Wow, this was a twisty book, full of dodgy characters and strange happenings. It took me awhile to get into this one but, once I got going I loved it. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I am very sad that I didn't like this book more. I liked the main character, Clare but truly she was the only one. The writing style of the book was not for me. It just seemed rushed and there wasn't alot of depth to the other characters.
I just feel like it left me needing more.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The plot is way off tracks. Poor title.
- Only last 30% of the story justified the title.
- I have zero idea why I read about Clare for almost 30-40% of the book while the title suggests that the story is about a couple (and this couple doesn't include Clare). Why I even want to know what Clare did or how she managed after her husband's death?
- The whole Jed thing and Clare's story is more like the main plot and the actual couple's story felt like a side track. These are two different stories where Clare is the only connection.
- Poor choice of title. If the title is based off Clare, whole thing would've made sense because the whole story revolves around her.
- 'Muddled', 'Muddled state', 'muddling' - Not once in my reading journey I got so annoyed reading a word. That many times this word is mentioned in the book. Excessive usage of a word.
- I didn't feel there is a justification given as to why John and Jed's mom decided to keep it low-key. I understand it was because that's an affair but it's just the assumption made by other characters. But no one will ever know of the truth I guess.
- For me, only the investigation part is good.

Unfortunately, I didn't think this book was very good. It was badly written, with staccato sentence after staccato sentence and full of tedious detail that really didn't need to be there. To be honest, I was very surprised that many of the sentences had got through the editing process and ended up as they were. It read like a rough draft rather than a finished book.
The one redeeming feature for me was the main character of Clare, who I found interesting. She's trying to build an independent life after losing her husband, and the contradictory feelings this throws up are interesting to read. But I did feel that the other characters were quite shallowly drawn, so much so that it's very hard to feel any empathy or interest in them at all.
The writing and the lack of depth to the characters means that descriptions of their feelings and what should be life-changing events also aren't nearly as powerful as they should be. Mundane is mixed with very serious, but not in a good way.
I was disappointed and remain confused as to how this book came to be published in the shape it's in.

Was looking forward to reading this book as I can't remember having read any other books by this author.
The book started well and kept interest but towards the end I felt that the storyline fell flat and can't say I was surprised by the outcome. The characters were, on the whole, likeable but some just fell flat!
Too many coincidences and a storyline that left me a little unsurprised.
Book was OK but not edge of my seat stuff! Can only award 3 stars as some of the ways in which the characters acted and spoke really weren't too believable.
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Couple Across the Street by Anita Waller was a story with two major story lines involving the main characters of the book. I enjoyed the pace of this book and it kept my attention. I do think these two stories did not come together as well as I had hoped but were well developed and entertaining. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

Pitched as a psychological thriller, I found that it was only in the final third of the novel where things really ramped up and the twists to the plot began to appear.

Throughout the book, there are two distinct storylines; one concerning Claire’s discovery that her deceased husband had fathered a son without her knowledge and the other centred on neighbour Vic, who discovers her husband murdered after finally finding the courage to leave him after years of abuse.

I liked the way the author builds up a detailed portrayal of both families before the police interviews start to reveal long hidden secrets and connections between the two in their search for Rob’s murderer.

The writing style is easy to read and the chapters short which helps to maintain the overall pace and flow of the story.

The timeline is set around the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth and this was cleverly woven into the narrative.

While Eloise is not one of the central characters, I found her to be one of the most likeable and especially enjoyed the references to her ‘mashing’ tea, making chip butties and welling up at the images of the Queen lying in state.

An entertaining read.

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

I received this book as an advanced copy from Netgalley

Recently widowed Claire is cleaning out things and decided she wanted to use her husbands deck in her work room. While she is cleaning it she finds a secret drawer with a fathers day card to him signed by Jed with a photo. She starts wondering who this Jed is and starts to hunt him down. Was he a secret son her husband had?

Very interesting story and well written. Enjoyed it a lot and read it in 2 days!

This book was ok, I felt it dragged a bit at the beginning but then picked up towards the middle and end. I thought perhaps the story was trying to go in too many different directions and wasn’t sure whether to be a crime story or not but overall it was ok x

Although I struggled at the start of this book it did pick up and became more interesting as the story unfolded. The ending was really good.

truggled to finish.

I felt like the story was trying to go in too many directions and had multiple plots and it just didn’t fit well together.

