Chapter 33: A Book By an Author You've Never Read Before

The Good Neighbor, A. J. Banner

This story has so much potential. The writing is well-paced to build tension and suspicion. But it all kind of falls apart in the end. Like, really falls apart.

It's been compared to Gone Girl, a book I have serious issues with. So, maybe I should have skipped it. But I wanted a thriller so I downloaded.

Sarah lives in a quiet neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest. Everything seems pretty normal until the next-door-neighbor's house burns to the ground and Sarah rescues the four year old daughter, but fails to save the parents.

Then the secrets start to be revealed. That's sort of the formula for this type of novel. Some are laid out for the reader to ponder, others are just hints and glimpses of potential terror. But the terror comes too little, too late. It's out of nowhere. The breadcrumbs leading to the villain must have been eaten by mice because the Big Reveal comes out of nowhere.

So, not only does the antagonist just snap and put people in danger, but the other storylines are not resolved. Ok, I get it. You plan to write more about these people, to develop them more. Then do that. I don't enjoy reading a series that does not allow the individual pieces to stand alone. Especially when there are no other installments! Make me fall in love with the characters and then let new conflicts arise. Don't leave me hanging with a runaway, a possibly cheating spouse, and whatever other nonsense you didn't bother wrapping up in the first.

It was entertaining until the last quarter of the book. But instead of being like an awesome illusion where you are left wondering how the magician pulled it off, you're just scratching you head wondering why he even bothered. I feel like I've been trapped in an Arrested Development gag. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nvxv2R01po

I won't read this one again. I won't recommend it to anyone I like. It wasn't a total waste of time, in part because I keep thinking of what I would do to make the ending more satisfying. Neighbor gets two Marias.