I like the idea of giving them equal weight, a good device for seeing their learning within the story, the way revelations hit them. Like when Christian discovers Tara’s got a second phone, its huge, I liked that. The thing that I’m working on now is told from one perspective and there’s a certain appeal to that, a clean uncluttered line but there’s also something to be said for multiple perspectives, as long as you give them equal weight, as long as they’ve got equal validity, as long as you’re sympathetic to both characters, as long as they are credible as two distinct voices. I want people to have a stake in them whatever they’re capable of, good people do bad things. I cant quite explain the brutality yet tenderness of this book at different times but can say it will stay with you and its one of my top reads of the year.

And a man who commits adultery with a man’s wife—who commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor—the adulterer and the adulteress are surely put to death. Tony Parsons excels at presenting his narratives in the clearest possible prose while revealing the toughest of human emotions ... fast-moving and involving' LITERARY REVIEW

The Sydney Morning Herald

Will it last?’: Terese and Toadfish at their wedding, the major twist of the first episode of Neighbours’ reboot. Photograph: Ray Messner Oops, Guy Pearce bought a house on Ramsay Street and now he has to live there Gripping. Compelling. Plausible. And full of twists that I could never have predicted. Just read this.

First the good things; it was well written and had a decent pace with twists and turns and the first half was good. Unfortunately I didn't feel that the second half lived up to the first. I can't for the life of me figure out why Tara put her family at risk for James Caine. He had sleaze written all over him. Also some of the characters were obviously only there for plot points - the main example being Skyla, I had an idea why her character was included and was annoyed to find out I was right. I originally felt sorry for Tara's husband, Christian, but then he gradually began to annoy me more and more, and the plot became more and more preposterous. When I finished the book, it left me with a profound sense of irritation as most of the characters were just awful people. It was not what I expected. Such a compelling read - and a brilliant depiction of both marriage and infidelity. There's unputdownable and there's walking-into-lamp-posts with the latest Tony Parsons in your hand.' CELIA WALDEN

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I have a feeling now though that he's not going to drop it and that he's got me lined up to be a friend for his lonely wife. This is probably really mean of me, but I just don't want to. I'm working full time and I have a generally busy life, but also I just don't want the pressure of being the person who has to resolve this stranger's loneliness. I've only met her that once when he brought her out to meet me, but I have bumped into him loads of times as he's gone out to work, gardening or he's going for a run. I only ever see her sat at her living room window staring out. It feels like I've been earmarked to resolve the issue of her never going out. If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. The man who commits adultery with another’s wife, even his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall most certainly be put to death. I haven’t read such a good thriller in some time, and one with a genuinely satisfying ending! Thrillers often leave me wanting, but not this bad boy, oh no! Yes, I think there’s always the pull between home and freedom. Everybody feels safety and temptation, it’s like the great human dilemma. You don’t have to stray very far from the path to fall off the cliff. It could spiral out of control and that’s really what this is about, about a situation completely running out of control and spiralling away. There’s Tara’s initial fear of making a speech and it all comes from that, the worry of humiliating herself in public.

Emotionally powerful, beautifully written and observed, this is one to savour.' CARA HUNTER, author of Close to Home and All the Rage

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Because in one night of madness, on a work trip far from home, she puts all this at risk. And suddenly her dream life becomes a living nightmare when the married man she spent one night with tells her he wants a serious relationship with her. And that he won't leave her or her precious family alone until she agrees.

Nolletti Jr., Arthur. The Cinema of Gosho Heinosuke: Laughter Through Tears. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005, p. 3 If your neighbour fails to take the hint, or is even more blatant, you have to decide how you are going to respond. Perhaps, once she has been warned, you might find it easier to ignore her. You could decide to glance at whatever catches your eye, whether it be a passing cat, a naked woman, or the postie. You could even play her at her own game, catch her eye, and wave. We spend our youth looking for love and sex and then we spend our married lives trying to avoid it.' I went on reading because I was eager to find out how Tara would deal with James to protect her family and career and also to what extent James would go to destroy it all. It was definitely tension filled. If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.Exodus 34:28 reads: ‘And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.’ If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death. The following afternoon, the neighboring jazz band starts rehearsing, prompting the playwright to march next door to request silence. Standing in the foyer, he discovers his neighbor’s wife is, in fact, the same woman he intruded on at the bathhouse the other day. (What’s more, she’s the jazz band’s singer.) Shibano’s attempts to quiet down the rehearsals come up short, and he ends up being treated to a session of uplifting songs; which, to his delight, provide him with the inspiration he needs to finish his play. Your Neighbour’s Wife asks the question if Tara’s regret is real or is she just regretful of getting caught. If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.