For those who enjoy books that captivate the reader from beginning to end and leave them wondering what happened until the very last page, this set is for you. Shari Lapena delivers the best domestic thrillers in The Couple Next Door , Someone You Know , and The Last Supper .
The couple who lives next door
It's Graham's birthday, and his wife, Cynthia, invites their neighbors, Anne and Marco, over for dinner. Marco thinks this will be good for his wife; after all, she's barely left the house since Cora's birth six months ago and suffering from postpartum depression. However, at the last minute, the babysitter calls to say she can't watch the baby. And Cynthia had asked them not to take her daughter. Nothing personal; she simply can't stand crying children.
Marco assures her that Cora will be fine sleeping in her crib. They live next door and can bring the baby monitor and check on their daughter every half hour. Anne doesn't think it's a good idea, but eventually agrees.
As soon as they return home, they learn their worst fear has come true: Cora has disappeared. And, facing public pressure and Detective Rasbach's suspicions, Anne and Marco find themselves caught in a web of lies that uncovers terrifying secrets.
Someone you know
Young couple Amanda and Robert Pierce move to a quiet, welcoming neighborhood where everyone knows each other. Stunningly beautiful, Amanda turns heads wherever she goes. Robert also captures the imagination of some housewives, but he seems completely devoted to his wife. Everyone is shocked when he goes to the police station to report his wife missing.
What many don't realize is that everyone has something to hide: Olivia and Paul Sharpe know their teenage son has been breaking into their neighbors' houses; Beck and Larry Harris aren't being as honest with each other anymore; Glenda and Keith Newell are struggling to deal with their sixteen-year-old son's addiction; Amanda and Robert are far from a perfect couple. But the only person who seems shaken is Carmine Torres, a new resident who will do anything to find out who broke into her house.
But paranoia really sets in in the neighborhood when Amanda's body is found by the police. She was brutally murdered. Who could have killed her? Does anyone among them know more than they're letting on?
The last dinner
Fred and Sheila Merton live in the upscale Brecken Hill neighborhood, but when death knocks, no fortune is enough to protect them. On Easter Sunday, after a disastrous dinner with their three children and the family's former nanny, the Mertons are brutally murdered. Sheila is hanged, and Fred is stabbed multiple times and has his throat slit. Dan, Catherine, and Jenna Merton are devastated by the crime. Or at least that's what was expected of them.
But now each will inherit millions of dollars. And what few know is that the Mertons were never a happy family. The children had to endure the whims of a vengeful and capricious patriarch with no support from their mother. Could one of them be capable of such a crime?
As the investigation progresses and lies are revealed, the three brothers begin to suspect each other. But has any of them reached their breaking point after that dinner? And can they maintain loyalty when millions of dollars are at stake?
