Through the Wall
by Caroline Corcoran
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Pub Date 3 Oct 2019 | Archive Date 30 Aug 2019
Avon Books UK | Avon
Description
Lexie’s got the perfect life. And someone else wants it…
Lexie loves her home. She feels safe and secure in it – and loved, thanks to her boyfriend Tom.
But recently, something’s not been quite right. A book out of place. A wardrobe door left open. A set of keys going missing…
Tom thinks Lexie’s going mad – but then, he’s away more often than he’s at home nowadays, so he wouldn’t understand.
Because Lexie isn’t losing it. She knows there’s someone out there watching her. And, deep down, she knows there’s nothing she can do to make them stop…
A compelling, heart-racing thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder long after you turn the last page. The perfect read for fans of Louise Candlish and Adele Parks.
Available Editions
EDITION | Ebook |
ISBN | 9780008335106 |
PRICE | US$12.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 400 |
Featured Reviews
Oh my goodness, I read this book in two days and my house is now a riot!
I got sucked right in, I love the way it’s written from the different perspectives and the way it’s done ‘through the wall’ is clever and sets this book apart.
I love books that take time to develop the characters and really make you feel what they’re feeling and this book did that whilst being easy to read and enjoyable!
Told in alternating perspectives we get to know more about two neighbours and what starts as a passing interest soon becomes an obsession. Some difficult topics of domestic abuse/controlling behaviour and fertility are covered but in a way that makes you feel right there, living it with the characters. A good book rounded off by a good ending.
What a brilliant book. This book has a fantastic story line, excellent characters and is just wonderful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I enjoyed it immensely.
How well do we know our neighbours ??
This is a story about Lexie and Harriet who live next door to each other in an apartment block in London ..As the walls are quite thin -they can hear each other going about their daily routines -each believing that the other has the perfect life . However - Harriet decides to go one step further and begins a crusade to take over Lexie's life -including her boyfriend Tom..
This is a great psychological thriller -yes we can see where the story is going -but it was a great read -I thoroughly enjoyed it .
Thankyou Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest reveiw
Wow! This book gives you a good emotional workout - fear, anxiety, confusion, concern, heartbreak, it tests you to your very limits! A really great psychological thriller which is absorbing, terrifying and has a very clever ending...!
Excellent read. Hard to put the book down. Right from the start you were sucked in and new this was going to be a good one. The storyline was wicked. Not quite knowing where it was going next. There was lots of twists and turns in the road.
As always another great book Caroline would highly recommend it. Looking forward to your next book. We'll done
The one place you should feel safe yet you don’t! This book gets under your skin in such a way I found myself double checking my doors and windows. Creepy and well written, I loved it.
Something isn’t quite right in Lexie’s otherwise perfect home and life. Her boyfriend thinks she’s just imagining things, but she knows her things have been moved, riffled through. The signs are subtle, but they are there, despite what Tom says. Is his increasing absence from their home and relationship just a coincidence, or is he fed up with her fear? A twisted tale to keep you reading late into the night
This was about two women. Harriet lives on her own and Lexie lives with her partner Tom in the flat next door. The walls are thin and they can here what happens next door through the walls.
Harriet envies Lexie’s life and is convinced that Tom should be her partner. Lexie is envious of Harriet’s life. They both spend time using Google to find out about each other. It was creepy and scary and you never knew what was going to happen next.
The story switches between Harriet and Lexie and their insecurities. It is about relationships and stalking. Every new chapter reveals a bit more about Harriet’s life and Lexie’s insecurities working from home.
I loved the way the tension built up and the description of the characters.
This book started quite slowly and I struggled with it but I am glad I did persist as it turned out to be a very good read
Wasn't too sure to start with, I must admit. Not sure if I was struggling to identify with Harriet, a composer who clearly has mental health issues, or the pace of the book.
