The Family Across the Street by Nicole Trope

Never before has the idiom "don't judge a book by its cover" jumped into my mind so forcefully as when reading this. I'm not sure why, but the cover of this book looks campy and cartoonish to me. But when I started reading, I was blown away by this expertly told domestic suspense!

This whole story unfolds over the course of one day through the perspective of the neighbors and inhabitants of an Australian suburban neighborhood. Something doesn't seem right at the West house. Elderly Gladys, who unfortunately has a reputation as a busybody, has noticed the shades are drawn and the five-year-old twins still haven't come out of the house. Previously incarcerated delivery driver Logan tries to drop off a computer at the Wests but the lady of the house will not open the door to sign for it. He notices her voice sounds tense through the door. New mother Margo across the street hears what she thinks are gunshots when she opens her front door.

The author then goes back in time over the last seven hours revealing the events of what's happening inside of the West house. This is a plot-driven novel, but character development is superb! Gladys is next door to the Wests and is often homebound because she's taking care of her husband Lou who has Parkinson's. Logan is trying to start over with his life but is having a hard time securing employment AND people's trust because of his record. He keeps going back to the West house because his intuition is telling him something is very wrong, but he knows that his tattoo riddled appearance puts people off. Also, he is distracted because he has learned that his younger sister has been severely beaten and hospitalized several hours away.

At one point Glady has this thought about her neighbors: people are more than too willing to overshare everything on the internet but when it comes to in person, they are coy. This proves to be foreshadowing as we learn more about the secrets of the West family. Logan's wife Debbie holds the belief that the universe will put you where you are supposed to be if you keep an open mind and an open heart. I found myself rooting for this to be true as Logan and Gladys persist in getting to the bottom of what is going on in the West house. The oppressive and merciless heat wave occurring adds to the intense atmosphere of what's happening.

There's a good twist that kept me guessing until almost the end. I loved this heart-filled, crackling thriller and could hardly put it down! And I will do my best to not judge a book by its cover.