The Family Next Door

Published in 2018, The Family Next Door is a domestic thriller by best-selling Australian author Sally Hepworth. Set in the Melbourne suburb of Pleasant Court, the novel explores the lives of several women whose curated facades begin to crumble with the arrival of a mysterious new neighbor, Isabelle Heatherington. When the enigmatic Isabelle moves in next door to mother of two Essie Walker, Isabelle takes a keen interest in Essie’s life, and a chain of events threatens to expose the dark secrets hidden within Essie’s family and the neighborhood. The Family Next Door delves into themes such as The Cost of Maintaining Idealized Motherhood, The Corrosive Power of Secrets in Suburban Life, and Defining Family and Identity Beyond Biology. Hepworth is the author of several other popular domestic thrillers, including The Mother-in-Law and the award-winning The Good Sister.

This guide refers to the 2019 St. Martin’s Griffin e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and guide feature depictions of self-harm, child abuse, mental illness, child death, pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation, substance use, sexual content, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

Three years before the main events of the novel, new mother Essie Walker, experiencing postpartum depression, leaves her crying newborn daughter, Mia, in a park. When she returns home, her mother, Barbara, realizes the baby is missing. They rush back to the park to find a group of concerned women with Mia. The women refuse to hand the baby over, and as Essie screams for her daughter, the police arrive. This incident results in Essie’s admission to a psychiatric hospital.

In the present day, Essie lives on Pleasant Court, a cul-de-sac in Sandringham, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, Ben, a fitness studio owner, their three-year-old daughter Mia, and their six-month-old daughter Polly. Essie’s mother, Barbara, lives next door. Their quiet street is stirred by the arrival of a new neighbor, Isabelle Heatherington, a single, artistic woman. The local real estate agent and neighborhood gossip, Ange, is immediately suspicious of Isabelle for not fitting the suburban mold of a married mother. Ange organizes a get-together with Essie and another neighbor, Fran, a lawyer on maternity leave, to discuss the newcomer. During their chat, Fran mentions a recent local baby abduction, which makes Essie deeply uncomfortable, and Ange proposes starting a neighborhood watch.

The narrative shifts between the perspectives of several women: Essie, Fran, Ange, Barbara, and Isabelle. Fran, who is married to an intellectual named Nigel and has two daughters, Rosie and Ava, is consumed by a secret guilt that she copes with through punishing daily runs. Ange, married to a handsome photographer, Lucas, and mother to two sons, Will and Ollie, considers herself the social architect of the street and is determined to uncover Isabelle’s secrets. 

Tensions rise when Ange witnesses a suspiciously familiar interaction between Lucas and a former client, Erin, at the hospital, sparking fears of infidelity. Meanwhile, Barbara grows concerned about Essie’s fragile mental state and her obsession with Polly’s poor sleeping habits. She and Ben agree to monitor Essie closely.

Essie’s friendship with Isabelle deepens after Essie skips the first neighborhood watch meeting to have a spontaneous dinner Isabelle. Isabelle claims that she works for the Abigail Ferris Foundation, a nonprofit that recovers missing children, and is in Sandringham investigating a specific case. Essie finds herself developing an intense and confusing emotional attachment to Isabelle. 

As Essie and Isabelle’s bond grows, the other women’s lives begin to unravel. It is revealed that Fran had an affair with a work colleague while Nigel was experiencing depression, and she is now tormented by the possibility that her newborn, Ava, is not Nigel’s child. Ange recalls a past affair Lucas had, which she discovered years ago. To prevent him from leaving her then, she lied about being pregnant, only to conceive their second son, Ollie, shortly after they reconciled. 

Her old suspicions now renewed, Ange discovers Lucas has a secret second mobile phone. Overwhelmed by guilt, Fran confesses her affair to Essie and Ange. Ange, whose own marriage is secretly troubled, reacts with uncharacteristic and violent anger, storming out of Essie’s house.

Ange’s investigation into her husband continues. She stakes out Lucas’s studio and sees Erin arrive with her young daughter, Charlie. Observing Lucas’s paternal affection toward the child from a distance, Ange realizes with horror that Charlie is Lucas’s child. Fran, who has gone for a run, also witnesses the scene from afar and finally understands Ange’s furious reaction to her own confession of infidelity. 

At the same time, Isabelle secretly takes a sample of Mia’s hair and sends it to a lab for DNA testing. Fran, unable to bear her secret any longer, tells Nigel the truth about her affair and the uncertainty of Ava’s paternity.

Essie’s mental state deteriorates. Overwhelmed and exhausted, she allows Isabelle to watch her children while she takes a nap. Ben returns home to find Essie asleep and the children and Isabelle gone. He panics, but they return shortly from playing in the backyard. The incident causes a major fight, in which Ben confronts Essie about her intense friendship with Isabelle and brings up her past trauma. 

The next day, Essie goes to a salon and gets her hair cut and colored in a style identical to Isabelle’s. Barbara is horrified by the change and confronts her, leading to a heated argument. That evening, Essie spies on Isabelle through her window and sees her having sex with her boyfriend Jules, who has just arrived from Sydney. Ben discovers Essie peering into the window, and the combination of jealousy, confusion, and shame triggers a psychological crisis in her. Essie is admitted to the Summit Oaks psychiatric unit.

Isabelle visits Essie at the hospital and reveals the truth: She believes Essie is her biological sister, Sophie Heatherington, who was abducted from a Sydney hospital 32 years ago. She presents DNA results that establish a kinship link between herself and Mia, proving Mia is her niece. She explains the phenomenon of Genetic Sexual Attraction (an attraction between close relatives who meet as adults) to account for the intense, confusing feelings Essie has been experiencing. 

Essie refuses to believe that her mother, Barbara, is a kidnapper. Later, Isabelle confronts Barbara directly with the accusation. Barbara reacts with shock and confusion. It is revealed through Barbara’s memories that 32 years ago, her own baby was stillborn. In a state of postpartum psychosis, she took a baby (Sophie/Essie) from a bassinet in the hospital hallway, believing the child was hers. The confrontation with Isabelle triggers this repressed trauma, and in a dissociated state, Barbara puts Mia in her car and drives away.

In a disoriented state, Barbara drives toward Sydney, repeatedly confusing Mia with a young Essie. Turned back by bushfires plaguing the area, her erratic behavior at a gas station is filmed by a bystander and sent to the police. She returns to Melbourne, where her confusion intensifies. Mia, frightened, runs from the car into traffic. Barbara snaps back to reality and saves Mia from an oncoming car but is struck by a tram and critically injured.

While Barbara and Mia are missing, the other families find resolution. Ava is hospitalized with heatstroke, and Nigel rushes to be by her side. At the hospital, he discovers from her medical chart that Ava’s blood type is O negative, a rare type that he and Fran share, which he accepts as confirmation of his paternity. He reaffirms his commitment to their family. Ange tells Lucas their marriage is over, unable to accept his repeated infidelity, and she rediscovers her own independence by beginning to paint again.

Barbara recovers from her injuries and is diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and postpartum psychosis; the court finds her not guilty of kidnapping, due to her mental state. Essie is discharged from the hospital and meets her biological father, Graham, and brother, Freddy. 

Six months later, life in Pleasant Court has found a new normal. The women, Essie, Fran, Ange, and Isabelle, have formed a close, supportive friendship. Isabelle and Jules are living in Melbourne and expecting a child. Essie’s relationship with Barbara is strained but continues. In the final scene, Essie makes an unannounced visit to Barbara’s new home with Mia and Polly, signaling the beginning of forgiveness and the slow rebuilding of their unique family bond.