This is another wonderful read from one of my favourite authors.

The story is primarily about 4 friends who grew up together and their friendship and how far they would go to protect that friendship. One of the women discovers her husband has been having an affair, and then he suddenly dies, leaving the women wondering who is to blame.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't the usual crime thriller, but it was written in the usual gripping way that I have come to love and expect from Anita. I also loved the unexpected twist at the end.

Thank you to Boldwood and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Four girls are born in the same small area within months of each other. This book is about their lives growing up together and how far they’d all go to protect one another.

The girls, in their mid-30s, undergo a series of hardships and deaths. We see how they support each other and help cope with their losses. This book was so promising and held my attention until the end when all was revealed. I felt like the ending and who-done-it was sorely lacking. It was a huge buildup only for my excitement to be deflated quickly.

I would definitely read more from this author. Like I said, I really enjoying the majority of this book. Hopefully the endings in the future can keep up with the rest of the book.

I fell in love with this story from page one! I loved the characters and all of their current dilemmas. I love how these four friends managed to stay so close their whole lives. I have never experienced that before and it really made me wonder what I was missing out on! I love the connections between all of the characters. This wasn't you normal kind of thriller. This one has more story content and a twist at the end but it does end on a happy not! I was so satisfied and surprised at the end. This book really remi ded me of Fall On Your Knees, which is one of my favorites!! This gets five stars from me all the way!!


Thank you to the author, publisher , and Netgalley for an ARC of this amazing story!

A gripping suspense novel that tells the story of four best friends. The girls grow up together and remain close into adulthood. One of them discovers that her husband is cheating, and she turns to her best friends for support. Suddenly, the husband ends up dead and none of the girls are sure who or what is to blame. A gripping, shocking psychological thriller that is hard to put down.

Four women have basically grown up as sisters, all born within 6 months of each other on the same street. They’ve grown up as best friends and will always be there for one another. They are all adults now when this book takes place. All of them are facing some major life decisions at the time and all of them are trying to help support all the others. This is a story of unconditional friendship. The four women are all well written, they all have unique characteristics. They all have flaws as all humans do, and these friends bring out the best in each other and each one’s strengths help boost the others up when trouble or feelings pull one of them down. I didn’t really think of this as a thriller - there are some mystery elements, but the real “meat” of this book is the bond these four friends have. The couple of mystery elements definitely take a back seat to constant rushing to help each other out, always quick to run over and have a cuppa to get things settled down. It was an enjoyable read and I was interested to see how each of the four women would sort out the problems in their lives. I give the book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book is set to be published April 25, 2024.

I have been a follower of this author for many years but unfortunately this wasn't for me.

I found it hard to get into the storyline nor did I think it was a psychological thriller and I was somewhat disappointed.

For me personally it was more of a family drama and unfortunately I felt a bit cheated

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC and I am just sorry I didn't enjoy it more.

A really good story of a strong friendship with long held secrets. Thoroughly enjoyed and as always very well written. Xx

A tale of female bonding over innumerable cups of tea! The eponymous girls are really well described by Anita Waller and the reader gets to know them as individuals. For a domestic suspense novel that includes two murders, ‘The Girls Next Door’ moves at a gentle pace and focuses on the relationships between the girls rather than the solving of crimes. All is resolved satisfactorily in the end and, although I prefer novels that crank up the tension and suspense, I found this an enjoyable read.

This book started off so good. I like the idea of 4 best friends from the same neighbourhood and all born in the same time period. The author really went in depth when describing the girls and their lives. Although I can appreciate that it fell flat for me because the information provided didn't necessarily lead to anything.
Most chapters were in my opinion just filler chapters and not important for the story itself. (Also they were drinking a lot of tea). After a couple of chapters one really good chapter came with a lot of suspense, answers to questions, action. I really loved the epilogue! It really made the whole book come together.

I liked: The plot, the plottwist, the epilogue and the characters.
I didn't like: Too much filler chapters, that we didn't get enough chapters of the mothers (all of them together).

