Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2024/09/04/book-review-the-perfect-neighbors/
Title: The Perfect Neighbors
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Number of Pages: 339
My Rating: 💋💋💋💋
Book Summary:
How well do you ever really know the family next door?
Bucolic Newport Cove, where spontaneous block parties occur on balmy nights and all the streets are named for flowers, is proud of being named one of the top-twenty safest neighborhoods in the United States.
It’s also one of the most secret-filled.
Kellie, Susan, and Gigi are long-time residents and close friends. But behind closed doors, each woman is hiding something. Kellie has just returned to work after a decade at home, and she finds herself relishing the attention of her very handsome, very married male colleague. Susan is a single mom and a small-business owner, but late at night, she’s stalking her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. Gigi is poised to become the perfect politician’s wife – except she has skeletons in her closet, which are in danger of being brought into the light now that her husband is running for Congress.
Then a new family moves to the neighborhood. Tessa seems friendly enough to the other mothers, if a bit reserved. But when no one is ever invited to Tessa’s house, it becomes clear that she is hiding the biggest secret of all.
My Thoughts:
I picked this one up at a local library in town, which was raising funds to be able to help the library stock the shelves with new books and this gem happened to be in the pile.
I found this to be a bit of a slow burn, but once the novel started getting more into the characters and shining a light on their lives and secrets, well I had a hard time putting it down.
Kellie was a woman entering back into the workplace after a decade of being at home; intelligent, motivated and driven to do well in her job. She ultimately wanted to be noticed, however that attention ended up coming from the wrong source in the way of her colleague Miller. Kellie and her husband were high-school sweethearts and being with someone for that long, you sometimes feel unnoticed, frumpy and underappreciated. She ultimately lost her way when she started getting attention from an outside source, only to realize what she nearly lost at home. Her story was sad, frustrating, but also relieving because it shows how much the love she has in her marriage truly was all that she really needed and love does conquer all!
Susan’s story was sad and a bit bitter sweet. She was the character you rooted for and really hoped would find her way out of the darkness. She was a full-time mom and business owner and man was she constantly on the go! Reading about her navigating her life after divorce was heartbreaking, and stalking your ex-husband is never a good idea in my opinion. But people grieve in different ways, right? Watching her grow throughout the novel, though slowly, was wonderful to see and it made it even sweeter to see how her story ended.
Gigi was my absolute favourite in the book to be honest, just from her care-free, supportive, hippy persona, now sadly trapped behind the facade of a politician’s wife. Behind closed doors you saw the real woman; whose trying to keep up the picture perfect family for the public, struggling to connect with her rebelling teenage daughter, dealing with her husband’s annoying campaign manager, being a good friend and hiding who she really is deep down.
Tessa was an interesting character, you begin to understand her reserved and protective nature near the end of the book. Anyone with children will most likely relate to the fear a parent has and when your alarm bells begin to go off. You will do anything to protect your children, no matter the cost.
I will say I liked it quite a bit, however I feel like the wrap up near the end was a little too neat for my liking. Life doesn’t always end up in a happy ending, it’s a sad reality, but in this novel it was. Overall I really enjoyed the novel as a whole, minus the perfect ending to each story. Each woman has their secrets and the trials and tribulations that go along with it. Relatable to a degree, but worth the read if you like Chick Lit!
Up next is Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman!
Hope you enjoyed the review!
Ciao!!
Beneath the Book Light 