I persevered and I am glad I did. It is not fast paced but I grew to connect with the characters of Harriet and Lexie throught their different types of emotional pain. Harriet has been emotionally, physically and on occasion sexually abused by fiance Luke who dumps her. Harriet cannot let go. Lexie has a strong, stable relationship with Tom but they cannot get pregnant and have to undergo IVF. Lexie does not want to let go of the dream of motherhood. Harriet and Lexie live next door to one another in an anonymous block of flats in London.
This story is all about perception, impressions, the view we portray to others, the things we believe about ourselves and each other, how everyone has it better than we do. Except of course we don't and misconceptions abound. The two women have a very skewed idea of the other but the difference is Lexie is very good and Harriet is so unstable that she is mostly very bad.
Hariet sets out to destroy Lexie and the question is, will she manage it?
Painfully honest about the heartbreak and rigours of trying to get pregnant with the help of medical science, and the pain and trauma of depression, psychosis, rejection and loneliness, this book won't make you laugh and it isn't full of action but it might just make you think. What it is full of is the relentless drip, drip, drip of pain. Several times near the conclusion of the book I was so anxious that all would end well that I tried to look ahead and reassure myself of a happy ending. I had enough self control to pull back though and when I eventually got there, the ending was suitably open ended and tantalisingly disquietening.
Will you identify with Harriet and feel empathy for her at any point or will you dislike her throughout the novel?
Powerful stuff in an understated way
I don't repeat the blurb.
I wasn't too sure about this at first and the rigid alternating narrators seemed aggravating to the point that I almost gave up, but I am SO pleased I didn't There's no big reveal, no mystery just gradual revealing of a sad past and the effect it has on the here and now. Really enjoyable but tragic.
Lexie and Harriett are next door neighbors. Both of them have issues but when this novel opens, one of them is hospitalized for her mental health. Which one? The story alternates their voices. Are they both reliable narrators? No spoilers but know that Harriett, a talented woman, has been left by her love interest and that Lexie is struggling with infertility and other concerns. The grass isn't necessarily greener but that doesn't mean one won't want to try it there. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. This one zips along.
I already had a copy of this book on my kindle when I was gifted the paperback edition by the publisher. I choose to read the paperback edition. Theres nothing nice than the feel and smell of a new book!
The book is about two neighbours, Lexie and Harriet. They've never met. Harriet is a successful musical composer. Lexie and Tom are a young couple grieving after Lexie had had a miscarriage. Harriet has secrets, she's lonely and often throws parties just to have some company. But the walls are thin. So Harriet and Lexie often hear what goes on in each others flat. Harriet longs for the life she thinks Lexie has.
This book does take a wee while to get started, stick with it, you wont be disappointed. Once I got into the story, I could not put it down. The chapters are told alternately by Harriet and Lexie, who intrigued me. The story covers; obsession, lies, jealousy, secrets, controlling behaviour, mental health issues, stalking and fertility issues. This is a good psychological thriller. It is a bit obvious (I thought) where this story was going, but that never puts me off. A great read.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Avon Books UK and the author Caroline Corcoran for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Through The Wall is THE most intensely, scary thriller I’ve read!!
Lexie and Tom live in a nice apartment in London, Harriet is their next door neighbour but they don’t know each other, they can just hear each other through the wall. This is definitely a book I shan’t be divulging any plot spoils in as you have to read this yourself. Yes it starts off a bit slow but stick with it this part is making you feel for all characters and get to know their situations and their histories so you feel the punch much, much harder. I was twenty minutes off finishing this and had to do dinner but I couldn’t hardly eat any as I was so swept up with the drama of Will she won’t she! By the end it felt like I’d run a marathon. This a dark, intense thriller that I could not put down and finished in hours!! Well done Caroline Corcoran for making me feel like this. A very different disturbing thriller.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
I’m really excited to have been asked to be part of the blog tour for this book. It will be released on the 3rd of October 2019, and my blog will be published on the 6th November 2019.
I received a copy of the book in advance via the publisher, Avon, and NetGalley in return for an honest review as part of my blog.
