A slowpaced yet thrilling psychological crime story, The Neighbour by Gemma Rogers is using the topic in a very intelligent way. It introduces the reader to the habits and secrets of the small community, through the eyes of Shelly, a young single mothers who moved there with her teenage daughter Lauren, for running away from the trauma of taking care of her late mother, touched by dementia.
The promise of peace is shattered as she is embarked on a dangerous search for the whereabouts of the former resident of the house, a local teacher who disappeared without a trace, apparently on her spontaneous journey to Egypt.
Although I am a big lover of crime stories overloaded with action and highly emotional twists, The Neighbour kept me involved by the fine construction of the story, which suggests that something serious is about to happen, but request our patience as readers to wait until all the details of the story are built up properly. Sometimes one may forget that there is something big and dramatic expecting to happen at a certain point, but the mystery and the dangers remain always in the air, threatening to take over completely the quiet life of the neighbourhood and its residents.
Personally, I think that for a writer, turning the mundane, the customary into a source of unexpected is an important challenge, and overcoming it is an unique achievement. The Neighbour may be cosy sometimes, there are some romantic expectations and some funny dialogues and interactions but the crime mood embraces everything, keeping the readers on a high alert.
If you are looking for a cosy mystery to keep you busy for few hours, this is the right choice. Also, after reading this book, the next time you move in a new neighbourhood, you may pay attention to many more details besides those automatically related to finding a convenient and pleasant place to live.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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