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The Perfect Neighborhood
When actress and model Allison Langley leaves her former rockstar husband in the middle of the night, it’s all her Oak Hill neighbors can talk about. But the gossip comes to an abrupt halt when five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten. Billy’s mother, Rachel, blames herself for being at work and letting her only child walk alone. Cassidy, Billy’s teenage babysitter, was also late to arrive on the afternoon he disappeared and blames herself for his disappearance. As the clock ticks down, police are unable to find any trace of Billy, forcing Rachel to ponder the enemies she’s made in their well-off suburb. Could it be one of her neighbors who stole her son? Would they abduct Billy to hurt her? How easy would it be to take a child while the parents or nannies are distracted? When another child goes missing, the town is put under a microscope as the police try to get to the bottom of the disappearances. Will they be able to find the two children, or will it be too late? What secrets lie at the heart of this tragedy, and how far will one go to keep those dangerous secrets buried?
Audio CD
First published July 12, 2022
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About the author
Liz Alterman
7 books467 followersLiz Alterman lives in New Jersey with her husband, three sons, and two cats.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents, McSweeney's, and other publications.
She spends most days microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms.
For information on events and new releases or to have Liz join your bookclub, visit lizalterman.com.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents, McSweeney's, and other publications.
She spends most days microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms.
For information on events and new releases or to have Liz join your bookclub, visit lizalterman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 682 reviews
July 15, 2022
4 Stars
This book jumped out at me because it has houses on the front: and, due to a certain GR friend’s obsession with books that have houses on the front…I now find myself always noticing books with houses on the cover.
So there’s that.
Then I read the blurb and saw that this was about neighborhood/domestic drama, and I was…SOLD. Because I am apparently all about catty neighbors all up in other people’s business. It’s like honey and I am Pooh.
And the honey here was delicious, folks. Neighbor gossip, backbiting, constant hypocrisy, Revolutionary Road-esque judgement, kid’s club mama drama? Check, check, check, check, cheeeeeeck.
Insert the lazy popcorn eating gif I am too lazy to actually insert right here.
And then children go missing too?
It’s was like a warm reader hug and I devoured it on one day. A great way to pass a Sunday afternoon.
***ARC received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
This book jumped out at me because it has houses on the front: and, due to a certain GR friend’s obsession with books that have houses on the front…I now find myself always noticing books with houses on the cover.
So there’s that.
Then I read the blurb and saw that this was about neighborhood/domestic drama, and I was…SOLD. Because I am apparently all about catty neighbors all up in other people’s business. It’s like honey and I am Pooh.
And the honey here was delicious, folks. Neighbor gossip, backbiting, constant hypocrisy, Revolutionary Road-esque judgement, kid’s club mama drama? Check, check, check, check, cheeeeeeck.
Insert the lazy popcorn eating gif I am too lazy to actually insert right here.
And then children go missing too?
It’s was like a warm reader hug and I devoured it on one day. A great way to pass a Sunday afternoon.
***ARC received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
July 12, 2022
4.5 ⭐️
“GOSSIP IS LIKE OXYGEN-IT’S EVERYWHERE, SUSTAINING US”
So, how could it not become breaking news that worked its way into every morning conversation when the beautiful model and actress, Allison Langley, left her rock star husband, Christopher in the middle of the night?!
It was certainly more interesting to speculate about why she snuck out at 4 AM with no suitcase than it was to discuss the Peterson’s new shed or who might get a Labradoodle next.
That is until, 5 year old, Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten.
Billy’s mom, Rachel feels guilty for letting him walk home alone at that age, and for taking his phone away from him that morning, when he was using it to play a game during breakfast.
Cassidy, his teenaged babysitter, blames herself for running late on the day he disappeared. Maybe if she had been on time, it wouldn’t have happened.
But, is the neighborhood as perfect as it seems? Nobody had any idea how unhappy Allison was behind her convincing smile. What other secrets lie behind closed doors?
Perhaps, Rachel and Cassidy aren’t entirely at blame?
The story unfolds primarily from the perspectives of Allison, Rachel and Cassidy, with an occasional chapter from the other Moms, who shed light on all of the possible suspects.
Bombshells are revealed through conversations and will have you changing your mind about who may be responsible for what happened and why.
The women seem like people you could meet and the story like one you could read about in the headlines tomorrow.
I gravitate toward the NEIGHBORHOOD stories that fall into the category of domestic suspense, and if you do as well, this is DEFINITELY one worth adding to your TBR list!
Liz Alterman has published a Memoir, and a YA thriller prior to this book, but I hope she will stay in this lane, as I am definitely intrigued to read what she pens next?
Find out what happened to Billy today!
AVAILABLE NOW!
Thank You to Crooked Lane Books for the gifted ARC. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
“GOSSIP IS LIKE OXYGEN-IT’S EVERYWHERE, SUSTAINING US”
So, how could it not become breaking news that worked its way into every morning conversation when the beautiful model and actress, Allison Langley, left her rock star husband, Christopher in the middle of the night?!
It was certainly more interesting to speculate about why she snuck out at 4 AM with no suitcase than it was to discuss the Peterson’s new shed or who might get a Labradoodle next.
That is until, 5 year old, Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten.
Billy’s mom, Rachel feels guilty for letting him walk home alone at that age, and for taking his phone away from him that morning, when he was using it to play a game during breakfast.
Cassidy, his teenaged babysitter, blames herself for running late on the day he disappeared. Maybe if she had been on time, it wouldn’t have happened.
But, is the neighborhood as perfect as it seems? Nobody had any idea how unhappy Allison was behind her convincing smile. What other secrets lie behind closed doors?
Perhaps, Rachel and Cassidy aren’t entirely at blame?
The story unfolds primarily from the perspectives of Allison, Rachel and Cassidy, with an occasional chapter from the other Moms, who shed light on all of the possible suspects.
Bombshells are revealed through conversations and will have you changing your mind about who may be responsible for what happened and why.
The women seem like people you could meet and the story like one you could read about in the headlines tomorrow.
I gravitate toward the NEIGHBORHOOD stories that fall into the category of domestic suspense, and if you do as well, this is DEFINITELY one worth adding to your TBR list!
Liz Alterman has published a Memoir, and a YA thriller prior to this book, but I hope she will stay in this lane, as I am definitely intrigued to read what she pens next?
Find out what happened to Billy today!
AVAILABLE NOW!
Thank You to Crooked Lane Books for the gifted ARC. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
May 9, 2022
3.5*
Did you hear? There’s a celebrity couple living among the other wealthy families in the suburb of Oak Hill. And nothing gets the gossip train rolling as much as overhearing (via the gossip channel) that Allison, the actress is leaving her nearly washed-up musician husband, Chris.
