The Family Next Door

We all watched and enjoyed the ABC adaptation of Sally Hepworth's novel The Family Next Door, and younger daughter bought the book as her next tram read. It was interesting to compare the two versions of the story; perhaps it's format bias, but I think the drama worked slightly better in the TV series. A whole new subplot (and family) was added; two subplots were merged; and the emphasis of the narrative was heavily weighted toward the missing child thread, while in the book, the secret difficulties of each family were given roughly equal weight. On TV, the setting was altered to become a seaside town rather than a city suburb, although confusingly, the beach scenes were actually filmed in the suburbs where they were originally set in the novel (Sandringham, Black Rock -- I only know this because my husband grew up there).

In all senses, The Family Next Door would make a perfect beach read -- absorbing without being too demanding, eminently readable -- and it made a perfect basis for a TV adaptation. Success all round.