The Child Next Door: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a brilliant twist
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Katie Villa
-
Written by:
-
Shalini Boland
About this listen
"Oh my. A captivating unputdownable evocative emotional twisted thriller. Oh that ending.... OMG that ending did NOT expect that. It blew me away...." (Read Along With Sue, 5 stars)
"Don’t take my baby."
Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her newborn, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor, saying: "Let’s take the child - and go."
Is someone trying to steal her little girl?
In the bedroom, her daughter is safe asleep in her cot. Is the voice coming from a nearby house? But there aren’t any other children living on her quiet country road....
The police don't believe her. And neither does her husband.
Kirstie knows something isn’t right. She thought she could trust her neighbours, now she isn’t sure. As she unravels the secrets of the people living on her street, Kirstie’s perfect life begins to fall apart.
Because someone is hiding a terrible lie. And they will do anything to stop Kirstie uncovering the truth. But is the danger closer to home than she thinks?
From the top 10 best-selling author of The Secret Mother, this completely gripping psychological thriller will make you wonder what really goes on behind closed doors. And will keep you guessing from the first minutes until the final shocking twist.
©2018 Shalini Boland (P)2018 BookoutureYou may also enjoy...
-
The Secret Mother
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Are you my mummy?" Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children. Not anymore. She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own. Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?
-
-
Great story but...
- By M. Khan on 2021-12-05
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
My Little Girl
- A Totally Gripping Psychological Thriller Full of Shocking Twists
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seven-year-old Beatrice has gone missing. Her mother Claire’s whole world has been turned upside down in just one moment, and she can’t stop shaking. She’s desperate to find her precious daughter, but nothing about the day she disappeared makes sense.
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Perfect Family
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gemma Ballantine is getting ready for work one morning when her eldest child comes running down the stairs saying the words every mother dreads. The front door is open. And her six-year-old daughter has disappeared. Frantic with fear, Gemma starts a nail-biting search for her little girl. After what feels like forever, her mother-in-law, Diane, finds Katie wandering lost a few streets away. Relieved to have her youngest child back in her arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, Gemma thinks the nightmare is over. But then her perfect family starts to fall apart....
-
-
WOW!
- By Chelsea on 2022-12-02
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Other Daughter
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-and-a-half-year-old Holly is playing happily in a pink, plastic playhouse, while her mother Rachel sips coffee and chats with a friend nearby. It should be an ordinary day for all of them. But, in the blink of an eye, it turns into every family’s worst nightmare. Holly is taken by a stranger and never found. Nine years later, Rachel is living a quiet life in Dorset. She’s tried to keep things together since the traumatic day when she lost her eldest daughter.
-
-
Another Good Shalani Boland!
- By Clare on 2021-02-14
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The School Reunion
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown, Alex Wyndham, Charlotte Cole, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The invitation to her school reunion couldn’t have come at a better time for Chloe Flynn. Divorced, broke and bored at work, she’s living a life her teenage self would hate. Turning the clock back fifteen years might be just what she needs to wipe the slate clean and start again. And then there’s the chance she’ll bump into Nathan Blake, the one she still regrets letting get away…
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening.
- By Andrea Casemore on 2024-08-06
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Silent Bride
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.
-
-
Underwhelming
- By Megan on 2023-09-17
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Secret Mother
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Are you my mummy?" Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children. Not anymore. She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own. Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?
-
-
Great story but...
- By M. Khan on 2021-12-05
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
My Little Girl
- A Totally Gripping Psychological Thriller Full of Shocking Twists
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seven-year-old Beatrice has gone missing. Her mother Claire’s whole world has been turned upside down in just one moment, and she can’t stop shaking. She’s desperate to find her precious daughter, but nothing about the day she disappeared makes sense.
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Perfect Family
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gemma Ballantine is getting ready for work one morning when her eldest child comes running down the stairs saying the words every mother dreads. The front door is open. And her six-year-old daughter has disappeared. Frantic with fear, Gemma starts a nail-biting search for her little girl. After what feels like forever, her mother-in-law, Diane, finds Katie wandering lost a few streets away. Relieved to have her youngest child back in her arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, Gemma thinks the nightmare is over. But then her perfect family starts to fall apart....
