The Woman Next Door by Sue Watson is a story of secrets….

When ‘celebrity’ Amber, once a weather girl from TV, moves into the Treetops Estate neighbourhood, the local women want to get to know her….to be her friend.

Lucy bakes a cake to take to Amber to welcome her to the neighbourhood , but Amber is dismissive to say the least…she doesn’t eat cake!

But, Amber eventually starts to join in with the local community, the book club and is the centre of attention, with her glamorous stories……so Lucy and Amber become ‘friends’.

Amber then starts receiving threatening texts and while Lucy is troubled, Amber loves the attention……but is there something more sinister to the messages….

Then atmosphere becomes tense, with a feeling of dread gradually building, just who is the stalker?……..this is not going to end well…….is it?…..

A fast paced, tension filled thriller that will keep you on tenterhooks until the very end….a brilliant read…

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy has a kind and adoring husband, a job she loves as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue with floaty curtains and the softest bed linen. After her troubled childhood, she knows life will never be perfect, but it’s pretty close. She’s also got Amber, right next door. They never run out of things to talk about. Even if Amber’s life – with her high-profile job and handsome, wealthy boyfriend – is more glamorous than Lucy’s.

The closer Lucy gets to anyone, the harder it is to keep her past to herself. But Amber’s boyfriend has left her just when she needs him most, and she doesn’t have anyone else. Lucy knows all too well that people aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes they have secrets. And they’d do anything to keep them. Lucy’s still sure: she can trust her friend... can’t she?

This book was a little slow paced and some parts dragged on a little but other than that this was a really good read that had a lot of suspense and sinister parts. Lucy was something else that's for sure!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #AllHerSecrets
Pub Date: 23 May 2019

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of Sue Watson’s ‘The Woman Next Door’ in exchange for an honest review.

This is Watson’s second foray into domestic noir/psychological thriller territory having previously written a number of romantic comedies. ‘The Woman Next Door’ is a dark journey chronicling the unlikely friendship between self-described frumpy teacher Lucy Metcalf and her glamorous new neighbour, local TV weather girl Amber Young. Actually, Amber is in her early forties and been a weather ‘girl’ for twenty years.

Watson takes her time in establishing her characters. Not only are Lucy and Amber the same age but neither have children; a situation that is heartbreaking for Lucy. While Matt, Lucy’s husband of ten years, is tied up with his work as a drama teacher, the women bond over movies, Prosecco, and share secrets from their unhappy childhoods.

Amber is the target of a stalker and this quickly begins to escalate and Lucy worries that her friend is in danger. No more details as with this is the kind of thriller it’s best to avoid spoilers and go in without too much foreknowledge.

This was a very well plotted thriller with plenty of interesting twists. As noted above it is a slow burn but when it changes gears it racks up the suspense to a nail-biting finale.

I plan to read her earlier novel, ‘Our Little Lies’ and keep a look out for future works. I may even give one of her romcoms a try to see how she approaches lighter themes.

I’ve never read anything by Sue Watson before  but I am told that she has only moved over to the “dark side” relatively recently after previously writing chick lit. If I hadn’t known this, I would think that she had spent her whole career writing psychological thrillers, as in The Woman Next Door, she built tension and put me on edge like an expert. The novel is (mostly) told from the perspectives of Lucy and Amber, two women with similar upbringings, who believe they have found kindred spirits in each other  It’s full of twists, turns, lies and secrets, and it’s up to us as readers to decide who we believe – something that’s easier said than done as Watson constantly played with my mind.

The identity of Amber’s stalker is never far from the reader’s mind and I had to keep reading to discover who it was. I must admit that I did guess who it was, but I was intrigued by the sections from the stalker’s viewpoint  and felt the “reveal” in the last few pages was incredibly clever.

I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

The Woman Next Door was the first book by Sue Watson that I have read. I have heard so many good things about her previous book Our Little Lies so had high hopes for this book. I didn't love this book but it was a fun although predictable read. It felt like a long book at times where the story slowed bit overall I enjoyed it and will read more by this author. I do rea a lot of this genre so maybe I expect a lot from stories now.

Lucy and Matt are happy, both teachers and live in their lovely estate. They have accepted the fact that they will never have children and are focused on each other and their students. When a local minor celebrity in Amber, a local weather girl moves in, Amber is determined to be her friend. It takes a while but eventually they are inseparable. Then Amber confides that she has a stalker, receiving threatening messages and gifts and feels like she is being followed and watched. Matt and Lucy invite her to stay with them for a while to feel safe. After a while Lucy starts to wonder who Amber really is, and is she really telling the truth? Without giving too much away, all 3 main characters annoyed the crap out of me - all very selfish and jealous people. The ending was bizarre to be honest - but it certainly was different!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review through Netgalley and the publisher. This book starts a bit slow, it took a little while to get into. But I have to say it did become very interesting trying to figure out the woman next door. Who is the stalker? The question definitely was not answered till the very end. I would recommend this author to anyone that loves a good mystery! Thanks for my chance to review. I look forward to more from this author.

