Member Review
Review by
Amy B, Reviewer
(2.5 stars rounded up)
Good Neighbors is very well written. Langan superbly blends character anecdote with interviews, newspaper clippings, and social media excerpts to beautifully foreshadow the ugly truth that is to come. The plot itself is tragic, bleak, and disturbing. But I kept reading “just one more chapter” because I *had* to know who was murdered. And even with the brilliant foreshadowing, there were still jaw dropping moments of surprise at the end.
While the writing is well done, the character development leaves much to be desired. I have read many stories with “characters you love to hate.” But I could find no love for these characters. They are probably some of the most unlikeable I’ve ever read. Unlikeable without purpose. Unlikeable without reason. And without quality character development, I struggled to find value in the story as a whole.
Ultimately, I think this book hit me at the wrong timeframe. Right now, in the broad sense, real life scarily resembles what happened in this book: people clamoring to hype rather than fact and people leaning in to emotion rather than truth. It feels exhausting in real life. And I just didn’t have the energy for it in my fictional escape.
However, I believe this book will be wildly acclaimed, and I do see this book exploring several necessary commentaries.
Many thanks to Sarah Langan, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Good Neighbors is very well written. Langan superbly blends character anecdote with interviews, newspaper clippings, and social media excerpts to beautifully foreshadow the ugly truth that is to come. The plot itself is tragic, bleak, and disturbing. But I kept reading “just one more chapter” because I *had* to know who was murdered. And even with the brilliant foreshadowing, there were still jaw dropping moments of surprise at the end.
While the writing is well done, the character development leaves much to be desired. I have read many stories with “characters you love to hate.” But I could find no love for these characters. They are probably some of the most unlikeable I’ve ever read. Unlikeable without purpose. Unlikeable without reason. And without quality character development, I struggled to find value in the story as a whole.
Ultimately, I think this book hit me at the wrong timeframe. Right now, in the broad sense, real life scarily resembles what happened in this book: people clamoring to hype rather than fact and people leaning in to emotion rather than truth. It feels exhausting in real life. And I just didn’t have the energy for it in my fictional escape.
However, I believe this book will be wildly acclaimed, and I do see this book exploring several necessary commentaries.
Many thanks to Sarah Langan, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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