Strangely, that’s not the only disappearance in this enclave. Two children from the neighborhood also vanish. Both supposedly under the supervision of the same babysitter. Now doors are locked and curtains drawn. Everyone is giving their neighbors a second glance as they walk by.
As much as I love domestic dramas this one just didn’t quite check all the boxes. There wasn’t a single likable character…except maybe for Billy (the first child to go missing.) The interactions in the neighborhood just felt forced in order to bolster the drama.
Thanks, but I’ll just be moving down the street to another neighborhood! Hope it works better for you if you decide to drop in on Oak Hill.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books
Did you hear? There’s a celebrity couple living among the other wealthy families in the suburb of Oak Hill. And nothing gets the gossip train rolling as much as overhearing (via the gossip channel) that Allison, the actress is leaving her nearly washed-up musician husband, Chris.
Strangely, that’s not the only disappearance in this enclave. Two children from the neighborhood also vanish. Both supposedly under the supervision of the same babysitter. Now doors are locked and curtains drawn. Everyone is giving their neighbors a second glance as they walk by.
As much as I love domestic dramas this one just didn’t quite check all the boxes. There wasn’t a single likable character…except maybe for Billy (the first child to go missing.) The interactions in the neighborhood just felt forced in order to bolster the drama.
Thanks, but I’ll just be moving down the street to another neighborhood! Hope it works better for you if you decide to drop in on Oak Hill.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books
May 12, 2022
Some mixed feelings on this one.
I should have read the synopsis closer. I'm a bit over the missing child trope and didn't realize it was front and center to the mystery here in this Oak Hill community.
The neighborhood is far from perfect and most characters were pretty unlikeable. I especially had a negative reaction to the rock-star husband, Chris.
His wife, Allison has walked out on him and the gossip mill is having a field day. It read like a YA novel for me with a weak plot and conclusion that came out of nowhere. I won't even go into how the police handled the case.
You can expect a lot of nosy, gossipy neighbors, missing kids, a bumbling police force and fingers pointing everywhere. I'm an outlier here, but I just didn't love it. Ho-hum.
Thanks NG and the publisher for my arc. OUT July 12, 2022
I should have read the synopsis closer. I'm a bit over the missing child trope and didn't realize it was front and center to the mystery here in this Oak Hill community.
The neighborhood is far from perfect and most characters were pretty unlikeable. I especially had a negative reaction to the rock-star husband, Chris.
His wife, Allison has walked out on him and the gossip mill is having a field day. It read like a YA novel for me with a weak plot and conclusion that came out of nowhere. I won't even go into how the police handled the case.
You can expect a lot of nosy, gossipy neighbors, missing kids, a bumbling police force and fingers pointing everywhere. I'm an outlier here, but I just didn't love it. Ho-hum.
Thanks NG and the publisher for my arc. OUT July 12, 2022
January 14, 2023
So this was a decent story and an intriguing mystery until the end where it just goes off into crazypants territory.
In this wealthy neighborhood, a few things happen around the same time. First, Allison leaves her husband Christopher in the middle of the night. No one in the neighborhood knows where she went. Then, on his way home from school, five-year-old Billy disappears. His babysitter Cassidy was late to meet him. When another child goes missing, the residents are scared and don't know what to think.
This story is told from multiple points of view, mainly Allison and Cassidy, but also the parents of the missing kids and various others in the neighborhood. I honestly could have been behind multiple explanations for the disappearances except for what actually ended up being the explanation. Also, after everything involving the kids is solved, then we get some extra epilogue style wrap up chapters and one of them is OTTM (one twist too many) or just beyond believability for me. There are also a few plot holes throughout and fairly inept police when all is said and done.
Although this was mildly entertaining, I don't think I'll remember it because other than the bizarre explanation for the missing kids, there just isn't much here. I don't know on what planet a parent would think it was okay to let a five-year-old walk to and from school by himself, because where I live they won't even let a kid that young get off the school bus at their driveway without an adult present, much less dismiss them out of a classroom to walk home on their own.
I listened to much of this as an audiobook and the narrator does an excellent job keeping the listener invested in the story.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
In this wealthy neighborhood, a few things happen around the same time. First, Allison leaves her husband Christopher in the middle of the night. No one in the neighborhood knows where she went. Then, on his way home from school, five-year-old Billy disappears. His babysitter Cassidy was late to meet him. When another child goes missing, the residents are scared and don't know what to think.
This story is told from multiple points of view, mainly Allison and Cassidy, but also the parents of the missing kids and various others in the neighborhood. I honestly could have been behind multiple explanations for the disappearances except for what actually ended up being the explanation. Also, after everything involving the kids is solved, then we get some extra epilogue style wrap up chapters and one of them is OTTM (one twist too many) or just beyond believability for me. There are also a few plot holes throughout and fairly inept police when all is said and done.
Although this was mildly entertaining, I don't think I'll remember it because other than the bizarre explanation for the missing kids, there just isn't much here. I don't know on what planet a parent would think it was okay to let a five-year-old walk to and from school by himself, because where I live they won't even let a kid that young get off the school bus at their driveway without an adult present, much less dismiss them out of a classroom to walk home on their own.
I listened to much of this as an audiobook and the narrator does an excellent job keeping the listener invested in the story.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
July 12, 2022
Happy Publication Day ⭐️
4.5* The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman's "engrossing novel is a thought-provoking read about the dark side of suburbia and the secrets of close-knit communities..."
I couldn't have said it better myself. The book begins as typical neighbors gossip and pine for what the other one has, including their husbands. It was hard to put down! In this Norman Rockwell safe community, 5 year old Billy Barnes was walking home alone from school and never shows up, the whole town is put under a microscope. My first thoughts he is too young to walk alone, but then the neighbors were all so trusting. Until, a lot of secrets surface, affairs exposed and guilty thoughts from his anguished mother Rachel over working instead of being home with him. Unlike a lot of latchkey kids, he had a sitter that waited for him on the doorstep, but that day she was late, so she carried the guilt and grief because she had secrets to hide why she was late. When another child in her care goes missing, this raises significant implications on her.
A hair-raising chill will run through your body when the truth becomes more lies and people aren't as they appear in this fancy neighborhood. The trust put into others will have you question what is lurking in their dark minds and how they ever got to that. The story flows thoughtfully through 3 POVs, Rachel, Cassidy, the babysitter and a famous actress, Allison who also lives in this not so close-knit neighborhood. Keep your enemies close....
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this title in exchange for my honest review.
4.5* The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman's "engrossing novel is a thought-provoking read about the dark side of suburbia and the secrets of close-knit communities..."
