The Singapore Secret

The Singapore Secret is a new release from Clair Willis. The narrative alternates between 1942 Singapore and present-day England. A young woman named Dorothy makes a promise during the evacuation of Singapore. Years later, her granddaughter Annabel finds a photo of her with an unknown man and Anabel begins to research the photo. 

The publisher's summary: 

Singapore 1942: With the war drawing ever closer, Dorothy faces a heart-rending choice to leave the country she has come to call home and the people she loves most. As she boards a boat full of evacuees with warplanes advancing across the ocean, a tiny baby is pressed into her arms. In that moment, Dorothy makes a promise that will echo through the years...

England, 2019: When Annabel's grandmother, Dotty, passes away aged one hundred she discovers a bundle of letters and photographs hidden in her desk that document her life in Singapore during the 1930s. But Dotty had always said she never travelled further than their small village in Cornwall. What could have made Dotty conceal this past life? Who is the man standing next to her in a wedding dress who is not Annabel's grandfather?

Determined to uncover the truth, is Annabel prepared for what she will find?

What a great story! I was hooked from the first chapter. Dorothy's story is extraordinary. She suffered so much during her eight years living in Singapore but ended up with a long and happy life in Cornwall. The book is written in a dual timeline which is a format that I enjoy. The timeline in Singapore was from 1938 through 1945. The Cornwall timeline was in the year 2019. The chapters alternated between Dorothy's perspective and Annabel's perspective. I enjoyed Dorothy's story more because she had unusual life experiences. 

The story opened with Annabel Penrose deciding to spend the Easter holiday with her beloved grandmother, Dotty, in Cornwall. She needs to get away for awhile from her cheating boyfriend. When she arrives, she finds Dotty has suffered a fall and is in the hospital. Scans reveal Dotty has a tumor and could not have ever had children. Annabel is shocked because her father Noel has always been known to be Dotty’s son. Dotty soon passes away and Annabel finds herself traveling to Singapore to find out more about her grandmother. 

The story is set in Singapore during WWII. I didn't know much about the Japanese occupation of the island before reading the book but it was horrific. I don’t know how anyone could possibly have survived. Many died but many also forced themselves to survive on a day to day basis. The people living in Singapore at that time had harsh existences; too awful to describe. Reading how the war affected them was certainly eye-opening. 

The Singapore Secret was an engrossing read. I think it offers a unique perspective on the WWII historical fiction sub-genre. 5 out of 5 stars.

Midnight in the House of Commons

Midnight in the House of Commons is the 16th Charles Lenox mystery by Charles Finch. In this installment of the series a member of parliament is poisoned. The series takes place in the Victorian era in London.

The publisher's summary:

In the spring of 1881, Lenox is caught up in the whirl of London life when his brother arrives to tell him that there’s been a murder in the House of Commons. Robert Baddeley, a charismatic, womanizing Member, has been found poisoned in the hallowed chamber itself. Suspicion immediately falls on the women in his life, including his wife and mistress, but as Lenox digs deeper, he realizes that there were more than a few people who might have wanted Baddeley dead. 

Meanwhile, Lenox must balance his investigation with his family life, which has grown increasingly complicated: his ward Sari struggles with heartbreak, the Lenox household receives an odd visitor, and a young woman comes to Lenox to implore him to find her fiancé, who has mysteriously vanished. 

And just when Lenox is nearing the truth of Baddeley’s murder, someone close to him is arrested for the crime—and Lenox must race to solve the case before losing everything.

Joyfully set in ballrooms, supper parties, palaces, and Parliament, Midnight in the House of Commons takes Charles Lenox through his trickiest, most satisfying case yet.

I was disappointed with the book. It wasn't much of a whodunnit. There was plenty of Victorian era verbage that I did not see advancing the plot and after awhile I became bored. This is highly unusual for me with a Charles Finch novel. In addition, it took a few chapters for the unknown woman, Violet Goodhue (I love this name) to see Lenox and describe her predicament, which was that her fiance disappeared. Lenox interviewed the man's family and closest friends who all said he wanted out of the engagement. Of course, there is more to this subplot.

