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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The Couple Next Door was suspenseful. You want to know what happened to baby Cora. You NEED to know. The characters were a little thin and often unlikeable and the prose was thin, but the story was compelling.
Could not put this book down, read it in one sitting!
The premise of the book was intriguing, but I didn’t really care about the characters and there are a lot of short abrupt sentences that made the scene much more urgent than it needed to be. Not my taste.
WOW…. I am almost speechless…. finished this book in a couple of hours…. and WOW! That’s all I can say. Twist after twist after twist. The book delivers. This is one of my new favorite authors, hands down. Skip Lucy Foley’s ‘The Guest List’ and go straight to Lapena’s books if you want a wild mystery ride.
If that hasn’t convinced you- the book has an overall theme of desperation. The theme is conveyed through each character’s stream of consciousness that it’s like reading your own thoughts, which is what makes the book a page-turner. You’re fully absorbed into each character’s actions and reactions.
The why, how, when, who, what, where are all satisfyingly answered. The ending isn’t a half-Ass cop out where everything ends up rainbows and butterflies, and we can all go to sleep now. The ending is just as twisted as the first couple of pages.
This book had me gasping aloud, saying “Aw” while pressing my hand to my chest, had me squinting at unpleasant discoveries, and sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that the character(s) I rooted for would do what I wanted them to.
Summary: Overall, enthralling.
A great read. It took a bit to get going with character introductions, etc but I’m impatient. Then Chapter 11. Kaboom! It was a really good read. Good twist ending. And I’ve already picked up another of her books. Well done, Shari!!
Extremely well written. Fully drawn characters and a plot that keeps you guessing – usually incorrectly! – all the way through. Loved the reveals throughout that made the character’s relationships so complex and dynamic.
This book was fabulous. Just when you think it can’t get any worse…
Trash!
Great psychological thriller
Good beach read. Setting is a little two-dimensional, but has some plot twists.
Really enjoyed this story and mystery behind baby Cora. It was a story with no ‘lull’, the plot continued right up until the final sentence. Even then, we are left with an incredible ending which leaves you wondering what on earth would happen next. It does have quite a simple storyline with not so many characters, that I really liked. It was easy to keep up with but in no way any less exciting!
Difficult fit me to read (missing child), but the plot, characters, and writing kept me in the game. Rightly so.
Great thrill rush psychological thriller.
I burst it out laughing at the very end… from surprise enjoyment.
elysejody
Just a lot of dribble. Don’t waste your time!
Talk about Twisty! And scary.
One person’s fatal mistake unspools a tragic mess.
LaPena excels in peeling back the onion to show more and more depth to the characters–and their motives–even as her story hurtles them ahead.
Most of the characters appear to be good people, but looks are deceiving. Kept me reading to the very last word.
One of the best books I’ve ever read.
Read this book in no time! It kept me turning pages to find out what had happened and what would happen!
A real page turner
This makes for a great beach read. It can become predictable, but I still wanted to finish the book.
The Couple Next Door
By Shari Lapena
First, let me start off by saying…Don’t always believe the hype about a book like I do or you will surely end up disappointed one day.
This book was long. Repetitive and at times hard to believe. The characters were not likable nor were they very believable.
Yes, there are a few twists and turns to surprise you but nothing that I could imagine would happen in real life; only the movies.
Anne and Marco Conti accept a dinner invitation to the neighbors next door but when their babysitter cancels last minute, they decide to leave their baby at home and instead bring a monitor and check in on her every half hour. All the while they are both getting drunk at the dinner party and behaving inappropriately with neighbors of the opposite sex which ultimately leads to their baby missing when they return home after their drunken stupor. Come on…who is truly that irresponsible when they are upstanding citizens and supposedly love each other so much. This leads to a horrible investigation and a screwed up storyline.
I just found myself counting the pages for the book to be over and end my suffering which is a surprise since I do love the Authors’s other books.