Publication Date September 12, 2023
I had not previously read anything by Kia Abdullah, but “legal thriller” is possibly my favorite genre, so I was happy to receive a copy of Perfectly Nice Neighbors from Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.
The publisher’s blurb didn’t tell me much, other than that it was a “twisty and consuming thriller” and Lisa Jewell said “ One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars.” The focal point as the novel opens is Salma Khatun, who has recently moved to Blenheim, a suburban development where she, her husband, and their son Zain have moved, hoping for a new start. It isn’t clear at first why they needed a new start, but this one unfolds in ways that are subtle and surprising.
The underlying story of suburban racism is introduced when Salma notices her neighbor, Tom, removing a Black Lives Matter banner from the Khatun’s yard. She retrieves it, this time in her window, but the next day finds her window has been painted over. WTF? This introduction to Tom as a white man who wants reminders of racial issues GONE from the neighborhood is really well done. Salma tries speaking to Tom, but that doesn’t go well, and as for Tom’s wife, Willa, she “had been raised with a stiff upper lip and a suspicion of the “other,.”” As Salma talks with her son Zain about the situation between the two families, she says “You don’t understand, sweetheart, women like Willa wield power and if they choose to, they can wound far deeper.” Then clarifies she is referring to women who are “Pretty. Educated…White.” Later, during the trial that takes up much of the story, Salma thinks about Willa as one of the “Beautiful… Skinny white women who wore their looks with false humility…”
As for the racism, Salma had “…seen it all her life: tears used as a weapon against people like her…Sometimes, they were subtle, like the time Salma accidentally toes a classmate’s mat in their weekend yoga class. The look of revulsion made her feel like an ogre: larger, darker, hairier…People like Salma made a thousand adjustments for the sake of others’ comfort.”
The second half of the book becomes this grabber of a legal thriller, with family drama, teenage angst, financial and political issues, and friendship between teenage boys thrown in.
The racial and social tensions escalate slowly but surely, and the drama and tension are handled extremely well. There is a sense of foreboding as things spiral out of control, and plenty of twists along the way. I plan to read more of Ms. Abdullah’s work, and recommend this to fans of suburban mysteries, legal thrillers, and well-written stories. Five stars.