The book's premise was good and I love a good twist, however, I found it hard to want to follow as it was somewhat repetitive and uneven in its pace. If you are a fan of mysteries, I would recommend this but it would be better not to read the synopsis first as it gives away too much of the plot. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

My Review:
Enjoyed!!!! I was hooked from the very first chapter. This was a fast paced mystery with a heart attack of an ending. It had me guessing the whole way through and I’m still in shock. This author is no stranger to me and what I have read of hers I have liked. Her characters were on point with just the right amount of evil in some of them. What I loved most about this book though was it was broken up in several parts with a few of the characters telling their side of the same story. It gave the readers a chance to hear what happened from different point of view. When an author does this it makes a book for me. What first made pick up this book was the blurb. It told me just enough to make me want to read this one. Now on to what I live for, the ending. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It left me wondering how someone would be able to do something like this and how cold a person could really be. Kudos to this author for such a great read. I can’t wait to read her next book.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 4 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Jane can’t help wondering who will live at the house next, and whether they will be anything like the young couple who moved in the previous spring and – for a while at least – fooled them all”


A young couple, Richard and Stephanie Hamlin, are lucky enough to win a beautiful house by taking part in a charity lottery. This becomes a subject of gossip in the upper-middle class neighbourhood as it’s inhabitants anticipate the arrival of their new neighbours.

When this day comes, Richard and Stephanie are quite aloof and try their best to keep to themselves. This sparks the curiosity of Jane, a nosey neighbour who tries her best to make the Hamlin’s feel welcome, and she begins to investigate her new neighbour’s allusiveness.

As the blurb to this book suggests, the Hamlins are not who they say they are and Jane is as determined to find out the truth as they are to hide it. Jane’s interference does not go unnoticed by the “Hamlins” and subtle threats spur the seemingly-bored housewife on even more, making her obsessed with finding out exactly who has moved into number 12 Sycamore Gardens.

This story is divided into four parts with the third person narrative beginning and ending with the perspective of Jane. Readers also experience the viewpoints of both Stephanie and Richard, except, as we already know going in, these aren’t their real names.

This switching of perspectives allows Alison James to reveal secrets without any of the characters having to do too much explaining. Although the different characters do sometimes describe the same situations, James has managed to avoid unnecessary repetition and it’s quite satisfying how all the perspectives end up tying in with each other.

There are a good array of characters in this book, some revealing depths that I couldn’t help sympathising with, despite their unethical intentions. One of the characters made me angry with nearly everything he said, which is one example of how this book does such a good job of evoking the real-life emotions that these characters are experiencing.

This was quite an easy read for me and it wasn’t too much of a heavy thriller. There is enough suspense throughout to keep you interested and this easily leads you right to the very end, making it a book that’s hard to put down.

Thank you NetGally and Bookouture for letting me read this book in advance.

Blog: https://www.instagram.com/taura_wildes/

What a book this was, I couldn't stop reading, full of twists and turns and thoroughly enjoyed the characters, some better than others.

It was a great well written book and I was hooked from the very first page until the ending which was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. I have read quite a few books from this author but I think this one has to be her best, well done Alison.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this brilliantly addictive ARC.

Excellent storyline and plot,good description of the characters a real page Turner kept my interest all the way throughout the book.

Very interested read told from multiple points of view with the story getting further involved with each part. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more books by this author. Definitely worth reading

Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read this ARC!
Stephanie and Richard win a multi million dollar dream house in a lottery and move there with their baby daughter. There are many hidden secrets in this community that come to light.
Really enjoyed reading this slow burn mystery.

Hickory Dickory Dock! 😳😯😳

While I totally enjoyed the promise of the original plot & potential it seemed to hold, I'm afraid it wasn't as captivating and thrilling as it seemed to promise. It had some great qualities, great writing, some real good suspense and mystery, & I very much enjoyed the unveiling of secrets and some plot twists. However, I feel it just fell flat for me and left me unsatisfied. I found it easy to figure everything out and the "thrill" aspect didn't live up to the hype how I had hoped for. Now, that being said, the ending was satisfying and tied up nicely. The few twists were very yummy and I still enjoyed it non-the-less. But it was more of a fast-paced, doesn't need my entire attention type novel. It did the job but was lack-luster on delivery unfortunately. I will say this author has some real potential & I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled and give her another chance because it had some great attributes!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: When Stephanie and Richard are the winners of a house lottery in a very wealthy neighbourhood, you would think it's everything they'd want. But it's nothing at all for what they'd envisioned once they move in. Jane is the neighbour across the street and tries to welcome them, but finds them both peculiar especially with their daughter, Poppy. As Jane gets involved and feels things aren't right at all, she'll realize the answers are far more than she bargained for. Possibly deadly...

