The Family at No 23 by Kathryn Sharman (Hodder & Stoughton)

Kathryn Sharman’s The Family at No 23 looks at life behind the tidy facades of suburbia and doesn’t bother dressing it up. The story centers on Iris, a mother who moves her family to Riddleston Road—one of those streets where the houses look like they were made for magazine spreads, but everyone inside has something to hide. Sharman uses this setting to question assumptions about domestic bliss and exposes the pressures and ambitions that drive people to protect their secrets, sometimes at a cost to themselves and others. 

Iris offers a fresh angle as a protagonist. She arrives at number twenty-three with the same hope many parents have—security, a good life, and opportunities for her child. But there’s a real sense that Iris is running from more than just her past address; her secret is the kind that could tear her world apart if revealed. Unlike characters written to win sympathy or admiration, Iris stands out for being complicated. She is driven, willing to compromise ethics for her son, and chooses survival over likability. This messiness and the decisions she makes under pressure give readers a strong sense of tension about what she might do next.

Sharman doesn’t shy away from showing how suffocating life behind “perfect” front doors can be. Riddleston Road is painted as appealing but unsettling. The place feels both welcoming and sinister—the sort of suburb where everything looks in place but nothing really is. Suspicion and unease slip into daily interactions, especially when side characters like Laura arrive on the scene. Sharman’s secondary characters, though at times not fully developed, fuel the claustrophobic sense that no one is to be trusted. 

Ambition and fear are the main drivers in The Family at No. 23. The longing for the “Pinterest-perfect” life, and the lengths people go to maintain it, are sharply drawn. Sharman exposes what happens when the pressure to look stable and happy turns into deception and isolation. 

The writing style is straightforward, rarely flowery but often gripping. Using Iris’s perspective, Sharman keeps readers close to the anxiety and suspicion that ripple through the story. The twisty plot builds gradually, making readers question what anyone is really hiding. By the end, the urge to look closer at our own supposedly “stable” environments is hard to ignore.

Kathryn Sharman’s novel draws a sharp line between appearances and reality. Through Iris and the world of Riddleston Road, the book shows how quickly the wish for normalcy can spiral into secrecy and drama. While some supporting characters could use more detail, the strength of the narrative comes from its honest look at imperfection, both in individuals and communities. 

Readers drawn to stories about families and neighborhoods with secrets will find plenty to relate to here, and may finish the book reconsidering the true cost of fitting in.

4/5