An addicting and twisty debut about an apartment building devastated by the disappearance of a teenage girl–and by the secrets that won’t be kept behind each closed door–that will thrill fans of Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena.One House. Three Families. Countless Secrets.From her downstairs apartment in suburban London, Emma has often overheard the everyday life of the seemingly perfect family … the seemingly perfect family upstairs–Steph, Paul and teenage daughter Freya–but has never got to know them. Until one day, she hears something that seizes her attention: Freya has vanished and the police are questioning Steph and Paul about their life. Do either of you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm or threaten you?
The effects of Freya’s disappearance ripple outward, affecting not just her parents, but everyone who lives in the building, including Emma and local driving instructor Chris, who was the last person to see the teenager before she went missing. Each character’s life is thrown into sharp focus as devastating mistakes and long-held secrets are picked apart and other crimes come to light–including a child gone missing twenty-five years earlier, and a shocking murder–that make clear that the past never stays where we leave it, and that homes can be built on foundations of lies.
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The Downstairs Neighbor is one of those thrillers that has so much going on and you just know it’s going to all tie together in the end. There are multiple perspectives and two timelines. I was trying to figure out how it tied together but definitely was way off base on most of my predictions. Often, in thrillers, I can figure things out but this one kept me guessing and kept surprising me.
It’s definitely a great summer/beach/pool read because it’s really interesting and you read it quickly because you want to know what’s going on. I found the story entertaining, the characters fascinating and the ending was a nice wrapup. I would definitely recommend adding to your TBR.
I am a sucker for an eavesdropping premise, and Helen Cooper’s The Downstairs Neighbor doesn’t disappoint. Cooper starts with a bang, with a missing girl and a big house filled with suspects, then holds the suspense high with characters that will keep the reader guessing—and guessing wrong. A gradual unearthing of long-held secrets wrapped in a smoothly plotted page-turner.
What a brilliant psychological suspense debut! The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper was full of drama and mystery, and it also ended up being quite twisty. There are a lot of moving parts to this story as well as many characters and a few different timelines, but I loved the way Cooper weaved them all together. I had absolutely no idea how it would end, and I was very surprised with how it did. I didn’t try to sleuth during the reading of this one, and I think it would be hard to do with how complex the plot is. I don’t know how Cooper did it, but she did, and it turned out great! I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Jasmine Blackborow and I really enjoyed it. I think it would have been nice to have more than one narrator because of all the POV changes, but she still did an excellent job all by her lonesome. This is a bit of a slow burn so doing the audiobook was a great way to go and I highly recommend it.
The Downstairs Neighbor is full of people with secrets, and I really enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. The characters all have many layers and I thought they were really well developed and realistic. The twists weren’t overdone either, and I really liked that about this one even though I am also a fan of the crazy and unrealistic. I loved the fact that the house the families live in was a character in and of itself, and I’m such a huge fan of when author’s do this. There is suspense in this novel, but it is also a bit of a character study and seemed very character-driven to me. This is another reason I was happy I did the audiobook, but either way you do it will be good! A very nice debut from Cooper and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Secrets and more secrets.
Funny thing about secrets , they have a way of catching up to you and not always in a good way.
Helen Cooper draws you surely but slowly into the story of the families that live in an apartment in London.
They went about their day to day business until Freya , the daughter of one of the tenants disappears.
Now they all look suspiciously at each other.
Do you really know your neighbours?
Can you even trust your own family?
The story very interestingly flashes back 25 years ago to another murder.
Twists and turns kept the pages turning and the lights on.
The Downstairs Neighbor is an amazing debut and I can’t wait to read Helen Cooper’s next book.
Emma lives alone in her apartment with Gilbert the hamster for company. Below her in the basement apartment are Chris and Vicky. Chris teaches a number of teenagers how to drive. On the top floor are Paul, Steph, and their 17-year-old daughter, Freya. Today, she is late returning home from school and her mother is getting nervous. As time passes and Paul returns home from work, they finally decide to call the police.
As the hours turn into days and Freya has not returned, Steph and Paul are beside themselves with fear. What could have happened to their daughter?
This story bounces back in time to a tale about Kate and her cousin, Becca, and then returns to the present day situation, slowly peeling away the layers of time like those of an onion.
These characters are all keeping secrets from things that happened in their past and struggling to make their present lives good. But Freya disappearance means that those secrets come creeping out and may or may not relate to what has happened to Freya.
This is a good thriller that builds keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. It gave me shivers at times which, for me, has always proven that I am reading a super book!
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This debut thriller was brimming with surprises that kept me craving the next secret.
”Two missing girls, then and now.
All these years they’d been carrying similar burdens. Guarding their secrets, burying their pasts. It had almost lost them everything.”
It begins with the disappearance of Freya, a high-spirited and feisty teenager. Once in awhile, we get glimpses of the past…mysterious and my favorite part of the book. The long list of flawed characters are so different, yet with similar predicaments. Each carrying long-held secrets that can shatter their lives.
I’ll admit I wasn’t captivated until almost halfway in. Then it became hard to put down. The mother-daughter relationship and unanswered questions at the end of each chapter drove me to read just one more!
When I read that this book was a “debut that will thrill fans of Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena”, I knew I had to read it! It’s exciting to read new authors, for one, and Jewell and Lapena are excellent authors that I adore.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Helen Cooper and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
My Rating: 4 ’s
Published: February 16th 2021 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 304
Recommend: Yes
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