The Couple next door was a really interesting read. I was very much captivated by the story while I was reading it, but now that I have had some time to look back and think about what I’ve read I honestly think that there were just a few to many flaws.

The writing was pretty awkward at times, this became easier to overlook as the story picked up but whenever I put this down and picked it back up it took me longer than usual to dive back in.

The plot was intense and full of a lot of twists and turns BUT I think there may have been too many. There is this fine line in thrillers and mystery novels, because while I don’t want to necessarily know who did it from the start, I don’t find super complex motives to be particularly persuasive. Surprises are fine, but when they feel forced on the reader they just kind of take away from the story in the first place. In The Couple Next Door, the who did it aspect is easy enough to figure out, but when we reach the explanation it honestly becomes so complex, and honestly just dumb that it kind of ruined the story for me. The ending and the explanation of the events in this book felt messy and like they were put there for a shock factor rather than to make actual sense.

Another thing that I disliked was the focus on mental illness but only as a way to explain a negative situation. The representation was more problematic than not and honestly felt completely unnecessary once everything with this story was said and done. This was not the only thing presented in this story that felt like it was just used as an object to move the story along rather than hold any sort of significant value, but I don’t want to give too much away so I will avoid naming any others and let you see for yourself.

In summary, this book was entertaining while reading it but ultimately falls flat as a result of a messy conclusion, and the use of a lot of unnecessary details.