This seems to be the year for debut novels that are very well crafted. “The couple next door” is a riveting suspense novel that keeps readers turning the pages frantically to follow the plight of its characters. With a fast-paced plot that is meticulously written, all I can say is well done Shari Lapena!
From the publisher:
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 focuses 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.
I agree with everything the publisher has to say. It is a novel of secrets, of betrayal, and of parental guilt. The reader has mixed feelings for the young couple with emotions that alternate between empathy and revulsion and everything else in between.
Anne Conti didn’t want to leave her baby alone the evening of their next door neighbors dinner party. But Cynthia, the hostess, wanted a ‘adults only’ party, the babysitter cancelled at the last minute, and her husband convinced her that if they took the baby monitor and took turns checking on baby Cora every half hour, it would be alright.
It was anything but!
Marco is very attracted to his next door neighbor Cynthia. He is tired of walking on eggshells around his wife Anne who has been suffering from postpartum depression. The night out serves as a much needed way to have more than a few drinks and blow off some steam. But… at the end of the day he DOES love Anne and he adores his baby daughter. So when they return home to an empty house with the baby gone, he is devastated.
Or is he???
This novel was written in such a way that the reader is unsure of whom to trust. Is Anne as innocent as she seems? Is Marco? Do they deserve the predicament they’ve found themselves in? Or, are they innocent and distraught that their first child has been taken? And what about Anne’s wealthy parents?
In all honesty, I should be giving this novel a strong 5* rating. The writing was superior and the tension was palpable.
There are however, mitigating factors which give me pause. When I began reading it I thought to myself that I had read this book before… but that was impossible as it is a new release. Then I looked back through my reviews and realized it is uncomfortably similar in premise to a novel by Joy Fielding called “She’s not there” which I reviewed about a year ago. The babysitter cancels, the child is left unattended in order that the parents can attend a dinner party. They agree to check on her every half hour. The husband is attracted to the wife of the other couple… See what I mean? Both novels are very well written, and the story-lines do diverge eventually, but one of the twists in each is also disturbingly similar. It almost makes me wonder if the authors attended a writer’s workshop or retreat that provided them with a short premise that they were to expand on. Interestingly, both authors reside in Toronto, Canada. Would I recommend both novels? Absolutely! Each did a remarkably good job, but the fact that the similarities exist prohibit me from giving “The couple next door” more than a 4* rating.
I’ve soul searched about this. I’m not suggesting anything was plagiarized, but it sparks the questions: Is anything ever truly original? Aren’t all novels a product of what we have seen, read, or experienced? I’d love your thoughts on this topic.
Thanks to Doubleday Canada for providing me with a paperback copy of this novel via a Goodreads giveaway.
Shari Lapena worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before turning her hand to writing fiction. She resides in Toronto, Canada. “The couple next door” is her suspense fiction debut.
Liked this book and the intensity of it. I check out 25-30 books each year(for at least the last 10 years)and this one ranks in the leading 10 on my list. Fantastic book! I also suggest to check out http://bit.ly/2LhhQuU Elizabeth Nancy . Thank you so much PS: I appreciate this site.
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Fantastic review! I really want to read this book! Soon as I do, I’ll come back and answer your question about if it reminds me of another story 😉
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I really like your blog page. I’m new at this and I would love to know how you created such a detailed book blog? Anyway, a great review. If interested, here was my thoughts on the same book. https://books6259.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/the-couple-next-door-by-shari-lapena/
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Thanks for your kind words. I’m not sure what you mean when you say “detailed book blog”. My blog is a labor of love. If you are referring to the sidebar graphics, then I make most of them myself in Photoshop Elements. Others I borrowed from various places on the internet.
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Your labor of love shows and yes I was asking about your sidebar. It looks professional and still manages to have a fun element. Last question, do you own your blog? I thought that was the only way to be creative with it? If you don’t clearly I’m wrong and just haven’t figured out how to create a sidebar.
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No I do not own my blog. I use a free WordPress address. I’ve been toying with paying for my own domain name but I’m reluctant to now as I might lose some of my followers.. My ‘sidebar’ is just the widget feature of WordPress. Each graphic on the sidebar are individual ‘gallery’ widgets. Not all the themes in WordPress can be tweaked like the one I use which is a theme called “Twenty Ten”.
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thank you so much for your time, it really helped me me out.
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Great review! This sounds intriguing I must add this to my tbr list. Very, very interesting that you’ve another read book with the same storyline. I read an article somewhere about there only being seven basic story plots, but this seems a bit more than that!
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Loved this one, they were old so mean and cold XD
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Glad you enjoyed this book. I’ve had mixed feelings since I’ve read mixed reviews. I love that the author is from my home town, which makes me want to support her. I think I might give it a go!
Thanks 😊
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This sounds like a great book. I love not being able to trust people (well in reviews anyway).
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Emma, I knew what you meant.
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I have read such mixed reviews on this book. Good to read one that tweaks my interest.
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This is a good review, Lynne, especially because I like the notion of ‘unreliable’ characters and wobbly points of view…I also adore Joy Fielding.
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