I couldn't have said it better myself. The book begins as typical neighbors gossip and pine for what the other one has, including their husbands. It was hard to put down! In this Norman Rockwell safe community, 5 year old Billy Barnes was walking home alone from school and never shows up, the whole town is put under a microscope. My first thoughts he is too young to walk alone, but then the neighbors were all so trusting. Until, a lot of secrets surface, affairs exposed and guilty thoughts from his anguished mother Rachel over working instead of being home with him. Unlike a lot of latchkey kids, he had a sitter that waited for him on the doorstep, but that day she was late, so she carried the guilt and grief because she had secrets to hide why she was late. When another child in her care goes missing, this raises significant implications on her.
A hair-raising chill will run through your body when the truth becomes more lies and people aren't as they appear in this fancy neighborhood. The trust put into others will have you question what is lurking in their dark minds and how they ever got to that. The story flows thoughtfully through 3 POVs, Rachel, Cassidy, the babysitter and a famous actress, Allison who also lives in this not so close-knit neighborhood. Keep your enemies close....
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this title in exchange for my honest review.
August 2, 2022
This book starts off rather slow, but it does build up as the story progresses. I rate it 3.5 stars rounded down. If you watched the Desperate Housewives tv series, then you are familiar with the scene: A Perfect Neighborhood with idyllic families. But there are things that happen below the surface: A teenager who has a crush on her music teacher, and has an affair with him. Marriages that seem perfect suddenly fall apart.
Then a 5 year old boy disappears on the way home from school. Suspicion focuses on the babysitter. But other suspects emerge and I was not sure who the kidnapper was until the end.
The book alternates between several narrators, all women.
Cassidy, the babysitter
Allison, one of the suspects and a glamorous actress.
Sarah, mother of a kidnapped child
Rachel, another mother of a kidnapped child.
One quote on the neighborhood: "Because Oak Hill was straight out of a storybook, it perpetuated the myth that no harm or hardship could ever befall anyone lucky enough to live there. Our neighbors believed they were untouchable."
Thanks to Dulce Botello, at Crooked Lane Books for sending me this ebook through LibraryThing.
Then a 5 year old boy disappears on the way home from school. Suspicion focuses on the babysitter. But other suspects emerge and I was not sure who the kidnapper was until the end.
The book alternates between several narrators, all women.
Cassidy, the babysitter
Allison, one of the suspects and a glamorous actress.
Sarah, mother of a kidnapped child
Rachel, another mother of a kidnapped child.
One quote on the neighborhood: "Because Oak Hill was straight out of a storybook, it perpetuated the myth that no harm or hardship could ever befall anyone lucky enough to live there. Our neighbors believed they were untouchable."
Thanks to Dulce Botello, at Crooked Lane Books for sending me this ebook through LibraryThing.
July 6, 2022
This is my first book by Liz Alterman and I think I have been missing out. In this suburban drama, we are given the facts be women involved in and surrounding a missing little boy. What happened to Billy? He walked away from school one day and vanished. Reading this book was a bit like watching an episode of 48 Hours at times. A crime has been committed. Who is the culprit? The babysitter? The entitled half brother with some bad habits? What about that misunderstood vet who seems to have too much time on his hands? The whole neighborhood is on pins and needles. The gossip is flying and the casseroles are proliferating. There are some clever red herrings and some crafty clues dropped here and there. I found this to be a compelling page-turner and I hope that ending might give us a sequel.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2022
As I mentioned in an update, I figured just one more "neighborhood" book wouldn't hurt and also it was way back in October when I downloaded this one from Netgalley. (As a side note, you have no idea how hard it is for me to spell neighbor/neighborhood without a "u"!).
Oak Hill is the neighborhood in question, a mostly affluent area in New Jersey. Allison Langley, actress and model, left her husband Chris, a former rockstar, in the middle of the night; gossip runs rampant for a short while until 5-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing and police are unable to find any trace of him. His mother, Rachel, and Cassidy, his teenage babysitter, both feel responsible for different reasons. And then another child goes missing.
I mostly enjoyed this well-written domestic drama. I know they're a dime-a-dozen right now but some are more enjoyable than others. The story is told mainly from the POVs of Allison, Rachel and Cassidy in alternating chapters with dates included at the beginning of each chapter so that we can follow the progression of the drama, interspersed with occasional chapters from the viewpoints of other characters. I have to be honest and admit that I had trouble keeping the narrators straight, other than teenage Cassidy. Maybe it's because they had such ordinary names - Allison, Rachel, Sarah, Betsy, Lindsay (no offence to my Goodreads and other friends by those names!) and it was hard to tell them apart. Also, by about 75% I was getting a little tired of Allison's inner monologue to do with her childlessness. It was very sad and had its place in the plot but it went on too long. Things picked up again as we raced towards the climax.
I'd still recommend this book as a quick and engrossing read. I know you're not supposed to quote from an ARC but I loved these two and I hope they made it to the final version: "You're a pair of cowboy boots and a pickup truck away from the beginning of a Nicholas Sparks novel." and "Mom always jokes that high school behavior extends well into adulthood in Oak Hill."
Oak Hill is the neighborhood in question, a mostly affluent area in New Jersey. Allison Langley, actress and model, left her husband Chris, a former rockstar, in the middle of the night; gossip runs rampant for a short while until 5-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing and police are unable to find any trace of him. His mother, Rachel, and Cassidy, his teenage babysitter, both feel responsible for different reasons. And then another child goes missing.
I mostly enjoyed this well-written domestic drama. I know they're a dime-a-dozen right now but some are more enjoyable than others. The story is told mainly from the POVs of Allison, Rachel and Cassidy in alternating chapters with dates included at the beginning of each chapter so that we can follow the progression of the drama, interspersed with occasional chapters from the viewpoints of other characters. I have to be honest and admit that I had trouble keeping the narrators straight, other than teenage Cassidy. Maybe it's because they had such ordinary names - Allison, Rachel, Sarah, Betsy, Lindsay (no offence to my Goodreads and other friends by those names!) and it was hard to tell them apart. Also, by about 75% I was getting a little tired of Allison's inner monologue to do with her childlessness. It was very sad and had its place in the plot but it went on too long. Things picked up again as we raced towards the climax.
I'd still recommend this book as a quick and engrossing read. I know you're not supposed to quote from an ARC but I loved these two and I hope they made it to the final version: "You're a pair of cowboy boots and a pickup truck away from the beginning of a Nicholas Sparks novel." and "Mom always jokes that high school behavior extends well into adulthood in Oak Hill."
