This books starts with a young boy appearing out of the park covered in blood.
Years later Jake and Leah move into the basement of a man called Anton. Leah has insomnia and Jake is hardly there. So Anton is there for Leah listening to her is he being nice to her or is there something else going on. The neighbours don’t like Anton then they find out why he’s been in prison for the last 19 years accused of killing his wife. Who was a striking resemblance to Leah.
Thanks NetGalley for a good read

Come A Little Closer is a domestic mystery that moves at a gentle pace. After a fairly attention-grabbing introduction to the street on which it all takes place, we settle into discovering the main characters. Interesting characters at that. There's a decent level of detail and backstory even on some of the less prominent characters, it all builds up a very balanced and believable world. In fact, despite the fact that you spend the whole story pondering a murder, the whole thing is very grounded.

But for all these great traits I never really got hooked by it all. It's a pleasant, enjoyable read, but I never found myself drawn in and craving a little more. Many chapters ended on a mini-cliffhanger, ones that could've come with a dramatic drumbeat to signal you need to know more, but like a soap opera, I quickly realised that I wasn't going to get that satisfaction any time soon. Don't worry, you do get the payoff eventually. You know that things are going to shift into focus in the end, and they do. Rather well in fact. It's just that the whole thing is very pleasant rather than engaging. It's a great summertime read in that respect. One you can access easily between some poolside drinks, or waiting at the gate. You can read it in a park and not be bothered by the ice cream van playing an annoying tune. It's a socially acceptable thriller that you can pass around without worrying about people thinking you're a psychopath for reading. It's great at being good.

If you want a nice easy holiday read with a decent plot and a nice dose of mystery you can't go wrong here.

I love thrillers. I’ve read hundreds of them over the years. There are so many written that it’s hard to offer something truly unique and original. This book is a slow-burner rather than an in your face murderous mess than tends to be very common with crime books now. The tension and suspense is slowly built and is almost unbearable at times. You know something terrible is going to happen but have no idea who is going to be the victim and who the perpetrator really is. The book is so creepy. Anton is a strange character and at times I didn’t know what to think of him. He plays the role as a villain and possible monster yet at times seems to be a perfectly nice guy. The book opens with a scene demanding your attention when a boy appears in park, covered in blood and asking for help. Who wouldn’t want to know what happens next? I liked the fact there are three different POV character so you need to read and work out whose telling the true version of events.

There is always a tension, in reviewing a book, when the reader finds the writing skilfully executed and exceptionally fluent but finds the basic story unsatisfying. Sadly, that is the case with 'Come a Little Closer' for this reader, at least. In terms of positives, the characters are remarkably well drawn and highly credible; their lives, stresses and motives are fully explored and exposed and there is a subtle rhythm to the novel that is engaging. Unfortunately, for me - and I realise this must necessarily be a highly personal judgement, the story just does not match the excellence of the architecture or fluency of the writing. There's a murder, and the reader is left wondering if the husband convicted of the crime is guilty, although the uncertainty is really not reinforced sufficiently, whilst a parallel theme explores obsessive psychological dominance of a vulnerable young woman. The denouement is rather hurriedly teased out in the closing pages, with at least some of the loose ends tied up. I persisted to the end so there was something that kept me reading, but - overall - not very satisfying. Such evident literary skill deserves a better plot.

Hooked form the beginning when a little boy walks into the park covered in blood. The story picks up nineteen years later when Leah and Jake set up home where the boy once lived.

The story is told by the three main characters which i really enjoyed. There is more tot he story than you assume and keeps you reading. A surprising story with well written multi-layered characters. Five stars.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Penguin and Karen Perry for my copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

A story that grips you from the start - an incredible prologue. Then follows a dark and intense story told by Anton, Leah and Hilary. Great characters with lots of secrets and lies. The scenery is written so well that you can picture the house that has been empty for 19 years. A good 'didn't see that coming' ending.

I thought this book had a great start and grabbed attention immediately. I was guessing all the way through the book who was telling the truth and who was guilty.

I did find it got a little slow in the middle. It did pick back up at the end. A good read and did well to keep me guessing.

I as delighted to be offered this book to read by the publishers as I had read Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry and really enjoyed that book. This one is a gripping page turner with twists and unpredictable results.
Told from the points of view of Anton who went to prison for killing his wife but who protests his innocence, Leah, who moves into the flat downstairs with her boyfriend, and is hiding a secret that could destroy the relationship, and Hillary, who holds a torch for Anton even though she is married to Greg.
A strange and disturbing story that builds to an unexpected finale. Recommended read.

A neighbourhood had gathered in a park when a young boy wanders over, covered in blood, asking for help.

Nineteen years later Leah and Jake move into the basement flat of the same house that the little boy had come from. The owners son, Mark is renting the house out on behalf of his father, Anton. Jake has a seven year old son who will stay with them some weekends. Anton has been away. The neighbours are not happy to see him back. Leah makes friends with Anton, he's their upstairs neighbour. Hilary and Grey live across the street. They are both teachers. They used to live in the basement flat that Leah and Jake are in. Anton is fixated with Leah, she looks like his wife did. But Leah does not know that Anton killed her.

