The People at Number 9 gives the illusion that it may be a psychological thriller but you can be forgiven for that due to the blurb/synopsis, its more a book based around love and betrayal, where the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Two suburban couples, two very different lives. Sara and Gary are residents of the street when Lou and Gav move to number 9. Sara and Gary are a typical middle class family, but Lou and Gav are extrovert, uninhibited and dare I say it a kind of flower powered family. Sara becomes obsessed with becoming friends with Lou, the friendship builds between the families but there comes a point when there becomes a loss of respect for each other and the friendship fractures, resentment and hostility creeps in.
Although the book wasn't at all what I was expecting, it did define itself very well, the writing was slow and deliberate, the characters are built solidly, Sara's character is reminiscent of a status seeker with the wanting to progress the families social status, but with the too hell with you attitude. Lou and Gav I'm divided on there character traits, Gav has a charismatic but artistic eccentricity feel about his persona, whereas Lou is more conceited and superficial. As the book progresses with each character build its easy to relate to people that you may know that carry similar traits.
Overall The People at Number 9 is a good storyline about suburban life and family, but didn't conform to my expectations, needless to say still an enjoyable read.
Thanks for my advanced readers copy from Netgalley and HQ publishers.

The people at number 9 have arrived with all the fanfare of eccentric bohemia amid the leafy London suburbs, The yummy mummy, PTA brigade aren't sure what to make of it all, but as the hand of friendship is extended to neighbours Sara and Neil, their lives begin to change forever. Writer and producer Lou and artist Gav are laid back, generous and nothing like the street has seen before. Sara's nurturing of this relationship draws her deeper into the lives of the people at number 9 and before she knows how it's happened, her children's education and her own job are heading in very different directions than they used to be. She is also losing long-time friends from the street as her envy of Lou sucks her into her inner circle before eating her up and spitting her out again. This book put me in mind of work by Liane Moriarty - an intimate portrait of the extraordinary at work within the mundane, ordinary suburbs, and a warning that maybe we should learn to be happy with our lot. It's dark and dastardly and I thorougly enjoyed it.

This was a strange book for me. Although it kept my attention on the whole throughout, I finished the book feeling rather flat. There was a nice build up for the characters and some bubbling under potential highs, but they never quite surfaced properly for me. I think the reasons for that could have been that I didn't quite connect with the characters fully and also, some of the things that they did just didn't gel for me. I'd really love to expand on some of these here, for credibility, but I thing doing this would mean spoilers and that's something I just don't do in reviews.
Sara and Neil have new neighbours. They intrigue Sara and she contrives a meeting between herself and Lou. They appear to hit it off and the two couples subsequently become friends. As the relationship develops, cracks start to appear and it soon becomes evident that the relationship is becoming unhealthy. But the two couples crack on, Sara and Neil making some very big changes in their lives. Changes that I had a bit of a hard time swallowing occasionally. Changes that, on the face of it, as a reader, one step removed from the characters, I just sat there and thought "what?!" It seemed that signs were ignored and, when it all blew up, I thought of several more important reasons for it to have happened earlier in the relationship. Sara must have been a pretty big camel for her to have taken what happened on her back before the, slightly lesser, thing that broke it occurred.
I said that I didn't connect with the characters. I think that is more to do with me than the actual characters. I guess, like life, you just don't gel with everyone and I don't think I had enough in common with them to really care that much about them. They also did some pretty silly things too, which irked me a bit. I did connect in some way though as I did shout at them a fair few times throughout the book so I guess I have just contradicted myself re the caring thing in a way!
Reading that back, it should have been a book I gave up on but, and this is credit to the author, she did keep me reading. Kept my attention more or less throughout and it was a book that I did finish quite quickly, so there is something there. I think possibly that this may not have been the right book for me but, my rule is, if I finish a book, I post a review. And I did finish this one, albeit it not with a satisfied feeling at the end. Which leads me to think that it is probably a good book, just not a good book for me. I will be interested in reading others' thoughts on it once it has been released.
The crux: would I read another by this author? Yes, I probably would as I did get on with the author's writing style, but I would cherry pick and definitely make use of the sample system.

My thanks go to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Well this was very different to my usual chillers and thrillers, I wasn't even sure what genre to stick it in.Maybe its a genre bender, it was a well observed tale of people living in the same road and felt quite voyeuristic at times.I wish I had liked the characters more especially Lou ,for me it was a bit like car crash tv I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen while at the same time feeling like I was spying into other people's lives.I think that it says a lot about the skill of the writer that I felt like that .For me it was a slightly uncomfortable read and one that made me think and that is not a bad thing.thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Just my sort of book - I enjoy every day surburban dramas. This wasn't a book that was full of thrills and action but rather a slow build of tension between characters.

Lou, Gavin & their children move into Sara & Neil's road and make their presence known straightaway. Sara is desperate to befriend the couple - She borders on becoming besotted with the free-spirited Lou. Lou & Gavin seem very much in control of the friendship. There are some elements to this book that are fairly predictable however it is easy to read through these and just accept the story for what it is. Sara does not actually turn out quite as weak as I first feared making the book not quite as predictable as I imagined.

