A review by lauriereadslohf
Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 
Maple Street looks perfect from the outside. All clean and tidy and perfectly groomed. Well, except for the house purchased by the Wildes. Their lawn is a bit overgrown and everything is a little messier than is acceptable in suburbia.The Wildes themselves are a wee bit messy and imperfect but once this story gets going you realize they’re far from the only ones!

Naturally there’s a Queen Bee, there always is, and this one’s name is Rhea. She takes pity on the new family and befriends the mom, Gerdie. One night Rhea drinks too much and says a little too much and things get weird but even weirder is the sinkhole that opens almost immediately after causing nothing but chaos. Tempers flare, rumors spread and I was completely unable to do anything but continue to turn these pages. It’s infectious and wonderfully terrible and if you start it you probably won’t be able to stop going either. It’s that kind of book. The best kind, if you ask me.

I love books like these. Books with people who are absolutely hateful to each other, books with people who keep secrets, who make the worst decisions and treat each other like hot garbage and who may or may not be completely unhinged. Who am I to say? But what I enjoyed most about this book was the fact that I truly cared about the well being of <i>some</i>  of these characters - others are mostly irredeemable sheeple.  But some are simply messed up, damaged and imperfect and  you can’t help but hope they make it out alive.

If you enjoy these domestic thrillers this is a great one. There aren’t any monsters here besides the human kind but it is relentless and brutal and the author doesn’t pull any punches. Her depiction of small minded, easily swayed people is spot on. The kids here are also perfectly written and never annoying. Highly recommended.