This is a true cautionary tale that we shouldn’t judge people based on what they allow us to see on social media. It is not the real person, only a glimpse of what they want us to see. A perception of their life that they want everyone to believe they are living.
Also, we should be careful about what we put on social media!
Harriett and Lexie are neighbours in a swanky London apartment building, yet they have never met. Both have secrets or are going through hard times yet purely based on their social media presence, you would think that each of them had the perfect life, and both of them are jealous of the other.
However, one of them lets her secrets engulf her to the point of putting her neighbour’s life in danger.
We alternate between the to women, and it is very cleverly done as one will hear the other ‘through the wall’, and then we will go to the next chapter, and we will see what was actually happening. There are also chapters showing the past which all lead up to the present. These can be quite confusing, so you have to look at the beginning of the section for the month of the year. If it is there, you are in the present, if it isn’t you are in the past. Once you are into the story, however, you soon get to grips with where you are in the story.
I was surprised by the fertility element to the story, and it was very overbearing. I am childless by choice, so it was hard for me to relate to Lexie’s side of the story. I’ve always been a big believer in people putting far too much of an emphasis on getting pregnant then it becomes an obsession, as it did for Lexie. I think if people relaxed and enjoyed their lives, if they are capable of getting pregnant, then it will happen organically as they will be calmer. If they lived for the moment and were happy with their situation as it was instead of fretting, then their bodies would be in a more peaceful state. Lexie was so stressed to the point where it wouldn’t have surprised me if she had destroyed everything she had all for wanting a baby. She did have a good life, and she couldn’t see it through her obsession. However, as I say, I will never understand the desire to have children as at 41 years old, I have never wanted and never will want them. The fertility issues didn’t annoy me or ruin the book for me; it was just hard for me to relate to Lexie. I did still feel sorry for her when she had setbacks and upsets.
This was a really fantastic psychological thriller; I didn’t know what approach the end of the book was going to take. Was the ending going to be clear cut or was everything not as we were expecting, just as social media is not everything that is shown to us? Everything was cleverly done, and I had to reread the last page twice to make sure I had read it right! A brilliant read.
Lexie loves her home. She feels safe and secure in it – and loved, thanks to her boyfriend Tom.
But recently, something’s not been quite right. A book out of place. A wardrobe door left open. A set of keys going missing…
Tom thinks Lexie’s going mad – but then, he’s away more often than he’s at home nowadays, so he wouldn’t understand.
Because Lexie isn’t losing it. She knows there’s someone out there watching her. And, deep down, she knows there’s nothing she can do to make them stop…
Okay, so - wow. I'm not the hugest fan of thrillers, but I couldn't put this one down. I read the first 20% in the evening, then I got up and read the rest of the book over the course of the day - I just couldn't stop! I really liked the alternating point of views of both Lexie and Harriet. I felt like Harriet's chapters came across as quite sinister, even just general day to day chapters, she came across as quite unhinged.. I actually felt quite anxious reading the book, but I just had to know what was going to happen, especially with how the book starts.
Very cleverly written with a fast pace, especially from 75% plus - I'd definitely recommend it.
How well do you know your neighbours?????
A slow burner to start with but then I was gripped. Two neighbours can hear everything between the thin walls that separate them. They wish that they had each other's life. A real page turner and a fantastic psychological thriller. Yes this book is that good!!!!! A bloody good rollercoaster of a read which I found very hard to put down and finally turned the last page at 2.am. Gripping, heartbraking, shocking and scary. You need to read this book, an easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.
400 nail biting kindle flicks
‘ the creepiest psychological thriller of 2019’ I kinda warily read just before starting this book, ‘ye ye’ I thought.....
But it is
And then some
Lexie and Tom live in a London apartment
Harriet lives ‘through the wall’, next door
Lexie and Tom have everything
Harriet did, then lost it
Harriet wants what Lexie has and she will stop at literally nothing to get it
Loving psychological thrillers I have read some super scary books on stalkers, Harriet takes it to the next level, she has no filter, psychopath extraordinaire and I loathed her, at one point I wanted to turn the page and read ‘oh hi, author here, Ive changed my mind and Lexie and Tom will be ok and Harriet has gone away’......( I didn’t really but you get me? ) as I say I loathed her and just occasionally, the author did a very clever trick and almost made me like her!!!!!!