I have become rather disillusioned with domestic thrillers of late as so many follow similar lines and don't have any attributes that stand out. The Woman Next Door sounds like every other family drama out there, but I was longing for a domestic drama to be captivating again, and my prayers were answered with this book. It follows Amber, who has the type of life many envy but secretly there is much in her life that is far from satisfactory, and her friendship with neighbour Lucy.

I don't want to give too much of the story away but it is well planned and very readable with lots of surprises but one that stands out as being completely shocking coming at you from literally nowhere. As it continues the relationship between the two friends becomes rather disturbing and more than a little strained. It highlights the fact that toxic friendships can build slowly over time without you really noticing before a spectacular turn of events takes place and takes your breath away. It's been quite a while since I've gasped out loud at a book! Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, I always enjoy a story involving an unknown stalker!
I whizzed through The Woman Next Door thanks to Sue Watson's excellent writing I couldn't put it down.
I thought Lucy was quite needy and eager to please and Amber was stand offish and demanding, so they are an unlikely pairing.
I can't say too much without spoiling things, but if you like authors like Sheryl Browne and Shalini Boland I think you would enjoy this story.

Lucy, a teacher, needs a friend. Her husband is usually consumed with his job and her other friends are consumed with their kids. Lucy has no children and since her husband is away a lot she has a lot of alone time. When Amber, a beautiful tv weather girl, pops up in their neighborhood Lucy does not stop until she gets her to become her bff. Slow burning story that has very fluid writing that you can easily lose track of time reading. There was also one twist that was clever. Solid storytelling that just was missing a bit of oomph in the ending. I would still recommend to anyone who enjoys the Brit thrillers that are plentiful these days. The character development was exceptional and you do believe you know these people even if you don't much like a few of them.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. My second time reading a Sue Watson book and this one did not disappoint either. It had everything a good suspense thriller needs....a captivating plot, a neighbour with a stalker, a couple with infertility issues and plot twists you will not anticipate. I couldn't put this book down, Sue has mastered the art of suspense writing. #tea_sipping_bookworm #netgalley #bookstagram #goodreads #kindle #litsy #amazon

Sue Watson's latest novel, The Woman Next Door, is a twisty treat for summer! Mostly told from the perspective of the two main female characters, Lucy and Amber, readers are introduced to what seems like your typical upper middle class neighborhood in Manchester. Lucy befriends the glamorous Amber, a local weather presenter, much to the chagrin of her friends and husband. Lucy puts up with Amber's somewhat selfish and careless treatment and rushes to be at her side when needed. Amber appears to have a stalker and starts disclosing some secrets that seem to put everyone in danger. But, like many popular psychological novels, all is not what it seems. Amber soon reveals that she is pregnant-Lucy's most fervent desire. And things slowly unfold from there.

Mysterious journal entries are peppered throughout the chapters, each one proving more dark. Who is writing them? Why hasn't anyone actually seen Amber's stalker? The second half of the book really picks up and answers these questions in more in a startling conclusion. Definitely add this to your list now!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Woman Next Door is my first but definitely not my last read by this author.

Lucy is content with her life. Good job and happily married to Matt. It all,changes when Lucy a local celebrity moves in nearby. Lucy and Amber becomes friends. When Amber tells Lucy she has a stalker she ends up moving in with Lucy and Matt.

Although this was a slow starter for me I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Lucy is a teacher and almost has the perfect life – perfect husband, perfect house and perfect job. The only thing that isn’t quite right in her life is that she doesn’t have any children, and is unlikely to. Amber is a C-list celebrity and moves into the same road as Lucy lives. They become close friends, (probably a bit too close) but when Amber thinks someone is stalking her, she moves into Lucy’s house.

This was a great thriller which twists and turns its way through the book right from the beginning. I love a story which puts me on edge right from the start, but without really knowing why. Nothing untoward happens at the beginning apart from two women becoming friends, but you can just feel there is something waiting to leap out of the pages at you! Out of all them, I preferred Lucy’s character initially. She seemed like the kind of person I would want to know with her showroom house and straight lines! As the story moved on I began to realise I didn’t really like her, or any of the characters to be totally honest! This wasn’t in a bad way though, as I don’t think you are supposed to like them!

As the book moves on, the suspense starts to build even more. We begin to watch their lives unfold page by page. It felt quite voyeuristic and I felt like I shouldn’t be watching, but couldn’t tear my eyes away! Even though I guessed how it would be ending, it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of it at all! I loved the style of writing, and I think this author goes to prove that she’s just as good at writing thrillers as she is at romantic comedies! Would definitely recommend!

