The Family Next Door — Sally Hepworth

A novel about desperate mothers, secrets among neighbors, and things women keep hidden in a suburban drama from the author of The Mother's Promise.

Small, perfect towns often hold the deepest secrets. Such is the case for Essie and her family. Essie is a new mother, but few of her friends know that in a moment of maternal despair: she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided and Essie got better. But she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby. When a new woman moves next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in this neighborhood. Why single, when everyone else is married, with kids? Why renting, when everyone else owns? What mysterious job does she have? And why is she so fascinated with Essie? As the two women grow closer and Essie's friends disapprove, it starts to become clear that Isabelle's choice of neighborhood was no accident. And that her presence might bring even more secrets to light.