This was so good! I was hooked from the start! I read it in one sitting so so good! The way this kept me guessing I wanted to know how it ended!

Childhood best friends, Anna and Lily, are shattered when Dr. Taylor, Lily's father, is found murdered. As their families cling to each other amidst the chaos, unsettling secrets bubble up, threatening to tear everything apart. When Anna's daughter whispers of a stalker and chilling notes arrive, the line between past and present blurs. Can Anna unravel the truth before it's too late? Atherton's masterful twist-laden narrative will keep you guessing until the shocking, gut-wrenching reveal. (4.5 stars)

Thank you NetGalley for the Audio ARC of The House Across the Street by Jill Childs

This audio production was well done and the narrator did a good job with the reading and transitions. The overall story was good and at times really kept me wanting to know more but I also felt it dragged a little bit.

Every childhood has that perceived unbreakable friendship and Lily and Ava have a bond that goes beyond childhood and into their adult lives despite tragedy and loss. They neighbors and best friends who’s brothers were ultimately the same until the loss of Lily’s mother shook the town and the family’s bonds.

After Ava’s brother returns home another tragedy strikes and Lily loses her father the beloved town physician. Ava has seen the killer and is now the only witness which jeopardizes herself and her 10yo daughter.

Will there be justice not just for this loss but the loss from years past. Can these friends survive another tragedy and the unearthing of family secrets?

Audio Pub Date: July 15, 2024
🌟🌟🌟

I received the audio version of this book via early access. The author was new to me and the writing was fluid and easy to follow. Narration did a great job with production and it was easy to listen to.

The story starts off with high impact events that lead to the plot swiftly unfolding. readers are pulled into the suspense of the story as you navigate multiple povs. This book provided an ample amount of twists that I didn’t expect. With all that being said, I can’t say that any parts of the story really wowed me. It was a solid book and I would recommend it to fans of the genre, however it wasn’t a stand out read for the year.

Book 72 of 2024
[Thriller]
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this book if you grew up with friend’s parents that were your second parents, you spent more time outside than inside, & you know children are to be trusted more than adults.

A twisty domestic thriller based around two women, Anna and Lily, who grew up as neighbours and best friends, and their families.

When Anna discovers Lily’s father, Dr Taylor, murdered in his bed, the two families turn to each other for support and answers. But there are secrets and history between them and when Anna’s daughter, Cassie, tells Anna she is being watched, and Anna starts receiving threatening notes, the chilling tension really ramps up!

The twists come thick and fast and I really had no idea who the killer was, so the revelation was like a punch to the gut!

I was amazed when I realised there was just one narrator for all of the characters. Kristin Atherton did a brilliant job of differentiating between the characters, especially the three female narrators of Anna, Lily and Cassie.

4.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jill Childs and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookcouture Audio for this ARC! It’s my first one and I am grateful for the opportunity. My opinions are honest and my own.

The House Across the Street - Jill Childs
3/5 star
 
Anna and Lily have been best friends since they were children. Their close knit families live across the street from each other on a quiet street, and have always supported each other in times of need despite some drama and misunderstandings. However, there are secrets between them that start tumbling out when a recent tragedy befalls Lily’s family.

----

This was fast paced, easy to get sucked into, and contains several twists! The ending was unexpected!

I enjoyed how the drama and secrets enfolded between AND within the two families, despite the families (specifically Anna and Lily) seeming to be close. The reader is constantly torn between whether or not to believe the characters are as close as they seem and if the characters can trust each other.

The chapters sometimes would end on a cliffhanger and the following chapter would not necessarily pick up immediately afterwards, sometimes switching to a different character’s POV. I thought this was well implemented and did not feel overdone! Made me want to keep listening!

However, I think there is an issue with one of the twists. After the revelation of the twist, I couldn’t imagine why a certain character would continue to be around another character. It’s hard to describe without spoiling so if still interested, check out my full Goodreads review.

Narration was great except when the narrator had to whisper. It was honestly too quiet to hear properly, but thankfully that didn’t happen too frequently.

