The Street

Susi Holliday — 2023

Their neighbours welcomed them with open arms. Now they’ve vanished without a trace. Anna and Peter desperately need to escape London for a fresh start. And they’ve found just the place: a perfect house on a perfect street in a perfect new development on the Scottish coast. But before they’ve even unpacked, they discover that the community they’ve moved into might be keeping secrets of its own… Eager to fit in, Anna and Peter spend their first evening with their new neighbours, a couple who turn up on their doorstep to welcome them with open arms. But when Anna pops over the next morning to thank them for their hospitality, there’s no answer. The house is bare and unoccupied, and the neighbours have vanished without a trace. What’s more, everybody else on the street is convinced that no one ever lived there at all. As she battles a growing obsession with the mystery, Anna finds herself becoming increasingly paranoid. She thought she’d escaped her own troubled past, but as the truth catches up with her, life starts to unravel. Maybe she’s not the only resident of The Street with something to hide…

Reviews

Ariel Johnson@ariel790

May 25, 2023

This is one of those where the reader knows less than the narrator, and the narrator knows less than she thinks.

Susi Holliday's writing style in "The Street" is very much in the same vein as her novel, "The Hike." Where any character's motivation is cloudy until Susi is good and ready to reveal the real personality. She likes her secrets wrapped in pretty bows, awaiting the perfect time to be torn open.

The story of "The Street" mainly follows "Anna," a woman who we quickly discover is in witness protection. She's been re-homed on in a new addition of posh houses with shady neighbors. The only ones who don't give her crazy eyes disappear the next day…

Anna doesn't feel safe, and is constantly suspicious. Always questioning everyone's motives. Even her own. Her neighbors were real, right?

Anna, the main character, never relaxed and was always an anxious wreck. I had a hard time personally connecting to her point of view for that reason. There were so many questions she never asked. My real motivation for reading was to figure out the mystery of 'The Street.' If something more nefarious was going on, and what were those neighbor's juicy secrets. A desperate housewife, if you will.

The story was slowly layered in, only giving the littlest of tidbits at a time. Fed well into Anna's paranoia. The main mystery as a whole was succinct and felt planned out. Each neighbor had a tale that helped uncover more. Even if it led Anna further down her rabbit hole.

The conclusion was pretty clean. It was logical and satisfactory, almost. I did feel that something was missing. A perspective left out, or some connection that would have tied the neighbors together better. There's closure, but Anna's next step in life is left open ended. It is for these reasons I give 4 of the 5 stars.

A free advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author through Netgalley. This did not affect my review. I strive to remain as honest as possible to give authors real feedback and readers a true insight.