Celeste Ng and Liane Moriartys enthralling dissection of suburbia meets Shirley Jacksons creeping dread in this wickedly funny, unnerving puzzle box of a novel (Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will) about the downward spiral of a Long Island community after a tragedy exposes its residents depths of deception.
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 among this exclusive enclave. When the Wilde family arrive, they trigger their neighbors worst fears. Dad Arlos a gruff has-been rock star with track marks. Mom Gerties got a thick Brooklyn accent, with high heels and tube tops to match. Their weird kids cuss like sailors. They dont fit with the way Maple Street sees itself.
Maple Streets Queen Bee, Rhea Schroedera lonely professor repressing a dark pastinitially welcomed Gertie, but relations plummeted during one 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 Rheas daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. Suddenly, it is one moms word against the others in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.
Riveting and ruthless, Good Neighbors is a chilling, compulsively readable novel that looks toward the future in order to help us understand how we live now (Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here).