Would you be fascinated if a celeb moved in a few doors down, not a Hollywood celeb but a local celeb none the less?, Lucy is......very excited and she decides she wants Amber to be her friend, its the worst decision she is ever going to make....
This was for me a very quick to read book as the story flew by and I got wrapped into it
Lucy is naive, Amber anything but..together they forge a ‘friendship’ but very much on Amber’s terms, Lucy resents this so does her husband, even more so when because of a stalker Amber ‘moves herself in’...then the true Amber manifests herself....and she isent quite all she seems, in fact she is NOTHING like she seems, in parts of the book such was her manipulation of Lucy and her home I wanted to ‘climb into the book’ and warn Lucy, Amber stirred real emotion in me!!
Fabulous characters, great descriptive writing and a progressive storyline that you find yourself thinking this is going to end badly, and it might!, I am saying no more on that but the last third of the book is pitch perfect psychological thriller with, naturally, a big fanfare ‘twist’ of an ending
Loved it 10/10 5 Stars

#All Her Secrets The Women Next Door # Netgally
A much slower read than I am used to, yet I felt it moved at the right place for this particular book. Theirs certainly a lot of twists in the book Thornton genuinely do not see coming like the stalker. No more give away than this. Other strange things that you genuinely couldn't have suspected of though about something just could not be possible. Yet 2 best friends to end up as they do and feel the way they do it's weird. One of things I really wanted to know what actually happened at the end of the book it honesty looked like you would never really know. With what actually happened between the 2 best friends they still as a strong connection. Then on the last Paige police document submitted in evidence so shocked by it, it felt I had the breath taken out of my body. No way did I ever see this coming. You must read this book. I am still trying to pick my chin up off the floor. It's a true shocker it really is. I have gone over the book in my head and nothing could lead you to this ending must must read

Second book I’ve read by this author and both were good. I really liked the writing and hated the characters (though this I felt was quite intentional).

The action doesn’t really pick up until the second half of this book. There are some twists but the hints leading up to them weren’t always subtle. That’s not to say that I wasn’t surprised here and there as well.

There a little diary excerpts scattered in and they are quite dark. We know our characters have had abusive or neglected childhoods but do these relate?

The conclusion was good and one I didn’t see coming, at least not all of it. This was fun. I look forward to the next by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

Lucy and her husband are a happy couple leading a content life, although Lucy was never able to get pregnant to give them a baby. Amber, a news anchor, moves in next door and the two women become fast friends. Amber comes to Lucy frantic for help with an alleged stalker - is someone out to get her? And why? Phone calls, letters, threatening messages terrify Amber. And to top it all off, Amber's boyfriend seemingly has abandoned her when she needs him the most, when Amber needs protection for herself AND her unborn child. To protect her, Lucy convinces her husband to allow Amber to move in with them. Lucy knows all too well that everyone has secrets - but as times passes, she doubts that Amber is all that she claims to be.
I enjoyed this book! It was a good psychological thriller and it kept me interested.
Thanks to Sue Wilson, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy and Matt are married and living a sort of boring typical life when Amber, a local tv personality, moves in down the road. Lucy finds Amber exciting and they become fast friends, despite an awkward first meeting. When Amber starts getting messages from a stalker, Lucy insists that Amber move in with her and Matt for her own safety. Things inevitably go downhill. After reading this one and I Invited Her In by Adele Parks, I have concluded having friends move in with you is just a bad idea.

This should have been a quick read but for some reason it took me awhile to get through. It was a pretty good book but I think maybe I have done too many domestic thrillers lately. At various points in the book, I felt like I knew what was coming before it came, so it seemed a bit predictable. But overall, it was still a pretty good read.

I find this more interesting than the author's first thriller, which I abandoned after just one chapter. I plan to pick it up again but not anytime soon. Fortunately, this one started good that made me plough through until the end despite the unlikeable characters. I can't even find sympathy for Lucy, not when she's not doing anything to defend herself. I may not like how things turned out for her but I sure appreciate the twist towards the end. Although, it didn't come out as a surprise to me at all. Nevertheless, it's a good ending.

The first third of this book was easy going and set the scene. I can't say I liked Lucy, she annoyed me because she was being manipulated and appeared to be lacking a backbone. She wasn't short of friends but seemed happy to cast them aside for some Z list wannabe. For someone who said she would “wouldn't tell” seemed to take great delight in telling secrets to anyone who would listen. If you want to keep something a secret, tell no one. She herself got upset when others passed on her secrets. You can't have it both ways.
The middle of the book was laborious and tedious and if it wasn't for the fact that this was a NetGalley ARC I would have probably given up, but I was glad I didn't as the action really ramped up in the last third.
Th book itself was mainly told from Lucy's point of view but also from Amber's. There was also an unidentified narrative that appears a few times. I thought that worked quite well.