I cant really put into words how dark, intense, cloyingly wonderful this book is and how I started reading it laying on the bed and at one point found I was standing up unable to take my eyes of what was happening
The first sentence is as chilling as the last, there are no ‘breaks in story’ no respite and no get out clauses
This is a full on rampage of a read
Loved it
10/10
5 Stars
Thrilling story, great plot and characters that keep you guessing right til the end. Great for fans of this genre. Really enjoyable.
This is an addictive read. It centres on a block of flats in Central London, in Zone One, where people exist together but rarely make friends with their neighbours and others within the same building, leaving them to live their own lives. It is not the case here.
Harriet and Lexie live next door to each other and the narrative is told by each of them in turn as the story progresses. Harriet is a composer of music for musicals and, on the surface, appears to be successful. Lexie lives with her husband who appears successful in his job and Lexie works from home as a freelance copywriter, which is something she chose to do.
They can hear certain things through the wall between them and Lexie and Harriet become obsessed with each other, always looking up information on the Internet and trying to find out as much as they can about where the other is going and what is happening. They both feel the other has a perfect life but this is definitely not the case.
From one side obsession leads to stalking which is nothing new to this person. There is so much more to the book than this and many topics are dealt with in an interesting and caring manner. I do not want to give anything away.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Caroline Corcoran for my ARC in return for my honest review.
Highly addictive read and totally recommended.
Fantastic fast paced novel with a great premise that kept me hooked all the way through, building up to a good climax.
Oh you know I do love a good debut...
If you are looking for a disturbing, mess with your head type of psychological thriller, then this one is for you..
Would you ever be so unhappy in your life that you think your next door neighbour has a much more exciting one than you which you hear through the wall between both houses....
We meet Lexie and Harriet in this story....
Lexie is living with her partner Tom. They are struggling to conceive...
Harriet is a party girl, no responsibilities....
Both lives could not be more different....
Jealousy however soon rears its ugly head.......
What happens if someone decides they want your life but you don't know about it. Does she try to drive you mad.... steal your boyfriend perhaps...
We begin to enter stalker ish... territory at this point. Little things Lexie begins to notice but with her hormones raging and her mind in overdrive, she doesn't know what is real or what she is imagining.
I can completely relate to this one in terms of raging hormones from fertility issues. You don't know whether you are coming or going.
Add to that the fact that you think someone is trying to drive you mad and it sure does make for a compelling read.
This is disturbing, chilling and eerie all rolled into one...
I bet you won't be able to put it down,,,,
Well done to author Caroline on a cracking debut.....
This really is a heart racing thriller, it was bloody brilliant.
Lexie on the surface seems to have the perfect life, a loving boyfriend, home, friends and work & someone close by doesnt like that.
Lately things havent been right, her home feels different, she can sense a presence, things are moving and her boyfriend seems to be getting more and more distant when Lexie needs him the most.
Told from two perspectives we unravel the lives of those involved in this, it is a complex narrative where not everything is as it seems & feelings run a heck of alot deeper. I adored this book, my heart was racing as i got to the final few chapters & for me that is a book that is really well written when it gets a real life response from me.
I adored the characters because they were so multi layered and fascinating, they were full of flaws, issues & concerns and as a reader we get to discover those layers. What makes this so scary is so much seems normal, its not horrific and obvious in gore, its slowly built up and creepy, like it was taken pleasure in.
Fan-bloody-tastic. I was on the edge of my seat & this is one of the best thrillers i have read in a while, because it could happen to anyone. I am so grateful to be invited onto this blog tour.
