THE NEIGHBOR

Three narrators are a big plus for Gardner's latest mystery, set in Boston. Sandy, a young wife and mother, disappears in the middle of the night. Suspicion falls on her husband and on a nearby recovering sexual offender. Some of the text is first person (Kirby Heyborne is terrific as the tormented offender), and some is third person, but it all hangs together, and the suspense builds effectively. Other characters—all well delineated—include policewoman D.D. Warren, husband Jonas, precocious daughter Ree, Sandy's estranged Southern father, and Sandy herself, vulnerable but determined. There are tender moments, suspenseful passages, and scenes of brutality, all well presented without a hint of what comes next. A can't-put-it-down plot and performance! J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2009]