Good Neighbors

Former pageant-queen Gertie Wilde moved her family to Long Island for a fresh start and thought she had found that on idyllic Maple Street. Her family may not fit in perfectly (her husband is a former rockstar and has been to rehab; her kids are Brooklyn tough and socially awkward), but things are looking up when she befriends Rhea, the Queen Bee of the block. However, after a misunderstanding, Rhea drops Gertie from her life and the rest of the neighborhood follows suit. And when Rhea's daughter falls victim to an unfortunate sinkhole accident, Rhea will stop at nothing to lay blame on the entire Wilde family.

This novel about the everyday horrors of suburbia and how rumors can quickly spiral out of control is tense and compulsively readable. The flawed, complex characters who make up the main cast are not always sympathetic, and their actions are often uncomfortable to read. Still, the framing narrative of interviews and news articles that refer to the “Maple Street Murders” will surely keep readers hooked until the dramatic conclusion; it certainly had me intrigued enough to keep the pages turning even when I was cringing at what I was reading. Not everything worked for me: the “Next Sunday, A.D.” of the plot setting felt unnecessary, and if I never see the word “bitumen” again it will be too soon, but the rest of it was strong enough for me to ignore those issues. 3.5 sinkholes out of 5, bumped up because the Rat Pack exploring the sinkhole for Shelly's body was so creepy and so, so good .