The Couple Next Door
Shari Lapena
The Couple Next Door launches with a domestic setup gone dreadfully wrong: a dinner party, a baby monitor, and a decision many readers might find unsettling, if not unthinkable. Anne and Marco Conti step next door for the evening, trusting that their sleeping baby will be fine under the watch of a monitor…
But when they return home, their daughter is nowhere to be seen. This is the provocative premise of Shari Lapena’s bestselling debut, which wastes no time plunging us into a nightmare scenario. What follows is a tightly wound domestic thriller filled with questions about who you should trust – a labyrinth of lies, moral ambiguity, and quiet desperation.
With snappy chapters and a driving pace, The Couple Next Door is definitely bingeable. But, if you’re after a psychological thriller with serious emotional depth, you may find this one a little surface-level.
“Twisty, suspenseful, and brimming with examples of ordinary people making extraordinarily bad choices.”
- Crime By the Book
Lapena’s writing shines in its portrayal of deception and the unravelling of a relationship. In fact, what leaves you reeling is not just the missing baby, but the breaking down of this couple’s facade…
There are no supernatural villains here, just human fragility and betrayal. Anne, a new mother, suffers with postpartum doubts and guilt while dad Marco swings between grief and a secret burden.
As the story unfolds, though, the characters’ motivations can start to feel more like plot devices than genuine human decisions. Yes, there’s plenty of tension, but little time is spent sitting with these characters on an emotional level – so we’re shown what they do, but not always why they do it (or at least not in a way that feels necessarily earned).
All the same, this novel thrives on momentum and, if it’s what you’re in the mood for, you probably won’t be able to put it down!
“When I finished reading, my first thought was that The Couple Next Door would make an excellent Netflix series…”
- Books on the 747
On the screen, this domestic popcorn thriller has found new life. The Couple Next Door has been adapted into a series on Channel 4 (UK) and Starz (US). The casting of Outlander’s Sam Heughan and Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson adds serious star power, and the series leans into the seductive suburban paranoia that made the book so marketable. Season 2 came out earlier this summer (2025), a testament to the story’s adaptability and the appetite of its audience.
It’s no surprise, really. This is a novel practically built for adaptation: think mid-century modern interiors, secrets whispered over fences, private griefs in public view. It all translates tantalisingly onto the screen.
However, like with the novel, reactions to the TV adaptation have been mixed. Some viewers love the glossy paranoia, others feel the emotional payoff doesn’t quite land. Many readers of the book felt the same…
“Without giving anything away, the big reveal feels like a bit of a letdown. Although I continued at a breakneck pace to the end[…] it never quite recovered.”
- Alison Flood, The Guardian
Lapena’s plotting is tight, and sometimes arguably too tight. Indeed, each twist is well-positioned, but at times it feels like the story is engineered more for shock than for emotional resonance or depth.
That said, if you’re looking for something addictive and satisfying in a “wow, people are messy” kind of way, The Couple Next Door delivers. It would make a fantastic palate cleanser if you’ve been up to your neck in heavier books or need a fast read for a weekend getaway, for example.
While this isn’t necessarily a book that will stay with you for years to come, we’ll give credit where it’s due: it’s a sharp, thrilling page-turner.
Other works by Shari Lapena
If you enjoy The Couple Next Door or books like it, you’re in luck. Lapena has a catalogue of twisty domestic thrillers to get stuck into:
- A Stranger in the House (2017)
- An Unwanted Guest (2018)
- Someone We Know (2019)
- The End of Her (2020)
- Not a Happy Family (2021)
- Everyone Here is Lying (2023)
Discover your next thriller with Victoria Freudenheim
At Victoria Freudenheim, we love to spotlight books that will keep you turning the pages well past bedtime. From high-stakes thrillers like The Couple Next Door to film-adapted reads like Killers of the Flower Moon and classics like BLA, we’re all about helping you find your next five-star obsession.
Why not browse our latest book reviews for more top-rated reads? Or, check out the Victoria Freudenheim blog for even more bookish content.
Rating: 3.5/5