June 23, 2022
Of course you know immediately from reading the title that the neighbourhood in the novel is not going to be perfect. Oak Hill is a close knit community, mostly upper middle class and wealthy with very low rates of crime. The sort of place where you feel safe, let your kids walk to school and hire teenagers to babysit them. But behind closed doors the neighbours love nothing better than to gossip about each other and all is not what it seems on the surface.
When a child goes missing (five year old Billy allowed to walk home from school alone), the community is shocked. His mother blames herself for going back to work and agreeing with her husband that her son was old enough to walk by himself. Most of the community however blame his teenage baby sitter who was a little late arriving at the house to meet him that day. If they knew the reason she was late that day they would be deeply shocked. The question everyone wants answered is whether Billy was taken by a stranger or whether a member of their own perfect neighbourhood is responsible.
Told through multiple points of view, the suspense ramps up as the reader tries to work out what happened to Billy and why the police are not able to find any trace of him. I would have liked to feel more empathy with Allison, one of the main characters, who has had a very hard time, but she just seemed too remote and cold to evoke much interest. Her rock star husband Chris was also difficult to like despite his popularity in the neighbourhood. I did however feel sorry for Cassidy the babysitter, taken advantage of by everyone and then blamed for Billy’s disappearance. 3.5★
With thanks to Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley for a copy to read
When a child goes missing (five year old Billy allowed to walk home from school alone), the community is shocked. His mother blames herself for going back to work and agreeing with her husband that her son was old enough to walk by himself. Most of the community however blame his teenage baby sitter who was a little late arriving at the house to meet him that day. If they knew the reason she was late that day they would be deeply shocked. The question everyone wants answered is whether Billy was taken by a stranger or whether a member of their own perfect neighbourhood is responsible.
Told through multiple points of view, the suspense ramps up as the reader tries to work out what happened to Billy and why the police are not able to find any trace of him. I would have liked to feel more empathy with Allison, one of the main characters, who has had a very hard time, but she just seemed too remote and cold to evoke much interest. Her rock star husband Chris was also difficult to like despite his popularity in the neighbourhood. I did however feel sorry for Cassidy the babysitter, taken advantage of by everyone and then blamed for Billy’s disappearance. 3.5★
With thanks to Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley for a copy to read
July 31, 2024
3.5⭐
Genre ~ domestic drama
Setting ~ Oak Hill, which I’m pretty sure is in New York
Publication date ~ July 12, 2022
Publisher ~ Crooked Lane Books
Est Page Count ~ 284 (31 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 29 minutes
Narratosr ~ Amanda Dolan, Priya Ayyar, Hillary Huber, Laura Jennings, Gail Shalan
POV ~ multiple 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ missing child, infidelity, miscarriage
Rachel’s 5 year old son, Billy, is missing and her husband, Ted, is a tool.
Allison leaves her husband, Chris, while he snores away oblivious. Well, actually, he’s probably too rich and handsome to snore.
Cassidy is the 18 year old babysitter that was late meeting Billy at his home, which he walks to all by himself from school. Ummm, what? Why is a kindergartener walking home alone? That just screams come kidnap me. Absolutely hated why Cassidy was late. This plot point is really bugging me in books lately, guess that’s my old grumpy momness of a teenager talking.
Lindsay & Sarah chime in with some gossip
This was a pretty predictable neighborhood drama filled with gossip galore and unlikeable, nosy, busybody characters. Right up my nosy alley, but could I find anyone to root for? Nope, and I don’t think you would either. But, I did like it well enough that I’ll give this author a go again.
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
Hallelujah for 5!! They all did great. Not sure which one was for 18 year old Cassidy, but she sounded perfectly age appropriate.
✔️’ed another old one off the list
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Genre ~ domestic drama
Setting ~ Oak Hill, which I’m pretty sure is in New York
Publication date ~ July 12, 2022
Publisher ~ Crooked Lane Books
Est Page Count ~ 284 (31 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 29 minutes
Narratosr ~ Amanda Dolan, Priya Ayyar, Hillary Huber, Laura Jennings, Gail Shalan
POV ~ multiple 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ missing child, infidelity, miscarriage
Rachel’s 5 year old son, Billy, is missing and her husband, Ted, is a tool.
Allison leaves her husband, Chris, while he snores away oblivious. Well, actually, he’s probably too rich and handsome to snore.
Cassidy is the 18 year old babysitter that was late meeting Billy at his home, which he walks to all by himself from school. Ummm, what? Why is a kindergartener walking home alone? That just screams come kidnap me. Absolutely hated why Cassidy was late. This plot point is really bugging me in books lately, guess that’s my old grumpy momness of a teenager talking.
Lindsay & Sarah chime in with some gossip
This was a pretty predictable neighborhood drama filled with gossip galore and unlikeable, nosy, busybody characters. Right up my nosy alley, but could I find anyone to root for? Nope, and I don’t think you would either. But, I did like it well enough that I’ll give this author a go again.
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
Hallelujah for 5!! They all did great. Not sure which one was for 18 year old Cassidy, but she sounded perfectly age appropriate.
✔️’ed another old one off the list
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
June 10, 2022
I literally went and begged for a copy of this book (do I even need to mention the reason? *cough house cover cough*) so I’m super bummed that I didn’t completely love it . . . .
Per the house cover, I didn’t bother reading the blurb. I’ve said before, I’m not the biggest fan of missing kid stories. And it’s not because they “trigger” me – it’s because I’m heartless and find them a slog . . . .
^^^Just in case you forgot.
This one is a mashup of missing kid with an attempt at a Big Little Lies delivery where you meet several people from the same uppercrust neighborhood and most all have some sort of skeleton hiding in the closet. Unfortunately, they often blurred together for me and I had a rough time remembering exactly who was who. The payoff at the end was satisfactory, though, and it was definitely a quick read. If this is on your TBR, take my rating with several grains of salt.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Per the house cover, I didn’t bother reading the blurb. I’ve said before, I’m not the biggest fan of missing kid stories. And it’s not because they “trigger” me – it’s because I’m heartless and find them a slog . . . .
^^^Just in case you forgot.
This one is a mashup of missing kid with an attempt at a Big Little Lies delivery where you meet several people from the same uppercrust neighborhood and most all have some sort of skeleton hiding in the closet. Unfortunately, they often blurred together for me and I had a rough time remembering exactly who was who. The payoff at the end was satisfactory, though, and it was definitely a quick read. If this is on your TBR, take my rating with several grains of salt.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2022
This was an engrossing domestic suspense story about what secrets hide beneath the seemingly perfect veneer of an upperclass neighborhood. The book starts with the disappearance of 5 year old Billy and is told primarily through the POVs of his mother Rachel, his babysitter Cassidy, and his neighbor Allison, with some additional chapters interspersed from various other neighbors.