Key Elements:
Multiple POV
Popcorn Thriller
Family Drama
Childhood Friends

I really enjoy a good popcorn thriller. This book fit the bill, but was also more neighborhood drama, family drama, crime suspense.

There were a couple twists throughout! I will admit the reveal of Dr. Taylor’s murderer did surprise me. The other couple twists, not so much, but still added to the story.

Without giving any spoilers: one of the “twists” didn’t sit well with me, even though I saw it coming. The reason I hated it most was because of Cassie, and her relationship with this character despite her mom Anna’s relationship with this character. That makes NO sense, and I would’ve kept Cassie far, far away.

All said, I was invested throughout, and the narrator did a great job.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I'm still not sure what exactly my feelings about this book were. The plot kept getting more and more tangled at every turn, some of my theories being close to the truth, and some totally unimaginable revelations.

I probably would've liked it a bit more if the narration hadn't annoyed me so much. No offense to the narrator, I know many others would even prefer this sort of narration, but I personally, just kept getting frustrated at the extreme volume changed everytime there was a whispering or yelling dialogue.

At first, I wasn't able to get myself too invested in the story, for the first few chapters. But as it progressed, I just kept getting more and more engrossed in whatever was going on. The last few chapters were definitely my favourite ones, as they are in most thrillers.

The characters were all neither loveable, nor someone you could particularly hate (except for that gossipy old woman). I like when characters are realistic, and this book did provide that, until the very end. Not sure what more I can say to describe the book without spoilers, so I'll just end this here.

Perfect families have the most to hide…

Two best friends who live across the street from each other, both keeping their own secrets from each other, but for how long?

I don't want to say to much about the plot for fear of spoiling the story, but just know there is a lot going on that moves the story on and builds the tension and suspense throughout.

I listened to this as an audio book and was absolutely hooked, I listened to most of it in one day and could wait to finish listening the next day. The narrator was great at building the suspense and keeping to the pacing and excitement of the book.


Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This high quality audio had me gripped throughtout. The audio perfectly gave each character their own voice. The story was fast paced and full of twists and turns in this pov story that dripped fed the truth and it's links to the past. Absolutely loved it felt a quick listen and that there was scope for more. Loved the ending and the constant twists and turns if rhe characters as they struggled with their emotions from the past. I loved the actual killer that was something I didn't suspect. Well written and narrated.
Thank you so much netgallery and publisher and author and narrator for this cracking 5 star listen.

I reviewed an audiobook arc of gods book through NetGalley and Bookouture Audio.

I gave this book 4 stars.

This book is about Anna and her caught up in a murder and other strange happenings. She has a daughter, Cassie, who also tends to make bad decisions as Anna does.

The book begins with someone being hit by a car on a dark night. This event follows Anna and the other characters to the present day.

Anna’s best friend, Lilly, father is murder and Anna starts out by helping the police. She is soon threatened and realizes she needs to stop. The book has a lot of tension and I felt like the audiobook portrayed that well.

While there are a list of characters who could be the murderer, I was surprised by the twist at the end. We are also trying to find out who Cassie’s father is.

I really enjoyed this book but I found it a little confusing at times. I had to go back and relisten a few times but I was happy when I did. Solid 4 stars!

I was captivated by this book within the first few pages. Several twists along the way were unexpected. Some parts do feel like they go on and on a bit, and I would have been happy without the last twist. Overall, I really enjoyed this and will seek out more written by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ERC!

Book Title: The House Across the Street
Author: Jill Childs
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Kristin Atherton
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: July 15, 2024
My Rating: 4.16 Stars
Pages 330

Story starts with a ‘Welcome Back Party’ for Tim, Anna’s brother.
Anna King is a single mom and still lives in the same community as she did when she was a child. She now has her own child ten year old daughter Cassie. Anna and her brother were raised by her best friend Lily’s mother and father after their mother died.
Lily’s family lived across the street from Anna and the girls have been best friends ever since they were young.
The night of the party, all the neighbors attend including Dr. Taylor who still lives across the street. He returned home from the party somewhat early. As the party continues Anna notices a light flickering in the upstairs windows in Dr. Taylor house. She wonders if it is a short fuse and decides to do a wellness check as Dr. Taylor lives alone.
Once she enters the home she realizes that the flickering light was a flashlight moving from room to room. She investigates she finds Dr. Taylor murdered in his bed.

