Book Review: What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

One infant and another on the way, her husband Sam expected to make partner at his law firm and a new home in an affluent DC suburb – everything seems to be going well for Alexis and her family. The house is a fixer-upper and will need quite a bit of work but Alexis is up for the challenge though money might be a bit tight with her on maternity leave from her Consultant job, Alexis is hopeful that this move will usher in a new beginning for her and her family.

Alexis eventually moves into her new home with her husband, two children and live-in nanny and slowly gets to know her new neighbors, the first of whom is Blair who has lived in the neighborhood for over fifteen years. Tragedy rocks the community when Blair’s husband Teddy is found dead at the bottom of a trail near their home on the banks of the Potomac and all evidence points to the fact that it was indeed murder. An investigation ensues and Alexis befriends Blair, spending a lot of time in each other’s company. As the narrative progresses, Alexis begins to notice strange occurrences in the neighborhood, and if the rumors and gossip making rounds is has even an ounce of truth to them, her perfect neighbors have a lot going on under the veneer of the perfect image they strive to maintain. Could any of them be responsible for Teddy’s murder? Is the neighborhood really as safe as it looks to be? Can Alexis trust her neighbors?

"Every house has skeletons in the coat closet. Maybe in every closet. In this neighborhood that’s for sure.”

I struggled with What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman. The story is presented through a dual narrative in alternating chapters. Initially, I was intrigued by the mysterious death of and was looking forward to an intricately plotted domestic suspense thriller but what followed was a long-drawn description of the lives of the affluent, their lies and secrets, bad marriages and infidelities, pettiness and more of the same with the mystery and the investigation taking a backseat. The plot progression was slow, tedious and repetitive. The characters were mostly unlikable, but that did make the story somewhat interesting. Only in the final 20% of the novel was my interest resurrected. I didn’t see the end coming which is always a good thing. Overall, while the premise of the novel held promise, I was a tad disappointed with its execution. Overall, too much drama and too little intrigue!

I paired my reading with the audio narration by Hillary Huber and Sarah Hollis both of whom did a wonderful job of voicing the characters and making the story come to life. The audio certainly helped me get through this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Book and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.