Throughout reading this book I blew hot and cold over and over.
At first I was enjoying it, then it became confusing and I felt l I had no idea what was going on and I had I missed something and was it even worth carrying on with.

But I did carry on and it became clearer as the book progressed and towards the end it became very clear what had happened.
I must say I was not expecting that twist!
Never really felt much for Helen or any of the other characters but all in all a very enjoyable read.

A gripping page turner. The Perfect Neighbours is recommended to fans of psychological thrillers.

A dark anc twisty thriller - it was, there were some surprising parts that I didn’t see coming. I didn’t like the German words thrown in randomly, and I wasn’t massively impressed with the back stories as it got a bit confusing for me! Nice concept on a very written about subject.

Helen moves to Germany and gives up her career to support her husband Gary in his at the International School. When she moves into the cup de sac and is introduced to the seemingly perfect neighbours but if they are so perfect why is there a German man, Sascha, stalking their every move?
I enjoyed the book and meeting the neighbours as their less than perfect lives are revealed and secrets from the past are revealed.

When Helen moves abroad to Germany to be with new husband Gary she is thrust into a tightknit expat neighbourhood where everything is seemingly too nice and too well structured. All of the neighbours work at the school with Gary and they know everything about everyone. Helen tries her best to fit in, but even those who are seemingly the most perfect simply arent and behind closed doors lies a lot of destruction and devastation.

A twisting and turning plot which throws you from one scenario to the next. It is gripping, unpredictable, page turning and totally makes you never want to speak to your neighbours again!

Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this book but I think that was because of the German setting/locations.

I was so excited to give this one a try, a thriller about mysterious and dangerous neighbours, what isn't to love? After all, it's what we always hear...how well do you know your neighbours?!

That being said, I was also slightly hesitant that this one would be anything special, it's concept doesn't sound entirely original, and I read a lot of thrillers, so finding one which stands out is difficult. However, this definitely hooked me, and was worth a read!

This book follows Helen, who finally has the opportunity to join her husband, Gary, living in Germany, after a lengthy long-distance relationship. However, when Helen arrives and is introduced to all of her neighbours, who also work with Gary, she doesn't get a good impression of them, and doesn't have much interest in being friends with them. These neighbours are a nosy bunch - they all know everything about each other, spend all of their time together and just seem to live as a pack. More so than that, each is hiding a deep secret and they will do anything to keep them hidden.

My favourite parts of the story are narrated by Fiona, a student, whose chapters are italicised throughout the book. I found these chapters the most gripping and suspenseful, and found myself waiting for another to crop up.

This is the first of Sargeant's books I have read, and I would definitely check out her future work. She writes well, and is able to maintain suspense throughout her book. In terms of the plot, Sargeant had a sophisticated backstory, which was intertwined through the plot - which made for a well-paced read. The book's plot-twists were fairly predictable, although not so much so that you have guessed them too far in advance, and thus, still keeping you interested in how the plot develops.

Full Review Available Here: http://thereadingruby.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/the-perfect-neighbours-by-rachel.html

I really liked this book: it served up an intriguing mix of murder, multiple perspectives and the kind of over-the-fence nosiness that Aunt Petunia would be proud of.

Married couple Helen and Gary move to the German suburbs in the hopes of rekindling their marriage and advancing Gary’s career as a teacher at the local International School. But to Helen’s dismay, their new home is a cul-de-sac where all of Gary’s fellow teachers live too… and it soon becomes apparent that there’s a lot more hiding underneath the idyllic surface than first appears.

For instance, secrets, hidden identities and murder.

Right from the start, the story was engaging- simply because you didn’t know where it would take you. Helen’s neighbours- mostly comprising the annoying perfectionist Louisa and Damien, her philandering husband, as well as slimy teacher Chris and his frightened wife Mel- soon become inextricably entwined with her life, as does the frightening stalker that haunts the suburb. Sargeant excels at creating believable, flawed characters: as a heroine, Helen’s frustration with the limitations of her new life is all too obvious, and her attempts to find out what’s going on within the tightly knit group of teachers is understandable. She’s the perfect way to introduce us to the madness that’s going on under the surface of the cul-de-sac, and as things escalate we like Helen find ourselves sucked in deeper.

There are a plethora of storylines going on here, too: like Sascha, the stalker, and his alcoholic mother, who pop up over the course of the book, and a mysterious Fiona, who finds herself seduced by an older man and on the run as a result. Whilst Sascha adds to the storyline, I found Fiona a little confusing and unnecessary- especially as the significance of her being there doesn’t make sense until the end.

The plot races along, too, with Sargeant making the most of the oppressive, unfamiliar atmosphere to create twists and turns galore- including a huge one in the middle of the book that I won’t spoil, but that turns the entire book on its head! It makes for gripping reading, as neighbours become suspects, allies and objects of sympathy in turn, and I was glued to the book as Sargeant deftly strips all of the characters of their secrets, revealing the dark undercurrents to all of their lives- even Helen’s.

The only thing I would quibble about is the ending, which fits in Fiona’s story but which also stretches credulity a little in a book built solely on rumours and tense thrills. Despite that, though, this is a well-crafted, intriguing and dark story that is all about truth, lies and the secrets that people have- even the ones closest to us.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Perfect Neighbours is definitely a physiological thriller! It is very cleverly written with an extremely intricate plot of several tangles weaved in. It contains detail that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat in places. There are a lot of characters to get to grips with, so there is a lot of detail to take in. The main story is interspersed with extracts from something else that is going on, aside from the main story. The first fifty percent of the book is taken up with scene setting and divulging information, and from here on you can start to build the jigsaw!
I feel this book would be best enjoyed in one sitting, where it can be concentrated on with determination. I am therefore giving four stars, as I didn't fit the above criteria, and found it a bit hard going and confusing but I did stick with it and enjoyed the story once I'd finished it!

