Book Recommendation: What the Neighbors Saw | Melissa Adelman

There are a lot of neighborhood noir psychological thrillers out there and they range from the popcorn-thriller variety, to heart-pounding terror, and everything in between. The best ones for my personal tastes are the ones that engross the reader so deeply into the dynamics among the neighbors that I forget for just a moment that there is a broader mystery going on.

The latter type is what I found in Melissa Adelman’s debut novel, What the Neighbors Saw. Layered, well-crafted, and compelling, I was so immersed in the stories of the two leading female characters that I almost forgot the book started with a murder! This was without question one of the best books I’ve read in 2023. I didn’t want it to end, I obsessively marked passages I wanted to come back to, and I have thought about it nearly daily since I finished it. If you are a fan of well-developed characters and relationships, captivating settings, and complex layered stories, this book should be top of your to-be-read list.

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What the Neighbors Saw | Characters

Alexis is married to attorney Sam Crawford. They have a toddler Caleb and when the book opens Alexis is pregnant with their second child Carter. With a second child on the way, the two to purchase a home in a wealthy suburb of DC, River Forest. Elena is their live-in nanny. Alexis is the primary narrator and one of the only diverse residents of their new neighborhood.

Blair is married to Teddy Bard and they have three children in their early teens. Blair was formerly an interior designer and they live in the largest and most beautiful house on the block, diagonally across the street from Alexis and Sam. Teddy’s murder is the instigating mystery in the book. The two detectives working the case are Officer Bryan and Officer Kim. Blair’s mother Beryl is a widow and visits after Teddy’s death. Blair is the second narrator.

There are several other neighbors who are more central to the story. Laura and her husband Shawn have two preteen boys. Shawn is tall and muscular while Laura is shorter and heavyset. Emily and her husband Dylan are young and made their money from a start up in the tech industry. They live a few houses up the block. Jennifer is mid-thirties and beautiful and married to an older, wealthy man named Jeff. They live next door to Alexis and Sam. Mack is in his late 60s and a widower. He lives across the street from Alexis and Sam.

What the Neighbors Saw | Plot

Alexis and her husband Sam are thrilled at the possibilities when they buy a fixer upper Cape Cod style house in one of the most exclusive suburbs of Washington D.C. Sam is close to making partner and Alexis is pregnant with their second child. This is a dream house, if only they can budget the money to make the necessary updates over time.

At first this is a dream come true. Their neighbors are all so glamorous and wealthy. But soon after moving in, Alexis and Sam realize the house needs more work than they thought and they are constantly fighting over where to spend their money on the house. Alexis sometimes wonders if they should have never left their downtown brownstone. She’s the only black resident on their block, and she never truly feels like she fits in. Add in the fighting with Sam…were they happier before?

The dream truly shatters when their neighbor Teddy Bard is murdered while out for a run. Teddy’s wife Blair is the reigning queen of the neighborhood, but in the wake of her husband’s sudden death, she doesn’t know where to turn. Appreciating Alexis’s humble kindness and distinct outside status to neighborhood gossip, Blair and Alexis form an unlikely friendship. But as the women grow closer, things in the neighborhood seem to grow darker.

After all, the most beautiful neighborhoods often hide the darkest secrets…

What the Neighbors Saw | Review

Why you should read it…

At the forefront, What the Neighbors Saw is a gripping psychological thriller about a couple moving to an affluent neighborhood and finding themselves living with front row seats to a murder investigation that is exposing secrets previously hidden behind closed doors. The murder is more of the instigating factors for everything else that unfolds. It is both central to the plot and almost takes a backseat to the other dynamics within the block.

This is also a story about Alexis, a black woman who was raised by a distant mother with no family and very few friends. Alexis was alone from a young age and relied on her intelligence and hard work to create a life that couldn’t be more different from the one her mother led. As an adult, Alexis is constantly aware of being the “other” in a world populated by largely white men and affluent women who struggle to look past her surface characteristics and see her for who she is.

Blair, who is probably the most welcoming to Alexis once they form their friendship, often muses that Alexis seems terrified or skittish. Blair likes Alexis, but I question whether she really appreciates Alexis as anything other than a friend who is less glamorous or wealthy than her who she can feel superior to. I know this sounds harsh, I actually like Blair as a character and felt she also had way more depth to her than others think she has.

The twists and turns in this book are subtle but also shocking. The story starts about a couple moving to a new neighborhood and trying to fit in, then it is about a murder, and then it is about what is really going on behind the gorgeous facades of the neighborhood homes. The story weaves through different secrets and deception, exploring the lack of diversity in a neighborhood like this and how that can change someone’s role within the group depending on their past or race. It deeply explores the relationships among the characters, even the ones who are less prominent.

Alexis’s story was so compelling, I loved getting glimpses into her past. Her mother was cold, distant, and often punishing. And yet at times, though I never felt any of her actions we justified, I could feel her pain even through the second-hand account by Alexis. I thought the character of Alexis was the best part of the book, followed by the twisted ending that had me spinning.

For fans of…

I’ve seen this book compared to Desperate Housewives and to be honest I don’t think that fully captures how great it is it. It definitely has the neighborhood setting, and the secrets behind closed doors. It kicks off with a new neighbor coming to town, Alexis, and with a murder of one of the street’s most prominent residents.

At the same time, it has a lot more tension to it than the show does. I wouldn’t call anything about Melissa Adelman’s debut psychological thriller “soapy” or flippant like the television series is. I love both, to be clear, but I found What the Neighbors Saw to have a lot more depth and subtext, particularly in how the predominantly white neighborhood treats Alexis, than the television show. They have some of the same appeal, and some unique elements that make them distinct.

I would highly recommend this book to people who love neighborhood noir and layered, complex mysteries with compelling character dynamics. The suspense of being a new neighbor in a small community with dark secrets was one of the best parts of this book, and if you enjoy that element I recommend checking out The Therapist by B. A. Paris and The Perfect Neighbors by Sarah Pekkanen. You might also try Louise Candlish, who is an expert at building plots that surround neighborhood tension. Check out Our House or The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Candlish.

Another thing in this book is seeing a seemingly happy relationship face the pressures that are going on around them. Two books that don’t get enough credit are The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner and Raven Lane by Amber Cowie (you should be able to find both on Kindle Unlimited for subscribers!). Also with Alexis peeking out her kitchen window while doing the dishes and observing the things the neighbors are trying to keep hidden, I thought of Watching You by Lisa Jewell.

About Melissa Adelman

Melissa Adelman was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, a first-generation American with parents from Haiti and Chile. When she is not traveling the world for her job as an international development economist, her favorite place to be is at home, an old house full of surprises just outside D.C. Melissa lives with her husband, two energetic little boys, and long-suffering shih tzu. What the Neighbors Saw is her first novel.