Oh, this is one of the most original and intense thrillers I’ve read in ages. I was starting to think the genre had no surprises or anything new left. I’m glad I’m wrong. I knew within a few pages I was going to love this book. I was spot on. This book is pretty twisted at times but the menace is slow burning for the most part. The author likes to lure you into a false sense of security before revealing what twisted new treat hides in the dark. The book is written in the first person alternating between Lexie and Harriet. You know from the second chapter that Harriet is the villain. It would normally put me off a book, knowing the bad guy from the start. However, the fact the chapters alternate between Lexie and Harriet stops this from happening. You get to read about Lexie falling apart, convinced someone is watching her every move and Tom is cheating on her while also reading about Harriet’s manipulation and twisted mind games. I also liked the fact you get to find out about Harriet’s past and the events that set her on such a dark path. She does monstrous things but she’s far from a monster.
How well do you know your neighbour? Lexie and Harriet live next door to each other in an upmarket block of flats in London, but never speak. It’s not as though they dislike each other, it’s just not the done thing. The thought of bumping into each other in the lift abhors them and yet they happily eavesdrop on each other through their paper-thin walls. With both women experiencing problems in their personal lives, they soon begin to covet each other’s life with dangerous consequences…
With its slow build-up, Through the Wall is one of those books that takes you a while, but once it’s grabbed you, there’s no letting go! From its opening in a psychiatric hospital, there is a air of foreboding where you know that something bad is about to happen, but what?
From the outside, Harriet looks like the ultimate party girl, her raucous gatherings drawing in strangers from near and far. Lexie wouldn’t be as jealous, however, if she knew Harriet’s past and that this was one way of hiding her loneliness. Similarly, Lexie looks like she shares the perfect life with her husband, Tom, the sort of life that Harriet dreams of. Her happy social media posts hide the trauma of losing a child, though, and do not take into account the pain of trying for a baby. This was a good lesson in how we should not always believe what people choose to share on the likes of Instagram or Facebook, as these posts often display a skewed version of the person’s real life.
Throughout the book, we see Harriet’s interest becoming more and more of an obsession, to the point where she is stalking both Lexie and Tom, even gaining access to their property. I began to fear for Lexie as Harriet became fixated with Tom, wondering just how far she would go to achieve her aim. At the same time, I had nothing but sympathy for Lexie as she began her IVF journey, believing at the same time that her husband was having an affair with a woman called Rachel.
Just when I thought that Harriet had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, the author hit me with details of her past, exploring how she had been the victim of an abusive ex-partner, even if she was in complete denial about this. At this point, I was desperate for someone to take Harriet into their care, to stop her from hurting someone else or even herself. The fears for Lexie were still there, however, and were proven correct when we finally get to the showdown between the two women. The tension was palpable as I began to wonder if history was about to repeat itself.
The story ends where it begins – at the psychological hospital, and it is here where we get the twist that made me gasp. This was one of those moments where you can visualise it on the screen, and I hope that this is something we get to see at some point.
Through the Wall is a disturbing psychological thriller with some genuinely emotional moments.
A deliciously twisted and unsettling thriller that will send many a shiver down your spine, Through the Wall is Caroline Corcoran’s phenomenal debut novel and it’s absolutely fantastic. Packed with plenty of shocks and surprises, Through the Wall is a brilliant thriller you will not be able to put down or stop thinking about.
Lexie’s life is as perfect as it is possible to get. She has a beautiful home she feels safe and secure in and is in a relationship with a wonderful man called Tom who has made her unbelievably happy. Everything seems to be coming up rosy for Lexie, but lately she simply cannot shake off this feeling that something isn’t quite right. Things are happening in the home that has always been her haven and her sanctuary that are making her wonder whether a perfect stranger has found a way into her refuge. Lexie is sure that she didn’t leave that wardrobe door open or that book in that particular place. And she has certainly not lost a set of keys that have gone suddenly missing. Lexie is convinced that she is being watched and that somebody is playing with her mind, but when she shares her fears with Tom, her fears are brushed away.
