Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Our patrons love a good psychological thriller. I thought this would be right up our community’s love of suspense novels. But I felt this was very predictable and weak on a story line. I am sure we will have some patrons that are interested but it won’t be getting a strong recommend from me.

I put off reviewing this book because I don't like to give a negative review. I could not get interested in this book. The writing reads like a beginner author and it doesn't improve by the end. I was able to finish reading the book and give it a 2 out of 5 stars because I did want to see if how I guessed the ending to be was accurate, it was.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of this book for my honest review.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will. Enjoy

Another great mystery by AJ Banner! How well does anyone know their neighbors? A passing hello, occasionally borrowing a cup of sugar, all surface chatter. Just when you think you’ve got this one figured out, there’s another surprise!

I had every intention of reading this book and writing an honest review but it expired before I had the chance. My apologies, If you like to resend it to me I would be happy to get it reviewed,

THE GOOD NEIGHBOR - A.J. Banner

GOOD SUSPENSE - 3.5 stars

Plot - 3.5 stars - The mystery and suspense begin right from the start, capturing the reader immediately. It was well-timed, with various clues being provided and leading the reader to one conclusion, while really sending the story in another direction.

Writing - 3 stars - The story was well designed, with the suspense building at an even pace. But as the story proceeded, eventually there became almost too many lines to follow, causing confusion. There were so many misdirections that sometimes the plot got lost.

Characters - 3 stars - Sarah is a strong character, an author of children's books who feels strongly about her family and friends. She tries to do the right thing even when it's not comfortable for her. But she has her doubts about her marriage and worries about her relationship with Johnny despite his reassurances. Dr. Johnny is much less obvious, so we don't get to know him as well. His absences and behaviors make him seem suspicious, so we can't really trust him or his motivations. A little more fleshing out of both their characters would have helped. Even seeing the story through Sarah's eyes, I didn't feel that I understood her very well.

Title - 4 stars - The title is good, subtly insinuating that neighbors who appear good and friendly from the outside may always be hiding another personality inside. Plus it probably refers to Sarah who always tries to be a good and involved member of her neighborhood.

Cover - 4 stars - Pretty cover on the surface, but the mist and the fact the you can't really see anything through the trees adds a sense of mystery and scariness.

Overview - 3.5 stars - This book showed a lot of promise. I loved the beginning and the building suspense throughout, but I felt the ending was a little weak and didn't really satisfy me. One of the storylines was left open, and the motivation of the culprit was unclear, with not enough explanation. The neighborhood was a good setting, and the secondary characters added dimension, although they seemed to confuse the main plot. Although some misdirection is necessary for a book like this, I felt it was more muddled than it needed to be (Jessie and Adrian, Monique and Chad, Mia and her father, Ryan's questions, Felix's illness, Theresa's involvement), and that took away from its enjoyment. The book ended fairly abruptly and would have benefited from a few more pages and a little more back history. But I will definitely look for more from this new-to-me author.

Not the suspense fiction I was expecting. I had trouble getting past the main character being so gullible. I gave this 2 stars on goodreads.