 The murder itself did not occur until we were almost at the halfway mark in the story. That is too late for a mystery novel but note that the plot picked up speed here. Member of Parliament Robert Baddeley was found dead at midnight in the House of Commons Chamber. Baddeley was known to work late into the night so none of the maintenance crew were surprised to see him working late that evening. They were surprised to find his body when they opened up the Chamber for cleaning. The police later determined that he was poisoned with chloral. Chloral will kill within 15 minutes of exposure. For his investigation, Detective Lenox interviewed Baddeley’s associates as well as the night crew on site that evening.

I have been known to watch Prime Ministers Questions which is shown live on TV from the House of Commons Chambers on Wednesdays. As such, I am familiar with the decor and procedures in the House. The author accurately portrayed the scene. I was surprised where the body was placed in the Chamber and instantly knew it was staged. However, the Chamber was locked and no one should have been able to access it. A woman claiming to be Baddeley’s sister signed herself in on the premises though. The sticky point here is that Baddeley did not have a sister. Another unusual fact was the location of his office. Baddeley should have been assigned a better location for his office. Lenox was told by several men that the office was where men could meet their mistresses. All these facts Charles Lenox had to sift through in order to find the killer. The rest of the story followed the murder mystery formula with several twists and turns.

The suspects included Baddeley’s chief assistant whom he was going to fire. Mr. Cole was the last person to see him alive and his father was a chemist. The French and Russian governments were also considered. Baddeley’s wealthy wife and mistress rounded out the pool of suspects. 

I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars. While the beginning was slow, once the investigation began the story became much more interesting. Also, note that I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sapphire Child

The Sapphire Child is the sequel to The Emerald Affair. It is part of a trilogy that takes place in India during the British Raj era. The sequel concerns the same characters as well as their progeny. The book is chunky with its 515 pages and qualifies for the Big Book Summer Challenge as well as the Color Coded and Historical Fiction Challenges.

The publisher's summary:  

In 1930s Northern India, childhood friends Stella and Andrew have grown up together in the orbit of the majestic Raj Hotel. Spirited Stella has always had a soft spot for boisterous Andrew, though she dreams of meeting a soulmate from outside the close-knit community. But life is turned on its head when one scandal shatters their friendship and another sees her abandoned by the man she thought she loved.

As the Second World War looms, Andrew joins the army to fight for freedom. Meanwhile in India, Stella, reeling from her terrible betrayal, also throws herself into the war effort, volunteering for the Women’s Auxiliary Corps, resigned to living a lonelier life than the one she dreamed of as a child.

When Andrew returns to the East on the eve of battle with Japan, the two former friends are reunited, though bitter experience has changed them. Can they rekindle what they once had or will war demand of their friendship the ultimate sacrifice?

The Sapphire Child is a captivating and sumptuous novel. It is well researched with vivid descriptions of an India of yesteryear. The weather descriptions were spot on. I could feel the oppressive humidity. The pungent smell of spices were fully described. I was totally lost in this exotic setting. I didn't expect that the book would be better than The Emerald Affair but it is way more entertaining than Emerald. 

This novel was much more emotional than the Emerald Affair. I had my heart in my hands from start to finish. I worried about Stella the most. Stella was taken advantage of by just about everyone. She is a sweet woman so it always felt wrong for her to be mistreated. Esme and Tom held second place but as the plot unfolded I got tired of Tom’s depression and outbursts. Lydia, Andrew’s mother, was the villain. You knew she would hurt everyone around her and she did. When Andrew grew up he joined the army. His exploits during WWII were intense. We read alot about the progress of the war. I think Andrew was one of the most mature characters in the story, with the exception of the easy-going Esme. 

Childhood friends Stella and Andrew grew up together in the majestic Raj Hotel, owned by Andrew's father Tom Lomax.  Stella has always had a soft spot for Andrew, but she dreams of meeting a soulmate. She gets reacquainted with a man she met on the ship from Scotland to India. Hugh Keating seems to be the perfect man. He's attractive, suave, and available. Hugh proposes but avoids conversations about getting married so I knew he was too good to be true. He had both me and Stella fooled. Much more happened between these two but I don't want to be a spoiler. Suffice to say this relationship was heart-wrenching.