The chapters are short and alternate between narrators, keeping the pace of the book fast. The author gives you many different potential villains and I had a hard time figuring out who committed the crime- I didn’t figure it out early (which I usually do!) and thought that the suspense and subtle clues were done really well. I didn’t especially like any character in this book, though I did feel that I could empathize with them, for the most part. The end of the book leaves another open question that kept me thinking about it after I finished reading.
Overall, fun read with a good mystery that is hard to figure out. I recommend this book to readers of the domestic suspense genre. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The chapters are short and alternate between narrators, keeping the pace of the book fast. The author gives you many different potential villains and I had a hard time figuring out who committed the crime- I didn’t figure it out early (which I usually do!) and thought that the suspense and subtle clues were done really well. I didn’t especially like any character in this book, though I did feel that I could empathize with them, for the most part. The end of the book leaves another open question that kept me thinking about it after I finished reading.
Overall, fun read with a good mystery that is hard to figure out. I recommend this book to readers of the domestic suspense genre. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 24, 2024
3.5 stars
Certainly when one runs for perfection, there might be a lot of running but never getting to the finish line.
Allison Langley, a model and an actress leaves her husband, separates from her husband, a former rock star, it sets the tongues wagging in her posh neighborhood. Oak Hill neighbors are in a gossiping frenzy, but things become even more serious when a young boy, Billy Barnes, is missing.
Many people blame themselves. Billy's mother thinks her job being away from home could be the reason why Billy was taken, while his babysitter, Cassidy blames herself for being late to arrive at Billy's house to care for him.
Then the unspeakable happens when a second child is taken. With no trace of either child, the hunt is on for the children, and lies, deceit, and sadness take hold of the families and those who revolve around them.
Certainly when one runs for perfection, there might be a lot of running but never getting to the finish line.
Allison Langley, a model and an actress leaves her husband, separates from her husband, a former rock star, it sets the tongues wagging in her posh neighborhood. Oak Hill neighbors are in a gossiping frenzy, but things become even more serious when a young boy, Billy Barnes, is missing.
Many people blame themselves. Billy's mother thinks her job being away from home could be the reason why Billy was taken, while his babysitter, Cassidy blames herself for being late to arrive at Billy's house to care for him.
Then the unspeakable happens when a second child is taken. With no trace of either child, the hunt is on for the children, and lies, deceit, and sadness take hold of the families and those who revolve around them.
July 2, 2022
I felt like I was part of Oak Hill, the book had such great description. It was told from different perspectives. The neighborhood seems to be such a great place until it isn't. Five year old Billy goes missing walking home from school. Who would hurt him? Everything changes when another kid goes missing. I could feel the tension rising from the pages. This was the perfect "whodunnit" book for summer.
April 24, 2022
Actress and model Allison Langley and her former rock star husband Christopher seem to have the ideal life living in suburban Oak Hill. Allison suddenly leaves in the middle of the night, Christopher has no idea where she’s gone and the whole neighborhood is talking about why would she would desert her handsome husband?
Rachel Barnes is a real estate agent and her husband Ted thinks it’s perfectly safe for their five year old son Billy to walk to and from kindergarten. When Billy’s baby sister Cassidy McLean calls Rachel telling her Billy hasn’t arrived home and she's frantic.
Billy has disappeared, Detective Dubin and Officer Kinsley are in charge of the case. The two women start blaming themselves, Rachel for not listening to her mother’s instinct and Cassidy for being late arriving at the Barnes house. Rachel can’t eat or sleep, she thinks constantly about who could have taken Billy, she regrets not being friendlier to the group of kindergarten mum's with children the same age, and her husband Ted is extremely distant and no support.
When a little girl goes missing three weeks later, the whole town is in a panic and the pressure is on the police to find the children. Every possible lead is followed, could it be a disgruntled Au pair or her nasty boyfriend, the new neighborhood pool cleaner, an unhappy half-brother, the crossing lady, a troubled army veteran and possibly even one of the fathers?
I received a copy of The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. It’s a light thriller/mystery that looks closely at the picture perfect neighborhood, relationships, friendships, personal tragedies, the secrets people are keeping, and their attitudes towards each other, you never know what goes on behind closed doors, it kept me guessing until the end and five stars from me.
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Rachel Barnes is a real estate agent and her husband Ted thinks it’s perfectly safe for their five year old son Billy to walk to and from kindergarten. When Billy’s baby sister Cassidy McLean calls Rachel telling her Billy hasn’t arrived home and she's frantic.
Billy has disappeared, Detective Dubin and Officer Kinsley are in charge of the case. The two women start blaming themselves, Rachel for not listening to her mother’s instinct and Cassidy for being late arriving at the Barnes house. Rachel can’t eat or sleep, she thinks constantly about who could have taken Billy, she regrets not being friendlier to the group of kindergarten mum's with children the same age, and her husband Ted is extremely distant and no support.
When a little girl goes missing three weeks later, the whole town is in a panic and the pressure is on the police to find the children. Every possible lead is followed, could it be a disgruntled Au pair or her nasty boyfriend, the new neighborhood pool cleaner, an unhappy half-brother, the crossing lady, a troubled army veteran and possibly even one of the fathers?
I received a copy of The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. It’s a light thriller/mystery that looks closely at the picture perfect neighborhood, relationships, friendships, personal tragedies, the secrets people are keeping, and their attitudes towards each other, you never know what goes on behind closed doors, it kept me guessing until the end and five stars from me.
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June 8, 2022
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
Initial thoughts: Wow. Too many points of view. I think I counted 6? I don’t even know. This maybe would have worked better if we followed just Cassidy and her friend Lexi. Also some of the characters like Rachel I flat out disliked. The plot was way too predictable though. It’s obvious what is going on and why and it took way too long to get there. Also I’m not a great fan of the police, but there’s so much here that would never have happened in a real police investigation it was sad. For example, the FBI would have been called in real quick due to Billy’s age. It also made zero sense that no one would have asked for access to cell phones, or gone and looked for cameras on Billy’s route. There’s other glaring things too.
"The Perfect Neighborhood" follows residents of Oak Hill after the kidnapping of a young 5 year old boy named Billy Barnes. The book then follows the mother of the boy who was kidnapped (Rachel), his babysitter (Cassidy), a rich actress who used to live in Oak Hill (Allison), then other mothers in the neighborhood.
