which makes you lose in the Meadow Vale madness.

Epilogues (yes, there's more than one) gave me closure or else I would keep wondering what happened to Lola in the future.

Overall a good read hence I would rate it 3.5/5
Profile Image for Scott Ravede.
Author 5 books2 followers
April 25, 2021
Remember the character of Gladys Kravitz from the TV show Bewitched? She was the nosy neighbor of the Stevens household who was always spying on their house and what was going on in the neighborhood. She was a character of derision and was never believed by her husband, even though she was usually right. But sometimes, having a nosy neighbor pays off.

The story in this book is told from the point of view of the several neighbors of the house with the pretty pink door, as well as the occupant of that pink-doored house. The neighbors speculate about what's going on in that house and get together several times to discuss it. Ultimately, of course, we learn what's going on in the house and sometimes why it's not always best to mind your own business.
Profile Image for Diane Bergan.
14 reviews
August 21, 2020
We all wonder at times what goes on behind closed doors, well this book has it all. It tells of a new built community and the residents move there to upgrade their status but, each one has a secret as to why they are there including "Behind the Pretty Pink door", the community also has a resident busybody in Sandra who thinks she is a step above the rest and tries to organise everybody but they all come together when it's discovered what's behind the Pretty Pink Door A must read for those who love suspense.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
280 reviews2 followers
October 7, 2020
Frinds, secrets and a mystery

This is a really good book. There ere many secrets between friends in the Meadow Vale community. All have moved into the community looking for something and hiding a lot. However, the common thread is the suspicions about what's going on in the house with the pretty pink door. The neighbors finally put their heads together and discuss what they have found out. Is it enough to get the police involved? Could they be wrong? You have read it for yourself to find out. You won't be sorry. I cant wait to read more of M J Hardy's books. I like her writing style and the suspense throughout the story
20 reviews
October 7, 2020
Great Story Filled with Surprises

I imagined MJ Hardy’s BEHIND THE PRETTY PINK DOOR to be another Stepford Wives tale but was thankfully wrong. This suburban setting was filled with danger, suspense, intrigue & the everyday dramas that can be found in life & love with an ominous twist thrown in. I liked the carefree writing style of having the various women involved with “their name” placed beneath the chapter numbers to denote their perspective of what was happening. I’m a fan of Hardy’s & will definitely check out others books she’s written under the SJ Crabb moniker.
Profile Image for Barbara.
698 reviews14 followers
October 22, 2020
This had such a good premise and was going along pretty well, but then it just ends abruptly.

Profile Image for Karen Jordan.
5 reviews
October 11, 2020
I didnt know what to expect from this book as I'd down loaded it a while ago & forgotten what it was about. I found myself pulled into the story quite quickly & intrigued by the characters stories, all thr players had moved to a new build estate, each hiding their own little secrets, but what are they? Also can anyone find out whats going on behind the pretty pink door? Fabulous I shall be on the hunt for more books from MJ Hardy now I hope you all enjoy this as much as me :-)
Profile Image for Milicent.
80 reviews
November 7, 2020
Honestly just a very strange book. Brief and choppy. Though the premise was intriguing, the book felt like it had two halves and the first was thought out and added a steady pace of intrigue, but the second half was choppy and suddenly all unpleasant. For a book about tense relationships and with interesting characters, there was a lot left to say and some stories that weren’t really done to justice..

Can we talk about the super random breakup over God????
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sophie Bristow Harris.
377 reviews56 followers
October 14, 2020
I have read books by MJ Hardy before and really enjoyed them - Behind The Pretty Pink Door is no exception.
Short snappy chapters make this a real page turner. You’re rooting for the characters to have a happy ending....
A most enjoyable read and the cover is just so pretty and entices you to open, read and discover.....
Profile Image for Elaine.
Author 29 books29 followers
November 16, 2020
A young couple moves into an elegant neighborhood and the wife is determined to fit in. Nobody knew who lived in the house with the pretty pink door until they became very curious as they assisted to some strange goings-on. A mystery involving a young girl is finally unraveled by the insistent neighbors.
A gripping story to read in a hurry if you want to discover what happens!
Profile Image for Laura McCaskill.
32 reviews
November 30, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It had a good pace, and I was interested in learning more about the characters. I was surprised by the ending, and would have liked to have learned more about what became of all the main characters. As others have mentioned, there are some minor editing errors in the kindle version I read, but nothing that would affect your enjoyment of the story.
Profile Image for Jeni Wilson.
297 reviews2 followers
January 9, 2021
Neighborhood secrets

Following the stories of 4 families that have moved into a new subdivision they discover a secret neighbor they all least expected. When everyone has their own secrets (which aren't all as salacious as you'd think), will they all come together for a greater good. Well written and just the right length.
180 reviews5 followers
March 29, 2021
Brilliant

I loved this book. The twists and turns kept me up reading late at night. I couldn't wait to get back to it. Characters were so well written. I love it when the author makes you feel as if you know the people in the book. Definitely looking forward to reading another MJ Hardy book
16 reviews
May 31, 2021
Curious about the pretty pink door?

The neighbors were. They knew nothing of the house in the neighborhood with the pink door. Was it empty? Was it occupied? This mystery was for the neighbors and not the readers because we were let into the pink door. Kept my interest, was well written, but could use quite a bit of editing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews

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