The Sapphire Child was enjoyable from beginning to end. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Big Book Summer Challenge

I love chunky books. When I saw that there is a new reading challenge concentrating on them I had to join in on the fun.

Rules:

1.  Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.

2.  The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).

3.  Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).

4.  If you are a blogger or YouTuber and want to share your Big Book Summer plans, book reviews, or wrap-ups, you can add your link(s) to the links list in the challenge post so others can find you (it will remain open until September 30). If you post a YouTube video for Big Book Summer, please tag Melinda (@awebofstories) and I (@SueJacksonDE), so we can visit and share it with others.

5.  Join the 2026 Big Book Summer Goodreads group to enjoy Big Book discussions all summer long! Or if you prefer, join the Big Book Summer Storygraph group and/or Big Book Summer Storygraph Challenge

6.  For chatting on other social media platforms, use #BigBookSummer

7.  What kind of   books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.  

I am currently reading The Sapphire Child (515) by Janet Macleod Trotter and plan on reading All This and More by Peng Shepherd (472) sometime this month.  Later in the summer I plan on reading Joseph Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter (440), Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards (412), The Calamity by Kathryn Stockett (640). Last month I picked up an 840 page fantasy novel The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don’t know if I will have time to finish the novel though. The Daughters of Shandong (400) and The Young Will Remember (448) both written by Eve Chung are also on my tbr list.

Ice Cold Body

I selected this book for the What's in a Name Challenge. I needed a book title that referenced cold weather. Icy Cold Body is a cozy mystery set in Alaska and is the first book in a five book (to date) series by Kelli Fudge. The Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery series features Maggie Calloway as an amateur sleuth. 

The publisher's summary:  

She came to Alaska for peace. Her cat found a killer.

Retired schoolteacher Margaret "Maggie" Calloway traded her Ohio life for a cozy cabin in remote Frosthaven, Alaska. With her enormous cat, Kodiak, by her side, she dreamed of quiet days amid breathtaking wilderness. But on the first big snowfall, Kodiak drags her to Frosthaven Lake—where the ice-entombed body of beloved fish hatchery owner Earl Benton stares up from below.

The sheriff calls it a tragic accident. Maggie spots the truth: Earl's boots are bone dry. He didn't drown—he was placed there. As Maggie digs into Frosthaven's secrets—over diner coffee, in dusty archives, and among tight-lipped neighbors—she uncovers land disputes, buried grudges, and a missing deed worth a fortune. Someone will kill to keep it hidden.

With a blizzard sealing the town off and 300 suspects snowed in, Maggie and Kodiak race the storm. Clues are vanishing under feet of snow, and the killer knows she's closing in.

I loved this story! Maggie discovered a frozen body on the lake and was struck by the deceased's boots being dry. I never figured out how this could happen because the entire body was in the lake. It was never explained either. However, the story moved along at a quick pace and I kept reading. Initially, there weren't many characters introduced. There was basically Maggie and her cat Kodiak. About the midway point in the story we are introduced to town archivist Harriet Voss, Leland Gruber, owner of the Trading Post diner, Sheriff Miller and a few secondary characters. 

Harriet and Maggie became a team. They researched the belief among Frosthaven's citizens that their lakefront could not be developed. There were whispers that a deed from 1972 prohibited any development. Earl Benton, the deceased, was known to have proof. Together these two ladies solved the mystery of the deed as well as who killed Earl. Harriet and Maggie worked so well together that I think they will be the amateur sleuths in future releases of the series. 

Maggie's former career as a schoolteacher helped her deal with adversary characters. On almost every page Maggie is thinking back to her classroom and how she dealt with students, other teachers and school administration. She instinctively knew how to handle difficult people. It was fascinating to see how she was able to use her skills in a different setting.

I was surprised that the book only had 145 pages. I checked the page length of subsequent books in the series and they all were short. Despite this, the book followed the mystery formula to a T. It was an exciting novel. 5 out of 5 stars.