So Rachel isn't that great. I think that Alterman is trying to show you all sides to motherhood and gossip/towns, but it doesn't work when you get into more backstory on Rachel. I just got tired of her half way through this book. I had sympathy for Cassidy who is broken up about not being there to make sure Billy gets home. Alison's chapters/points of view make no sense in context of the larger plot for a good portion of the book. The other mothers are kind of awful.
I will say that the plot was straight forward, but as I said above, too many things were not realistic as I was reading this book that just took me out of it. A young boy being kidnapped would have his parents investigated, along with his siblings from the get-go. It seems at times that the local police don't even know basic things about Billy, and I don't know if Alterman is trying to show how incompetent the police were or what, it just didn't really work when we know that this would have pulled in not only local, but state police along with the FBI within 24 hours. A white 5 year old boy goes missing and his family lives in an affluent area? Come on.
The writing was just okay. I could tell everyone's "voice" apart, but the flow was pretty bad after a while. I think the POV I enjoyed the most was Cassidy. Honestly if we had just followed Cassidy and her true crime best friend I would have been all for it.
The setting of Oak Hill feels a bit bland. You hear about how big these women's homes are and how they look, but the whole thing felt like bad set dressing.
The ending left things up in the air a bit and I just went what in the world.
Initial thoughts: Wow. Too many points of view. I think I counted 6? I don’t even know. This maybe would have worked better if we followed just Cassidy and her friend Lexi. Also some of the characters like Rachel I flat out disliked. The plot was way too predictable though. It’s obvious what is going on and why and it took way too long to get there. Also I’m not a great fan of the police, but there’s so much here that would never have happened in a real police investigation it was sad. For example, the FBI would have been called in real quick due to Billy’s age. It also made zero sense that no one would have asked for access to cell phones, or gone and looked for cameras on Billy’s route. There’s other glaring things too.
"The Perfect Neighborhood" follows residents of Oak Hill after the kidnapping of a young 5 year old boy named Billy Barnes. The book then follows the mother of the boy who was kidnapped (Rachel), his babysitter (Cassidy), a rich actress who used to live in Oak Hill (Allison), then other mothers in the neighborhood.
So Rachel isn't that great. I think that Alterman is trying to show you all sides to motherhood and gossip/towns, but it doesn't work when you get into more backstory on Rachel. I just got tired of her half way through this book. I had sympathy for Cassidy who is broken up about not being there to make sure Billy gets home. Alison's chapters/points of view make no sense in context of the larger plot for a good portion of the book. The other mothers are kind of awful.
I will say that the plot was straight forward, but as I said above, too many things were not realistic as I was reading this book that just took me out of it. A young boy being kidnapped would have his parents investigated, along with his siblings from the get-go. It seems at times that the local police don't even know basic things about Billy, and I don't know if Alterman is trying to show how incompetent the police were or what, it just didn't really work when we know that this would have pulled in not only local, but state police along with the FBI within 24 hours. A white 5 year old boy goes missing and his family lives in an affluent area? Come on.
The writing was just okay. I could tell everyone's "voice" apart, but the flow was pretty bad after a while. I think the POV I enjoyed the most was Cassidy. Honestly if we had just followed Cassidy and her true crime best friend I would have been all for it.
The setting of Oak Hill feels a bit bland. You hear about how big these women's homes are and how they look, but the whole thing felt like bad set dressing.
The ending left things up in the air a bit and I just went what in the world.
July 6, 2022
Following on from her debut YA fiction book, The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman is a cosy domestic noir. It begins with the scandal of the separation of the glamour couple neigbours, before a five year old child goes missing as he walks home alone from kindergarten. The story is told in multiple voices, from the babysitter, the separated wife and the mother of the missing boy. As the police investigate, the neigbourhood gossip is rife and there’s plenty of judging and blame to go around. Then another child goes missing and the perfect neigbourhood is not all that it seems. So, an enjoyable psychological thriller that explores the darkness and secrets of suburban living with a three and a half star read rating. With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.
March 25, 2024
In an upscale neighborhood full of McMansions, Allison leaving her husband is all the gossip focuses on—until a child goes missing.
First of all, this present tense writing must end. Please make it stop. STOP IT.
The book focuses on three main POVs with a few more thrown in occasionally. It’s kind of a lot. There’s Allison, who leaves the New Jersey neighborhood for New York. There’s Rachel, the mother of the missing child. And there’s Cassidy, the child’s 18-year-old baby-sitter. Each POV gets a different audiobook narrator. Allison’s reader sounded very inexperienced.
While the mystery is supposedly the focus of the book, the neighbors’ gossip uses up a lot of pages as filler. It still held my attention throughout. The pacing was good. I guessed the culprit around 70 percent. What was funny is that I had a dream about that time, and my dream predicted the villain correctly, although it had the whole neighborhood also in on it.
P.S. No child today is named Billy. Zero. A child named William will be nicknamed Will, if anything. “Billy” died in the 1960s.
*Reader’s Choice Nominee Spring 2024*
Language: Some strong language throughout
Sexual Content: One scene is mildly explicit
Violence/Gore: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
First of all, this present tense writing must end. Please make it stop. STOP IT.
The book focuses on three main POVs with a few more thrown in occasionally. It’s kind of a lot. There’s Allison, who leaves the New Jersey neighborhood for New York. There’s Rachel, the mother of the missing child. And there’s Cassidy, the child’s 18-year-old baby-sitter. Each POV gets a different audiobook narrator. Allison’s reader sounded very inexperienced.
While the mystery is supposedly the focus of the book, the neighbors’ gossip uses up a lot of pages as filler. It still held my attention throughout. The pacing was good. I guessed the culprit around 70 percent. What was funny is that I had a dream about that time, and my dream predicted the villain correctly, although it had the whole neighborhood also in on it.
P.S. No child today is named Billy. Zero. A child named William will be nicknamed Will, if anything. “Billy” died in the 1960s.
*Reader’s Choice Nominee Spring 2024*
Language: Some strong language throughout
Sexual Content: One scene is mildly explicit
Violence/Gore: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
July 13, 2022
Yet another book where I predicted the ending (and then some). It doesn't mean that the book is bad, but I do wish it was executed a bit better.
There are scenes where it becomes obvious who did the crime(s) early on, and the little seeds of doubt that are supposed to steer the reader in another direction weren't planted properly, at least not in my case.
The predictability isn't the main flaw of this book however, since I've previously enjoyed similar books, and I did enjoy this one too. No, I think the problem is that so many dialogues between the characters added nothing to the story. It just seemed like they were there to fill up the pages, making the book feel longer than it really was.
I was expecting something like Desperate Housewives, but scarier, and I got a very, very, VERY watered down version of that instead. I wasn't even scared once while reading, which is sad.