This book does make me want to read more books by this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Boldwood Books and of course Anita Waller for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my copy of The Girls Next Door by Anita Waller
4 girls born within 6 months on the same small cul-de-sac. They are destined to be friends.
But it is more than that, they are sisters, always there for each other.
They are so close when one hurts they all do, so when things start to go wrong, who will keep them safe.
Great read.

A pretty terrible book. I was surprised at how much I disliked it, before realising I had read a book by the same author previously and felt exactly the same way.

The characters are not fleshed out properly, the dialogue is wooden and stilted and the plot is pretty ridiculous. There is so much in this that just should've been cut because it adds nothing to the story.

For example:

'Cerys stood and went to follow instructions in the kitchen, ringing the Sheffield policeman as soon as she had sorted out the kettle.'

This could end at the word 'kitchen' - we literally don't need the rest of it. We've already been told what she's going to do, and it certainly isn't interesting enough to tell us twice. But so much of the book is like this, padded out with words that we don't need, that it reads like an unfinished rough draft or notes, rather than a properly edited book.

There are so many points when the story is just ridiculous. Serious crimes are confessed to with little reaction from the other characters. It's just not believable. I almost gave up entirely when a cop described knowing what a burner phone is because, 'I read crime books as well, you know.' Because obviously a policeman wouldn't have a clue what a burner phone is otherwise.

Suzanne turns out to be a major character and key to the plot, yet we barely know her! She appears only as someone helping out in her daughter's shop or having unexplained pains. Nothing is included about her own past to help us understand why she does the things she does.

Truly appalling.

I can say I absolutely loved this book. It was an awesome read . I read it in about 3 days. It's just one of those books that you can't put down cuz you just got to know what's going to happen. Unless you're at work and you got to put it down. But it's also one of those books that you want to read again . Because you can't believe what happened I did not expect it don't want to say too much and not give a spoiler definitely read this book...

A thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Anita Walker for this eARC.
I really enjoyed this one. At the heart of it really is story about four girls who grew up together and would do anything for each other, and the adults in their lives that would do anything to take care of them. It's billed a thriller but I don't think it really should be. I think people are going to be thrown off by that. I would say this is more women's fiction with a little small town mystery thrown in.
I enjoyed the look into these girls lives, the realistic things that happened to them, and how they cope with them.
I couldn't put it down, and recommend to others.

See more of my review below:

In The Girls Next-Door by Anita Woler we meet Jesse, Michelle, Aaron and Chantel four girls born over a six-month period In 1988 they even made the newspaper. These girls grew up together and have a Kumbaya type relationship each girl has their issues but the other friends are there for them big time and they fall all over their self letting each other know it. This includes the parents with the exception of Jessica who’s mom Ann up and left the area a month after giving birth never to be heard from again leaving Nora and her husband Arthur to raise the baby. There was way too much happening in the book for me to give a proper summary but what I will say no one has spoken to An, with the exception of one of the parents. When she returns Jess isn’t happy to see her. Chantel is having problems of her own when she finds her husband cheating on her with a coworker Mel is forced to leave her great paralegal job because she refuses to be the victim of one of the lawyers frequent sexual assaults. Aaron seems to be the only one doing OK she owns a book shop and is expanding it to include a café. When more than one person dies from a Suspicious death it rocks the group in despite police blowing off obvious evidence the girls want to know what happens. With the exception of the “I didn’t see that coming!“ This book read more like fiction with these girls having unbelievable cohesive relationships not to mention the book gets bogged down in my new still such as discussing what they’re going to move if they got the dogs dog food in most books when something is mentioned it has a good reason having to do with the plot not the case with this book but having said that and the fact that they drink way too much tea and coffee I didn’t joy this book I loved reading about the sweet twins in the OMG secrets in the last three chapters because a’s I said I didn’t see that coming. I love this authors books and as I said this one was OK and it will not at all stop me from reading Anita Waller‘s books in the future. I wouldn’t call this a thriller because these relationships were overboard cohesive and I mean super Duper supportive. I still recommend it as it is a solid read with minor drawbacks. I want to thank boldwood Books and NetGalley for my free art copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an arc of this novel.
The Girls Next Door is listed as a mystery/thriller with a description that immediately caught my interest.
Reading it as a *mystery/thriller* led to a disappointing read. Nothing of real suspense happens until the last couple chapters. It’s more along the woman’s fiction/ drama genres. They hint that one of the deaths could possibly/ maybe not be an accident but it’s left in the wind until the final chapters. If I read it as a drama or fiction, sure it was good. I enjoyed the book. A bit of overuse of drinking tea( we get it, Brit’s like tea) but as a mystery/ thriller I can only give it 2 stars.