-
-
WOW!
- By Chelsea on 2022-12-02
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Other Daughter
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-and-a-half-year-old Holly is playing happily in a pink, plastic playhouse, while her mother Rachel sips coffee and chats with a friend nearby. It should be an ordinary day for all of them. But, in the blink of an eye, it turns into every family’s worst nightmare. Holly is taken by a stranger and never found. Nine years later, Rachel is living a quiet life in Dorset. She’s tried to keep things together since the traumatic day when she lost her eldest daughter.
-
-
Another Good Shalani Boland!
- By Clare on 2021-02-14
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The School Reunion
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown, Alex Wyndham, Charlotte Cole, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The invitation to her school reunion couldn’t have come at a better time for Chloe Flynn. Divorced, broke and bored at work, she’s living a life her teenage self would hate. Turning the clock back fifteen years might be just what she needs to wipe the slate clean and start again. And then there’s the chance she’ll bump into Nathan Blake, the one she still regrets letting get away…
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening.
- By Andrea Casemore on 2024-08-06
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Silent Bride
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.
-
-
Underwhelming
- By Megan on 2023-09-17
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Girl from the Sea
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mia James is washed up on a beautiful, sun-drenched beach, she has no idea who she is or what happened to her. She doesn’t even recognize her own face–until her boyfriend, Piers, comes forward, providing her with an identity. Piers is handsome and attentive, Mia’s home is huge and stylish, and her friends are eager to help her fill in the blanks. As Mia steps into the perfect life she was living before her accident, she should feel lucky to be alive. But she struggles to adjust, lost for words around people she is meant to know and love, grasping for clues about who she is.
-
-
Dragged on a wee bit
- By Andrea Casemore on 2024-08-10
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Silent Sister
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lizzy Beresford is at home alone when she finds a chilling letter in her kitchen. Someone has been into her home - someone who wishes Lizzy harm. In her little country cottage, with her doting boyfriend, not far from the close-knit village, Lizzy can’t imagine who might want to hurt her. But when the threatening letters keep coming, she starts to suspect everyone around her. Desperate, Lizzy reaches out to her sister, Emma. They haven’t spoken in years, not since the argument that tore them apart. But Emma says: ‘I’ve been receiving letters too....’
-
-
I hated this so much
- By Hope Green on 2019-05-16
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Daughter-in-Law
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment I meet my new mother-in-law in her beautiful country house, she makes it clear I’m not welcome. Lilian Fletcher hates me for marrying her precious boy on a golden beach far away from her. Starting our marriage living in the Fletchers’ family home is a nightmare. Then I discover Seb was married before and his first wife is dead. I wonder why the man I love didn’t tell me the truth. And I wonder what happened to her: the woman who came before me. How did she die?
-
-
A Great Story
- By AFH on 2023-06-14
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Best Friend
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house, she doesn’t realize life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane. Darcy is a woman who has everything—a dream house, a powerful husband, and enviable wealth. She’s the perfect wife. The perfect friend. The perfect liar.
-
-
Good Story
- By JJM on 2024-04-05
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Wife
- An Unputdownable Psychological Thriller with a Breathtaking Twist
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Zoe was sitting in her hotel room, in her perfect white dress, looking forward to the moment when she would make kind, handsome Toby her husband. Then, there was a blank. They said she must have fainted, overcome with emotion. But nothing felt quite right afterward. Did something happen in that missing time?
-
-
Love love love!
- By Susan on 2024-06-27
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Marriage Betrayal: A totally gripping and heart-stopping psychological thriller full of twists
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Faye Townsend has planned the perfect summer trip for her family. But returning to the small seaside town her husband grew up in does not go to plan - the rain pours, and the long days become stifling. And then the unthinkable happens.... Her husband, Jake, and her six-year-old son, Dylan, go for an early morning walk along the beautiful, windswept clifftops. They don’t come back.
-
-
unsure why there are low ratings - great read!
