A quick read that gets into action right from the first chapter. It's not exactly just a thriller but also more about relationships, sisterhood, family, loss and betrayal.

Found it enjoyable. The theme of the book is extremely interesting and unique. Also liked the sisterhood beyond blood interesting. Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

"So much love, so much heartache at the moment, but they were strong women and strong women could survive anything."


This one sentence can very well sum up the entire book. The novel 'The Girls Next Door' by Anita Waller revolves around the lives of four best friends. All born within a period of 6 months, they were destined to be the best of friends (more like sisters), supporting each other in every ups and downs of life. However, when calamities rain on them in the form of an accident, a gruesome murder, and deaths, can their friendship survive the test?

When I first started the book, I was expecting a thriller - the subtitle, blurb, and ominous book cover all pointed to a thrilling read. However, it was not exactly that. For the majority of the book, it felt more like a slice of life that celebrated friendship, community, sisterhood, and love. I still enjoyed it thoroughly. The author's writing style feels like a flowing river; the sentences blend. The pace of the novel was quite slow, going further away from the thriller concept. The characters, however, were well-built, and I wanted to lean more into them. I was so in love with Erin's life (it is a dream) and Jess's strong character.

The thrill in the book was very subtle, and the book would have been better without that. The only time I was surprised was at the very end of the book. Even with this, I recommend this book; you just have to see it from a different angle.

Four girls, born on the same street, grew up together, best friends forever, right?

I liked the characters of the girls, they were so close that at times you'd be forgiven for thinking they were siblings rather than close knit friends.

I've read several books by Waller courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources and have thoroughly enjoyed them. She certainly knows how to engage her readers with her ingenious plots and edge of your seat suspense.

The Girls Next Door was a brilliant story of friendships, unbreakable bonds and murder.

Yes, this is a crime fiction book BUT it is so much more. An enjoyable, easy read about four thirty-something women who were born within six months of each other & in the same road; more like sisters than close friends.

If the women need to talk things through, then they know who to turn to. Erin wants to expand her bookshop; Chantelle has discovered her husband is being unfaithful ; Jess is concerned about her grandparents (who raised her from a baby) & Melissa hates her job. They are a supportive group & would do anything for each other. Does this include murder?

A fabulous, heart-warming story despite the dead bodies. Recommended reading.

A heartfelt story about four close friends who are just like sisters. I enjoyed reading how these friends are there for each other in some challenging times. I was more focused on their friendship bond even though there is a mystery entwined in the story. The pace is a bit slowish compared to the previous books written by the author. Can't wait to read her next one too.

In 1987 four baby girls are born within six months of each other all living on the same street. Chantelle, Erin, Mel and Jess grew up more like sisters than friends and their close friendship carries through into their adulthood. The girls are there for each other through thick and thin and when one of them discovers that their husband is having an affair, they all rally around, then when said husband is killed whilst out cycling his bike again they rally around. Just as the girls are supporting their grieving friend, Jess suffers a blow seeing her Grandpop passing away and her estranged mother shows up!

There are secrets galore for some of the girls and when they come to light it shocks them all, the past comes to light and someone ends up dead.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the closeness the girls had growing up and how they are always there for each other no matter what even - murder?

4 stars

This one may just be a case of it’s me, not you.

Based on the blurb I expected this to be a mystery/thriller. This was not really a mystery or a thriller. It was more contemporary fiction/chick-lit. It’s a story about friendship and family, and making the necessary changes so you can live a happy, fulfilled life.

Most of the book is spent dealing with the love lives, work lives, and friendship between the four friends. There are family deaths, career changes, business expansions, divorces, and we get to see how strong their bonds are through everything.

Chantelle’s husband dies 19% into the book and it’s classified as an accident almost immediately. At no point do the police think it’s foul play and there is no investigation into his death. The truth is finally revealed in the epilogue.

There is another murder about 55% into the book and we get to follow some of the police investigation, but again, most of the storyline surrounding this death is spent focusing on the emotional toll it takes on the friend group and how they handle it and support each other.

I enjoyed getting to know the friends and the people close to them. Waller does a great job fleshing out the characters so we feel connected to them and invested in their lives. I also liked reading about Erin’s bookshop and her plans for expansion.

This was a quick read and it flowed well. It just wasn’t what I was expecting when I picked it up, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Thanks NetGally and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy.