Tom thinks that she is going mad, however, with him being away so much lately how could he possibly know what is really happening at home? Somebody is watching Lexie and she knows it. Will the life which has come to mean so much to her be taken away from her? Is Lexie safe in her house? Or is there somebody who is so desperate to have Lexie’s perfect life that they will do whatever it takes to get it- including murder….
Creepy, sinister and full of menace and suspense, Through the Wall is a book that will have you switching on all the lights, locking your doors and checking your house for any recording devices. A book that is cleverly written, densely plotted and brilliantly set up, Through the Wall is an outstanding nail-biting thriller from a terrific new voice in the genre.
Tense, terrifying and jaw-dropping, Through the Wall is a must-read for psychological thriller fans everywhere.
This book was definitely something different from what I was expecting.
Talking about mental health issues and how we live our lives nowadays are important topics that sometimes we have to be more aware in this busy time of indifference.
Am old say is that The green is greener on the other side of the fence and it really felt like this with the story. Battling a depression and a break up from her boyfriend, a woman makes her point in living with the desire of having what her neighbour is having at any cost. The walls in an apartment block are always thin but that doesn’t mean that you really can hear and know exactly what the people next door have or how they live their lives.
After the first half of the book , the tension gets real and more interesting and suspenseful.
It’s gripping and while it’s not a five stars book, it’s one that needs to be read and discuss.
Two women who can hear each other through the walks of their homes. This makes for an interesting read. A little slow to start with But not long before you can’t wait to turn the pages faster.
I was so intrigued by the premise of this story. Two women living next door to each other, each thinking the other has the perfect enviable life.
The two women are Lexie and Harriet. Lexie lives with Tom and she’s desperate for a baby. Harriet lives in the flat next door, on the other side of a fairly thin wall, and she’s rather more unstable. In alternating chapters we hear from each one as they simultaneously fall apart.
They say the grass is always greener and never more so than for Lexie and Harriet. Each is convinced the other has this sparkly and wonderful life compared to their own and yet nothing could be further from the truth. What works so well in this book is the claustrophobic feel of the flats. They’re in a sought after part of London, and are not cheap, but they still live virtually on top of each other. They can hear what the others are up to in the next door flat and it starts to take over their lives.
It took me a bit of getting into Through The Wall, mainly I think because of the similarities between the two women. I kept getting muddled up with who was talking. But once I got into the story I soon got over that and I found this a difficult book to put down. It has short chapters, little bursts of narrative that kept me turning the pages quickly. Towards the end I was dreading what might happen, almost reading between my fingers, and the last word is, well, a bit of a jaw-dropper.
Caroline Corcoran portrays well what it must be like to be stalked, to be made to feel like you’re going crazy. She also hits the spot in terms of unrequited love, obsession and desperation. I thought it was a fabulous debut. It’s full of tension and is scarier than any murder mystery. I’ll be excited to see what this author comes up with next.
Wow! A fantastic, gripping read. This got me interested right from the off and I raced through it. Told from different characters perspectives this book has everything a good psychological thriller needs.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.
So you've heard the old adage "the grass is always greener on the other side?" Well, Through the Wall is based on that concept. Lexie and Harriett are neighbours and both, despite having never physically met, covet each others seemingly perfect lives. But there's no knowing what lies behind that projected facade when everything they know about one another has been learned through social media. This is, at its heart, a cautionary tale of how people can stage-manage their lives online to portray them in a certain, more flattering, light than is really the case. We probably all do it but it certainly does not mean you know a particular person as it is easy to show just want we want the world to see and nothing more.
This is a slow-burning work of psychological suspense and one that has quite a bit of filler included within its pages. Perhaps a tighter edit could've made it crisper. It's also quite formulaic and if you read these type of books often you will likely guess what is about to happen long before it actually does. That said, I persevered to see where it would lead. The writing style takes a bit of getting used to but once you have it's a smooth ride from there on in. One aspect that the author excelled at was building a creepy atmosphere and a tension between two people who have ever even met before and I enjoyed these elements. There was also a good use of emotion. Many thanks to Avon for an ARC.