AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERShari Lapena’s new thriller, AN UNWANTED GUEST, is available now!“The twists come as fast [as] you can turn the pages.” —People“Provocative and shocking.” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Find Her“I read this novel at one sitting, absolutely riveted by the storyline. The suspense was beautifully rendered and unrelenting!” —Sue Grafton, New … this novel at one sitting, absolutely riveted by the storyline. The suspense was beautifully rendered and unrelenting!” —Sue Grafton, New York Times bestselling author of X
It all started at a dinner party. . .
A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .
Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night, when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately lands on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.
Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they’ve kept for years.
What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.
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This one is good with a great twist at the end
I really enjoyed this book. It was a smooth read and it kept you hooked to find out what was going to happen next. This is one of those “just let me finish this chapter” then you realize you have read alot more than just that one chapter.
Twists and turns galore! Read in a day and a half! Can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next!
Expertly woven. The author strung me along, all the way to the very end. I could not put this book down.
The baby’s missing. That’s pretty much how this novel starts and it never lets up. I read this in a day. Even when it’s clear who took the baby, the story never lags. I loved it.
I would rate this book a 4.5 if it was an option. One of the things that most impressed me about this is book that the “big reveal” happened about halfway through, so I was skeptical that the author would still be able to keep my attention, but she definitely did! I also loved that the characters were all flawed, but not to the point that you couldn’t be invested in them or root for them to win. This is a quick read, but a well thought out and worthwhile thriller. It is without a doubt worth it if you can catch it on a BB sale.
Shari Lapena keeps you twisting to the very end of the book to find out whodunit. You can venture a guess but you’ll end up amazed at each turn. The book is a quick read and I could’t put it down until it was finished.
What if your babysitter cancelled at the last minute? You’d beg another sitter to fill in, offer to pay double, take shifts with your significant other, cancel your plans…
Not these folks. Judgment aside, they were right next door, they took the baby monitor with them, and it could have been an easy, breezy experience. Only, it wasn’t.
Author Shari Lapena integrates elements of women’s fiction, family drama, mystery, and psychological thriller/suspense in this fast and easy read. Overall, I liked it and enjoyed the mental health aspects of it the most. Check it out!
Recommend to lovers of suspense/psychological thrillers.
It’s difficult to write a review without spoilers. The story is about a couple who have their baby kidnapped while they are drinking next door, relying on a baby monitor and half hour checks. As the detectives investigate the couple slowly fall apart as more and more secrets are revealed.
I didn’t like the writing style but I accept it worked brilliantly telling this tale. It took me about a 1/4 of the book to become really hooked. From then on I loved the read.
A parent’s worst nightmare is realized in Shari Lapena’s suspenseful novel The Couple Next Door. Anne and Marco Conti’s six-month-old baby girl Cora has been abducted from their home while the Contis were next door at the neighbors’ house for a dinner party. The babysitter cancelled at the last minute, so who would’ve taken Cora– and how would they know she would be alone in the house? Most importantly: where is Cora, and is she still alive? The detective investigating the case suspects the parents immediately– but was it one or both of them? Or someone else entirely?
The Couple Next Door is an unpredictable tale, unfolding in taut, chronological chapters from alternating points of view. The reader quickly learns that no one is to be trusted and that every character has a secret to protect. Why and how Cora came to be abducted is a tense and twisty ride, filled with lies and betrayal in a unique and gripping story.
It’s not often that I read a book in a single day, but I literally could not put this one down. I had to know who did it and why. And I wasn’t disappointed! Terrific book and I can’t wait for Shari Lapena’s next novels.
A well written book. So many twist and turns, that I raced through this one.
After I read (and enjoyed) Shari Lapena’s An Unwanted Guest, I wanted to read some of her other works. This book seemed like a good choice.
Marco and Anne Conti are parents of a six-month-old baby girl. When their next-door neighbors invite them to an “adults only” dinner party, Marco is especially eager to go. Anne has suffered from some postpartum depression, and he thinks it would be good for her to get out of the house.
When their babysitter has to cancel at the last minute, Marco convinces Anne they could leave the baby alone (the houses share an adjoining wall), take the baby monitor, and check on her every half hour. But the dinner drags on and finally at almost 1:30 in the morning, Anne demands they leave. When they return to their own home, they find the front door open, the back door unlocked, and the baby is gone.
