Please join me in welcoming Anita Waller to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, The Girls Next Door.

They keep each other’s secrets. They hide each other’s lies.

They were destined to be best friends. The four girls – all born that same hot summer. There was even a newspaper article after they were born. They said there must be something in the water on Larkspur Close. They predicted a safe and happy life for them all…

More than thirty years later, it’s more than an unbreakable friendship – it’s more like a sisterhood. It’s the girls who Jess reaches out to because she’s worried about her grandparents who’ve raised her since her mother disappeared, who Erin tells about her new business idea, who Melissa calls to say she’s desperate to escape her toxic job.

But then Chantelle messages saying she’s discovered her husband is having an affair. And everything changes.

Because then her husband is found dead… And only a few people knew about his secret.

Is it just a terrible accident? Or will someone stop at nothing to keep the girls of Larkspur Close safe and happy?

*****

Four girls, growing up on the same street, both months apart. They were destined to be friends, to become a sisterhood. They have each other’s backs.

With this bond comes secrets, some of which began before they were born. When murder comes into their lives, who is doing all they can to keep these four girls happy and is the murderer closer than they think?

One of the great things about running this blog is the chance to discover new authors and Anita Waller is one such example for me. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to miss her books until now. I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The Girls Next Door.

There is a calm to the beginning of this novel that sets a tone of uncertainty. I knew something was going to come along to disrupt the equilibrium – the lives of these four women who, on the surface, seem to have perfect lives.

Chantelle has three-year-old twins. These girls are her life. Yes, it’s taken a toil on her marriage but when she discovers the secret her husband, Andrew is keeping, she doesn’t know what her next step would be. When he unexpectedly dies in an accident, she has to face the unknown. I couldn’t help but feel empathy for Chantelle. Becoming a widow, especially with young children is a situation no-one wants to find themselves in and I felt that, under the circumstances, she was a strong, relatable character.

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