I quite enjoyed this book although I felt it became a bit tedious towards the end. It would’ve been better ending sooner as it would’ve made the book snappier and more in keeping with the actually story. But I would recommend it as a good weekend read and would look at other books by the author

I loved the premise of the story, but struggled to keep going. Most of the characters were unlinkable. I was surpirsed by the ending, but it didn't flow.

The Perfect Neighborhood
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 7/12/22
Author: Liz Alterman
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 358
Goodreads Rating: 3.77

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: The gossip over actress leaving husband comes to an abrupt halt when five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten. Billy’s mother, Rachel, and Cassidy, his babysitter blames themselves. As the clock ticks down, police are unable to find any trace of Billy, forcing Rachel to ponder the enemies she’s made in their well-off suburb. How easy would it be to take a child while the parents or nannies are distracted? Then another child goes missing. Will they be able to find the two children, or will it be too late? What secrets lie at the heart of this tragedy, and how far will one go to keep those dangerous secrets buried?

My Thoughts: The story is primarily narrated by Allison, Rachel, and Cassidy, from their perspectives with a few other mothers POV sprinkled in. Thrillers with a domestic drama spin seem to be in every other thriller available. However, this one does make its mark in the thriller genre with a missing child case. The one area that I struggled with was the narrators were so close in personality that sometimes I had a time differentiating who was who. The characters were well developed and had depth, were mysterious, and were creatively written. The author’s writing style was complex, thought provoking, dark, suspenseful, and disturbing, all of the elements of a great thriller. This book released last month and I recommend picking it up, it is a fast paced page turner.

📖 The Perfect Neighborhood
✍️ Liz Alterman
🔪 Thriller
#️⃣ 358 pages

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley + Crooked Lane Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Oak Hill is the type of community where parents never have to worry about something happening to their children - right up until Billy Barnes disappears on his walk home from school. Between Billy's mom who regrets what happened the last morning she spent with her son and his babysitter who was late to meet him after school, there's no shortage of blame being tossed around. Still, the Oak Hill community in general thinks this is an isolated incident...until another child goes missing.

A brief soapbox moment before I get into my specific thoughts on this book- I am *imploring* thriller authors/publishers to come up with more creative titles and covers! There are just so many domestic + neighborhood thrillers and the lack of creativity does a huge disservice to the work. I almost passed on this one because of assumptions I made (yes, I judge books by their cover lol) and that makes me sad because I would have missed out! So let's as a community agree to ban the words "neighborhood," "husband," and "wife" from all thriller titles, okay?

ANYWAYS - I went into this novel with very low expectations based on the cover/title and I was very pleasantly surprised. The story was gripping, the pacing was great and while I figured out the ending early on, I thought Alterman nailed the execution. There were a couple loops that I didn't feel were all the way closed or that I still had questions on, but nothing major. If you give this one a go, I highly recommend the audio version - it was really well done!

🏘 Neighborhood thriller
🏘 Multiple POV
🏘 Missing child storyline
🏘 Slow burn
🏘 Epilogue
🏘 Great on audio
🏘 TW: miscarriage, infertility

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpthrillers #netgalley #crookedlanebooks

I found it difficult to get into this book, unfortunately. It’s set in an idyllic, affluent neighbourhood and describes the events and reactions after a child goes missing whilst under the care of his babysitter.

The perspectives changed a lot and I struggled to distinguish between some of the characters because they were all rather similar and two-dimensional. The plot was interesting at first, but quickly became rather tedious and, by the end, bizarre.

Apologies that I can’t give this a more positive review.

The way I loved this book!!! I fell in love with every character and was so wrapped up in the story and the suspense that I literally could not put it down. I was blown away by the plot twist and on the very last page Alterman throws in another jaw dropper. Phenomenal book! Will definitely be on the look out for more by this author.

Not all quiet and beautiful neighbourhoods are what it seems, and this book proves it in spades.

There are children going missing and no clue of why or who are taking them.

With many more narratives that I would like, the story is told in more voices and each one is telling a story. Some of their pieces are combining the other ones, while some made me think I don't even know who to believe in here.

If you are seeking a suspenseful domestic thriller, check it out now.

🆓📖 Grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Not all quiet and beautiful neighbourhoods are what it seems, and this book proves it in spades.

There are children going missing and no clue of why or who are taking them.

With many more narratives that I would like, the story is told in more voices and each one is telling a story. Some of their pieces are combining the other ones, while some made me think I don't even know who to believe in here.

If you are seeking a suspenseful domestic thriller, check it out now.