Who took her and why? Was it for ransom? Or was there something more sinister going on? The book had a lot of twists and turns. Both Marco and Anne are hiding secrets from one another. The kidnapper finally demands ransom money, and insists upon them not involving the police, but the exchange goes awry.
Despite there being a lot of telling and not showing, this was a page-turner that kept me guessing. I couldn’t help but notice the detective in charge of the investigation “almost felt sorry” for Marco on several occasions. I did figure it out about three-fourths into the book, but I read on to see how things would play out.
The wrap-up was a little lackluster, with no real suspense. But then came the ending. I won’t give anything away, but the author had a good story going until that last page, which I hated. I will give this author another chance, but one more ending like this one will be enough for me to bid her goodbye.
Brilliant! Perfect in almost every way. Well drawn characters. An intense, compelling plot paced to perfection. A crisp writing style. So many ways this novel could turn. The end was unforeseeable. The ending was slightly less than perfect but still satisfying. One of my best reads this year.
It’s definitely a hard to put down novel. It’s fast-paced for the most part, which is the kind of story I prefer.
I knew almost from the beginning who was involved and why, but missed a couple key points.
I don’t know if other readers will figure it out. It’s probably because of my writer’s mind that I was able to work out some of the details and direction. After reading a couple chapters and getting the set-up, it’s the direction I would’ve gone.
The only thing I wasn’t pleased with was the female MC’s reaction toward the end. The story didn’t make a point of diving into her emotions when all was revealed. She took it way too much in stride. I would think the devastation would’ve been addressed more. And I wasn’t thrilled with the very end, but hey, maybe leaving it open was intentional for another book?!
This book is an absolute page-turner. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I’d had anticipated the plot pretty much from the beginning (sometimes being an author of mystery novels has its drawbacks…we’re always trying to figure out the whodunit). That said, in spite of that I was drawn to this book, reading it at every opportunity. An easy-to-read, relatable writing style, with well paced plot and dialogue. I will definitely read A Stranger in the House next. 4.5 stars
THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR is a riveting read. I could not put it down! The unique, albeit scary, premise grabbed my attention from page one. As a mom and new grandmother, I was almost afraid to read the outcome. There were plot twists galore (no spoilers from me!) Some I guessed but many I didn’t.
Debut author Shari Lapena weaves a chilling, page-turning story and is a natural storyteller. The only reason I didn’t give this five stars is because the author constantly used adverbs after her dialogue tags (i.e., said loudly, said angrily) and that’s something that has been hammered into my head as an author as a big no-no. Otherwise, this is a great read, and I highly recommend this novel. I predict the author will become a big voice in the mystery/psychological thriller world. She’s off to a tremendous start.
A little slow getting started, but wow, stick with it. I picked this book up used at a library sale, not realizing it was written in present tense, something I generally avoid. I’m so glad I gave it a chance. This book hit all the right marks for me–flawed characters, multiple plot twists, and page-turning momentum. A twisty mystery, and one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Wow. Yes, this is a wow book. My friend suggested I read it. If you like B.A. Paris books, you’ll like this. I’ve never read any by this author, but I’m immediately going right now to see what else she’s written. I read this book in one day, which I never get to do, but totally COULD if allowed to. Today i was allowed bc we were on a long car trip. SO excited to not have to stop except for rest stops, to read the whole thing like that. It’s a tangled web is what it is, in an exciting, captivating way. Awful, dreadful, but SOOOOO good. Yes, a “Wow” book. I summarized it and told my whole family.
I had the pleasure of meeting Shari Lapena at a literary festival recently and it was inspiring to hear about the success of The Couple Next Door. It’s a book full of twists that starts with a bang: a couple’s baby goes missing while they have dinner with the neighbours. It’s a page-turner for sure
This was good…a wee bit predictable, but entertaining nonetheless. I feel like the author said, “Let’s see what happens when a handful of people have the world’s worst ability to make a good decision”….or the absolute BEST talent for making sh*tty ones…depends on how you look at it!
It was certainly enough to keep me interested. Crazy? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes. Entertaining? YES!