Title: The Girl Next Door
Author: Phoebe Morgan
Publisher: HQ

[Synopsis]

One little lie just became deadly…

Perfect mother. Perfect wife. Jane Goodwin has spent years building her picture-perfect life in the quiet village of Ashdon. So when sixteen-year-old Clare Edwards is found murdered in Sorrow’s Meadow, Jane knows she must first protect her family.

Every marriage has a few white lies and hers is no exception. Jane’s worked hard to cover up her dark secret from all those years ago – and she’ll do anything to keep it hidden…

[My Review]

The Girl Next Door is another brilliant release from Phoebe Morgan (I also loved her debut, The Doll House – read my review). It has some great characters – some more likable than others! – and an intriguing plot which kept me guessing but also wasn’t too far-fetched or ridiculous. It felt like it stayed on the right side of believable and, although I guessed some parts fairly early on, I hugely enjoyed it.

I feel that Phoebe Morgan really evoked a strong sense of tension and suspense in the little village of Ashdon; I could imagine the atmosphere and worry that would be created from a young girl’s suspicious death, in what is normally such a sleepy, safe village. I also really liked that the plot threw some key assumptions on its head; there were some twists which I found really satisfying – apart from anything else because they really did surprise me!

The multiple points of view – mainly focusing on next door neighbour Jane, DS Madeleine Shaw and victim Clare – kept me as the reader on my toes, and it’s always interesting to read the investigation from the perspective of different people in the case, instead of just the victim’s family, or just the police.

The Girl Next Door gives the reader a peek into family life and shows that all is often not quite as it seems. I finished this book with a real sense of satisfaction, so I’d say that’s a definite success!

[Rating: 4/5]

Many thanks to HQ for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

The Girl Next Door is out in ebook format on 21st February.

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