I've never been disappointed with this authors books and The Couple Across The Street was no exception. As usual the author creates some brilliant and believable characters which always adds to the story.. Clare Staines has recently lost her husband, her friend across the street, Vic is leaving her husband because he is abusive.. Vic's husband is found murdered The investigation into eho could have done this begins. Meanwhile Clare discovers her late husband had a son, who she knew nothing about. This is an intriguing suspenseful read There was always something happening in the two plot lines. It was interesting to read of the late Queen Elizabeth and her funeral being included in the story. Shocking revelations in the murder investigation complete this great read .

This was definitely a quick read, very quick! I found it a bit odd to be fair lol. I love a dual narrative and a complex plot with multiple plot lines being woven together buuuuuut I found this book struggled to pull it off. The plotlines just coexisted. For no apparently reason. And granted unrelated things can happen at once but I just didn't get why we'd decided to wrote a book about these 2 things without having them converge or crossover. There were twists but you see them coming a mile off. It just wasn't for me. I'd have preferred 2 seperate short stories

I really wanted to like this book better, but it fell flat for me. It almost felt as if two separate books had both been determined to be too short to publish on their own, so they were simply woven together. In addition, there was quite a bit of repetition in thoughts of characters - if I read anymore about how muddled Clare's thoughts were, I was worried I'd injure my eyeballs rolling them so hard. And despite Jed's search "skills," he NEVER came across an obituary? Not to mention the "letter" from the first dna test he took - I guess it sounded better than him getting results online if Eloise had to now.

While this certainly wasn't the worst I've read, it just didn't live up to the potential it had based on the description.

I really wanted to love this one but it was just OK for me. A solid 2.5-3/5 stars. I had a hard time with the dual plots and how they didn’t really fit together. You had the murder of a family friend and then the death of a husband and his mysterious life but there was nothing to blend them together and make a cohesive plot. The characters were not interesting enough to really care about. The “twist” was uneventful and slightly predictable and the writing itself was too formal for the story being told. That being said it was an easy fast read and did have some good parts that kept you wanting to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This crime thriller follows Clare Staines as she is trying to move on with her life after her husband’s death from Cancer.

When changing around furniture she uncovers a secret her husband had hidden from her and confides in her best friend across the street Vic. The pair build a plan to discover the truth.

Meanwhile Vic decides to leave her husband, but whilst going back to retrieve some of her items she comes across an unexpected scene.

Will Clare uncover the truth? What does Vic discover?

This crime thriller was gripping right from the start with plenty of secrets and mystery.

There are two main storylines interweaving throughout which adds more tension as they all entangle Clare, as she must help all involved whilst trying to solve her own mystery.

You get to hear from the police investigating the case too, and their sarcastic manor adds a little humour as well as helping to unravel the truth.

Overall, a gripping crime thriller with plenty of mystery and secrets for two households in the same street.

I absolutely loved this book . The story had just the right amount of tension and the characters were likeable . I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out who was the culprit. It was a well written novel and I would highly recommend this book to my readers. 5 star from me

Another good read from Anita Waller. Here Clare is mourning the loss of her husband of many years consoling her two daughters and bolstered by her best friend, Vic. While she realizes that she might be enjoying her time alone, masking her own decisions when her bf tells her that she is being abused by her husband and off we go, t Clare is a great character, likeable and relatable and we understand her mixed feelings. Things get more complicated then I expected when a large finds a photo of a young boy in her husbands desk. Quick read, good plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC of The couple across the street by Anita Waller.

I’ve never read anything by this author and this book was definitely a fab one to start with.

Keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat. Would definitely recommend.

I have followed this author now for many years and never been disappointed with her books. The storyline was good with interesting characters, very easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another good read from my favorite genre, domestic thriller/psychological thriller. If you enjoy a good “who did that” or a suspenseful read that incorporates good storytelling and interesting characters, I definitely would recommend this. Fast paced read with the goal of determining who could’ve killed Claire’s husband and was he really who he said he was after all?

Read in one sitting, I found this had plenty of twists to keep the pages turning.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really mixed up like it has a split personality. One minute it's about the murder of the guy across the road and the next thing you know it's about a husband cheating on his wife and fathering a child. The two plots had no cohesion and had absolutely nothing to do with each other, it felt very disjointed. I don't know why the author decided to throw them together into one book.

