The Neighbor

by: Lisa Gardner

Published by: Bantam Dell

Reviewed by Rachael Dimond

When a twenty-three-year-old mother vanishes in the middle of the night, leaving her four-year-old daughter home alone, the media goes crazy with theories on what could have happened to her. Sandra Jones was young and beautiful, and because this story has happened so many times before, immediately everyone suspects the husband. Sandra’s husband, Jason Jones, is handsome in the Dr. McDreamy way and is a bit older then her. He works nights; she works days, so they hardly ever see each other. Could Jason have had enough of his loveless marriage and put an end to it by murdering his wife?

Jason doesn’t help the cops search for his wife and seems to be playing the part of a ”˜’the grieving husband’’ part in a play. Their daughter witnessed what really happened but Jason doesn’t want her talking to anyone. When the cops dig deeper into the Jones’ lives, they discover there’s more to them then your typical family of three living in South Boston. They have dark secrets and the last thing they want is for it to be played out in the media.

Will Sandra Jones be found alive or will she turn into another statistic, killed by her handsome husband who thought a divorce would be too much trouble to deal with?
The Neighbor is an extremely tightly plotted mystery with plenty of suspense and red herrings. My only complaint is that the overall reasoning and conclusion to the mystery didn’t live up to my extremely high expectations. As an avid mystery reader, I just wanted to be surprised or shocked but the ending was rather predictable for me.

The story alternates in narration, giving the reader a peek into the suspects’ mind and motives. The wife tells her story in a foreshadowing that slowly puts the pieces of the puzzle together. This book is loosely connected to Say Goodbye, which I recommend reading first so you are aware of certain plot points.

Overall, The Neighbor is an exceptional book that kept me up until 4 am, saying just one more page… .

Armchair Interviews says: A super 5-star mystery from Lisa Gardner.

Author’s Web site: http://www.LisaGardner.com