Andrea Bartz

I am giving this a generous 2-star rating. I found the characters unlikeable and unbelievable enmeshed in a ridiculous plot. Kelly leaves her fiancé after throwing a temper tantrum over a relationship she suspects he had with a coworker and, oddly, moves in temporarily with a woman with whom she had a tentative friendship in high school. This woman is a noted author of salacious novels and is married to a man with a mysterious career that may be part of a government agency. They live in a highly guarded extravagant home, and immediately make her feel welcome.

As time passes, she cannot ignore their intent to establish a threesome. Even after she finds incrementing polaroids of their badly bruised previous "partner," and suspects that she herself is the target of a drowning, she ignores these fiercely waving red flags. Is she naive, unintelligent or simply needy? With their encouragement, she breaks things off with her fiancé and seems to lose touch with everyone else in her life. Just as she settles happily into her love nest with all worries explained, the ex-girlfriend suddenly appears seemingly from out of the blue. What??

The rest is a test of how often a reader is able to control eye rolls. I'm not sure how this book got into my tbr list, but I do know I will avoid this author in the future.… (more)

The whole bestie snogfest is making me gag. Are all millennials this needy? This unable to do anything by themselves? It's nuts. So smothering. Stand up for yourselves already, on your own two feet. Perhaps you need Adulting for Dummies.

And duh! K is BLATANTLY manipulative. E can't see this at all? Really? I thought the kids of this generation were masters of manipulation. I guess it's only when it's not happening to them.

Stuck with it to the end. No one got any smarter, really, but there were a couple of unexpected developments and I think it ended fairly well. I'm so done with this writer though. Ugh. I weep for the future.… (more)

Neighbour Danger
Review of the Amazon Original Stories eBook (March 19, 2024), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.

Lauren and Kelsey have found their dream home in the country and are expecting a child through in vitro fertilization. Their joy on moving-in-day is tempered with the discovery of their 'across the road' neighbour hanging around their front door. It is supposedly a 'welcome to the neighbourhood' visit, but the man is acting very suspiciously.

A later home visit to the man and his wife adds to the creep factor with the discovery of a telescope pointed right at their front windows. The friendly neighbourhood medium suggests that she is getting warnings from 'the other side.' Then they learn that the previous homeowner died an accidental death from carbon monoxide poisoning.

There is a nice "Chekhov's Gun" moment when a shovel is introduced into the plot. Watch for that (the shovel is also featured in the cover image). It all ends with a gut-punch finale and a noirish twist ending about which no more can be said 🤐.

The Other Side of the Road is the third of six Amazon Original Stories eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released on March 19, 2024 as part of the Never Tell Collection of short stories which are promoted with the collective description:

"How well do you know people? How well do they know you? Six award-winning, bestselling authors of suspense explore the lingering threat of secrets and the inescapable fear that they can’t stay buried forever. No matter how dark the hiding place, the consequences of revealing the truth can bring out the worst in lovers, friends, family, and strangers."

Soundtrack
You guessed it! Although not in keeping with the theme of this story, I immediately thought of the Mr. Rogers' theme song Won't You Be My Neighbour?.

Trivia and Links
Andrea Bartz is the author of several novels, the most popular of which is We Were Never Here (2021). Her most recent novel is The Spare Room (2023).

You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).… (more)