- By Gigi on 2023-05-22
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
A Perfect Stranger
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell, Tamsin Kennard, Ciaran Saward
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emily dreams of one day owning a house where her son, Josh, and the little one on the way can grow up, but when her husband, Aidan, insists on leaving his lucrative job as a luxury car salesman, she senses something more is afoot - even while she harbours a secret of her own. What is Aidan hiding, and will it jeopardize their young family’s future?
-
-
Good Story and great ending
- By AFH on 2023-08-04
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Millionaire's Wife
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Anna Blackwell opens an email from an unknown sender, the shocking image attached shatters her perfect world. A woman has been killed. And Anna knows who did it. The past is catching up with her. Is it her turn next? To protect herself and her husband, Will, she must tell him the terrible truth about her first love. But as the secrets of her life unravel, Anna begins to realize that she is not the only one who has been living a lie.
-
-
Wow…. Amazing
- By AFH on 2023-04-04
Written by: Shalini Boland
-
The Women: A gripping psychological thriller
- Written by: S. E. Lynes
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samantha Frayn doesn’t know why Peter Bridges picks her - a nobody with bitten fingernails and a troubled childhood behind her - but she falls quickly. He’s older, charming, likes fine wine and French films, and his beautiful home has real art on its walls. Peter transforms Samantha’s life in an instant. He sees the better version of herself - the one she’s always wanted to be. It’s only normal that there’s a little friction, when she moves in, over domestic matters like where things are kept, or the proper times to eat, sleep, and shower.
-
-
OMG SOOOOOO NOT!!!!!!!!! a "gripping thriller"
- By Yorker on 2019-07-11
Written by: S. E. Lynes
-
The Split
- Written by: S.E. Lynes
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last night, we celebrated our anniversary. Over candlelight, we talked about the children, our work, and I was so happy, and felt so loved. But the next morning, when I check my phone, there is a message. From a friend. And a string of photos appear of my husband, Will, with another woman: walking along the street holding hands. Going into fancy hotels. Standing at a window, his arms around her, her head on his shoulder…
Written by: S.E. Lynes
-
The Maid's Diary
- A Novel
- Written by: Loreth Anne White
- Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kit Darling is a maid with a snooping problem. She’s the “invisible girl,” compelled to poke into her wealthy clients’ closely guarded lives. It’s a harmless hobby until Kit sees something she can’t unsee in the home of her brand-new clients: a secret so dark it could destroy the privileged couple expecting their first child. This makes Kit dangerous to the couple. In turn, it makes the couple—who might kill to keep their secret—dangerous to Kit.
-
-
Skip the audio
- By Chanel + The Huskies on 2024-01-24
Written by: Loreth Anne White
-
The Couple Upstairs
- An Addictive Psychological Thriller with a Gripping Twist
- Written by: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our new home was supposed to be a chance to leave our past behind. But was moving here the worst mistake of our lives? All our friends and family were gathered, glasses raised to toast our fresh start. It should have been a night for happiness and celebration. Zac and I had worked so hard for this: our first home together, just minutes from the sea. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
-
-
Wouldn’t recommend, boring read.
- By June on 2021-11-15
Written by: Shalini Boland
What the critics say
"Hooked from the very first page...I finished The Child Next Door in less than a day!.... I was left staring open-mouthed at the last page because I just couldn't believe what I just read...left me both speechless and wanting for more." (It's All About Books)
What listeners say about The Child Next Door: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a brilliant twist
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Scarah
- 2018-06-01
it was good.
I found some of the parts dragged when she kept accusing her neighbor of whatever she thought was going on. I found it a little annoying but the ending made up for it so I can forgive the overkill on focusing on that one person.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 2019-02-02
slow
i love this author. i read the perfect family and the secret mother and really enjoyed them. not this book as much. nothing teallt happended until three quartera in and it certainly wasnt hard to put down. it had a decent ish ending but i feel there was jist no exciting build up at all!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ashley Newbury
- 2021-11-08
So anticlimactic
Narrator was good as always but the story was just so bland. Definitely not an unputtdownable thriller.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!