June Armchair Travel Plans

Next month I will be returning to India with the next book in Janet MacLeid Trotter's Raj Hotel historical fiction series. The Sapphire Child meets the requirements of two reading challenges:  the Color Coded and Historical Fiction Challenges.  Singapore is another stop I will make on my travels with The Singapore Secret by Clair Willis. Also, I will cross over the pond for Charles Finch's newest novel Midnight in the House of Commons. The book is the 16th Charles Lenox mystery. Last month I didn't get around to reading White River Crossing. It's a popular new book taking place in the sub-arctic Canada. Eve Chung's The Young Will Remember is set in China just after the end of the Cultural Revolution. 

My American travel includes Washington DC in the early 1800s to read The Editor's Daughter by K. A. Felstad. The Margin of Death is a financial crime thriller with a dual timeline. It connects 893 England with the current era in New York City.  Then we have Ice Cold Body, an Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery by Kelli Fudge. This book is a cozy mystery. Favorite author Wanda Brunstetter will publish Melody of Love in a few days. Since this is an Amish fiction story it is set in the American Midwest. Finally, A River Red With Blood takes place in Maine’s Kennebec River Valley. Written by John Connolly it is a June 2026 new release. To complete my U. S. based armchair travel I will read Lisa See’s newest novel Daughters of the Sun and Moon. It takes place in post Civil War Los Angeles. I think this is a new, to me, setting for a Chinese immigrant story. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the book. It's going to be published next month.

Where are you traveling in June?

Captivating Character of the Month: May

My captivating character of the month is Debbie Mullen from Freida McFadden's Dear Debbie. Debbie is both the protagonist and the villain of the story. She writes an advice column for a local newspaper similar to the Dear Abby columns I read while growing up. 

When the story began Debbie was frequently featured at social events with friends. Nothing untoward was obvious. She attended a monthly book club with neighbors living on her block who openly disparaged her lack of class and higher education. Debbie desperately wants to fit in and accepts this mistreatment as necessary in order to climb the social ladder. Later these friends begin to ridicule her intense behavior behind her back. They gossip about rumors that she spent a few months in a psychiatric hospital. Yeah, Debbie is nuts.

Most of the chapters begin with drafts of her column wherein she suggests that the complaining women kill their husbands. The reader doesn't know if the drafts were eventually published until the halfway point in the story where we read she was fired for suggesting murder in a column that had been published. Debbie’s psycho behavior takes off from here. Anyone who hurt her husband or kids ended up dead. Debbie was always back in form the next day being way too cheerful and overdoing the housewife duties.

I agree with the revenge that Debbie plotted on her adversaries. They were definitely deserving of everything they received. Maybe I'm nuts too.

Book of the Month: May

After perusing the book reviews I wrote this month, I decided that there are only three options for my best book of the month. All three are them are graphic novels:  Do Admit by Mimi Pond, Tall Water by S J Sindu and This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki. It seemed impossible to pick just one but I must select Do Admit because of the drawings in the book. I believe this graphic biography of the Mitford Sisters is a masterpiece! 

This biography is about the six Mitford sisters Nancy, Unity, Diana, Pam, Jessica and Deborah as well as the other members of their aristocratic family, and their geo-political influence on major events of the 1920s and 1930s. I did not know much about them before reading the book. The sisters knew many famous people of the twentieth century. Diana and Unity knew Adolf Hitler. Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire. Other celebs in their orbit include William Faulkner, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. The phrase "do admit" was one of the sisters' favorite sayings. 

What I loved the most about the book is the color palette. Another aesthetic I liked was the use of info-graphics for the narrative part of the story. I thought this was creative and enjoyed reading the narrative. The author used lines of text of different font sizes placed at different angles. She is a master of typology. The rest of the story was shown in whimsical illustrations all drawn in prussian blue ink.

It took the author six years to complete this 444 page book.  It is a MASTERPIECE and contender for my 2026 book of the year. It was published in September 2025. 

Book Cover of the Month: May

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat has an enchanting book cover of two cats in a prescription bottle. I love it! The cover design was created by Adam Auerbach. 

Auerbach is designer, illustrator, and art director from Brooklyn. He has over 15 years of experience in the publishing industry as both a children's book author and as an illustrator for other authors. You can see his work on his Instagram page and also on his webite.