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC.
Release Date: September 27, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 2.5 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

Books about neighborhoods with secrets are pretty common. I've read so many thrillers with this premise, but I must admit that I liked this book. First, I loved the writing style. Second, the story has multiple points of view, each view building on the other. The multiple points of view break up the book and make you want to keep turning the pages. Jane is a judgy amateur sleuth, but it helps the plot. Well done, thanks for the advance review copy.

Not sure how to write what this one's about without giving anything away so, I'm just going to stick to my own personal review on it...

For me, this book started out slow, I mean, sloooooow. However, the premise of this book is unique to say the least. It takes you down a road full of twists and turns. There is lying, juicey secrets and of course, betrayal.
The New Couple is told from 3 different points of view, I liked that, that was interesting. What I did not like about that though was that each part started at the beginning again. I understand why the author did that I'm just not necessarily a fan of it.
Nothing really happens in Part 1 of the book but, don't let that deter you, it will pick up, I promise.
The ending does a good job with tieing everything together and leaving you satisfied. But it's a slow burn, I can't stress that enough. I would have preferred a more fast paced thriller but this was good enough to keep me intrigued, turning the pages and wanting to finish it.
This was my first read by Alison James however, it won't be my last...

I absolutely adored this book! When everything. clicked towards the middle of it I knew I had to keep on reading - I couldn’t put it down! The story and characters were engaging and it was easy to follow the plot. Looking forward to reading more of Alison’s books in the future! Thank you for allowing me early access to the book.

Thank you to Alison James, the publisher Bookotour, and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Pros:
-Well written: I knew where the story was headed from the beginning, but I enjoyed the ride along the way.
- Great suspense building throughout the whole book.
-Loved the three different POV’s for the exact same timeline over the course of 4-5 months.
-Loved the setting in a neighborhood.
-Great characters.


Cons
-Some repetitiveness due to the overlapping timeline from the three different perspectives, however it was nice to see how the same interactions were perceived by different people.
-The ending felt a bit rushed during/after the rescue. Would have loved a bit more action at the very end with a more suspenseful confrontation.

Overall I think if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and suspense then this book does not disappoint, and I think you will be intrigued by the characters and how the author gives three perspectives on the same timeline.

I thought this book was okay, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't read the synopsis - it spoils the only real twist in the book!

The concept was quite intriguing, I liked how it was centred around a lottery house as I've considered entering those competitions in the past (I won't be doing so now!!) The characters were realistic and I liked the way the community was described.

I wasn't a big fan of how the story was told - we get the same story told from three viewpoints, so by part three there is a lot of repetition to wade through and I just wanted to crack on with the story by that point. I really feel like two viewpoints would have been better and made for a faster paced read.

This is definitely not my favourite book by this author but it did have its good points so I would recommend reading to make your own mind up. Go in blind though!

The premise of this book sounded really intriguing, a young couple win a house in a middle class area but all is not what it seems. Told from 3 people's perspectives, I found it slightly repetitive, much of what was told from Jane's story was then repeated from the side of Keren and Liam's parts. I found it slow at the beginning but then it seemed rather rushed at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy, I'm under no obligation to leave my review

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was captivating and thrilling, and I had a really hard time putting it down!

Let’s start off with a synopsis, shall we? When Richard and Stephanie Hamlin win a house worth $3 million pounds in a lottery they think the answers to their troubles have been answered. A house, that isn’t something that you win every day especially not one worth as much as this one. They happily move into #12 in Sycamore Gardens, the neighbors are stopping by introducing themselves, trying to help where they can. Jane is eager to help the new neighbors get going and settled in when she starts to notice little things that don’t make sense, no cot for the baby but they bring other furniture over, leaving what is supposed to be your baby with complete strangers for hours …suspicious. What are Richard and Stephanie hiding?

