Locust Lane

A Novel

By: Stephen Amidon

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

"This is a plot that uncovers many secrets, and Campbell treats them all evenhandedly with no hints that give away the identity of the murderer before the mystery's reveal."—AudioFile

For fans of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Audible Hall of Fame narrator Cassandra Campbell delivers an electrifying performance of Stephen Amidon's Locust Lane, a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town.

On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum at every moment, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic listen that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2023 Stephen Amidon (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"A cool-headed, red-blooded novel of such ice-pick intelligence that you might find yourself wondering, as I did, when you last read a thriller this sophisticated. Like Lehane and Landay—like Harlan Coben, too, and Laura Dave in The Last Thing He Told Me, he detonates surprises with perfect timing."—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"Amidon’s compulsively readable, richly plotted crime novel is a tour de force that grabs readers’ attention and doesn’t let go until the final page."—Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

One of my favorites this year!

So glad I ran across this one. I love that I didn’t know where the story was heading. I’ve been thinking about the story and characters long after I finished this book.

Favorite

One of my favorite books this year. I enjoyed the story line and different characters.

The characters, the situations and places were realistic

The ending is not predictable, the relationships between the adult characters were idiosyncratic enough to be realistic. Mr. Amidon, whom I had the pleasure of meeting once, or twice years ago when he lived in western, Massachusetts, completely nailed the meilieu of a leafy and loaded Boston metro west suburb. Can’t wait to order another work from this fine author! 

Repetitive and dragged out

Without giving too much away, the story follows along several characters as they navigate a situation that occurred. The story jumps from being told from each character’s perspective. Normally a story like this doesn’t bother me when it jumps between maybe 2or 3 characters buuut this story jumps between multiple characters. Not only does it become repetitive hearing the same part of a story over and over from multiple perspectives but it just seems like it really drags everything out. You really don’t learn much new information, it seems, until the last couple of chapters, which at that point causes the ending to feel rushed.

Great story

the book was very interesting and narrator was great. In my opinion the ending was a little confusing.. Definitely recommend listening.

Great performance, better story.

I really enjoyed listening to this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Love!

Love the story, the prose, and the narrator. Will search for other books by this author. Highly recommend!

Wtf??

I really enjoyed listening to this book until the end.... I'm really let down that there is no real conclusion....like there's supposed to be another book coming. I'm all about leaving it up to the readers imagination but the insane amount of wealth and privilege that is just swept under the rug in this book makes me feel cringy. I guess I'm not really sure what I am supposed to be getting from this. Let's just let these guys keep murdering and raping/sexually assaulting women....and keep getting away with it. The whole story has me all in my feelings about how this world is completely crap.

Great mystery fiction

Don’t really expect a thriller out of this one, it’s a great suburban mystery literary fiction book.

Such a Great Listen

Cassandra Campbell makes this one such a great listen. She is so talented with varying her voice for different characters which makes it so easy to follow the story, and her pacing is just right too. This is a thriller/mystery type book that starts out with a murder as we go on the hunt for who killed Eden, a young woman who we get to know from flashbacks. There are three teenage suspects, and we get to know them and their parents. A great audio and worthy of a credit.