 

The Once and Future Riot

This graphic novel investigates the 2013 Muzaffarnagar Riot that took place in India. Graphic journalist Joe Sacco examines the sectarian violence, crowd dynamics and competing narratives concerning the riot. The book was published in October 2025.

The publisher's summary: 

Compared to other episodes of lethal Indian communal violence, the clashes in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, the Muzaffarnagar Riot, were a relatively small-scale affair―some scores of people were killed and several tens of thousands displaced. It had happened before and will probably happen again: Hindus and Muslims, armed with guns and swords, riled up by vitriolic rhetoric and a tangle of accusations, turn on one another. The truth fragments along religious lines, both in the lead-up to the rampage and in its bloody aftermath.

In The Once and Future Riot, Joe Sacco immerses himself in Uttar Pradesh, speaking to government officials, political leaders, village chiefs, and especially the victims, who were mostly landless peasants, in a quest to understand this riot as an archetype of political violence. In the process, he probes the role of savagery in a democracy; the power of crowds, rather than leaders, to influence the course of events; the collision of competing narratives; and the accounts that perpetrators construct to explain away their participation in bloodshed.

Hailed as “the heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman” (Economist), Sacco has chronicled the urgent histories that define the world around us, from the Great War to Gaza. Here, he turns his masterful visual reportage to a story that is specific to India but with implications and resonance for all precarious multiethnic, multiracial societies everywhere.

 After finishing the book I thought that one side had to be primarily at fault for the riot. I had some difficulty determinating which party held that fault so I re-read the book. I kept a cheat sheet detailing who did what in each village. It was an exercise in futility.

The root cause of all of the distrust between the Hindus and the Muslims was the Partition of 1947. The Partition forced Muslims to leave India and move to a new country, Pakistan, where they would be the majority population. Hindus no longer wanted Muslim neighbors even though Muslims were working on their farms. The economics of the Partition resulted in Hindu farm owners paying double the wages to anyone willing to work their farms. Muslims were too far away to labor for them. Before Partition Hindus and Muslims lived peacably side by side. Each faction respected the other. What a mistake it was.

The trigger of most of the clashes was mistreatment of women. The men would then kill the perpetrators but they would eventually be killed themselves in retaliation. The political and religious leaders were never able to prevent the violence and in many cases they did not want to stem the violence. Leaders on both sides fueled anger by spreading misinformation. Unfortunately, Muslims were forced to live in camps after Jat Hindus burned down their villages. The riot itself lasted a few days but violence seems to be a norm in Indian politics, hence the "future" riot. 

I enjoyed reading the book and learned alot about Indian politics. I felt the author's frustration as he traveled throughout the Uttar Pradesh region trying to obtain the truth. Very few people told him what really happened in their villages, preferring to tell him a narrative set by their personal politics. This was a difficult assignment for the author but he did well in telling the reader how he searched for answers on a daily basis.

5 out of 5 stars. 

Do Admit

The gorgeous color pallette of this graphic biography prompted me to read the book. I have read previous books by Mimi Pond so I knew it would be spectacular. The biography is about the six Mitford sisters Nancy, Unity, Diana, Pam, Jessica and Deborah as well as the other members of the aristocratic family, and their geo-political influence on major events of the 1920s and 1930s. The book won the 2026 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Long-form Comic from the Center for Cartoon Studies as well as the 2025 Graphic Novel Critics Poll. The title "Do Admit" is a favorite saying of the sisters. This 444 page book was published in September 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Born with pedigrees but without the pocketbooks to match, The Mitfords were certainly no strangers to lies, intrigue, or scandal. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. All six sisters were weaned on their family’s well-documented upper class eccentricities: a ne’er do well would-be entrepreneur father; a stern, stiff-upper-lipped mother; a revolving door of governesses of varying propriety, all against the backdrop of a crumbling estate falling into disrepair.

The sisters grew from cloistered turn-of-the-century country girls into debutantes who would marry into political influence―for better or worse. Is it any wonder that a young, working class Mimi in Southern California becomes enamored with The Mitfords’ downright fanciful rich-and-famous lifestyle? This charming, inventively cartooned, and lovingly researched biography captures the dramatic, over-the-top antics of high society’s strongest personalities as they rubbed elbows with some of history’s most infamous fascists and communists.

