The Family Next Door

by Sally Hepworth

[zooloo1983]

I was not sure what I was expecting to read with The Family Next Door, reading the blurb we have a feel of Wisteria Lane and the ladies from Desperate Housewives but set in Melbourne and I couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, we have 3 ladies cemented in Pleasant Drive but disjointed from each other. Yes, they are friends but they aren’t close. Then a newcomer, she’s not married and she has no children, so why is she there?

I love stories where you follow people and their lives because who doesn’t love a bit of people watching. The chapters are all from a different point of view, Essie who is the main voice, left her firstborn in a park one day because she couldn’t cope, but is there something more to it? Fran, carrying a shocking secret that could destroy everything she holds dear. Ange, perfect wife with a seemingly perfect husband, but is everything…perfect? Isabelle, the newbie, on a mission to find a missing child, will she find it here? And finally some sections by an unknown where we are taken back into time as we have to live some heartbreaking scenes.

So much is going on, and this would be an amazing TV adaptation for sure! I was never bored, I wanted to know the mysterious voice, I wanted to know what was happening with these 4 ladies, Will there be a satisfying ending? The answer is yes! We learn everything we can about these ladies and we learn that life is not a fairytale. (Well we knew that)

I found I related to women quite a bit especially with Essie and her postnatal depression, I didn’t leave mini-me anywhere but I struggled badly. But with these women, I felt like they could be friends of mine on the street. I like to think that by the end of the books these women are now proper friends.

There was a twist that I did not see coming, and I think I was gasping a lot because I was asked what the hell was wrong! Lol, I couldn’t believe the words in front of me, such a clever little slight of hand. The chapters are snappy to encourage you to read on. I found I was addicted to these women, soaking in the information and their lives I was fascinated with how they were coping. I was worried about them, I was happy for them and I was sad for them. I flew through this book as I didn’t. Want to put it down and I am glad. It is my first foray with Ms Hepworth and I am looking forward to my next one. She is on my radar and I have another one of her books on my kindle.