I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for allowing me to read this novel by Rachel Sargeant in return for my honest review. This is a new author to me and I liked the style of writing and the way the story developed.

Helen moves to Germany to be with her husband who is a teacher. The cul-de-sac she finds herself living in is full of people who all seem to have something to hide. Helen doesn't fit in with her neighbours and struggles to cope with the ex-pat community with the dinner parties and social gatherings which drives a wedge between her and her husband.

She meets the man which the rest of the cul-de-sac believe is a stalker at the local swimming pool and forms a bond with him, alienating her even more from the rest of the community.

As the plot develops the sinister things the neighbours are hiding become the central themes, including the secret her husband hid from her. I enjoyed the twists and turns and it kept me guessing all the way to the end. Clever and enjoyable. Recommended.

This is an excellent book. With really great characters and a brilliant plot. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book and would highly recommend it.

Sadly this book was not for me,I found the characters unlikeable and the story hard to follow with too many back stories etc,the book did not flow and I found the constant German words used with the English in brackets annoying,,the idea of the book was interesting but sadly imo did not deliver as the cover and write up promised.

I just couldn't get into this book. The story didn't flow for me, and so I found I couldn't get gripped by it which is what I want from a psychological thriller. Not for me I'm afraid.

I am finding it difficult to put into words why I disliked this book so much, but it just did not work for me. When a book promises to be 'the most addictive debut psychological thriller of the year', you have high hopes for a book. A plot centred around a British ex-pat community in Germany, straight off the characters are mostly unlikeable and grated on me. There wasn't a single character I could relate or warm to, and so from the start the story felt very disconnected from reality. There were far too many names and back-stories to get used to and I found myself having to keep going back over previous pages to refresh my mind as to who was who.

Eventually I got to grips with the character, only to find that the plot became incredibly far-fetched, very convoluted, and full of completely unbelievable plot points. There was nothing 'thrilling' about this as it all seemed so far removed from reality. The last 20% of the book was a real slog to get through as I wasn't enjoying the plot and just wanted to find out what happened, and that chunk of the book is when it gets even worse. It feels almost like several different plot lines strung together to make a very mismatched book. The only saving grace here is that the technical writing ability is great.

The Perfect Neighbours is a brilliantly addictive psychological thriller with really excellent twists and turns, some divisive characters and a proper full on beautifully placed finale that pulls together all the strands of the narrative perfectly.

To be honest, even when the Neighbours were initially introduced I couldn't help but think to myself "actually for me these would be the neighbours from hell" with their involvement in each others lives and the fact that they all are attached to the school and that one know it all in charge of it all person that you really would like to slap. Still, they are welcoming and our main protagonist does her best to fit in - but everyone is hiding something, there is a truly dark and horrific secret lurking beneath all the bonhommie and it is extremely compelling as things unravel.

The setting is well described, I liked the fish out of water feel everyone seemed to have, Rachel Sargeant writes with an immersive style and a wry eye towards the realities of our social structures. Add into that a truly unpredictable sense of what might happen and you have a winner.

Really enjoyed it. I do like the good psychological thrillers. Still life in the old dog yet.

Recommended.