Last year, I read a book about a neighborhood that had a former rockstar with a beauty queen wife. They were different than everyone else in the neighborhood. Everyone knew it and everyone watched them from behind closed doors. One day, a child went missing.

Then....this year/this weekend, I read this book. A former rockstar and his actress wife are living in a neighborhood where everyone watches them from behind closed doors.... wait.

Yeah. Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan was a best of the year for me last year. This won't be. There were too many characters and too much manufactured drama. The literal child/adult sexual relationship was disgusting and illegal.

Being perfectly honest, I didn't care what happened to Billy, the missing child or the little girl who went missing later on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oak Hill seems like "The Perfect Neighborhood" to live and raise a family but looks can be deceiving and not everything is as perfect as it seems. This was a great story that had me reading into the early hours. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for my ARC.

Oak Hill is the perfect place to raise a family. Everyone here is privileged, but that's not enough to stop the endless gossip. There is always someone to talk about, especially Allison and Chris. This couple seems to have it all and stands above the other residents. When Allison takes off in the middle of the night, the speculation begins in earnest. Did she find someone better or did he? Not knowing is just a killer!
Until five-year-old Billy disappears. Then a little girl, Amy-Pat vanishes. Now everyone has something else to talk about, and fear spreads through the town.
The story is told from the perspectives of Alison, Cassidy, the babysitter, and Rachel, Billy's devastated mother. I don't think there was one character that had a redeeming quality. I laughed when I thought, wouldn't it be great if this was a Stephen King story like Under the Dome, and this entire town was trapped inside, forever? Or however long it might take for me to like someone( other than the children).
If you enjoy flawed characters with a load of secrets and like guessing whodunnit and why this was a beach read that kept me entertained. I prefer having at least one character to root for, but that is a personal preference, and you might very well like these self-centered people more than I did. 3.5 stars.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Loved it. More of a send up of small-town America than a capital-T thriller, although I definitely did not see the twist coming. And you have to give the author her due for making the creepy husband really creepy. Five disturbia stars, easy

This is a dark mystery about a missing child…and then more…the characters are just not
Liable…to be expected in this type of book…the book was sent to me for review by Netgalley…the story moves somewhat slowly at times. It does have many red herrings that confuse the reader as to how the book will end…that is always intriguing. Enjoy

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Legend Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Neighbors, do we really know them? Gossip, a missing child, a break-up, so much to take in. Settle in and enjoy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Apologies but this was a dnf for me,it did not hold my interest and was not keen on the characters or the story that just seemed to meander on with little happening

Oak Hill is the kind of upscale, idyllic neighborhood many families aspire to. Wealthy, safe, and quiet, the kind where neighbors know each other… that is, until the day that peaceful façade is shattered when 5-year-old Billy Barnes goes missing on his way home from kindergarten. Three weeks later, another child disappears. The only apparent link between them is the babysitter who was supposed to be watching them, Cassidy McLean. Could this sweet, smart high school senior have something to do with the disappearances?

You know the type of helicopter moms that inhabit places like Oak Hill. Cliquey, catty, backstabbing, and they know way too much about you and love nothing more than to spread juicy gossip. Told from the viewpoint of several of those women along with babysitter Cassidy’s perspective, “The Perfect Neighborhood” is not just domestic suspense but also a biting social commentary on exclusive enclaves of the upper class. Homes that look like the Pottery Barn catalog threw up. Sympathy casseroles delivered in Le Creuset cookware. Everything is for show, and everyone’s got something to hide in this dark suburbia.

I really enjoyed this novel, with the social interactions of the snooty citizenry being particularly on point. The characters are mostly unlikeable, but I think that’s the author’s point. The suspense is solid too, and although I figured out what happened to the children before the big reveal, the ending serves up one last twist that you’ll never see coming.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This book is closer to 3-1/2 stars for me because I felt like Liz Alterman’s writing was a little choppy in the beginning and there were so many clues to how the story was going to end that made it pretty predictable, but then it got much better and the book was hard to put down. I finished it in two days. The chapters are written in alternating perspectives of the main characters - all residents of an affluent New Jersey suburb. When two children go missing within a few weeks of each other in this otherwise very safe, low-crime town, many deep secrets about the town’s residents are revealed. This is a good summer/beach read, just not great. Thanks to #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for this ARC in echange for an honest review.