Four girls are closer than sisters. Blood relations they are not but they are close friends and confidantes.
Their bonds with be tested over a span of a few months when one loses her husband, another discovers a devastating secret, and another falls in love.
The story was engrossing as the events unfolded. I wondered who did what to whom and why.
As the blurriness became more clarified about the truth I could see how it all unfolded.
The bonds of sisterhood withstand the test of time.

I enjoyed this book with all the twists, turns and friendship between all the girls and their nearest families. Was a good read but not a great read! Still a little confused about the ending as there were a few areas needing some conclusion. Will look out for this author in future, maybe there will be a follow up book?
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Girls Next Door by Anita Waller.

At the start of this story, I was a bit bored and worried that it was going to be a hard book to keep my interest in reading. Shortly thereafter, I was hooked and invested.

The author did a great job of working the various storylines, and releasing information at the optimal times.

The ending had me in shock! But I will not spoil it for other readers. Very well done.

My only complaint is that I was distracted by some editing errors throughout the story - the biggest one was Chapter 33, after the *** section, it says “who contacted Sian to get her to travel to Sheffield”, however, it should say Anna, not Sian.

#TheGirlsNextDoor #NetGalley

Okay, so Erin’s bookshop needs to be a real place that bookworms can visit!!

This is my second book my the author and I’m really loving her writing style.

The friendships between the girls is so endearing and then add in Jess’s grandparents and the bond they have with the whole group.

Another fantastic thriller by the author

Four girls are born within six months of each other on the same street. Four girls destined to be friends for life. Four girls who share all their secrets – except maybe secrets are being kept about them...

Chantelle has twins and has just found out her husband, Andrew, is having an affair. When she prepares to deal with the situation, her husband is found dead. Jess wants a baby and possibly a job, but her husband, Mike, wants her at home as his career comes first. Mel is a paralegal but has fallen out of love with her job and is having an issue with a coworker. Erin loves her job working with books but feels something is missing in her life. And it’s not the guy who buys the first editions and constantly flirts with her.

Now having to deal with Andrew’s funeral, the four friends all have a turn in their lives where more deaths occur and life-changing decisions must be made.

This was a very quick read, but didn’t come across as a psychological thriller at all. In fact, the thriller part, or even the psychological reasons behind it, didn’t make much sense. When a confession is made, the reason behind the decision to make sure the girls are safe seems trite. And the twist? Well... it was accepted rather easily.

If it had been advertised as a friendship drama, it would have made more sense. In the prologue, you are told that a murder will be linked to one of the girls so the thriller part is not unexpected. The repetition of only “one glass of wine” or about tea/coffee became a bit tiresome. I did feel, however, that the emotions brought across by the characters in having to deal with grief and love or loss thereof, plus the friendship was done well. The editing was good and the story easy to read, but in one section Pam is Mel’s secretary and then for three lines after that Mel is referred to as Erin. A definite mistake in there.

Not a bad story but it didn’t engage me in the way I’d hoped. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

I am a huge fan of Anita and her work and I have been for a few years now. I haven't quite caught up with everything that she has written but that is something that I hope to rectify in the not too distant future. I read the synopsis of 'The Girls Next Door' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Anita - an addictive and fast paced psychological thriller with more than one twist and turns along the way. Well it was certainly all that and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Girls Next Door' but more about that in a bit.

As with all of Anita's books, I was drawn to 'The Girls Next Door' by the eye catching synopsis. When I started reading the story itself that was it. To say that reading 'The Girls Next Door' became addictive is a bit like saying that I like eating cake - in other words a huge understatement. I would pick the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but I would still be sat there several chapters and an hour or so later. My Kindle wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. Besides I had to keep reading to see if the story was going to turn out the way that I thought that it would. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. All too quickly I reached the end of 'The Girls Next Door'. I found 'The Girls Next Door' to be a gripping and tense psychological thriller, 'The Girls Next Door' certainly kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat.

'The Girls Next Door' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Anita Waller. Anita certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story and then some. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Anita clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. Reading 'The Girls Next Door' felt like being on an at times rather unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I love the way in which the author makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Girls Next Door' and I wholeheartedly recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Anita's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I wish publishers would stop calling things thrillers that are not thrillers. This was a book about the relationships among women. The crime felt like it was thrown on top to market it as a thriller. Simply letting the characters support each other in a normal tragedy would have been enough. It was a decent piece of women’s fiction, with strong and supportive characters.

