Recommended for fans of: Desperate Housewives, neighbourhood thrillers and domestic suspense.
Some neighbourhoods promise peace of mind. Vellamar Estates promises perfection. Behind its security gates, immaculate gardens and pristine homes, however, lies a community built on surveillance, prejudice and control. Tanya Smith’s The HOA imagines the homeowners’ association not as an irritating committee, but as a sinister force with the power to infiltrate every aspect of its residents’ lives.
What immediately struck me was the originality of the premise. HOAs are a familiar feature of American life but a relative novelty for many UK readers, which gave the novel an added layer of intrigue. As the story unfolded, I was constantly reminded of Desperate Housewives. Not because of the mystery itself, but because of the sprawling cast of neighbours, each harbouring secrets behind carefully maintained façades while their lives gradually become entangled.
Despite running for over seventeen hours, the audiobook never felt slow to me. This is very much a slow-burn thriller, but one that takes its time deliberately rather than dragging. Robin Miles deserves enormous credit here. With so many characters and shifting perspectives, there was plenty of scope for confusion, yet her assured narration gave each voice its own identity and helped me stay invested throughout. It is a performance that elevates the listening experience.
For me, the novel’s greatest strength is also one of its greatest weaknesses. Following events from multiple perspectives creates genuine suspense as readers discover just how much deception exists within the supposedly perfect community. At times, revisiting key events from different viewpoints deepens the tension beautifully. Unfortunately, this approach also becomes repetitive in places, particularly when information is revisited without adding enough fresh insight.
Similarly, the ambitious ensemble cast occasionally works against the story. While many of the characters are memorable individually, there were moments when I found myself having to stop and remind myself who was who. Combined with extensive backstories and increasingly intricate plotting, the novel sometimes becomes more complicated than it needs to be. Some of the twists are genuinely clever, but there are occasions where simplifying the narrative would have created an even stronger thriller.
One area where I found myself wanting more was the social commentary. The novel explores racism, homophobia, class, discrimination and abuses of authority, but I felt these ideas could have been examined more deeply. Because the story remains so closely tied to its characters’ perspectives, I occasionally missed a more objective narrative voice that might have drawn out the wider implications of what was happening within Vellamar Estates. I also suspect readers living within HOA communities may connect more strongly with these themes than those of us viewing them from a British perspective.
My biggest disappointment, however, was the ending. While it clearly lays the groundwork for future books, I finished wanting more resolution than this first instalment provides. Rather than leaving me eagerly anticipating another visit to Vellamar Estates, it left me feeling that this story had not quite reached a satisfying conclusion.
The HOA is undoubtedly an ambitious thriller with a distinctive premise, an excellent audiobook performance from Robin Miles, and enough intrigue to keep listeners engaged across its substantial running time. Although the overcomplicated plotting, occasional repetition and inconclusive ending prevented it from becoming a favourite, it remains an entertaining and unusual take on suburban suspense.
Thank you to NetGalley UK, Tanya Smith, and Audacious Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.
Have you read The HOA?
Did the multiple viewpoints enhance the suspense for you, or did you find them repetitive? And if you’ve ever lived in an HOA community, I’d love to know whether the novel’s social commentary resonated more strongly with your own experiences.