This opinion on this book is my own and new mystery readers might enjoy it.
This was my first Anita Waller book and I will try her again.

Thank you Boldwood Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Claire, recently widowed, is clearing her husbands desk out and stumbles upon a secret drawer. Inside is an envelope with a Father’s Day card signed Jed and a photo of a child she doesn’t recognise. Did her husband have a secret child? Claire does her best to track Jed down, until he tracks Claire down. Meanwhile, Claire’s best friend across the road leaves her husband Rob after her beats her up. Claire and Vic go to gather some of Vics clothes and discover a body in the house.
A compelling tale of two halves that become entwined. Anita Waller always impresses with her writing technique and cunning plots and this book is no exception. The main characters have empathic traits and really feel for their situation. You will be hooked from the beginning on this thriller.

2.5stars
Clare Staines has recently been widowed and as she is accepting her husband's death and clearing out her house she learns that her best friend Vic is being abused at home. Vic doesnt want anything to do with her husband anymore as he has become moody, withdrawn and abusive.
As the story progresses, Vic finds her husband Rob dead in the middle of a blood pool and cannot believe her eyes!
Who killed Rob and why? What happened in the past that could have led to this murder?

Overall an ok book - till ab0ut 30-35% there's only description about the characters and no suspense, thank you to netgalley, Anita Waller, Boldwood Books for the widget in exchange for honest review.

This mystery surrounds two families who live across the street from each other. The women of the two couples are best friends. One of the women, Clare Staines has recently been widowed. Her solicitor husband John, passed away at only fifty-three from cancer. She finds that although she does miss him, she is adjusting to living on her own much better than she thought she would. Then quite by accident, she discovers that John betrayed her in the worst possible way.

The other woman, Vic Dolan, has been having marital troubles, the latest of which saw her husband Rob being physically violent towards her - so she moved out. When Clare and Vic return to Vic's house to clear out some of her things, they find Rob dead.... bludgeoned to death.

Set near Sheffield, this crime thriller features members of the South Yorkshire Police. It is the week of the Queen's funeral, so police manpower is thin on the ground. The murder of Rob Dolan has few detectives investigating, but they do an excellent job.

The other characters in this mystery story include Clare's two adult daughters and their partners, as well as a young man named Jed who lives with his grandmother.

There were no great surprises in this novel. I had things sussed out fairly early, and was only a little off. The characters were well depicted and the plot well rendered. Having said that, I found I didn't like this book nearly as well as the author's previous novel "Fatal Secrets". For me, it was just missing an unidentifiable something, though I'm sure it will garner a lot of mystery fans who love it.

3.5 stars rounded up

The couple across the street has two different stories that merge nicely together. Clare’s husband does and leaves secrets behind and her best friend and neighbor Vic deal with tragedies and secrets and lies. A fast paced suspense

Nobody knows what goes,on behind closed doors and this story is no exception! A great read and definitely worth a read.

I really enjoyed this! The writing style and plot were very simple, but nicely done. As more came out towards the end about the characters' back-stories, it became easier to guess who the killer was and sometimes that's best.

Secrets, lies and murder - you just don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

This book has two storylines interwoven throughout and even though they have nothing to do with each other I did rather enjoy the two plots. When Clare is clearing out out her late husbands study she finds evidence of a secret that he had been hiding for many years, a son. In another part of town a young man is searching for his father, and I loved how that storyline brought them all together. Whilst this is going on however Clare's friend and neighbour Vic has fled her husbands violence and returns to the street to find him dead. Now with a secret love child and a murder on her doorstep Clare soon discovers more secrets from the past that will rock her family to the core.

4 stars

Thanks to #netgalley and Boldwood books for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. My first time reading from this author and it wont be my last, lucky for me there is a huge backlist to read! This was a fast paced domestic type thriller that had me staying up past my bedtime. It was a a whodunit style thriller with 2 main storylines that are separate but involve the main characters.
A great combination of sad, dark characters with some touches of humour tucked in along the way.
A very enjoyable twisty read that kept me guessing. #thecoupleacrossthestreet #anitawaller #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #boldwoodbooks #getlitsy #thestorygraph #thriller #mystery #domesticthriller #kindle #bookqueen #bookstagram

I absolutely loved The Couple Across The Street. I was initially drawn to the character Vic as we share a name and when I saw her husband was called Rob - the same name as my husband - I could not resist it. I loved how the two plot lines in the story intertwined and I was totally hooked all the way to the ending that I did not see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.