Jess, Erin, Mel and Chantelle are childhood friends who are more like sisters.

Chantelle caught her husband cheating, and now he’s dead. Jess’ grandfather is critically ill and he’s been a grandfather to all the girls. Erin is about to expand her bookstore. Mel desperately wants out of her job.

The four girls keep each other’s secrets, cover for their lies and support each other in everything.

Slowish but steady and kept my attention from page 1.

In September 1987 the local newspaper reported on the four baby girls all born within months of each other in Larkspur Close in the village of Hackenthorpe. They may not have been sisters by blood but the four have remained just as close over the next thirty-five years. Now Chantelle has a husband Andrew and twin girls of her own. Jess, married to Mike, wants for nothing but a job and a baby, but worries about her aging grandparents who raised her after her mother abandoned her with them as a baby. Melissa is single and a paralegal, a great well-paid job but with a very unsavoury co-worker. Erin is also single and, after inheriting and successfully running her grandfather’s bookshop, now has plans to turn the free space next door into a tearoom with Jess as the manager. Then things turn sour when Chantelle spots Andrew kissing another woman. A meeting of the “sisters’ coven” decides she should bide her time and plan the divorce well first but before she can do this, Andrew is killed. A fatal accident or has someone given Andrew what they think he deserves and Chantelle the chance she needs to be free? And what other surprises will the hand of fate deliver to the girls in the coming days?
There’s loads going on in this beautifully crafted story of family, friends, love and fierce loyalty. The characters are excellently described and immediately easy to picture and get to know, and there is such a lovely bond between all the main characters that it’s impossible not to be rooting for them. There’s also plenty of mystery and intrigue for the reader to ponder over as the story unfolds in a smashing tale involving people you’d really want for your own best friends! Warm, funny, poignant and heartbreaking in places, and a completely engrossing read with some great twists this author so expertly delivers you never see them coming!!

This is a heartfelt story about four women with a special, unbreakable bond. They were all born within 6 months of each other and live on the same street. In the story, they're 35 and all experiencing major shifts in their individual lives. Some reviews I have read say they wouldn't categorize this book as a thriller, but instead as a women's fiction, but there's a murder mystery aspect to the story as well as the sisterhood bit. While I do enjoy chick lit, I have to be in the mood for it.. and when I started this one, I wanted to read a thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the characters in this, all with their own backstories that intertwine. Four mothers giving birth to girls a little while between each other, daughters growing up together and creating a life long bond. Strong and determined like the women they become. You learn more about the women as the story progresses and why their bond is so meaningful. I really enjoyed reading this book, I have a soft spot for Nora and Erin. I liked the others too but I like Nora's demeanour and the idea of Erin and her bookshop!

The close relationships to Nora and Arthur and the closeness of the four women is something to cherish. Supporting each other through all sorts. Strong characters and personalities makes this an easy to follow read.

This was well written, with a strong storyline that was nicely brought together as it went along. It has a sombre feel at times and makes you appreciate your own life and family in times of need.

Anita Waller is fast rising up my list of favourite authors!

Over thirty years ago, four baby girls were born into the new homes in Larkspur Close; a newspaper article gave them their five minutes of fame. Growing up together, they were closer than sisters and have kept that camaraderie into adulthood. Whenever any of them has an issue or a problem, the others are their first port of call - they have no secrets. Then one of them discovers her husband is cheating on her and, naturally, she shares with the other three. Then his body is found; was it an accident - or is something else going on here?

This is, as always, a cleverly plotted and most beautifully written novel. I have a fondness for books based on female friendships and relished every detail in this one. Who to trust? Well, everybody of course! Was I suspicious of anyone? Well ... everyone! Did I see the end coming? Not on your life! I was hooked from very first to very last and can't tell you how much I enjoyed each and every word. No doubt about it, this earns every one of the five sparkling stars I'm happy to give it, along with my highest recommendation.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

We follow 4 girls who started life on the same street and within 6 months of each other. Its as if they were Destin to become friends. They formed a sisterhood and were always there for each other through good and bad. So now when people close to them start showing up dead this sisterhood starts cracking a bit.
This starts at slow as we learn about the girls and their lives but picks up soon as the action soon happens with twist and turns. See if you can figure out what’s going on.
This is an easy intriguing mystery.