THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR: A gripping psychological thriller from the no. 1 bestselling author

Product Information

Photographer Lana, moves with husband and GP Roman, from busy, bustling city life, to the idyllic and relaxing countryside. Becoming tenants of ‘The Gardens’, a residential close where all the houses are large and expensive, and the residents are secretive and mysterious, Lana struggles to settle in. Are the neighbours hiding something sinister, or is she imagining it all? In fact, one of the things I love most about Abdullah's stories is that she sets her Readers up with space to do some critical thinking. The way she frames her stories, it explores both sides, instead of hammering home with one character's perspective. It's so engrossing. The author’s writing style is very engaging and near unputdownable. This is the second book I’ve read of hers, and it was just as gripping. She strikes a nice balance between characterization and moving the plot along. By the end, there were far more questions than answers and the end itself became an effort to finish. And what's worse...he killed a beloved dog with oleander! And for what?

The Nightmare living beside ‘Those People Next Door’. As events spiral out of control so too do the accusations and repercussions for both families, which leads to someone losing their job, horrific life injuries and of course all played out on social media and ultimately in the court. I thought I was going to enjoy my first foray with Tony Parsons as it began as an intriguing slow burning psychological thriller. I thought secrets would be uncovered, mysteries would be solved...but instead everything ends up a convoluted mess and stretching credibility and believability beyond belief. I know as readers we must often suspend belief...but seriously? Salma Khatun, her husband Bil, and teenage son Zain move to a nice neighborhood of Blenheim for a fresh start. Zain is expelled from his old school and Bil's restaurant closed up for good due to the pandemic. so many characters were unlikeable and it this book really makes you think “what would i do if that happened to me?” keeping as spoiler free as i can, but it’s definitely a moral compass type of book 😳The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren't true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The true story of an unhappy wife who ran away. The true-crime of a happy family who lived – and so tragically died – in Lana and Roman’s new home. As with all of this authors work, heavy themes and thought-provoking intense scenarios are presented and explored. Emotions take hold of these characters decisions and things escalate toward grave consequences. This book takes neighbourhood drama to a whole new level. i loved the eerily realistic themes and events of the current political and social world we live in right now and think Abdullah’s writing was chef’s kiss (per usual).

This is an emotional rollercoaster of a read that immerses us into the lives of ordinary people and communities, with their everyday issues of identity, race, history, different intergenerational thinking and being, and the inner need to belong and support those just like us. It all begins when Salma Khatoun, husband Bilal, and teenage son, Zain, move to the suburbs of Blenhem in search of new beginnings from their troubled past, but before they know it, it all turns into a nightmare. When a political anti-racist banner is placed in the garden, the next door neighbour, Tom Hutton, takes it upon himself to remove it. Salma chooses to let this go, instead placing it on their window, only to discover the window painted over. Inexorably things begin to spiral out of control and consequently tip into heartbreaking and tragic territory. The court part of the book takes up a little less space than in her previous books, but these parts are perfectly written, making you feel angry, agitated, confused, and eager to keep reading to find out how the big mystery will unfold. Salma Khatun is extremely hopeful about Blenheim, the safe suburban development to which she, her husband and their son have just moved. Their family is in desperate need of a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like the place to make that happen. The book showcased political commentary and the abduction of an elderly family dog and I do not enjoy fiction books with political overtones and/or animal cruelty. (Sorry, Kia Abdullah!) Some hills are worth dying on, and some are worth walking down from, and how things escalate to that final twist felt over the top, and I had a hard time buying into the character’s behavior and motivations’ taking away that believability element that this could happen in the story. In the end, this was not a hill worth dying on but one worth walking down however that is one of the things for readers to think about, making this one a great one to think deeply about.Eventually, we end up in court and those are some of the scenes that Abdullah writes best, though we unfortunately do not spend as much time at trial, as in previous books. Another big issue I had was the amount of slang terms that I wasn’t familiar with which took away from the flow of reading.