Pond’s genius for classic cartooning in the vein of the Vanity Fair caricature and the satirical illustrations of Charles Addams brings the aesthetic decadence of the 1920s and ‘30s to life with effortless aplomb, warts and all.

I had heard the Mitford name before but knew nothing about the family. The book fills in all of the details of each of the sisters' lives who lived during the first half of the 20th century. I wondered why the author, Mimi Pond, decided to write about  them as I believe we are around the same age. How did she become interested in the family? Regardless, she wrote an entertaining and informative book about the sisters.

As I stated above, I loved the color palette. Another aesthetic I liked was the use of info-graphics for the narrative part of the story. I thought this was creative and enjoyed reading the narrative. The author used lines of text of different font sizes placed at different angles. She is a master of typology. The rest of the story was shown in whimsical illustrations. The copyright page states Pond owns the copyright to every part of the book. From this information it becomes apparent that she drew the illustrations and did the lettering in addition to writing the text. I hope Pond wins more awards for the book because it is fantastic. 

There are dozens of characters. We have the six sisters, two parents, many spouses, a few children, and many famous people inside the story. The Mitfords knew Hitler, Winston Churchill, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and William Faulkner. Two of the sisters were fascists. Diana and Unity were deeply entrenched in the Nazi inner circle. Diana married Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists. Unity became obsessed with Adolf Hitler, befriending him and remaining a dedicated follower in Germany. Hitler's records show he met with Unity 140 times. Jessica was a staunch communist and she moved to the U. S.  Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire. Jessica and Deborah married nephews of prime ministers Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan, respectively. Needless to say, these divergent political views created distance in their relationships with each other.

Do Admit is going to be in my top books for 2026. It is a masterpiece. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #49

This weekly meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. The meme spotlights the books that we are excited about but have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released.

Today I want to highlight a book that I plan to read next month for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. A River Red With Blood will be published on June 2, 2026. It is part of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly and takes place in Maine’s rural Kennebec River Valley. The plot is interesting. Two teen girls disappear and one of them attends a troubled teens school. Her body is later found in the water and the police assume that she has drowned. However, Detective Parker finds a connection between the two girls, one new and one ancient. I am particularly interested in the ancient connection and can't wait to find out what happened to the girls.

What book(s) are you anxiously awaiting to read?

The Housemaid is Watching

The Housemaid is Watching is the third book in the Housemaid trilogy and it's just as wonderful as the first two.  Its a psychological thriller with yet another twisty finish that surprised me. The story takes place ten years after the first novel and Millie Calloway returns with husband Enzo and their two kids. 

The publisher's summary: 

“You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…

The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here? I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?

Millie and Enzo have two nosy, annoying neighbours. Suzette Lowell cannot stop flirting with Enzo and Millie is jealous. The neighbor across the street, Janice, is the neighborhood spy. She spends the entire day and night looking in everyone's windows with her binoculars. The Lowells have a maid, Martha, with Thursdays open and Suzette talks Enzo into hiring her even though the Accardis cannot afford it. 

Millie and Enzo have two kids, eleven year old Ada and nine year old Nico. Ada is quiet but Nico has tons of energy. Millie repeats several times that she is obsessed with her new house and that the mortgage payments are too high for her to pay. She also has quite a few internal thoughts about her husband maybe cheating on her. Why repeat these two items?  It seemed unusual for McFadden to repeat any information in a novel. It felt odd as I was reading. In addition, Millie's usual housemaid activities are not written into this novel. It made me confused until the ending. 

Who was the villain?  There were a few possibilities. Suzette, Janice and Martha were the characters I was thinking about. The identity of the whodunnit wasn't revealed until the ending but all three characters were suggested throughout the story. 

I had a few issues with the writing.  The formula used in the prior two books in the series was not followed. This reduced the suspense factor during my read. While the ending tied up all of the loose ends, it was not as shocking as the earlier novels. Unfortunately, I have to reduce my rating of the book to 4 out of 5 stars.