Description:

Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…

When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.

But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.

In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful and charismatic widow, Blair. But as the women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. And when the unthinkable truth behind Teddy’s murder is finally uncovered, both Blair and Alexis must reexamine their friendship and decide how far they are willing to go to preserve the lives they have so carefully constructed.

Adele’s Review:

What The Neighbors Saw is a well-written, compelling debut by Melissa Adelman that delves into the minds and hearts of neighbors in an upscale suburban community. The story is told in two unique POV, in alternating chapters, which makes the book easy to relax with and follow. The picturesque setting of the wealthy neighborhood is so well described that when a body is found by a trail in the nearby woods along a river, we can visualize the placement. The characters are well defined and relatable, especially since each has a unique ethnicity, personal challenge, and inner demon. No one in the book is perfect, though they all enjoy enviable wealth.

The marriages and friendships in the story are all dysfunctional, especially those of the two women telling the tale. This reviewer developed a strong dislike for protagonist Alex’s husband, Sam, who repeatedly undermines his wife by criticizing her and calling her names like “old lady.” Though she’s just given birth to their second child, he remains unsupportive with childcare, his marriage, or the renovation of their new home. Alex has severe body dysmorphia, and though she is thin and beautiful, is bulimic and sees herself as unappealing.

There is a wide assortment of neighborhood couples in the story to follow, a few red herrings, and a mystery not revealed until the final chapter. A good read. I wish the author much success in her writing career.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5392073094

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9LDX6R3