An idyllic town, safe and secure with no crime, what could possibly go wrong? A neighborhood rife with gossip, secrets and oozing from drama involving hypocritic moms who would rather shove their kids onto electronics than actually mother them, this is a must-read book.

The book opens with several people gossiping about the model/actress Allison Langley and how she snuck out and left her husband Chris and has seemingly disappeared. How could this happen? How is he holding up? Where did she go? This is definitely more interesting than who is throwing what party or who didn't get into the prestigious preschool nearby.

This break-up is the talk of the neighborhood until 5-year-old Billy Barnes fails to return home after walking home from kindergarten, his mother reeling from the guilt she feels for allowing him to walk home instead of picking him up. His babysitter, Cassidy, was running late meeting him and now she's racked with guilt as well, but for other reasons. What secrets is she hiding?

Billy is missing for weeks when another child goes missing. Cassidy is watching, Amy-Pat and her two brothers when, while changing the baby, Amy-Pat manages to go outside and disappear. Is Cassidy somehow connected to these two disappearing? Who has the children? Will they be found safe or is something more sinister at play?

I am definitely drawn to the mystery/thriller genre. Neighborhood gossip can be interesting and as a mom, children missing is always something in the back of my mind. The story is told from several perspectives and each one gives you insights as to who might have the children, but I have to admit, I had no idea who it was and was pretty surprised to see who the kidnapper was. The chapters are short, and the writing is perfect. The story is plausible. A definite page turner that I could not put down. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Legend Press and Liz Alterman for letting me read “ The Perfect Neighborhood” in exchange for an honest review.

“Think you know your neighbors? Think again!”

Clear blue sky, fancy houses and a clean road. That’s the cover. It does not scream thriller to you out loud.

Oak Hill, Pleasantville? Maybe, maybe not. Not everything is as it seems. Actress Allison left her musician husband Chris! Big news, alert the gossip channels, alert the media, alert everyone! Gossip spreads fast in this “pleasant”little town. But that’s not the only big news.
Not only one kid disappeared, nope two. Everyone gets a second glance now. How could this happen? How is the babysitter connected? How are Allison and Chris linked?!

We mainly get the story told from the points of view of three different characters. Model and actress Allison, who’s life is not as perfect as it seems, Cassidy, the unfortunate babysitter who feels a huge amount of guilt, and Rachel, Billy’s mom. Billy was the first child who disappeared. Later, a little girl disappeared as well. The two investigating officers turn every stone to find the children.
Will they succeed?

Are all the characters in this novel likeable? Nope nope nope. I assume that is partly on purpose. Still I found them well rounded and at points relatable. Rachel’s characters made the tiny hairs on my neck rise.

What irked me the most was the decision of the parents Rachel and Ted to let a five-years-old walk alone to kindergarten and back. I have no kids if my own but that seems awfully young to me?! But hei, if that did not happen, we would not have a novel to read.

This is a solid domestic suspense novel. It covers relationships, gossip, personal tragedies and has a touch of mystery. I guess you have to be into these kind of novels, but I throughout enjoyed this book as well as Liz Alterman’s style of writing. She is a new author to me, but I will look out for more of her work!

A tense thriller steeped in grief and guilt where small decisions have enormous consequences. Set in an affluent suburban community a child goes missing. This is not your average missing kid story though. Alterman uses the plot to deliver richly drawn flawed women we really care about, women whose lives revolve around their families, for good and for bad. Excellent work here!

Dark, Neighbourhood Noir…
A seemingly perfect facade may just hide the darkest secrets in this perfectly blended neighbourhood noir. This little piece of suburbia, Oak Hill, where apparently ideal couples with ideal families live, is definitely not all that it seems. Gossip here is relentless even before events conspire to bring about truly unexpected and frightening occurrences. These people now really do have something to talk about. An immersive tale, narrated effectively through differing viewpoints, highlights the gossiping neighbourhood so perfectly well and succinctly portrays the cast of characters within.