The Neighbours – Emma Babbington

One of your close neighbours turning up dead – murdered, in fact – is stressful enough. What if you had reason to suspect that someone in your family was the perpetrator? That’s the conceit of The Neighbours, the new domestic murder mystery by Emma Babbington, and the team at HQ/Harlequin Australia were kind enough to send me a copy for review.

The story mostly centers on Liz, a woman who has the whole world on her shoulders. She works in a hospital where she cares for her patients, her husband was made redundant and she has to worry about his faltering job search, both of her parents are descending into dementia, and now, on top of all of that, her university-age daughter might be responsible for the death of their neighbour, celebrated doctor and morning TV darling Richard Wellington.

The Neighbours also occasionally zooms in on Meredith, a childhood friend of Liz’s who has recently moved to the neighbourhood and started working at the same hospital. She has her own axe to grind with Richard Wellington, and there’s more to her relationship with Liz’s family than meets the eye.

I must admit, I was on guard from the very start of The Neighbours, because Babbington makes a point of mentioning in the very first chapter that the family dog, Sophie, is very old. I forged ahead, with reservations, and soon found myself drawn into the story. The characters are intriguing and withholding, and you go from wondering who would want to murder a charismatic plastic surgeon to wondering who wouldn’t want to bonk him on the head.

I won’t spoil the rest of The Neighbours except to say that I’m satisfied with how the story is resolved, and – to my great relief – Sophie survives.

Read The Neighbours on audiobook via Libro.fm here. (affiliate link)