Lisa Gardner

In the wake of a wife and mother's disappearance from her suburban home, an ensuing police investigation focuses on the missing woman's husband, whose suspicious behavior reveals cracks in their seemingly idyllic family life. By the author of Say Goodbye. Reprint. A best-selling novel.

A Detective D. D. Warren Novel

The Neighbor

The neighbor

** spoiler alert **
           This review might not be very detailed or good, given that I read this book at 2am when I couldn’t sleep. An additional note: I read the first two books in this series last week. 

This book has a simple premise: a woman disappears in the middle of the night, leaving behind her four year old daughter and a handful of suspects. Add in a secretive and collected husband, a registered sex offender, and so on, you have yourself a good old mystery.

I admit that I’m slightly disappointed with this book. It was an intricate story, yet it wasn’t ultimately very compelling. There were a handful of puzzle pieces that confused me a bit. 

Character-wise, I did like Sandra, Ree (the daughter) and Jason. I didn’t really like DD Warren here much, unfortunately. Somehow one of my favorite characters ended up being a sex offender, Aidan. Now, I’m not condoning what he did, but he was written in such a sympathetic way that I couldn’t help but feel for him. Ree was such a pleasurable character to read and she sounds absolutely adorable.

Now onto the story. I was never completely gripped by the story, unlike the previous two books. It just lacked that urgency, and the stakes didn’t seem particularly high. I know that a grown woman disappearing for a few days is probably terrible news, but most characters just seem to be concerned about their own hide. There were some pieces that weren’t explained well, and I don’t like how the ending was a giant “tell”. Show don’t tell, people. I don’t think the ending wrapped up well... When was it established that Max abused Sandy sexually? Was the mother also abusive? Why was Jason so protective of his past? What the hell does Max want? Why did Aidan have to die, and why weren’t there more clues that Wayne was this kind of person? This book left me with questions, not the way they occupy your mind and make you breathless with excitement, but just plain old confusion. 

Also, I want to compare this with Gone Girl, except Sandy’s story doesn’t seem very credible... why would she leave and incriminate her husband? If I were Sandy I would’ve just changed the locks or something. I’m a bit disappointed but overall this isn’t a bad read! There were definitely things I liked, and it did keep me curious. I like how at the end they try again and they actually become husband and wife! I think I’d rate it 7/10 or maybe 6.5/10. Four stars coz I want to give this the benefit of the doubt.

Amanda Furlan

When a young wife and mother disappears from her suburban home, it's not long before the cops have their first suspect: the missing woman's husband, whose behavior is distinctly suspicious.

The Neighbor A Detective D. D. Warren Novel

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