Review and Giveaway - The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner





rating: 4.5 of 5 stars






From the back of the arc:

This is what happened...
It was a case guaranteed to spark a media feeding frenzy--a young mother, blond and pretty, disappears without a trace from her South Boston home, leaving behind her four-year-old daughter as the only witness and her handsome, secretive husband as the prime suspect.

In the last six hours...
But from the moment Dectective Sergeant D.D. Warren arrives at the Joneses' snug little bungalow, she senses something off about the wholesome illusion the couple worked so hard to create.

Of the world as I knew it...
With the clock ticking on the life of a missing woman and the media firestorm building, Jason Jones seems more intent on destroying evidence and isolating his daughter than searching for his "beloved" wife. Is the perfect husband trying to hide his guilt--or just trying to hide? And will the only witness to the crime be the killer's next victim?

Wow! That is the main word that comes to mind at the end of this book. I have read several of Lisa Gardner's books before and they were good, but this one really kept me hanging on, wondering what would happen next and exactly what the heck was going on.

The book starts with the normal night for Sandy Jones, but then something happens. Throughout the book you are given her perspective and memories, but you never quite figure out what is going on. You learn about her marriage, is Jason the one who has abducted her? There are definitely secrets. Is it the sex offender down the street? Is it someone else? It seems like there are several likely suspects as Sandy's "normal" looking life unfolds before your eyes.

It's quite a thrill-ride that keeps you guessing. As it jumps from person-to-person I enjoyed getting the different perspectives. We get the perspective of Sandy and Aidan Brewster, but then it's third person for the others. An interesting combination in this book. And we can't forget Detective D.D. Warren who is the featured police detective in this book. She's trying to stay one step ahead of this case and she's mired down in all the possibilities. But this book is truly less about the police investigation and more about the people involved. There are lots of secrets that are revealed slowly that make this book hard to put down. I didn't see the middle or the ending coming and that makes it a great book to me. And the best thing was it all seemed plausible - no crazy out of left field conclusion for this book - no it makes perfect sense.

If you pick this book up plan on several hours of uninterrupted reading because you will get sucked in to this book.

Binding: Hardcover
On-sale Date: 6/16/2009
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 368

Also I would like to give away my copy which is an arc. I will open the contest today through next Wednesday June 24th. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Tell me any other Lisa Gardner books you have read and enjoyed (+1)
4. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1)
5. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
6. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 6 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.

Have a wonderful day!

Fragment by Warren Fahy Winner

The winner is: Luvdaylilies.

I have emailed the winner for her address. Thanks to everyone for entering. Come back and check the blog for other contests and reviews.

The review for Fragment can be found here (and I gave it 5 out of 5 stars).

Waiting on Wednesday - June 17

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My "can't-wait-to-read" selection for this week is:

The release date is August 11, 2009 and here is a description:

That's what Tim Blake finds himself asking when his daughter Sydney vanishes into thin air. At the hotel where she was supposedly working, no one has ever heard of her. Even her closest friends can't tell him what Sydney was really doing in the weeks before her disappearance. Now as the days pass without a word, Tim is forced to face not only the fact that Sydney is missing but that the daughter he's loved and nurtured, the daughter he thought he knew as well as anyone, is a virtual stranger.

As he retraces Sydney's steps, searching for clues to her secret life, Tim discovers that the suburban Connecticut town he always thought of as perfectly ordinary has a darker side. But what he doesn't know is just how dark. Because while he's out searching for his daughter, questioning everyone who might have known her, someone is watching him.

For Tim isn't the only one who'll do anything to find Syd. Whatever trouble she's in, there's a lot more on the way.and it's following in Tim's footsteps. The closer Tim comes to the truth, the closer he comes to every parent's worst nightmare.and the kind of evil only a parent's love has a chance in hell of stopping.

It sounds so good - it was also my Friday Find for last week.

So what are you waiting on. Come post here so everyone can add to their tbr piles (and you can also comment here - I love comments).

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

Welcome to the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge!

Beth at Beth Fish Reads is hosting a year-long catch up on Sookie Stackhouse books challenge. Go here to sign up. Here are the rules:

Here's your chance to catch up on Sookie and all her friends -- living and undead, fully human and not.

It's easy, it's fun, it's for you! And you have an entire year to complete the challenge.

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.

2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that links specifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.

3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.

4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

I'm most of the way through the second book on audio and enjoying it so this is the perfect challenge for me!

So here is my list:

1. Living Dead in Dallas - read
   
2. Club Dead - review
   
3. Dead to the World - review
   
4. Dead as a Doornail
5. Definitely Dead
6. All Together Dead
7. From Dead to Worse
8. Dead and Gone

I'll post on this post as I finish and link to the reviews. I really enjoyed the first book and can't wait to work through this series.