If you are in the mood for a suspenseful page-turner, then this is the book for you!

Set in coastal Washington State, the novel’s protagonist, Sarah Phoenix, is an author of children’s books.  Married to a handsome physician, living in a beautiful home, they seem to have been blessed with good fortune.

But in a blink of an eye, fortunes can change…

Sarah’s husband Johnny is away for a medical conference and Sarah is home alone when a fire breaks out next door.  Fearing for the lives of her neighbors and friends she rushes over to find that husband, wife, and four year-old daughter, Mia are trapped in the burning building!  Sarah, in an adrenaline-fueled bout of bravery climbs a ladder and rescues Mia, but is injured in the attempt.

When she awakens in the hospital, she learns that her neighbors have perished in the blaze and that her own house was burned as well.   Johnny has rushed back from his conference to be by her side.  It seems they have lost everything!

One of Johnny’s acquaintances, a real estate agent, lets them stay in a cottage, rent free, until such time as they can get back on their feet and find a new home.

Once ensconced in this cottage, things rapidly deteriorate for Sarah.  Suspicion clouds her once idyllic marriage.  Her relationships with her new neighbors are uneasy at best… Then things take an even more downward slide with a shocking revelation.

A fast-paced novel of secrets, deception, and betrayal, “The Good Neighbor” will appeal to those who enjoy domestic thrillers and romantic suspense novels.  I found it to be a fast, easy, slightly predictable, though thoroughly enjoyable read.

Oh… and the ending leaves a possibility of further books featuring these characters.

I received a free digital ARC of this novel from the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

A longtime fan of Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, A. J. Banner feels at home writing stories with unexpected twists and turns. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five rescued cats.