The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

I have always been a fan of Lisa Gardner and her thriller novels. She does such a fantastic job writing suspense, but not forgetting to add in the details of life which make the story that much more realistic, and in my opinion, sppoky. Ripped from the headlines, The Neighbor does not disappoint and I give it an A-.

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

This book first interested me because I have always been drawn to those stories where the so-called perfect wife and mother disappears, and of course, it almost always ends up being the husband. I followed the Laci Patterson case very closely, and can distinctly remember Laci's mom asking her husband, Scott, during the penalty phase, why did you have to kill her? Why couldn't you have just left her? It struck me so much right in the heart and I could just feel her pain and right then and there, only about three months married, and just couldn't understand it. I thought The Neighbor would be just like those cases, and of course Lisa Gardner being the suspense artist that she is, twists and turns everything around and you left scratching your head trying to figure everything out. All of the characters were sympathetic in their own ways, and before you know it, you are wondering what secrets your neighbors are hiding behind their cute house doors. I highly recommend The Neighbor. (NOTE: Some of Ms. Gardner's books are loosely connected. While there are a few mentions of characters of some other books in The Neighbor, it is not necessary to read them in order. I have not read all of her books, yet I wasn't lost on anything, nor would anything else be spoiled for me in future books.)

I am going to browse my books right now and decide what to read next. My bookshelves are calling my name, and while I have one library book left, I want to read one of mine that has been sitting there for awhile. I did want to get The Neighbor in pretty quickly though, because my mom is also a huge fan of Ms. Gardner and wants to read it before I have to return it to the library. I have no idea what kind of book I even want to read, so whatever draws me in will be what I read. I have had an awesome reading month so far and hope to keep it up. Happy Reading everyone!