Welcome to West Street by Nicole Trope
Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic Suspense
Read: 22nd April 2025
Published: 22nd April 2025
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
‘Welcome! I hope you’ll be happy here,’ I say, standing on the doorstep and holding out a freshly baked cake. Amanda smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes. The new arrivals to West Street clearly have secrets. But that’s okay. Because so do I…
Caroline twitches aside her curtains to see the new family moving in. A mother – beautifully dressed in expensive clothes – and two young children. Where is her husband, she wonders? And why are they moving in to the smallest house on the street? They really don’t seem the type.
But Caroline believes it’s important to be welcoming. It’s important to know everything that’s happening on West Street.
Amanda unpacks another box and breathes a shaky sigh. Her son is refusing to speak. Her daughter misses her friends. But we’re safe, Amanda tells herself. Her neighbour Caroline seems nice, if a little nosy. And most importantly, West Street is peaceful. Anonymous. Nobody knows who she is… do they?
But can Amanda really trust anyone on West Street? And can they trust her? Because when her secrets catch up with her…
Someone will go missing.
Someone will be taken away in handcuffs.
And someone, will die.
A totally addictive psychological thriller about a peaceful suburb where nothing is as perfect as it seems. Fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and The Perfect Marriage won’t be able to put this down.
MY THOUGHTS:
Welcome to West Street!
I'd heard mixed reviews of this one so I began with a sense of dread and trepidation - but I was pleasantly surprised! I began this book as I was cooking dinner and devoured it within hours. It is pure Nicole Trope, domestic suspense queen extraordinaire.
Amanda has been married to jewellery businessman Mike Caldwell for twelve years; first his mistress then his wife. Together they have two children - Jordan (11) and Keira (9) - and a huge sprawling house with everything she could ever want. Except maybe a husband who loves and respects her. But to Mike she is just a trophy he can take out and show off, whilst behind closed doors bending her to his will. His abuse is swift, stealthy and silent. No one but she knows of her terror. And the last thing she wants is her children finding out. They adore their father and she doesn't want to taint their image of him. Her only problem now is how to leave him. She's threatened him eleven times and each time he knew she would never follow through. After all, she knew what he would do to her if she tried.
So when she receives a text from an unknown number"
"You don't know me but I know you...Mike and I are in love..."
Amanda thinks this is her way out. She bides her time and waits for the perfect moment. It comes when Mike takes a week long buying trip to China for his business. Amanda wastes no time in packing their belongings - all the essentials and the things she has purchased in secret and kept in storage until this moment - loads the children into the car and drives the hour long distance to the place she has rented for them for six months. This will be the start of their new life. But what she doesn't realise is the danger she has brought to her door.
The moment Mike realises she has gone, leaving nothing but an envelope with divorce papers on his desk, she knows he will be livid. He has threatened her many times if she dared to leave him. But dragging the children from their life of privilege to a run down house that will be demolished in a few months, that has nothing of the mod cons they are used to, is a far cry their old life. She knows her children don't like the move but she is doing this for them. She doesn't want them to grow up with the shadow of that kind of abuse being acceptable. It isn't.
It isn't long before Amanda meets the other residents of the quiet cul-de-sac of West Street - queen bee Caroline who flutters over elderly Mary and mother of two Gemma. The women like the street the way it is and dislike disruption but welcome the family with open arms. However, not all is as it seems. Jordan is anything but happy about the move and makes it known not just to his mother but all the other neighbours as well, screaming his vitriol for all to hear before storming out which becomes a daily occurrence. This unsettles the residents and ruffles the feathers of their quiet little street. But there's a story lurking and the women are intent on uncovering Amanda's secrets and to be the friends she is sure to need.
But just how much is everyone hiding in this cul-de-sac? Can she trust them? Can they trust her? And just whose past is going to catch up with them before the last page?
Amanda didn't so much as drive to West Street as catch the crazy train there! This is one crazy ride from start to finish with plenty of drama, secrets, lies and deception. Oh, yes, it is a tad OTT but the entertainment factor kept me enthralled too much to care. Nobody is particularly likeable, including Amanda as you feel she is keeping something back though you aren't quite sure what. I didn't entirely warm to her and loathed her son Jordan who was a spoilt rich kid who had been used to daddy's creature comforts not to see past himself. Caroline was far too nosy for my liking though she came across as endearing that you forgave her that at first. Mary is somewhere in la la land and Gemma is just pure shifty. I knew she was hiding something from the beginning.
The story was pretty predictable from very early on and I had figured out pretty much all the twists - some even before they happened! But it didn't ruin my enjoyment of what was essentially an entertaining quick read that I devoured in the space of an evening.
Nicole Trope is one of my favourite authors and she never disappoints. I love how she brings Australia to life in her stories so I can relate to the climate she describes in her books as I live the steamy summers and mild winters all year round. And February definitely IS the hottest and steamiest month (even though it is the last month of summer here).
If you love a good domestic suspense with plenty of drama, secrets and whole load of bonkers, then you will enjoy this crazy ride for sure!
I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #WelcomeToWestStreet 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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