The People Next Door by Kate Braithwaite – Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit

April 5, 2025

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Twenty years ago, Jen’s sister disappeared. Now, she’s looking for answers.

Jen Silver has moved to a new neighbourhood in affluent, suburban Pennsylvania with her partner, Dan, and her daughter. It’s a picture-perfect neighbourhood where the residents hang out on each other’s patios drinking margaritas on warm summer nights. They eagerly welcome Jen and her family.

But Jen isn’t who they think she is. Dan doesn’t know the truth either.

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Jen has spent her life trying to find out what happened to her sister. She’s chosen this community for a reason — because Dan has his own connection to the neighbourhood and a past he thought was long-buried.

As Jen pieces together the events of twenty years ago, someone is determined to keep the facts from coming to light.

But secrets always come out and sometimes, the worst truths lie close to home. . .

My Review

The People Next Door was brilliant. It’s told from multiple viewpoints over two timelines. This can at times be a bit confusing initially, and I had to look back to remember who was ‘speaking’. Now and twenty years ago (when Jen’s sister Lynette went missing), we hear from Jen, current partner Dan, Lynette’s friend Natalie, and Aunt Jocelyn who everyone thinks is Jen’s mum. Jen’s ex is journalist Booker, who is Nina’s dad. He’s probably the only one without a troubled background.

I must at this point mention Jocelyn. What a woman, and I don’t mean that in a good way. She’s creepy, controlling, coercive, self-centred, intimidating – need I say more, She’s one of my favourite ‘villains’ ever in a book. Some readers may not even think of her as a villain, they may find her actions justified (I sincerely hope not). Personally I would be scared to be in the same room with her staring at me, and I definitely wouldn’t accept a drink she’d made. The one thing that Jocelyn banks on is that no-one will recognise her from before. Big mistake. Someone is bound to. Some people just don’t change that much.

At first I didn’t really understand what was going on or what the relationship was between Jen and Jocelyn, or why Natalie is so key to Jen’s sister’s disappearance. Slowly but surely secrets start to emerge. We learn about Jen’s dad leaving, her mum Sal (Jocelyn’s sister), her grandparents, and all the other goings on, and the people in Ithaca, where they lived twenty years ago.

My only criticism of the book would be around Dan. I just can’t see him as a neurosurgeon. He seems too dumb. And then there’s his relationship with Jen. I totally understand how she’s been bullied by Jocelyn’s obsession with finding out what really happened to her sister’s daughter, but to be pushed into a relationship with Dan seems a step too far. Or maybe not as you get further into the story. Nothing is out of bounds.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Kate Braithwaite is the author of four historical novels based on true but overlooked events. Charlatan tells the story of Madame de Montespan and the Affair of the Poisons in 17th Century Paris. The Plot features Titus Oates’ Popish Plot, a scandal that earns him a place as one of Britain’s top ten villains. The Puzzle of Nellie Bly explores the exploits of a ground-breaking female journalist going undercover in a 19th Century New York lunatic asylum. The Scandalous Life of Nancy Randolph reveals a shocking rupture between two very different sisters in late 18th century Virginia.

Originally from Scotland, Kate studied English at Leeds University and has subsequently lived in Canada and the US. She is the author of Sis-Stories, a Substack publication all about sisters in history and fiction, and an editor for the Historical Novel Society. Kate and her family live in Chester County, Pennsylvania.