The House Across the Street
by Jill Childs, narrated by Kristin Atherton

I listened to the audiobook and the tension is HIGH, made higher with Kristin Atherton's narration. So much crying, screeching, yelling, and despair, all for good reason. The story starts with a car hitting a woman on a dark night and the troubles continue from there.

In the present day, we meet single mom, Anna, her ten year old daughter, Cassie (cute, smart kid), and Anna's brother, back home after being away for about ten years. The brother/sister team have a bad memory from ten years ago, a past that must be lived down and the reason Anna's brother was gone for so long.

Anna's best friend is Lily and they are best friends forever, despite horrible events of the past. Lily's brother is still not over what happened long ago but mostly time passes and everyone makes the best of things until someone murders Lily's dad, Anna begins getting threats to herself and her daughter, and everyone pretty much goes into meltdown mode.

The audiobook sent my blood pressure soaring, it doesn't make for a calm listen but then the story is fraught with danger, accusations about the past and present and questions about who did what when. This is one of those books that isn't over when it's over. Very few people here are really all that nice and almost none of them make very good decisions. Cassie's a chip off the old block in the bad decision making department but she's learned from the best based on the actions of her mom and uncle. Good times are NOT had by all and someone still needs a good comeuppance by the end of the book.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

✩ 3.95 ⋆｡°✩ 💛
<u><i>review based on audio book</i></u>


<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>


‧₊˚🔪✩ ₊˚🎧⊹♡


<b>MAIN REVIEW:</b>

✦ → it’s a story about two best friends and the secrets between them that unravel slowly throughout the book


✦ → The starting to the book is a little slow but it gets better and the ending was <u>unpredictable</u> and it had me making so many random guesses throughout the book


✦ → the characters felt real, especially Cassie. Overall well written and executed.


✦ → there’s a lot of information thrown at you at the end of chapters and so many twists and turns, it really grabbed my attention and had me at the edge of seat

✦ → highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers


♫₊˚.🎧 ✩｡

This was my first book by this author and is a good domestic thriller. The narration was well done and had a good pace and flow.

Anna and her 10 year old daughter, Cassie, live across the street from the family home of her best friend, Lily. After a party one night, Anna finds Lily’s father murdered in his room. She sees a suspicious figure walking away from the house. The murder is the focus of the story with a sub plot emerging as to who Cassie’s father is.

The story has twists and turns, a couple I figured out before revealed and was happy to have guessed correctly! Others kept me guessing until the reveal. I did get a bit confused with the timeline at points and had to repeat the chapter to figure it out.

The story goes into overdrive at the end with more twists and ends on a surprise twist.
I will read more by this author.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the arc. I leave this review voluntarily.

No secret lasts forever… this was such a fun read!

Premise: Anna and Lily are lifelong best friends with intertwined lives. Anna lives across the street from Lily’s parents, a beloved couple in the community. But one day Anna sees something odd through the window - she heads over to check on Lily’s dad and inadvertently walks into a murder scene instead. Someone knows Anna saw too much and now her daughter, Cassie is being threatened.

I really enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters in this one! They were vivid and human, it was easy to root for them! This is a slower burn psychological thriller, but never dull and definitely still bingeable. Pick this up for your summer travels!

I listened to the audiobook version, which is a great way to enjoy this book on-the-go (I was such a holdout on audiobooks, but now that I’ve given in to adding them to the mix, I’m obsessed). The narrator,
Kristin Atherton, has a lovely voice, incredibly pleasant British accent, and does a beautiful job with the various characters - you really forget they’re all being read by only one person.

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lily and Anna are best friends who have grown up together living on the same street, one day there is a murder and suddenly their life doesn’t feel so safe anymore.
I won’t say much more about the plot because it’s best to go in blind and get whisked along.
It’s a tangled web that is gripping throughout, plenty of mystery from the past and present to keep you guessing, it was thoroughly enjoyable and well written.
I listened to the audio audition of the book and I didn’t love the narrator. She made the majority of the dialogue aggressive or angry when it wasn’t always warranted.

Anna notices some strange goings on and investigates to find out the father of her best friend Lily who lives across the street has been murdered! And Anna has secrets of her own. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook.