The Mistress Next Door

Author: Lesley Sanderson

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

Pages: 260

Other books: Every Little Lie, The Birthday Weekend, I Know You lied

Star Rating: 4.0 = Very Good

In a close knit community called Prospect Close, a child goes missing while with her mom in the playground. The little 3 year old was with her twin sister and now she is no where near to be found. Everyone knows each other, the community does all they can to find the missing girl. After hours of searching, the police finally find her! She is unharmed.

When asked where she was she answers, “a nice man took me to the woods”.

Who is this “nice man”? He had to be in Prospect Close with her. Is this someone everyone knows? This community is close but does it know everyone’s secret?

Harriet and Oliver are Tilly’s, the missing girl, mother and father. They own a lovely home in Prospect Close and have 3 children. Harriet has many friends on the block and does many activities together like work out, get coffee, and shop with one another. After the night that Tilly went missing Harriet is shaken up. She feels as if someone is watching her. She also has been getting notes dropped in her bag that read “ARE YOU SCARED?” And “YOU ARE NEXT”. As much as Harriet wants to tell her husband, she has the suspicion that he might be cheating on her. She also thinks this might be connected to her past which Oliver doesn’t know much about.

Harriet confides in her friends telling them about Tilly and her suspicions about her husband. One day at the gym she hears her “friends” gossiping. Her husband is cheating on her with one of them! Who could she be? Who has Harriet trusted and now has betrayed her?

Days go by with Harriet feeling watched and not safe with her marriage or her children. Oliver thinks it would be best if they go to a party together to let off stress and try to have a good time. Harriet was hesitant in the beginning but later agreed because the party is only blocks away. In the middle of the party, Harriet can’t stand being there any longer. Her mind is going wild about the notes, gossip and her cheating husband. When she goes to get her coat in the coat room, she finds her husband naked with one of her friends! Now furious, she just wants to get back to her children. She calls the babysitter to check on how they are doing and she answers, “they are fine, they just went next door like you said they could”, Harriet answers, “Nobody agreed they could go next door”

Someone took all her children! Who in this once lovely community that Harriet trusted could take her own children? Why is this happening to her family? Is this because of what Harriet did in the past? Does someone want revenge? Where has her children gone next door?

This book was pleasant to read. The author created a lot of characters throughout the book and had the ability to differentiate each of them for the readers. I find myself confused when a book is written with many characters to tell who is telling the story or trying to remember who is who. This entire book was told in Harriet’s voice which helped. Each character also had enough build up to find a liking to them but also enough secrecy to think they might be involved with Harriet’s story. Fun book would recommend!