Good Neighbors

By: Sarah Langan

Narrated by: Nicole Lewis

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

Named by Goodreads as One of the Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021

“A modern-day Crucible…. Beneath the surface of a suburban utopia, madness lurks.” (Liv Constantine, best-selling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish)

“Good Neighbors is a wickedly funny, unnerving puzzle box of a novel. Sarah Langan has a delightfully twisted sensibility.” (Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will)

Celeste Ng’s enthralling dissection of suburbia meets Shirley Jackson’s creeping dread in this propulsive literary noir, when a sudden tragedy exposes the depths of deception and damage in a Long Island suburb - pitting neighbor against neighbor and putting one family in terrible danger.

Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world. 

But menace skulks beneath the surface of this exclusive enclave, making its residents prone to outrage. When the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbors’ worst fears. Dad Arlo’s a gruff has-been rock star with track marks. Mom Gertie’s got a thick Brooklyn accent, with high heels and tube tops to match. Their weird kids cuss like sailors. They don’t fit with the way Maple Street sees itself.

Though Maple Street’s Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder - a lonely college professor repressing a dark past - welcomed Gertie and her family at first, relations went south during one spritzer-fueled summer evening, when the new best friends shared too much, too soon. By the time the story opens, the Wildes are outcasts.

As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. Suddenly, it is one mom’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.

A riveting and ruthless portrayal of American suburbia, Good Neighbors excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.

©2021 Sarah Langan. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

entertaining

I thought the story was well written and entertaining. The narrator did a great job by using different inflections and accents for different characters.

LOVED IT!!!

I agree with another review, this needs to be made into a movie or mini series!

Depressing

As a listener I am wondering if this book would have been better read than on audible. There are interviews and new clippings that went quickly with dates. I would have reread them if i had been reading this book. The events happen in the future and we go back in time to find out what happens. I didn’t like how it told me what was going to happen but we don’t know who or exactly how it was going to happen. Unrealistic tragedies that were very painful to listen too. Not my kind of story while others may love it. At times I wanted to quit and return it but it held me enough because I did want to find out who got murdered. Now that I know....meh I could have stopped. Julia and her friends are what kept me going not the adults in the story.
I also wanted more from the characters not the news. The narrator is a reporter and I didn’t realize that until the end. Tiny things like that were a disconnect for me. Some of the news seemed incorrect as well. I loved the ending and the recap of where they are now.
This is a toss up for me-I actually returned it. It is for book club and I am very interested to hear what others think when we meet.
As I write this I realize more I did not enjoy the book. It is disturbing for me. Over the top exaggeration of what a neighborhood is like in a negative way.

Yep... I LOVED this one 👏 ⭐️🤩😍

VERY WELL DONE ... thank you for tackling current issues without going after low hanging 🍎🍉🍌 of the current social and political climate. A combination of elitism, privilege, emotional and mental illness were still very clearly the theme, but in a unique, compassionate and thought provoking way. Honesty, the reason I listen to at least 3 audiobooks a week is so that every now and then I can find a little 💎 like this one.

No real spoilers, but here is a little more...
In terms of likable characters, I’m not sure there has ever been one who fits the bill more than Julia.... what an absolutely beautiful & mature pre-teen. As for unlikeable characters, I’m not sure there has ever been one more-so or more nasty than Reah. As a mom, I think about the mistakes I make, but I sincerely hope my children never describe me on the same spectrum as 90% of the judgmental or willingly blind parents showcased in this neighborhood disaster scenario. You can certainly see how the social snowball rolls and builds, and I think we can learn important life lessons, even from fiction.

Narration was stellar, and I wasn’t sold on it right off the bat, so give her a hot minute to win you over.

To those who have said this should be a Netflix series, YES PLEASE!!! I can soooo visualize this!!!

Unbelievably Great!!!

This has got to be a movie or mini series! The characters were just fabulous and it was such a refreshing change to the norm. Highly recommend, not going into detail because I want zero spoilers!

Great To Have Sarah Back

This novel is definitely a slow burn. There where times at the beginning I thought I might pull the plug. I'm glad I didn't. Set in an environmental dystopia, this story centers around mental illness and the gullible nature of the common American community. Stick with this and you'll be glad you did.

Five Stars *****

Really Enjoyed..BUT..

I did really enjoy this story and I thought the narrator did an good job. My only complaint would be for me there was just too much talking and jumping back and forth between the characters lives.I just felt she could have conveyed all the information in a more condensed version. Some of the conversations between the children just seem to go on and on
making me push the fast forward button. I think what I’m trying to say is there was just too much filler where I don’t think it was needed.But overall I did enjoy the story.