I enjoyed the book - I'm not sure what I expected from the ending but I didn't really get any sense of explosive finish though.

While this book wasn't my cup of tea, I can see that it was well written with an interesting storyline. Unfortunately it didn't suit me personally.

The book just didn't seem to go anywhere to me. I thought the characters very realistic but not likeable. I won't give any plot away and can recommend it as a different type of read but not one I could enjoy.

Have you met your neighbours? The people at number 9 have just recently moved in and with them comes an air of mystery for the other residents they just need to be their friends.
A fab book of trying to be in with the in crowd and for some of the neighbours failing miserably but it kept me hooked wanting to know what would happen next.

I live in number 9 but we are nothing like this family I hasten to add lol

The people at number 9 were an intriguing couple.
The suburban families this book touches are sometimes confusing. I've tossed between a 3 or 4 star rating for me personally. Some I'm going to sit on the fence with a 3.5.

The first half of the book was getting to know the characters. That was fine.
Gary and Lou has just taken up residence next door to Sara. Sara wants to introduce herself but holds back while she finds courage to do this.

Gary and Lou are eccentric exciting and at times plain weird.

But Sara finds them interesting intriguing and beguiling.
Sara's friendship with another neighbor she was close to wanes because of the attraction she has for her new neighbors.
Her husband Neil also spends time with them. They have children in common, school runs and Gary and Lou seem to be attracted to Sara and Neil for some reason too.

At times, I need to say I got lost in the haze of it all. The author had a struggle to find me again and pull me in to continue to read.

I stuck with it. For me it's an ok book verging on interesting and couldn't put down.

Like one of those films you need to watch until the end but don't know why!

My thanks to HQ on Net Galley for my early copy I volunteered to read.

I predict this is going to be a controversial book in likes.

This book was just ok. I didn't like any of the characters, some I actually disliked. The story just seemed to go on and on with nothing really happening. Not a fan of this book

Creepy. I will never look at my neighbors and neighborhood the same again.

I am afraid that I did not really enjoy this book at all and do not feel able to give a fair and honest review but I would also like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin UK for giving me the opportunity

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable and a gripping story making me want to keep turning the pages to see if what I thought would happen did!

Fabulous book, I raced through this and was sorry to finish it. I could picture clearly Lou and Gavin as well as Sara who so wants desperately to be like them, and be accepted by them. Neil made me laugh with his dry comments and I just loved it all!
I am now looking out for this author.

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

Gavin and Lou move in next door to Sara and Neil. Sara takes a look at their lives and thinks “I want that.”

The story is told through Sara’s perspective, she likes how Gavin and Lou lead their life and the way they get what they want without letting anything or anyone get in the way, so she invites herself and Neil as their new best friends dropping all their other friends.

It seems like a perfect friendship to Sara, but she soon finds that Lou does what she wants and when she wants, leaving Sara as an unpaid babysitter. Sara also has her own agenda for being friends with Gavin and Lou but things didn’t quite play out the way she wants them to.

The people at number 9 is quite a dark book about envy and betrayal. Sara leapt into Gavin and Lou’s lives thinking they had a special kind of friendship but what she found was that they were manipulative and users. A good read, and a reminder the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Oh Lord. This dragged on and on and on. I so wanted this book to go somewhere, anywhere. I was bored as a banana! Each page had me feeling like it was disjointed from the last. No flow.

I found every character flat and one-dimensional. Just blobs on a page. Personality not! It was literally half a book I managed where absolutely diddly-squat happened. I kid you not. I was waiting for some amazing reveal or twist. I sadly could not cope with one more page and gave up on this.

I believe if a book has nothing of interest by 50% in that it's an issue, as that rarely happens and I read a lot. This seemed to have no plot, no point and I felt all over the place trying to follow.. nothing. I tried my hardest but was ready to throw the book against the wall in frustration.

I'm keen to see more reviews on this one. One of the dullest novels I've picked up in a long time. Bloody shame. A generous 2 stars.

I received a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and totally unbiased.

This is my favourite type of book theme, suburban families and what goes on within them. Really enjoyed it apart from the abrupt end which left me feeling 'oh is that it??

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it.

A novel of our time where pretentiousness is more important than real friends. Where we yearn for something more rather than to be happy with what we have.

Although I really enjoyed the book I did feel the ending was slightly weak but nevertheless entertaining.

Would read more by this author.

I picked this up expecting a psychological crime novel which is one of my usual choices for a read. What I got was not the usual fare i go for but nonetheless enjoyable. The People at number 9, on the surface, is a tale of middle class suburban neighbors with their unique set of "First World Problems" Underneath it all we have a story of Jealousy, Deceit and arch manipulation which I found a wonderful voyeuristic delight to read. Thanks HQ - really enjoyable!!