Reviews with content warning for Violence - Perfectly Nice Neighbors

I recently had the chance to read the latest from an auto-read author, Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah, and I binged it in under 24 hours. It was one of those situations when I started reading in the evening then oops it is 1am. If you’re looking for something bingeable, this will do the trick. That said, I don’t think I liked a single adult character in the book.

In this story we meet two neighboring families, as one is newly moving into the community. Their encounters move from racial microaggressions to violent racism over the course of the book and I thought the pacing was well done – the tension in the book built for the reader as the characters’ encounters did. The book eventually pivots to a legal courtroom thriller, and you get multiple POVs from both families.

For me, I love the author’s books and the way she goes straight at race and class. I love the binge of her books and she usually has a twist that knocks me back. This book stays true to that formula so if you enjoyed her prior books this one will probably work for you (and if you haven’t… go find Next of Kin ASAP). The twist was a surprise but more because it felt unrealistic to me and out of character, it was not my favorite. It’s a little lighter on the courtroom details than prior books which worked for me. All in, a bingeable legal thriller that I’d recommend.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the gifted advanced copy, I appreciate you!

Content warnings: Racism, Violence

Content Warnings

starklinqs's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went back and forth a lot on this rating, to be honest. I loved so much of this book, and was flying through it, so the ending felt like such a bummer.

I don’t need happy endings nor do I expect them - especially with thrillers, you certainly don’t read thrillers expecting a “and they lived happily ever after.” The ending was just SO wildly depressing to me though that I wondered why I had stuck through. If it was just that it would have been okay - probably not the 4 or 5 I wanted to give it but different people like different things, and for the most part I really enjoyed the book, the ending just wasn’t for me - but the plot twist really threw me off.

I think as with every thriller, everyone has their own idea of who is culpable (and sidenote, imo this book did a great job in showing complexities and writing the characters as feeling real, not black and white villains or heroes). You’re going to be wrong sometimes and that’s okay, but the book didn’t really give out any actual plot twists until the final act of the book, and it was just completely random and convoluted. It felt like a plot twist meant to shock readers, not where you could reread the book and see the hints.

This didn’t really feel like a thriller, which isn’t really good or bad for me. At times I felt like characters had either underreactions or overreactions that kind of baffled me, but maybe that’s just my own expectations in that scenario.

I think if you can move past the plot twist and you like bleak endings this will be a fine book. I don’t want to completely disparage it, because I really did enjoy it for the most part and appreciated the commentary, but the ending just really was not for me.

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tabby2920's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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swalk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Salma & Bill Khatun have just moved to a new neighbourhood with their son Zain. Blenheim is a predominantly white community, so as newcomers they try all they can to fit in. But when Tom who lives opposite, takes down Salma’s banner from their garden and throws it onto the lawn, things begin to escalate. Suspicious occurrences begin to pile up and whilst there are definitely undertones of bigotry throughout their interactions with Tom & Willa, Tom denies any part in the Khatun’s issues except for the removal of the banner. Is he really the culprit behind all of this?

Salma’s fears are undermined as other neighbours imply she is being over the top and minimise their plight. More and more incidents spiral out of control, whilst they try to get to the bottom of why this is happening. A tense and highly believable thriller with some great twists, I found it a little slow to start, but overall a great book. 

The narrator was also good.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Kia Abdullah has done it again. Those People Next Door is another suspenseful drama (it’s marketed as a thriller and while it does have some thrillerish vibes in places I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller per se) infused with contemporary social issues, and one with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing, and questioning what you would do in comparable situations.

When Salma Khatun, her husband, and son move into a safe suburban development they are looking for a fresh start. But displaying a Black Lives Matter banner puts them offside with their neighbours and things soon go from bad to worse.

At the beginning of the story I felt pretty confident who was right and who was wrong. By the end I was no longer sure. In fact all the characters, with the exception of the neighbour’s son Jamie, behaved atrociously at times and I did tire of their seeming desire to destroy each other and to come out on top in their quest for revenge. Thankfully a twist came at just the right time and pulled me back into the story.

The exposé of casual racism and classism among those who would deny they were racist or classist was spot-on. And if you need reminding that revenge is never a great idea then this is your book. I enjoyed being prompted to think about various ways of dealing with perceived conflict. I loved the courtroom scenes, which I think Abdullah writes really well. I also loved the way she looked at the issues involved in this neighbourhood dispute from all sides and didn’t take the easy, straightforward, or expected options. It was deliberately, thoughtfully nuanced. I also think she got the balance with the twists just right - some I predicted and some took me by surprise, meaning they were neither wholly predictable nor totally outlandish.

This was one of my most anticipated new releases of 2023 and I’m glad it lived up to my expectations.

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