🏘 The Downstairs Neighbour, Written By Helen Cooper; My Review‼️🏘

May 31, 2026

🏘 The Downstairs Neighbour, Written By Helen Cooper;

My Review‼️🏘

Written by Helen Cooper,

Blurb;

In a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof.

The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph, and their bubbly teenage daughter Freya. The smaller first floor flat is rented by Emma, who spends most of her time alone, listening to people coming in and out of the building. And the basement flat belongs to Chris, a local driving instructor, who prefers to keep his personal life private from the neighbours.
But their lives are all upended when Freya vanishes. As the police become involved and a frantic Paul and Steph desperately search for answers, they begin to realise that the truth behind their daughter's disappearance may lie closer to home than they were expecting.

When everyone has something to hide, can you ever really know those closest to you? Or will some secrets be taken to the grave?

My Review;

I was keen to read this book, after reading The Woman In The Villa; also written by Helen Cooper, - which was such an addictive read from start to finish (please check out my previous review on this book!).

This book tells the story of the Harlow family; the teenage daughter, Freya, who goes missing, & focuses on the neighbours who live within Giorgan Townhouse converted into three flats, with the Harlow's living at the top of the building, Emma, living on the ground floor, & Chris & Vicky, living within the basement flat below ground level, & how their seemingly seperate lives from each other's seemingly intermingle, & who's keeping secrets from whom.

This book drew me in from the beginning, & seemed quite a promising read, - however, - I didn't find this read as gripping as The Woman In The Villa, which I had sped through reading in just a couple of days. Ultimately it came down to the secrets that they had all been keeping from one another, & the past lives of the Harlow parents, Paul & Steph, & just how this ended up inflicted upon their missing daughter, Freya.

Who's secret had Freya thought she had discovered? Who's secret was Freya now paying for? - & why? - I'm not going to tell you the answers to any of those, but if you enjoy a good physiological thriller, then you'll deffo enjoy reading this! It also includes snippets of a back-story between a family, & the book itself is broken down into three parts.

Based on a rating of 1 - 10, where 10 is the highest, I would give this book a rating of 7. It was definitely worth the read, & it all intermingled & came together towards the end. It is a book that I would recommend!

. .. This book is available to both purchase & download,