Full of dark secrets and murder a twisty thriller that kept me gripped.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

Quite a twisty read this was. Tense and interesting.
Published in 2016 I have finally gotten around to reading this book. Somethings we can say are worth the wait. But catching up on a backlog of books on my kindle is proving to be great fun, Authors and books i wish i had read sooner and this is one of those.
A psychological thriller that i belive is this authors first book. It certainly doesnt read like it's been written by a new author, its very well written and thought out. An interesting storyline featuring neighbours, nwho clearly have secrets they don't want to share.

Why oh why did I request so many 'dark and twisty' psychological thrillers? Well, I know the answer really. I enjoyed Gone Girl and thought it meant that I liked the genre as a whole. This was not true. In this particular case, it didn't work for me. I didn't really take to either of the protagonists, one was whiny and the other was just strange. I found the pace quite incredibly slow given that it was marketed as a thriller and the plot was quite predictable. I guessed the 'twist' disappointingly early on and then felt like I was plodding through the book until the end. Neighbours ... everybody needs good neighbours ... well maybe not in this case. I will keep this review private (e.g. not share on my blog) since it was not more positive.

Omg......... this book was amazing I flew threw the pages with Olympic speed I was hooked from the very first page. I found it full of twists and turns threw out and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way threw  I would defiantly recommend this book if you like a good book to keep you reading threw the night hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Firstly I listened to this book via audible and thought the narrators were wonderful. This story starts off brilliantly with Hester, a 60 something lonely widow who seems to be the definition of a nosey neighbour and Melissa a married mother of one and the glamorous wife of a TV doctor. Each chapter is told through these 2 characters in a slow burning psychological thriller. These 2 neighbours are thrown together in an almost dark comedic scenario when they find themselves with a dead body. Personally I felt that Melissa's past secrets and the guilt she carried could have been much darker and that whole back story was disappointing. I did however thoroughly enjoy Hester's chapters and thought she should have her own book! 3.5 stars

Written by Cass Green — “Neighbours, everybody loves good neighbours…” as the theme tune for the series of the same name goes. It continues by saying that good neighbours become good friends – but do they? Or could there be something sinister lurking below all that bonhomie?

Meet Hester. She’s retired and lives in London with her little dog Bertie. When she and her husband bought their property, the area was considered to be on the wrong side of the North Circular, but these days it’s on the up and up and attracting people with more money than taste. Hester has just completed a computer course at the library. That’s about as exciting as it gets for her these days.

In the past, Hester tried hard to get on with Melissa, who lives next door. She even baby sat Melissa’s daughter, Tilly, when she was little. But now Tilly is a teenager and away at boarding school and somehow the friendship between Hester and Melissa has cooled.

Hester keeps a close eye on the comings and goings at Melissa’s house – not nosy, just interested, you understand – and an Ocado delivery packed with bottles of bubbly and assorted other booze alerts her to an upcoming party. Time to bury the hatchet perhaps? Hester sets to with a vengeance, creating enough baking to feed an army. The scones are turned away, but she wangles an invite to the do… Result!

Melissa, meanwhile, has spent most of the day (and a hefty £600) at the beauty parlour in revenge against her husband Mark’s recent infidelity. The party is to celebrate her daughter’s exam results but Tilly doesn’t seem too keen. Mark, a doctor who has recently been snapped up by television and is fast achieving cult status, is delayed by filming. She has enough to contend with and Hester is an unwelcome distraction. It’s easier to invite her to the shindig than create a scene.

Hester sticks out like a sore thumb and disgraces herself by getting blind drunk after her drinks are spiked. The following day she calls around to apologise and finds a flustered Melissa standing over a body, bloodied pestle in hand. Cometh the hour, cometh the resourceful pensioner. They must get rid of the corpse and thus begins a road trip worthy of Thelma and Louise (although my own pet name for the pairing is Barbie and Joan). Hester knows just the place and seems to have things in hand, but there’s plenty of drama ahead for this star-crossed duo and it’s certainly worth joining them for the ride.

It’s a gruesome tale perhaps, but there’s plenty to keep you guiltily chuckling as the story progresses. Melissa and Hester are an odd combination and it seems that the more we learn about them, the less we really know. Both women have secrets and at times it is a toss-up as to who is controlling whom. It’s great fun following the teetering balance of power as it wavers like corn in a strong breeze, but underestimate these women at your peril!

It’s a while since I’ve smiled so much while reading a crime novel – Fidelis Morgan’s The Murder Quadrille springs to mind – and the writing is so pin sharp that it’s easy to see this book making the small screen. Hester, Melissa and sundry supporting characters would certainly translate well to television.

Cass Green is the pseudonym of Caroline Green, an award-winning author of fiction for young people. She is the Writer in Residence at East Barnet School and has been a journalist for over 20 years. The Woman Next Door is her first novel for adults – I certainly hope it won’t be her last!

Harper Collins
Print/Kindle/iBook
£0.99

CFL Rating: 5 Stars

Thank you to netgalley and Cass Green for allowing me to read and review this book. It was a brilliant book. Well written and will recommend to others

Dark and twisty it most certainly was, a very thrilling read. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book and it's one I would recommend. It's a slow burning psychological suspense thriller . However although it was a slow burn it suited the book. Hester and Melissa are next door
Neighbours and this story is told from
both their points of view. I really liked the way the story was told and would certainly read more from this author.

The Woman Next Door was a great psychological thriller that kept me hooked from the first few pages.
It gripped me from the start and I struggled to put it down. A great page turner.

Thank you to Netgalley .
This story for me was a little disappointing. It said it was full of dark twists and turns - there was a little bit of that in the middle but i then felt there was too much predictability and i found the chapters a little too long, with not too much going in.
In the middle part of the story it did liven up a little but nowhere as dark and mysterious as it could have been. The cover is fab and looked like just the kind of book i would love, but sadly it fell short for me. I am so sorry xxxx

Whilst the storyline was a little unbelievable at times it was still a page turner which I really enjoyed.

This was quite an interesting and different thriller. Melissa and Hester are neighbours. They used to be close but Melissa felt that widow Hester was intruding too much into her family's life. When Hester spies an opportunity to help Melissa with an unforeseen problem, she jumps at the chance. Then, so starts an almost farcical attempt to get rid of a dead body!