This story is told from multiple POVs which include Jane’s, and the two “neighbors”. I would say the best way to go into this novel is blind as the Goodreads synopsis, which I would say would be considered a spoiler. Although in the first introduction Jane is quite nosy, like overly so. Initially aside from Stephanie being flat with her responses, there isn’t a real reason for Jane to be as invested as she is. The first part I would say is rather slow, and although pieces of the puzzle, that click once you get into the first part of part 2, aren’t really gripping to keep you wanting to turn the page.

It really gets good in part 2, and like I said part 1 is really there to lay the groundwork because as you start reading the first few chapters of part 2 everything is really like oh ok, that’s why this was this way. The characters are likable but have no morals –AT ALL. The plot is wonderful and the story moves at an adequate pace to keep you engaged. The ending is a great sum to the story, and satisfying.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for this ARC to review. This book will be released on September 27, 2022

I thought The New Couple was cleverly written. The style of this author with the four part story was an incredible way to bring this book together.

Following three characters over the same period of months, we get to see the story from each point of view as a new couple appears on the the cul-de-sac of Sycamore Gardens.

Jane is just an average character who turns into a little bit of a busybody song the way. Wanting to find out more and more about the new neighbours.

Keren – stuck in a crappy relationship, I actually really felt sorry for her from the beginning. Just bobbing along trying to survive.

And then there is Liam – a brute like character. Total riff-raf who thinks the world owes him something.

The new couple is a slow paced thriller, but one that keeps you gripped, with the beginning of the book starting ‘so this is it, she thinks. this is how I’m going to die.’ As soon as I read these words I knew I was in for a real treat and I wasn’t wrong, with a TWIST that even though it kind of seemed obvious afterwards I was so shocked by and didn’t see coming.

The New Couple will be released on the 27th of September and you can preorder here – http://The New Couple: An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a shocking twist https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B7CNX2CY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EDM6KP4RCB0ZF324J3PS

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Alison James for letting me read “The New Couple” in exchange for an honest review.

How to sum this one up without spoiling too much…

Jane and her husband live in a quiet upper middle class suburb in London.
Sycamore Gardens 12 is up for grabs in a lottery. The lottery is won by Richard and Stephanie Hamlin. The Hamlin’s move there with their young daughter Poppy.

The couple keeps to themselves, which raises suspicions, especially with Jane, who could be called nosey. Stephanie is behaving strangely and often asks Jane to mind her daughter to disappear for hours.

A bit later the house is sold again and the Hamlins are not to be seen anymore.

Then we meet another couple Keres and Liam. How do they fit in? All the couples lives intertwine at some point. But how and why?! I don’t want to tell too much, to not spoil it for anyone, but this made me go woah at some point. Part two of the book reveals a bigger twists and clear up some stuff at the same time.

It’s kind of crazy to imagine and also seems so unbelievable at some point, especially the parts with the baby.

It’s a slow burn read. Nothing really happens up first until you get two the second part. My personal preference is maybe the faster paced thrillers. I didn’t read this story line before and was surprised, pleasantly so. I would have just wished for a faster pace. It keeps you hanging for a while, desperate to understand what is really going on.

The writing is ok, did not blow me away. A lot of s/he did this and that, repetitive at times. What I did not like was, that at the beginning of each part, the story starts from the beginning again.

The book was good. Not bad, not mindblowing. Just entertaining enough to keep me interested. The end though, tied it nicely together.

The author’s writing style lends itself perfectly to the genre. She knows exactly when to end a scene and mount suspense. The characters are well-drawn and believable. The plot is perfectly paced, holds your interest, and keeps you guessing. It’s a page turner, for sure!

This is a fun read, full of twists and turns and surprises.

When a couple wins a house in an exclusive neighborhood, interests and soon, suspicions, arise among the nosy, catty neighbors. And it’s off to the races.

I can’t say more without revealing spoilers, so I’ll just say that this is a terrific read, fast paced, lascivious, and mysterious. The characters are all well developed and well done, including the bad guys. The story is crisp and just zips along to an outcome I certainly didn’t expect, and the book is almost one I could not put down.

An enjoyable, highly recommended, read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.