Book Description
From a master of suspense comes a chilling new 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?
Amazon Exclusive: Lisa Gardner on the Making of The Neighbor
A dozen suspense novels later, it still amazes me how little
control I have over the writing process. I’m a plotter. That
means each time I start a novel, I feel compelled to out the
road ahead. I’m going to write a very y book where lots of
people die, and this is how I’m gonna do it. Sounds good. And
yet, each and every time, by page five or so, that plan is blown
out of the water. The plot veers off in a different direction. A
character throws me for a loop. I don’t know. You go to write a
book and apparently, things happen.
My latest release, The Neighbor is no exception. I started the
book with a simple premise: I wanted a love interest for one of
my favorite characters, hard-nosed Boston detective, D.D. Warren.
How much fun would it be, I wondered, if D.D. fell for a guy
suspected of murdering his own wife? Better yet, I’ll make the
guy a her of a four-year-old girl, because surely workaholic
Sergeant Warren deserves a sexy, dark-haired man who also knows
how to fashion pigtails and make Mickey Mouse pancakes. Perfect!
Of course, I wanted a twisted storyline with lots of shocking
turns. Not a problem. Most of my novels have been inspired by
true crimes, and let’s face it, there are no shortages of
husbands currently resolving their marital woes by killing off
their wives. Research cases were numerous and easy to find. If I
now with one eye open, well that’s what happens when you
spend six months immersed in the study of spousal homicide.
Next, I needed some other suspects to stir the pot. What about a
registered sex offender living on the same block as the missing
woman? And what if the missing woman happens to also be a
beautiful blonde schoolteacher, perhaps a natural favorite with
her male students? See, now we’re having some fun. Add half a
dozen deep dark secrets and we’re off to the races.
This also led to more interesting research. I thought I knew
what I needed to know about sex offenders. As wife and mother,
I’ve been very comfortable with the notion of shooting first and
questioning later. I’ve also had zero respect for female
schoolteachers who engage in sexual relations with their
students. A sex offender is a sex offender, even the ones who are
pretty and female. Then again, sometimes during the research
phase, I learn things that totally change the course of the
novel.
I started The Neighbor with a plan, and quickly ended up with a
puzzle. At a certain point, I was writing the book simply so I
could find out what was going to happen next. Did Jason Jones
actually kill his wife? What was he doing on the computer night
after night? And what about poor four-year old Ree, the last
known person to have seen her mother alive?
I thought D.D. Warren needed to a love interest. But maybe, what
she really needs is to save a ed little girl, caught in the
middle of a deadly game.
It’s possible there’s a bit more to the story than I’ve
mentioned so far. Some other key characters that appear along the
way, some rather unexpected developments. Because when you go to
write a book, apparently, things happen. --Lisa Gardner
(Photo © John Earle)