Book Review: The Neighbors

By Jessica Asbell

New neighbors! Those words can either bring happiness or despair, depending on who moves in. So, imagine Abbys surprise when she goes next door to meet the new neighbors and finds herself face to face with the love of her life when they are both married to someone else.

After pushing Liam away following the death of her brother in an accident that was her fault, Abby slowly finds happiness again with Nate. They move away, build a life, and have a daughter, Sarah. But their picture-perfect marriage is put to the test when Liam, Nancy, and their son, Zac, move in. As Liam and Abby hide their past from their spouses and fight their feelings for each other, lies are told, spouses grow suspicious, and a rash act means the end of life as they know it.

In The Neighbors, author Hannah Mary McKinnon explores what happens when an ex-boyfriend moves next door. Abby is broken after the death of her brother. A tragic character, Abby never forgives herself and believes that she is not worthy of happiness. So, she builds a life, away from the one she loves the most, in hopes that by denying herself true love and happiness, she can pay penance for her brothers death. Told from the eyes of Abby, Nate (the husband who worships her), Sarah (their daughter), and Nancy, the not-so-nave wife of Liam, we see firsthand how lies can invade someones death and infect everything they touch and how there might be more going on in the neighborhood than meets the eye.

At times heartbreaking, and at other times witty, The Neighbors is a complex view of how well we know our neighbors, our families, our spouses, and ourselves. When nothing is as it seems, how can we know what the truth is? And when your world falls apart, where do you turn? If you are looking for drama and a dose of domestic suspense, pick up a copy of The Neighbors.