The interconnectedness of four women's lives, intertwined from birth on Larkspur Close, is a captivating subject for exploration. Over thirty years, their friendship has evolved into a sisterhood marked by unwavering support through life's trials. The sudden revelation of infidelity disrupts the harmony, leading to unforeseen events. As the narrative unfolds, the intricate relationships and evolving dynamics between the characters reveal a deeper layer of complexity, drawing readers into a world where secrets, tragedies, and unexpected twists shape the narrative. Anita Waller's adept storytelling skillfully weaves together a tale of friendship, loyalty, and the enduring strength of sisterhood against a backdrop of suspense and mystery. This engrossing literary work delves into the intricacies of human connection, love, and betrayal, leaving readers immersed in the emotional landscape of the characters' lives.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review. I recommend this novel and this author for anyone looking for a thriller.

I really enjoyed this read! Having never read anything by Anita Waller I was so impressed by her writing skills that had me hooked right from the beginning.
The sisterhood bond that Jess Chantelle Erin and Mel had was like no other and with all the devastation that ripped through them they stuck together through it all.
The twist at the end aswell! Fantastic!
Such an easy yet gripping read that I would throughly recommend

Four babies born a few months apart. 35 years later the girls are all still best friends - Jess wants a baby, her controlling husband doesn't; Chantelle has young twins and a husband who seems to be 'wandering'; Mel single, paralegal; Erin, single owns a successful book shop. Then Chantelle's husband has a bike accident and is killed. The history of the girls slowly comes to the fore but not before we have a major loss to all of them, a gory murder and developing relationships. They are all highly supportive of each other but the whole read is basically a soap opera. The murderer was discovered in the end so that was useful to know. Hardly the thriller that the description suggested. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

September 1987, 4 girls were born to 4 families on the small Larkspur Close road. The mothers are great friends, brought together by pregnancy.

By 2022, one of these babies would have given birth to twins, one would be a paralegal for the largest law firm in the city, one would be a reluctant stay-at-home housewife, one would be a bookseller in her own shop - and at least one of the four would play a significant role in a murder. A necessary murder. Larkspur Close was a community; secrets were hidden, sometimes shared, but ever present. Families linked by the births of the girls were linked by death also.

This was an enjoyable read! The close knit relationships between the families were really well written, I felt like I had known them for years, rather than only for a few days.

Each character grows during the story and has their own personalities, flaws and subplots. The subplots of each character are all linked to the main plot, and each subplot is well developed and the reader can’t help but get invested.

The drama and heartache that finds them during this story pulls on the heartstrings of the reader. You can’t help feeling what they’re feeling because Waller’s writing makes you feel connected to these characters and their world.

Four girls, all born over six months in 1987, growing up on the same street. As close as sisters. They’re still as close as adults, in 2022. Chantelle a stay at home mum, Mel a paralegal, Jess a housewife and Erin a bookshop owner. But life isn’t quite as perfect as it seems.

I really thought this book was going to be a thriller, it ended up being quite soap-y with a bit of a twist at the end. I found the pacing at times dragged, and I muddled the four women up constantly. It was an okay read, it doesn’t make me want to read more from the author.