I really tried to like this story but the characters were hard to connect with and lacked any depth plus the murder plotline was a little out there. The police procedural parts were too easily solved and everything was tied up neatly in the end. The twist wasn't a big surprise and I figured it out before the reveal. It is a very short book that I managed to read in a couple of sittings and was fairly fast-paced. There was a lot of domestic drama so if that's your thing this book would appeal to you. Waller has an easy-to-read writing style and I liked that she used The Queen's death and funeral as a backdrop to the story. This is my third read by Anita Waller and I am sorry to say she just isn't for me.

3/5

Not great but not bad at all.
It’s a quick and easy read.
There’s a lot of twists that happen that keep you interested. Clare is a great mom and friend. She really tries to watch over her girls and her responses to the twists are great.

A straightforward domestic suspense novel with strong characters that’s easy to read. There are two strands to the plot which are resolved satisfactorily, but the novel is short on suspense. I have now read three Anita Waller books and have enjoyed them all without feeling gripped. I think this would make for a good, undemanding holiday read.

Now this is a good story, a whodunit thriller with 2 main big stories that are actually separate yet both involve the main characters ( hope that makes sense )
Interesting premise (s) and a good storytelling feel to the book that had me wanting to know the why’s and where for’s and the when’s!
Also the first book I have read with the death and funeral of The Queen as a backdrop ( not a major part of the book but was there as a reminder of events throughout and brought vivid memories of that time a few months back ) it worked well
The author managed to bring dark, sad, warm,very dark and humour all together in one package, not easy to do but again it worked well
Now my only small criticism is the inordinate amount of coffees and teas in the book and the preparation of them!,these characters must be wired by all the caffeine zooming through then…that aside a good enjoyable and at times factually really interesting read

This was an ok read but wasn’t a favorite. It centers on Clare and her family after the death of her husband, Clare’s neighbor Vic and the murder of her husband, and a guy named Jed who is trying to figure out who is father is.

I found the writing to be overly formal and stilted and thus I had trouble fully engaging in the story. There were also details I didn’t need about what kind of takeout food they ordered whereas more meaningful things were glossed over. While I understood the motivations of the murderer I wasn’t sure I understood exactly why it happened when and how it happened, and I was just confused overall around motivations of other characters to do what they did. That being said, I enjoyed the banter between the 2 detectives and I also thought that the book kept me guessing.

Overall, just an OK read for me. I was never fully immersed due to the writing style but I did think the mystery was sound. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anita Waller has written a suspenseful novel called, The Couple Across The Street.
With a vast variety of characters, each character with their own individual story.
**From a young girls traumatic rape by a neighbor, to a young man trying to find his biological father through DNA, an abusive marriage and a wife trying to hold her family together while the police are searching high and low for a murder weapon.
It was an enticing book from the start for me, because I enjoy trying to figure out who done it.
Come find out for yourself what was going on with; The Couple Across Across The Street.

Book Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars
The Couple Across The Street
Author: Anita Waller
Pub date: June 20, 2023
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers/General Fiction

Clare’s husband has lost his battle with cancer so this leaves her with time to do and change things that she’s put off for years. While cleaning her deceased husband’s office she finds a hidden secret that she never would’ve imagined. It could affect her two grown daughters.

Meanwhile, her good friend, Vic who lives across the street, leaves her husband after years of abuse. Clare helps Vic with clearing out her things but before they can get started Vic finds Rob in a pool of blood.

Detectives Franks and Waters investigate. There aren’t many suspects, in fact, Clare, her daughters and their partners, and Vic are the only ones being questioned.

I thought there was a good few threads of stories here and I did like the family dynamic. A nice mystery.

Thank you @netgalley Boldwood Books @bookandtonic @anitawallerauthor for an electronic book ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review.


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So I have mixed feelings on this book. The premise of it is excellent but it didn’t live up to it for me. I found it tricky to connect or empathise with the characters, maybe because the dialogue was repetitive and often a little bit cheesy for my taste!!

The side story of Jed trying to find who his father was didn’t really add anything to the plot. The ending felt like a everything was tied up quite neatly regarding the main event of the book which is Rob’s murder.

It does keep you guessing until near the end and I appreciate that a lot of people will enjoy this but the suspense or shock wasn’t there for me.

Thank you to #boldwoodbooks and #rachelsrandomresources for the arc

An enjoyable stand-alone book from Anita Waller with plenty o twists and turns to keep you reading. Recommended for mystery/suspense lovers. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.