Good Neighbors

” A good neighbor is a priceless treasure.” – Chinese Proverb

Maple Street, it looks like a lovely place to live. A place to start over. A place to give your children a safe place to play and make friends. A place with a good community. A place to call home.

Just beware…Maple Street is not Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. No, it is Rhea Schroeder’s Neighborhood. She is the queen B. You will not have to wonder for long what the “B” stands for.

Arlo and Gertie Wilde move to Maple street with their two children, Julia and Larry. Arlo is an ex-rock musician and Gertie is an ex-beauty pageant queen. They are not exactly Maple Street material. He has tattoos, she has cleavage. Some would call this sexy; some may say it is trashy, some might have a stick up their nether regions. Either way, they stand out on Maple Street. Julia becomes fast friends with their neighbor Shelly while Larry is called “Robot Boy” by the kids on the block. Gertie feels accepted when Rhea is nice to her. Perhaps, they will be the best of friends. Perhaps…

Soon things take a turn as things often do – unfortunately, they do not take a turn for the better. Tensions rise and are made worse when a sink hole opens nearby. First a dog falls in and then, Shelly, Rhea’s daughter falls in as well. Unfortunately, things only go from bad to worse.

Wowza! Did you see THAT. coming? The book is good from the very beginning and only gets better as the plot unfolds. Much, much better! I could almost hear the conductor calling “All Aboard” as I rode this crazy train of a book to the very end. Talk about addictive, shocking and riveting!!! Seriously, if this book is not on your radar it needs to be!

Human nature is a funny thing. This book deals with many issues. I would name them all, but I fell I would be giving away parts of the book. But one thing I will say that it shows how a group of people can be swayed by their peers, how group mentality is emotional and not rational.

Another plus, this is not like other books I have read before. Be prepared to leave the world behind as you fall into this page turner. The plot is original, unsettling, shocking, touches on good vs. evil, and mob mentality.

I loved the tension in this book. It was like witnessing an accident about to happen but not being able to stop it. I kept wondering “can things get any worse?” Unfortunately, they can, and they do! As I mentioned, this book is full of tension, suspense, and oozing with darkness as the murk and bitumen (btw, am I the only one who had to look that word up?) oozed from the sinkhole. Plus, eew who wants to put that on your face? Gag!

Plus, there is a character named Peter Benchley. I immediately wondered if this was a nod to Jaws author Peter Benchley, or if it was a coincidence? Either way, I enjoyed his character.

Brilliant, thought provoking, intense, riveting and oozing with tension. Good Neighbors will suck you in (be careful of the bitumen), spit you out, and utterly dazzle you with its originality, darkness, and feeling of dread.

This book is set in the future but also felt that it could be set in present day until the very end. I wished I had more explanation on was the sinkhole itself, its origin, etc. but I easily overlooked my own questions as the events in this book progressed and people began to escalate.

In case I have not been clear in my review, I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling book!

Highly recommend.

Do not miss this one! I look forward to more books by Sarah Langan!

I received a copy of this book from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.