The Family Across the Street by Nicole Trope
(previously titled: Home Sweet Home)
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Domestic thriller, Domestic drama
Read: 29th July 2021
Published: 6th August 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Sometimes, the most perfect families are hiding the most terrible secrets. How well do you know the people next door…?
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, The Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and John seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.
But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?
Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realise: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.
A completely gripping, twist-packed psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth and Lisa Jewell.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's exciting new thriller THE FAMILY ACROSS THE STREET (previously titled "Home Sweet Home").
Nicole Trope never ceases to amaze me with her stories. From contemporary family drama to domestic thrillers to...this! Home sweet home is anything but and it is not what you would expect either. It is a day unlike any other in a house on Hogarth Street, a busybody neighbour and an unsuspecting delivery driver. The adrenaline rush I felt as I propelled through the pages to read this book in one day kept me absorbed and guessing till the end. Ms Trope almost fooled me...but not quite, as I unravelled everything in my mind to piece together possible scenarios...but I was still left reeling.
In the midst of an Australian summer, 15th December, a day that is forecast to reach 39°c, slowly unfolds through the eyes of four people over seven epic action packed hours. It begins as a warm morning at 24° at 7.30am with ex-con Logan arriving at an address in Hogarth Street to deliver what is obviously a laptop computer. He takes in the affluent area, the two scooters laying in the front yard as he makes his way up the path to the front door before ringing the bell. He waits. Just as he thinks there is no one home he hears a shuffle behind the door as the woman says she cannot open the door and to just leave it on the doorstep. But he can't do that as this delivery requires a signature. Failing that he will leave it at the local post office for collection at a later time. But there is something in the woman's voice...a pleading to understand that she cannot open the door.
Ever since his three year stint in prison for break and enter whilst high in crystal meth, Logan has turned his life around and is trying to get back on track whilst struggling to put his neglected childhood with toxic parents behind him. He met and married Debbie, a midwife and nurse, and had taken on this delivery job with his brother-in-law Mack. All the while maintaining concern for his younger sister who had swapped an abusive father for an abusive partner. But if there's one thing his criminal past has given him it's an instinct for danger. And that is what he sensed when attempting to deliver that parcel to Katherine West. Something was not right at that house. But what, exactly? And should he get involved?
Seventy year old Gladys wakes a little later than usual on this bright and warm morning. Usually the noise of the twins next door have woken her but not today. She comments on this fact to husband Lou who lays in bed beside her to which he responds that he was woken by their father screeching out of the drive like a bat our of hell at 6am. As the day progresses, Gladys can't help but feel that something is amiss next door. The children's bright blinds are closed when normally they would be flung open, as are the rest of the blinds in the house. Lou says they are probably trying to keep the house cool and Gladys agrees that he is probably right. But...the twins haven't even walked past on their way to school, waving frantically at their elderly neighbours. And that is strange. Maybe she'll pop over there and see if everything is alright. But when she does, Katherine assures her that all is fine through the closed door. However, as the day progresses, Gladys has the continual growing feeling that something is definitely amiss.
Katherine holds her children, Sophie and George, closely as the man sitting in the recliner chair opposite points the gun at them unable to believe her decisions have lead to this moment. What does he want from them? She loved him and thought he loved her. But all Katherine can think about is saving her children, whatever the cost to herself.
And then there is the unnamed character who was once a boy and is now a man and the tragic tale that was his childhood that has left him bitter and hell bent on revenge with the parting words of his father to "never trust a woman" at the forefront of his mind. And the belief that Katherine has betrayed him.
Six foot four tattoo-clad Logan and 70 year old neighbourhood busybody Gladys have nothing in common and yet the days events bring them together. Neither of them can ignore the niggling feeling that something is very wrong at the West household. Will they follow their instincts and alert the authorities? Or will it be left up to them to save the family trapped inside?
THE FAMILY ACROSS THE STREET begins with a bang as the tension mounts throughout the ensuing chapters told from the alternate perspectives of Logan, Gladys, Katherine and an unnamed mystery person. The pace remains edge-of-your-seat as the hours unfold over the course of this action packed day. To even provide backstories to the pertinent characters without ever leaving the present story at hand is so cleverly done it's ingenious. The emotional journey the reader is taken on through the lives of these characters is heartbreaking and poignant.
Whilst being a domestic thriller in one sense, the story also touches upon the very sensitive issue of marriage breakdowns and how all too often children become pawns for feuding parents. It also highlights the importance of second chances when one's past circumstances and the choices once made do not have to define them, as seen in the case of Logan in trying to put his past behind him and move on.
Nicole Trope never disappoints with her ability for storytelling complete with tension that is palpable throughout. As always, her writing is brilliant. There has not been a book of hers I haven't enjoyed and I always look forward to the next one. Each one is different and unique and THE FAMILY ACROSS THE STREET is no exception. It certainly wasn't what I expected but boy, it was still sooooo good!
If you are looking for a compelling read that you will have difficulty putting down, look no further! THE FAMILY ACROSS THE STREET will have you riveted from the very first page. If you love domestic thrillers and/or family drama, this is a must read.
I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyAcrossTheStreet in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.
She is now published by Bookouture and is an Amazon top 100 bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.
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Sounds great.
ReplyDeleteVery good review.
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