The perfect neighbours is a psychological thriller that will have you speeding through to find out more whilst feeling extremely claustrophobic!!
This is the first book I've read by Rachel Sergeant and won't be my last. The book is based around Helen and from the start you et a feeling something is going to happen, your not sure when or where but you know its going to happen and most probably to Helen.
This is a different kind of read that I enjoyed a lot. You begin the journey with Helen having given up her teaching career in England to go and live with her husband, Gary, who is a teacher in an international school in Germany. From what I could make out apart from one old man all the houses on this avenue were specifically English people who had some connection to the school, be it they taught there or were related to someone who worked or managed at the school. The neighbours, especially Louisa had me feeling very claustrophobic due to this unhealthy arrangement of everyone living out of each others pockets. Helen didn't like this set up at all and I admired her for taking step back from all this. Throughout the story there was a lot going on with a lot of the times Helen only hearing part of the whispered conversation. There are a huge amount of twists and turns as secrets are revealed and this was hugely enjoyable.
I would like to thank netgalley and HarperCollins and Killer reads for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ 3.5 stars

The Perfect Neighbours?...No such thing! Especially in this case, where we read about Helen leaving her life in England behind to start a new one as she joins her husband in Germany, where he works as a teacher at the International School. Helen tries to fit in with the other teachers and their families living on her street, but soon finds some of her neighbours to be controlling and over involved, putting on an act of perfectionism although it becomes clear that they've got closely guarded secrets they'll do anything to keep hidden. When the consequences of such secrets result in bloodshed, Helen's world is turned upside down as she discovers her 'perfect neighbours' are the perfect liars and can't be trusted.

This story has a lot going on, with plenty of characters to spice things up, although it does take a while to keep track of who is who. With the majority of the characters an unlikeable bunch, it is easy to suspect them of all sorts of wrong doings.

Without going into detail for fear of spoilers, I must congratulate the author for the refreshing and original concept of the perfect con artist. However, although I understand that this is fiction and belief can be suspended, I did feel the conclusion asked too much of me in this regard, going over the edge, the story becoming unbelievable, the motives for the bloodshed of some of the victims not quite understandable.

Just another little something that disrupted my enjoyment of this story was the bits of German peppered throughout the book. As the story took place in Germany, this is completely acceptable and understandable, but it would help if the reader could understand what was being said. Granted, sometimes it was translated, but other times not, and I would find myself on Google Translate having to translate the German text myself.

All in all, a good read that I went through quickly as it captured my attention throughout, with the whodunit and the why catching me totally by surprise.

Many thanks to the author, Netgalley and
HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, Killer Reads for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Perfect Neighbours was a great psychological thriller that hooked me from the first few pages.
Lots of twists and turns throughout and the ending, well I did not see it coming.
Is there such a thing as a perfect neighbourhood, certainly not in this book.
Have a read you won’t be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this book which was the first book I had read by Rachel Sergeant.
Whilst the concept of the book is not completely original, it feels very different to anything I had read before (and I read a lot of psychological thrillers) due to the setting (around an neighbourhood of families of teachers at an International School in Germany) and the way in which is written by Rachael.
There are a lot of twists and turns that one would hope for in a good thriller.
I did not work out the ending until very near the end (which is always very good).
I recommend this book for anyone who likes a good psychological thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gripping psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns throughout the book.
Helen moves to Germany to be with her husband who teaches at the International School and at first everything seems ok.
But as Helen gets to know her neighbours she learns that there’s something not quite right here...
As the story progresses the truth slowly comes to light and it keeps you hooked throughout.
When I saw the title I thought there’s no such thing as a perfect neighbourhood and this book backs up my opinion!
Thanks to NetGalley and Killer Reads/Harper Collins for sending me a copy to read and review.

I wanted to love this book, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I don’t know if it was because it was set in Germany but I just didn’t connect with the book.

For once I didn’t like the split story lines as I thought they distracted too much from each other and I found it hard to get back into the other side in the next chapter.

A very complicated,disturbing and intriguing story. I had no idea where it was going or what they were hiding., A great twist at the end.

This book had more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride!
Fast paced throughout and kept me guessing aLloyd the way. Fantastic!

If you are looking for a well written crime novel that has a twisting turning plot and where you do not know why the crime has occurred and by whom until the final pages then I believe that this could definitely be something for you. Certainly I did not identify the culprit or the motivation until it was revealed. The novel certainly has an intricate plot and it also delves into the psyche of the leading characters, the majority are certainly not what they seem and appear to have hidden secrets some of which will be life threatening but which of these characters is the one who has homicidal tendencies?

The central character is Helen who moves to Germany to join her husband Gary who is teaching at an international school. They live with the rest of the staff in a rented community and when Helen meets her neighbours the sense of unease and foreboding increases caused not only by their strange behaviour but also by a series of unsettling events that you know will ultimately lead to something much worse. This is announced from the beginning when the opening chapter finds Helen in a police cell in December and the story is then retold from her arrival at the school from earlier in the year.

Trying to work out what is going on is also made more difficult by chapters inserted into the story under the heading of Fiona who is not a name of any of the characters at the school. Who is Fiona and how her story relates to the overall story certainly kept me guessing until all was eventually revealed and the loose ends were tied up.

So if you like a page turner that has you guessing then I would certainly recommend this.

This book was dull, confusing and just boring sorry.

I read a quarter of the book and had to give up because the book was so awful.