Anyway, the characters. I didn't have any strong feelings about them, other than Cassidy. She was a babysitter who was at the scene of the crime not once, but twice when the kids went missing and a big part of the community is convinced she had something to do with it. Did she?
Classidy was the most relatable to me, and the most realistic. The rest were fine, but they won't stick with me like she will.
And the atmosphere was nice, I like small town/suburban settings, especially in mysteries. I really loved the descriptions at the end when it rained. Because of that I'd read another book by this author in the future.
3.5
*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
There are scenes where it becomes obvious who did the crime(s) early on, and the little seeds of doubt that are supposed to steer the reader in another direction weren't planted properly, at least not in my case.
The predictability isn't the main flaw of this book however, since I've previously enjoyed similar books, and I did enjoy this one too. No, I think the problem is that so many dialogues between the characters added nothing to the story. It just seemed like they were there to fill up the pages, making the book feel longer than it really was.
I was expecting something like Desperate Housewives, but scarier, and I got a very, very, VERY watered down version of that instead. I wasn't even scared once while reading, which is sad.
Anyway, the characters. I didn't have any strong feelings about them, other than Cassidy. She was a babysitter who was at the scene of the crime not once, but twice when the kids went missing and a big part of the community is convinced she had something to do with it. Did she?
Classidy was the most relatable to me, and the most realistic. The rest were fine, but they won't stick with me like she will.
And the atmosphere was nice, I like small town/suburban settings, especially in mysteries. I really loved the descriptions at the end when it rained. Because of that I'd read another book by this author in the future.
3.5
*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
July 27, 2022
1.5 rounded up. I don’t think any character in this entire story had a brain. Rampant with the dumbest decisions I’ve ever heard of. Repeatedly. Every “twist” if you could even call them that, you see coming a mile away.
I was not suspenseful, just stupid. Also, if you don’t want to read 250 plus pages about kids, (which I didn’t) I suggest you skip this one.
I was not suspenseful, just stupid. Also, if you don’t want to read 250 plus pages about kids, (which I didn’t) I suggest you skip this one.
August 22, 2022
The market is saturated with psychological thrillers set in a neighborhood environment lately. Some are better than others and, I am happy to say, this is one of the better ones. A kidnapping terrifies the upper middle class NJ neighborhood and causes a plethora of gossip and neighbors to suspect neighbors. When a second child is kidnapped, the neighborhood is on lock down. The plot is gripping from the start and alternating chapters told from the perspectives of multiple characters produce abundant suspense and allow readers to witness the situation through a multitude of points of view. Shorter chapters cause the plot to move along at a frenetic pace and secret after secret is revealed. The twisty plot delivers more than one surprise and the ending is both unexpected and satisfying. I look forward to reading more from this author!
December 13, 2021
The Oak Hill neighborhood seems to be the perfect suburban location to live…until it isn’t. Allison Langley leaves her rockstar husband, Christopher, in the middle of the night. This is the talk of the town until a child goes missing. Billy is 5 years old and disappears while walking home from school. In a search for suspects, Billy’s mother, Rachel, has to consider who would have a reason to hurt her and her family. Could it be someone from the neighborhood? When a second child goes missing the investigation goes full tilt and turns the neighborhood upside down looking for any clue.
I spent a lot of time trying to solve the mystery of THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD. In the end, I was successful but it was a great story and a lot of fun to unravel. Any one living in suburbia will relate to this book on some level. The writing is top notch and the characters come to life from the pages. Liz Alterman has created a nearly perfect “whodunit” with THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
I spent a lot of time trying to solve the mystery of THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD. In the end, I was successful but it was a great story and a lot of fun to unravel. Any one living in suburbia will relate to this book on some level. The writing is top notch and the characters come to life from the pages. Liz Alterman has created a nearly perfect “whodunit” with THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
July 11, 2022
Is Oak Hill, NJ the perfect suburban neighborhood?!? Hah right! Not in the least.
With multiple female POV’s, this dealt with a slew of melodrama. Lots of secrets behind closed doors, jealousy, backstabbing, gossipy neighbors, cheating. Then the one thing that no one expected happens. The disappearance of not one, but two children vanish into thin air.. three weeks apart. Both under the same teen sitters care. Were they kidnapped? No clues are left behind until a disposable phone is recovered in the yard of the latest crime scene.
It’s unsettling to read but oh what a thrill! If you enjoy a good domestic thriller this is not to be missed. 3.5 stars. Pub. 7/12/22
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
With multiple female POV’s, this dealt with a slew of melodrama. Lots of secrets behind closed doors, jealousy, backstabbing, gossipy neighbors, cheating. Then the one thing that no one expected happens. The disappearance of not one, but two children vanish into thin air.. three weeks apart. Both under the same teen sitters care. Were they kidnapped? No clues are left behind until a disposable phone is recovered in the yard of the latest crime scene.
It’s unsettling to read but oh what a thrill! If you enjoy a good domestic thriller this is not to be missed. 3.5 stars. Pub. 7/12/22
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 20, 2022
3.5 stars. Five year old Billy disappeared while walking home from school. Rachel is Billy's mother and she's feeling guilty that she let him walk. Cassidy is his teen babysitter and she's feeling guilty because she was a few minutes late to the house to meet him. Actress Allison left her husband, former rock star Chris, in the middle of the night and even though she lived in the neighborhood, it's not immediately apparent why she is an important narrator.
Most of the books I've been reading lately have had lots of action so it felt strange to be reading one that didn't have any but I was soon caught up in the story. The book is narrated by the neighborhood ladies, mostly by Rachel, Allison and Cassidy. I don't think I could be friends with anyone who lived here.
Most of the books I've been reading lately have had lots of action so it felt strange to be reading one that didn't have any but I was soon caught up in the story. The book is narrated by the neighborhood ladies, mostly by Rachel, Allison and Cassidy. I don't think I could be friends with anyone who lived here.
July 12, 2022
How could this happen in OUR neighbor? Children don't get kidnapped in Oak Hill.
The perfect neighborhood wasn't so perfect after Rachel's son Billy disappeared while walking home alone from school.
Rachel was at work, and the babysitter was late getting there. Why was the babysitter late, and would it have mattered if she had been there on time?
We meet Rachel, her husband, her husband's son, Evan, Cassidy the babysitter, and Allison who also left her husband and the neighborhood and who desperately wanted a baby.
The police have no clues as we follow along with the investigation trying to figure out along with them.
Then the unthinkable happens again - another child goes missing and again while the child is under Cassidy's care.
Did someone know she would be there?
Did the family plan this to discredit Cassidy?
It had been a last minute request to have Cassidy babysit the three children.
