The Neighbor - Lisa Gardner

I took Lisa Gardner's latest book The Neighbor with me on vacation. Well, rather I took it to kill time during the inevitable airport wait times. And I have to say, this new release from Random House Canada made the time pass pretty quickly!

The Joneses are the perfect family. Young, pretty school teacher mom, bright precocious little girl, handsome, hardworking reporter father.

Jason Jones comes home after a night shift, finds his four year old daughter alone and his wife Sandra gone. He does report it to the police. But when Sergeant D.D. Warren (featured in a previous book Hide) begins to investigate, the perfect picture starts to fade. Jason is less than forthcoming. In fact he seems to be hindering the search, rather than helping. And as D.D. digs further, she can't help but think that Jason is guilty. But their neighbor Aidan is a person of interest as well.

D.D. Warren is an excellent female protagonist. She's quick, tough, with a smart mouth, but has a vulnerable side too.

The story is told from different viewpoints - D.D.'s, Jason's, Aidan's and Sandra's - although her story is told in flashbacks to her past, so we are never sure if she is alive or dead. As a reader, we know far more of what is happening than the police do.

Gardner keeps us on our toes. This is a fantastic psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the very end with a really, really good twist.

Lisa Gardner started out as a romance writer, but has really come into her own as a suspense author. Guaranteed to keep you reading 'just one more page....'