The Neighbor

A Detective D. D. Warren Novel

By: Lisa Gardner

Narrated by: Emily Janice Card, Kirby Heyborne, Kirsten Potter

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

From a master of suspense comes a chilling novel that explores the dangers lurking closer than you think. Because even in the perfect family, you never know what is going on behind closed doors….

This is what happened… 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. In the last six hours…

But from the moment Detective Sergeant D. D. Warren arrives at the Joneses’ snug little bungalow, she senses something off about the picture of wholesome normality the couple worked so hard to create. On the surface, Jason and Sandra Jones are like any other hardworking young couple raising a four-year-old child. But it is just under the surface that things grew murky. Of the world as I knew it….

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?

©2009 Lisa Gardner (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Gripping....Full of inventive twists, this highly entertaining novel delivers a shocking solution as well as a perfectly realized sense of justice.”—Publishers Weekly

“Gardner's compelling narrative keeps her readers guessing.”—Library Journal

What happened to Sandy

It was a mystery right to the end because you know that she used to wander off, but did she wander off this time 

Good story. Sad that these really do happen in real life.

Better than I thought it would be. I thought I wouldn’t like Sandra but now I understand.

Excellent characters

I really liked the hard working Sergeant with her streetwise attitude. The story kept me coming back for more. I really enjoyed this book and the narration that brought it to life.

Great Listening!

I could not stop listening to this book. It was my first Lisa Gardner novel and now I am great fan. I am downloading my next Gardner book right now! It had great twists and turns.

Plot Succeeds Despite Irritation

First off, the multiple-voice narration is great and adds to enjoyment of listening. The plot line kept me interested, but Detective Warren became quite irritating, leaping to unwarranted conclusions on the flimsiest, or even absence, of any real evidence. I found her becoming "whiney", bemoaning at one point that she "just wants to arrest someone". In contrast, Gardner does a good job laying out some issues related to sex offenders, and our tendency to overlook the varying severity and nature of the wide range of offenses that can cause someone to be labeled as a sex offender. The plot was compelling enough to flirt with 5 stars, but ultimately the irritating Detective knocked this down to 4 stars for me.

very good

I enjoyed this audiobook very much. Engrossing and entertaining. And without giving too much away, I could not at all forecast how it would end, or how the characters might unfold. I usually prefer one narrator with enough versatility to capture each character's voice and personality, but this book seemed to require different actors. Card's narration, as the young wife, initially seemed inexperienced or young but soon turned out to be my favorite, tenderly capturing her character beautifully.

Great book!

This was one of the best books I've listened to yet. I loved the narration and the story line constantly kept me guessing. I have already recommended this book to my friends!!

I stayed up all night

I stayed up all night just to finish this. It was so tantalizing and intriguing. One word of warning; to demo why the detective is so hard boiled - there are heart wrenching references to horrible child abuse.

The Neighbor

The performance was great by the narrators! The story was also great! Lisa can lend a very gripping edge to her stories and have you wanting to keep going. I also do like her endings as she is very good at wrapping up details in her stories.

Great

Really liked the story, the suspense was done very well. Liked the narrator in this one as well. So glad I found this series of books.