Another horror for Cassidy and a few more suspects I had in mind.
Along with the kidnapping, most of the characters had some issue going on besides being involved in this situation.
You will be guessing and not sure if you will be guessing correctly, but the responsible person was not the one I chose.
My first book by this author - a good thriller that kept me on my toes. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The perfect neighborhood wasn't so perfect after Rachel's son Billy disappeared while walking home alone from school.
Rachel was at work, and the babysitter was late getting there. Why was the babysitter late, and would it have mattered if she had been there on time?
We meet Rachel, her husband, her husband's son, Evan, Cassidy the babysitter, and Allison who also left her husband and the neighborhood and who desperately wanted a baby.
The police have no clues as we follow along with the investigation trying to figure out along with them.
Then the unthinkable happens again - another child goes missing and again while the child is under Cassidy's care.
Did someone know she would be there?
Did the family plan this to discredit Cassidy?
It had been a last minute request to have Cassidy babysit the three children.
Another horror for Cassidy and a few more suspects I had in mind.
Along with the kidnapping, most of the characters had some issue going on besides being involved in this situation.
You will be guessing and not sure if you will be guessing correctly, but the responsible person was not the one I chose.
My first book by this author - a good thriller that kept me on my toes. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 7, 2022
3¾⭐
Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…
➨ Domestic Thriller ➨ Missing Child Mystery ➨ Neighborhood Gossip ➨ Several POVs
I suspected it was “who” it was fairly early on…did the author make me doubt my suspicions…yeah, for the most part, she did. There is a plethora of gossip and secrets in this neighborhood to spill and stew upon and ultimately can keep you interested in the outcome. And while this did hold my interest, there were some elements that didn’t sit well with me, overall. But I’m still giving this a good-ish rating and I will say that I think this author has potential.
➨ Narrated by: 🎙️Amanda Dolan, Priya Ayyar, Hillary Huber, Laura Jennings, Gail Shalan 📣 There may have been a few too many POVs but at least they all had separate narrators.
Total Score 7.29/10 | Opening-7.5 | Characters-7 | Plot-7 | Atmosphere-7.5 | Writing Style-7.5 | Ending-7.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 7
Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…
➨ Domestic Thriller ➨ Missing Child Mystery ➨ Neighborhood Gossip ➨ Several POVs
I suspected it was “who” it was fairly early on…did the author make me doubt my suspicions…yeah, for the most part, she did. There is a plethora of gossip and secrets in this neighborhood to spill and stew upon and ultimately can keep you interested in the outcome. And while this did hold my interest, there were some elements that didn’t sit well with me, overall. But I’m still giving this a good-ish rating and I will say that I think this author has potential.
➨ Narrated by: 🎙️Amanda Dolan, Priya Ayyar, Hillary Huber, Laura Jennings, Gail Shalan 📣 There may have been a few too many POVs but at least they all had separate narrators.
Total Score 7.29/10 | Opening-7.5 | Characters-7 | Plot-7 | Atmosphere-7.5 | Writing Style-7.5 | Ending-7.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 7
August 30, 2023
When actress and model Allison Langley leaves her former rockstar husband Christopher in the middle of the night, it's all the neighbours can talk about. Well until five year old Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten. His babysitter was supposed to have met him but was running late.
Told through multiple POV's, you soon realise that it most definitely is not "The Perfect Neighbourhood." There are lies and secrets and no one is as they appear to be.
A must read book.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Told through multiple POV's, you soon realise that it most definitely is not "The Perfect Neighbourhood." There are lies and secrets and no one is as they appear to be.
A must read book.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2022
TITLE: The Perfect Neighborhood
AUTHOR: Liz Alterman
PUB DATE: 07.12.2022 Now Available
This is domestic suspense at its finest.
Secrets
Suspense
Simply irresistible
The Perfect Neighborhood is anything but, when a community starts to unravel when a young boy has gone missing. The worst nightmare has happened to this community when the babysitter ran late from picking up.
I loved the alternating perspectives of these women, which made this a crazy page turner of a read. This was hard to put down and definitely a book easy to read in one sitting because it was just that propulsive and intriguing.
Enjoyed this one a lot!
AUTHOR: Liz Alterman
PUB DATE: 07.12.2022 Now Available
This is domestic suspense at its finest.
Secrets
Suspense
Simply irresistible
The Perfect Neighborhood is anything but, when a community starts to unravel when a young boy has gone missing. The worst nightmare has happened to this community when the babysitter ran late from picking up.
I loved the alternating perspectives of these women, which made this a crazy page turner of a read. This was hard to put down and definitely a book easy to read in one sitting because it was just that propulsive and intriguing.
Enjoyed this one a lot!
October 26, 2021
Thank you #Netgalley for this advanced copy!
In this suburban thriller, we follow a few women, Cassidy (a local 18yo babysitter), Sarah and Rachel (moms) and Allison (local celeb on the run). This small town seems like the perfect little place to raise a family, at least that is what grabbed Allison and her husband Chris into quickly moving there. Everyone knows everyone, kids walk the neighborhood, parents look out for each other, the perfect place. That is until Cassidy arrives late to Rachel's house where she watches Billy after school, but Billy wasn't there. Panic erupted. Cassidy had a secret as to why she was late, Rachel had numerous secrets about her personal relationships. The town freaks out, wondering what could have happened to the 5yo boy. The story follows the twists and turns and new revelations, eventually Cassidy seems to be in the clear and she has been asked to babysit again, this time for Sarah. And then the unthinkable happens again....a child goes missing under Cassidy's watch. We watch as all the characters are intertwined and keeping their own secrets. This was a quick read as I eagerly wanted to find out what happened to those innocent children with so many locals playing a keep piece in the story.
In this suburban thriller, we follow a few women, Cassidy (a local 18yo babysitter), Sarah and Rachel (moms) and Allison (local celeb on the run). This small town seems like the perfect little place to raise a family, at least that is what grabbed Allison and her husband Chris into quickly moving there. Everyone knows everyone, kids walk the neighborhood, parents look out for each other, the perfect place. That is until Cassidy arrives late to Rachel's house where she watches Billy after school, but Billy wasn't there. Panic erupted. Cassidy had a secret as to why she was late, Rachel had numerous secrets about her personal relationships. The town freaks out, wondering what could have happened to the 5yo boy. The story follows the twists and turns and new revelations, eventually Cassidy seems to be in the clear and she has been asked to babysit again, this time for Sarah. And then the unthinkable happens again....a child goes missing under Cassidy's watch. We watch as all the characters are intertwined and keeping their own secrets. This was a quick read as I eagerly wanted to find out what happened to those innocent children with so many locals playing a keep piece in the story.
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