Review: THE NEIGHBOUR, Lisa Gardner

• this edition published 2009
• printed in Australia by Griffin Press
• ISBN 978-1-4091-0103-1
• 369 pages

Synopsis (author website)

This is what happened …

It was a case guaranteed to spark a media feeding frenzy-a young mother, blond and pretty, disappears without a trace from her South Boston home, leaving behind her four-year-old daughter as the only witness and her handsome, secretive husband as the prime suspect.

In the last six hours …

But from the moment Detective Sergeant D. D. Warren arrives at the Joneses’ snug little bungalow, she senses something off about the picture of wholesome normality the couple worked so hard to create. On the surface, Jason and Sandra Jones are like any other hardworking young couple raising a four-year-old child. But it is just under the surface that things grew murkier.

Of the world as I knew it …

With the clock ticking on the life of a missing woman and the media firestorm building, Jason Jones seems more intent on destroying evidence and isolating his daughter than on searching for his “beloved” wife. Is the perfect husband trying to hide his guilt-or just trying to hide? And will the only witness to the crime be the killer’s next victim?

My Take

In the  "About the author" at the end of the book, Lisa Gardner is described as a research junkie. There are definite signs of that in this book, in fact, I think, a little too much of the research about computers, the internet, and deleting files has found its way into the book. Perhaps back in 2009 when it was all a bit new, this went down well with readers. But today it all feels a bit too much.

The other thing which the author tried to do I think was trick the reader too much and too often. There were just too many red herrings. I've read a couple of "missing wives" books this year: A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE, Shari Lapena and DON'T LET GO, Michel Bussi, and I think both created more credible scenarios than this one did.

Nevertheless, I did read it to the end, and there was a final twist.
I just think the plot wandered in places, and perhaps too many devices were used.

It also appears that the novel is 3rd in a series (9 novels?). Perhaps I would have fared better with an earlier introduction to D.S. D.D. Warren.

However it is a book that people took notice of when it was published:
Awarded Best Hard Cover Novel from the International Thriller Writers – July 2010
Top 10 of Best Books of 2009 – Suspense Magazine
Best Adrenaline Novel 2010 Reading List – American Library Association
Best Thriller of 2009 Nominee – Library Journal
Awarded Grand Prix des Lectrices de ELLE 2011 : prix du policier – “La maison d’à côté” – Elle Magazine


My rating: 3.9