Who would kill the beloved Dr. Taylor and why?
Anna and Lily are still best friends both have brothers and it seems they all have been keeping secrets.
Their Secrets are revealed at the end.

Just when I was sure everything was all wrapped up- Author Jull Childs pulled a ‘Gotchu’
I sure didn’t see that ending coming!
This is my fourth author, Jill Child novel I enjoyed them all - she does not disappoint!!

Want to thank Bookouture Audio for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 15, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Awesome psychological thriller! This one had me constantly wondering what was going on and what would happen next. Great characters and plenty of suspense.
Narrator did well

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

Psychological thrillers are a hit or miss for me a lot of the time. Sadly, this was a miss. It felt overly long, and the character development was lacking, so much so that it was easy to confuse the different characters.
As for the big reveal at the end - I guessed a lot of the points ahead of time, but the big secret over Cassie's dad felt really wrong and icky to me. It's hard to say more without giving spoilers, but the story did not go the way I expected, and it wasn't a good conclusion for me.

Narration on the audiobook was well done. But overall, the story just felt far, far too long. Changing POV's got me confused at different points as well. Maybe reading the physical book would solve that issue.

2.5 stars rounded up for 'it was ok, but did surprise me'

Thank you Netgalley, Jill Childs and Bookouture Audio for the Arc of The House Across the Street.
Narrated by Kristin Atherton

The House Across The Street follows two lifelong friends , Anna and Lily who have grown up and have families of their own. The uniqueness is that they live across the street from each other. They have been there for each other through life tragedies but they hold secrets of their own too. One night, Anna finds out that Lily's Father was found dead and soon after Anna starts receiving threatening notes. Who is suddenly trying to destroy yhr peace on the street?

The House Across the Street is a good, all round, medium paced domestic thriller. The twists and turns are well executed and shows that we can be so close to someone and we may never know all the skeletons in the closet. This book is mainly plot driven told as a POV of Anna. The characters are fleshed out but would have liked to have seen more so they pop out of the book. Jill Child's writing style kept me engaged so listened to this book pretty much in 2 sittings.

Kristin Atherton did a wonderful job in narrating this book. I'll be looking forward to seeing both of them in future books.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for Netgalley, Goodreads and Amazon

The House Across the Street by Jill Childs and narrated by Kristin Atherton is a belter of a psychological thriller and in all honesty, I did not even come close to predicting the outcome (I am beginning to seriously doubt my capabilities at this point, but with thriller writers this talented, I can give myself a break I think

Didn't see it coming, ten stars and then some! Full review to follow

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, the author Jill Childs and narrator Kristen Atherton for this incredible ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Good Audio listen and storyline about 2 families who's children grew up together helped each other through tragic events but with lots of twists and turns. Listened to this is 2 days

To the amazing NetGalley and all the authors who might see this - PLEASE put somewhere how the book is written. Please understand that, let’s take me as an example, I can’t read in 3 pov. I try but with English not being my first language it’s complicated to track the characters and the story. And I truly think that in the “additional information” or on goodreads you can put somewhere “1POV” or “3POV”. I don’t want to “steal” someone a chance to get an arc of a book just so I can dnf it cause I can’t read in 3POV.

With this particular book, I checked the description (as always) and it sounds like “I feel so lucky to live in a gorgeous house with my precious daughter… I'm just across from the Taylors,…. But late at night, I spot someone in the house across the street….” I, I, I- which I assumed that the book is written in the first person but it’s not. Please do something about it NetGalley cause I don’t want to get approved for books just to dnf it and someone else could get it and enjoyed it.