🆓📖 Grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Thank you for the ARC! Really enjoyed this book - a real nail biter and full of twists. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Hide ya kids because they go missing in "The Perfect Neighborhood." This book was unputdownable. I devoured it so quickly and wanted more. The multiple narrators kept it fast-paced and exciting. Beyond the entertainment value, I loved the commentary about motherhood and marriage. Thanks for the advance review copy.

What a nail biter this one was for me. While the storyline was not necessarily cohesive at times with so many characters being switched back and forth between it did hold my interest. I did not identify with a single character in the book so while the story was interesting not connecting with a character made it feel like there was a disconnect. It was an original plot and with less "main" characters this would have been a homerun.

Amazon synopsis:
When actress and model Allison Langley leaves her former rockstar husband in the middle of the night, it’s all her Oak Hill neighbors can talk about. But the gossip comes to an abrupt halt when five-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten.
Billy’s mother, Rachel, blames herself for being at work and letting her only child walk alone. Cassidy, Billy’s teenage babysitter, was also late to arrive on the afternoon he disappeared and blames herself for his disappearance.
As the clock ticks down, police are unable to find any trace of Billy, forcing Rachel to ponder the enemies she’s made in their well-off suburb. Could it be one of her neighbors who stole her son? Would they abduct Billy to hurt her? How easy would it be to take a child while the parents or nannies are distracted?
When another child goes missing, the town is put under a microscope as the police try to get to the bottom of the disappearances. Will they be able to find the two children, or will it be too late? What secrets lie at the heart of this tragedy, and how far will one go to keep those dangerous secrets buried?

Fast paced, domestic, mind-blowing and you want to go on a roller coaster ride??? Then read this book cause you will be constantly at the edge of your seat

A little too domestic for me but a good, twisty mystery filled with all of the quirks of suburban living. Everyone has secrets, lies and things to hide. The web it weaves is interesting and I was definitely surprised as times.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. The Perfect Neighborhood, was absolutely mind blowing and will take your breath away! Buckle up as this is a very fast paced novel that will take you on the ride ride of your life.

Great for fans of Jocelyn Jackson - this domestic suspense book had all the drama and tension I was looking for! Liz Alterman’s “The Perfect Neightborhood” will be a certain hit with the “Gone Girl” crowd.

Thank you to Ntgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. The Perfect Neighborhood is suspenseful and full of twists. About 2/3 of the way through the book, I thought I knew what was going to happen but ended up being surprised. The suspense/thriller isn't my usual genre but this book was a nice surprise. Oak Hill is the perfect neightborhood- friendly neighbors, safe, quiet with good schools. When Chris and Allison Langley move in, they aren't like the other couples. They are a musician and actress with money and the desire to fit in and have children. When 5-year old Billy goes missing from the neighborhood, no one can believe such a thing would happen in Oak Hill. Eventually another young girl goes missing and the neighborhood is in turmoil. Unhappy marriages and lies all tie together to make a great, suspenseful story.

This was an engrossing domestic suspense book about what secrets hide beneath the seemingly perfect veneer of an upperclass neighborhood. The book starts with the disappearance of 5 year old Billy and is told primarily through the POVs of his mother Rachel, his babysitter Cassidy, and his neighbor Allison, with some additional chapters interspersed from various other neighbors.

The chapters are short and alternate between narrators, keeping the pace of the book fast. The author gives you many different potential villains and I had a hard time figuring out who committed the crime- I didn’t figure it out early (which I usually do!) and thought that the suspense and subtle clues were done really well. I didn’t especially like any character in this book, though I did feel that I could empathize with them, for the most part. The end of the book leaves another open question that kept me thinking about it after I finished reading.

Overall, fun read with a good mystery that is hard to figure out. I recommend this book to readers of the domestic suspense genre. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Liz and I truly loved it and devoured it! This is definitely a chill running through your body type of book once you find out that the truth just turns into more lies and people In this fancy neighborhood aren’t as they appear. The trust put into others will have you questioning what is lurking in their dark dark minds and how they even got to that point. I highly recommend just wish it was longer.

Drama, drama, drama and gossipy neighbors. Allison leaves her husband, Rachel’s son is missing and another child has disappeared. Is the babysitter the cause of all this chaos or is there something more sinister involved?
Secret and lies surround this close knit neighborhood. This story is full of suspense and drama. Can anyone truly trust their neighbors? The writing, the plot and the characters, make for an engaging domestic thriller story.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this book, I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

With chapters alternating between characters/neighbors the story is multidimensional and thorough. The suspense builds evenly through the book, spiking when the second child is abducted and peaking over the final chapters.

The protagonist is given away relatively early in the book if you pick up on it. Even knowing who it was I was still interested to see what the resolution was - Will the children live? Will they be reunited with the parents? What happens to the protagonist?