And what a game! The structure wasn’t quite what I was expecting and neither was the outcome. He suspects that Anne’s multi-millionaire parents might have been a reason the baby was kidnapped (for the ransom money) and, despite their alibi, knows that parents are always high on the suspect list, not to mention the secrets the neighbours are harbouring … Never fear, there is a highly competent sleuth on the case, Detective Rasbach. However, when they return home, they find the front door open and their baby gone… They bring the baby monitor and check on her every half hour. They make the (unforgivable, in my opinion) decision to leave their 6-month old daughter Cora at home ALONE in her cot. Set in an affluent suburb of New York, Anne and Marco Conti are invited to their next door neighbours’, Cynthia and Graham’s for an intimate dinner party. Opening sentence: Anne can feel the acid churning in her stomach and creeping up her throat her head is swimming. On reflection – that is perhaps why I had such a visceral reaction to The Couple Next Door: although my heart was in my mouth, I just couldn’t stop reading it. I have two little boys so if I ever come across a plot summary that involves danger to children, I tend not to read the book – it’s just something way too scary to even contemplate for me.

You see, this book centres around a baby being kidnapped… And that would have been a huge mistake as it is a BRILLIANT thriller. I didn’t know anything about the plot of The Couple Next Door when I picked it up.

The couple next door author