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The Family Next Door

by Sally Hepworth

Secrets behind a suburban welcome

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Library Journal starred review

    Starred review; the review praises the novel and recommends it to readers of Big Little Lies.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Secrets behind a suburban welcome

Essie’s outwardly settled family life is complicated by a past moment of maternal despair that still shapes how she sees herself. The arrival of Isabelle, a single newcomer whose interest in Essie draws neighborhood scrutiny, brings private histories into contact with the community’s expectations. As Essie’s friendships and her connection with Isabelle develop, the novel links family drama with a mystery rooted in the suburb’s carefully maintained appearance. Motherhood, shame, belonging, and the cost of keeping secrets frame the story’s central tensions.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in family-centered fiction with a suburban mystery.
  • Readers drawn to stories about motherhood, friendship, and hidden pasts.

Themes

Motherhood and shameFamily secretsSuburban life and social expectationsFriendship and belonging

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Now A Major TV Series!

"With jaw-dropping discoveries and realistic consequences, this novel is not to be missed. Perfect for lovers of Big Little Lies." --Library Journal, starred review

Small, perfect towns often hold the deepest secrets.

From the outside, Essie's life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie's friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided and Essie got better, but she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby.

When a new woman named Isabelle moves in next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in the neighborhood. Why single, when everyone else is married with children? Why renting, when everyone else owns? What mysterious job does she have? And why is she so fascinated with Essie? As the two women grow closer and Essie's friends voice their disapproval, it starts to become clear that Isabelle's choice of neighborhood was no accident. And that her presence threatens to bring shocking secrets to light.

The Family Next Door
is Sally Hepworth at her very best: at once a deeply moving portrait of family drama and a compelling suburban mystery that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

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