The story is told from Anton, Hilary and Leah's point of view. It's a dark and chilling read. Anton is not the only person with secrets. We are slowly fed the story but it will keep you hooked until we get to the conclusion. It's also full of surprises. The characters are multilayered and the story is well written. A great creepy read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an unsuspecting ending!!!
This story is full of lies, secrets and not knowing who to trust. Not one of the characters was really likeable and Anton just seemed like a slimy old man to me. Leah on the other hand was to trustworthy and Jake was never there for Leah and then there was Hilary... This was a great read with a equally great cast of characters and some twists along the way. This was the second book by Karen Perry that I read and it didn't disappoint.

Well dang, it’s been a long time since I was blindsided by a twist...well played Ms Perry, well played!

Flawed characters at every turn help add to the many layers of suspense that will keep you guessing.

This is going to be one of the top summer reads this year!

ARC provided by NetGalley

No happy characters here and no surprises that there can be no happy endings either. And what a gripping read it is because of it. Everyone has their demons, parts of them that they don't disclose and this book will keep you guessing and then guessing again as fragments of the characters' lives are revealed.

I genuinely didn't know which characters to believe for most of this book! Some of them are not very nice people, and some are credibly two faced. It is a good psychological thriller, with pregnant Leah and the newly released, convicted murderer, landlord. The book moves between two time periods, present day and twenty years earlier when the murder was committed. The parties of the earlier years evoke the period very well. I really enjoyed it, and will look out for future books by Karen Perry.

Come a Little Closer is another cracker of a psychological thriller from Karen Perry and it is genuinely one of the most taut, tense and utterly chilling books I've read this year. I have found some of Perry's earlier novels weren't to my taste but this has blown me away as I initially expected the same average novel. It is clear the author has stepped up her game considerably.

Jake and Leah are moving into a basement together — the first step in taking their relationship to the next level. However, not everything is as rosy as it should be: Leah is suffering from crippling insomnia, something I can relate to as I have it myself, and with Jake being away from home a lot Leah feels lonely and isolated, especially at night. It doesn't take long before she seeks solace elsewhere.

This leads her to the keen listening ear of Anton, the owner of the house in which they have rented the basement. He has returned to the locale after years away. Leah doesn't understand why the residents of the small community have shunned and ostracised him. But when it's revealed that he murdered his wife some years earlier Leah wishes she could unshare some of the secrets she told to him on many a long night.

The story starts with an almighty bang — a young boy bloodied, battered and begging for help in a local park. Now if that doesn't get you interested then I don't know what will. The menacing undertone continues throughout and the deeper you read the more deliciously dark and ominous the atmosphere becomes. It's well written and intelligently plotted with a complex, multilayered structure which means you have to revise your guesses about what will happen multiple times. The conclusion, however, felt rushed and slightly anticlimactic and is the reason for deducting a star. Many thanks to Penguin for an ARC.

A great psychological thriller, although it's the first book that I have read by this author I soon got into the style of writing. It had me on the edge of my seat and Wow what an ending, highly recommend.

This is another highly enjoyable read from Karen Perry, author of the excellent 'Your Closest Friend'.

Jake and Leah have finally found somewhere they can afford. Okay, it's a dark, slightly damp basement flat but it's in a decent area and the rent is ridiculously cheap. Now they can settle down and look forward to a future together. At the same time the owner of the building, Anton, moves back to live in the main house above the lovebirds flat, after being 'away' for a lengthy period of time. Since Anton's return curtains in neighbouring properties have been twitching like crazy but Leah finds the whispers about the shy, quiet older man hard to believe and strikes up a tentative friendship with him. But she could be putting herself in terrible danger if Anton really is the monster he has been made out to be. Though he is certainly not the only local resident who has something to hide..

This is a very enjoyable murder mystery with some decent suspense in the latter part and even though I guessed the ending fairly early on that didn't spoil the story for me at all.

A truly tense psychological thriller. This book will have you hooked to the very last page. A chilling opening scene will draw you in, willing the truth to be told.

Leah and her boyfriend, Jake, move into their new home, a basement flat at number 14. Anton, lives in the house above, and has just returned home after some time away. Jake is suddenly absent a lot from the flat as he is spending time with his ex and their son so Leah finds herself becoming friendly with Anton. Is everything quite as it seems ? Will the secrets of the occupants of number 14 be revealed ?

This is a great psychological thriller with a very tense, chilling feeling to it. A very much drip fed storyline that will keep you hooked until the truth is finally revealed.

Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Come a little closer by Karen Perry is a 3 star read.
This book didn’t do much for me, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the storyline had lots of promise and I think other readers will probably like it. I would be very willing to read whatever comes next from this author.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Really enjoyed this book. I found the plot very exciting and couldn’t wait to see how the plot unfolded. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Karen Perry for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

This was a mediocre read for me. Very slow in parts. Unlikeable characters. Just did not deliver what I expect of a thriller so did not hold my attention. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.