My rating: 5 of 5 stars
SWEDISH REVIEW
Anne och Marco Conti är ett par som tycks ha allt: ett kärleksfullt förhållande, ett vackert hem och en underbar bebis, Cora.
Nu säger deras granne att hon inte vill ha med deras sex månader gamla dotter på sin middagsbjudning. Inget personligt, hon står bara inte ut med gråten. Marco säger att det är okej. De bor ju trots allt bara i huset bredvid. De kommer att ha babyalarmet med sig och turas om att gå hem en gång i halvtimmen.
När Anne tittade till Cora för bara en stund sedan sov barnet djupt. Men nu, efter att hon rusat upp för trapporna i deras dödligt tysta hus, besannas hennes djupaste rädsla. Cora är borta!
Anne och Marco har aldrig tidigare behövt ringa polisen. Men nu är polisen i deras hem, i deras liv. Och vem vet vad de kommer att upptäcka där?
På andra sidan väggen är en psykologisk thriller som håller läsaren i ett järngrepp fram till sista sidan. En roman om svek, manipulation och dubbelspel – och om vad människor är kapabla till när de pressas till bristningsgränsen.
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Wow, vilken bok. Jag måste erkänna att jag inte trodde att boken skulle fängsla mig så mycket att jag i slutändan skulle ge den en 5:a. Jag hoppas att den den skulle vara underhållande, men jag trodde aldrig att den skulle vara så underhållande att den skulle vara svår at lägga ifrån sig på kvällen. En riktig blandvändare med andra ord! Jag svär, om jag inte hade haft jobb dagen efter jag började läsa boken så skulle jag nog läst klart den troligtvis samma kväll.
Vad jag verkligen älskade med boken var känslan av att alla dolde något, och det visade sig vara korrekt. Även när händelser avslöjades som kanske inte alls var så överraskande så kände jag aldrig att det var för lätt, utan det var snarare så att jag hade en misstanke och när den visade sig vara rätt så var det med belåtenhet jag insåg att jag hade gissat rätt. Självklart var det händelser som jag absolut inte hade räknat med. Som det briljanta slutet. Wow!
Jag vill inte avslöja något av handlingen, men jag måste bara få säga att jag är verkligen imponerad över hur mänskliga karaktärerna i boken är. Lapena har verkligen lyckats med att skapa karaktärer som jag kunde känna sympati för (tja de flesta människor, de fanns några vidriga som jag inte gillade speciellt mycket eller kände sympati för). Genom att karaktärerna blev så levande så kändes handlingen verkligen levande. Jag drog in i berättelsen och sedan släppte den inte taget om mig.
På andra sidan väggen var en fantastisk läsupplevelse. Shari Lapena är ett namn jag bara måste lägga på minnet och jag ser fram emot att läsa framtida böcker av henne!
ENGLISH REVIEW
You never know what's happening on the other side of the wall.
Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying.
Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour.
Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone.
You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.
What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?
Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying.
Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour.
Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone.
You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.
What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?
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Wow, what a book. I have to admit that I did not think I would love it as much as I did. I was hoping to be entertained, but I never thought that I would find it so engrossing that it would be hard to put it down. I swear, if I hadn't had work the day after I started the book would I probably have read most of the book that evening that I started it.
What I really loved about the book was the sense that everyone is hiding something, and sure they did and even when things were revealed that perhaps was not so surprising did I never feel that it was too easy, it was more of a getting right when you are getting suspicious about something. Of course, there were events that I didn't expect at all. Like the brilliant ending. Wow.
I don't want to give the story away, all I want to say that I'm very impressed how Lapena managed to make the characters so real that I really could feel for them (well most of the people, some I did not like because they were quite frankly awful human beings). By making the characters feel alive did this story come alive. I was pulled into the story and it didn't let go for a minute.
The Couple Next Door was a fantastic reading experience. Shari Lapena is definitely a name that I need to keep track of for future books!
What I really loved about the book was the sense that everyone is hiding something, and sure they did and even when things were revealed that perhaps was not so surprising did I never feel that it was too easy, it was more of a getting right when you are getting suspicious about something. Of course, there were events that I didn't expect at all. Like the brilliant ending. Wow.
I don't want to give the story away, all I want to say that I'm very impressed how Lapena managed to make the characters so real that I really could feel for them (well most of the people, some I did not like because they were quite frankly awful human beings). By making the characters feel alive did this story come alive. I was pulled into the story and it didn't let go for a minute.
The Couple Next Door was a fantastic reading experience. Shari Lapena is definitely a name that I need to keep track of for future books!
Thanks to Modernista and Louise Bäckelin Förlag for the review copy!
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