The Good Neighbor
by Cathryn Grant
309 pages
Publication date: September 8, 2019
3 ⭐⭐⭐
Description:
Sometimes the past just won’t stay buried.When 14 year old Brittany disappears one night, her parents are devastated, certain she has been taken.They can’t bear to think about who has done this and what might be happening to their precious girl. Even worse, the police seem to see them as suspects, implying that they may have had a part in their own daughter’s. disappearance. Only their neighbor, Taylor, is a rock. She organizes search parties, feeds the volunteers, works night and day to help them find Brittany.But as this affluent California community becomes focused on the hunt for the missing girl, it slowly becomes clear that her disappearance is linked to terrible secrets from the past.Secrets that must be kept hidden at all costs.
MY REVIEW :
This was my first time reading a book by author Cathryn Grant. The story is told in first person by multiple voices with each having their own chapter. Moira (the mother), Alan (the father), Taylor (the nosey next door neighbor), Luke (18 year old neighbor across the road), Brittany (the daughter), and Crystal (a drug addict who also says that she is Britney's mother). The beginning of the book was really good. However the further you get in the book the more far-fetched to gets. I would have loved to have seen more of the police investigation side. The story moves along in a pretty quick pace so it don't take long to read. The characters did need to be more developed and the fact that they author kept repeating the same things over and over was very annoying. The ending seemed very rushed and so many things throughout the book was just too far-fetched. However I did like the different spin the author used with a missing child scenario. Did Brittany run away or was she kidnapped ? Is Mariah really her mother or is Crystal ? All in all this just was not a very good book to me. However I do want to read some of this authors other books. Many thanks to the Publisher , the Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own. If you would like to read this book it is available on Kindle unlimited.
#TheGoodNeighbor #NetGalley
The Good Neighbor: A psychological thriller with a shocking twist

The Good Neighbour was gripping but at the same time it felt rushed. The characters were great and i liked the storyline.
Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Where to start - Overall I liked the idea of the book, new family moves in, teenager daughter disappears without a trace, family is somewhat reluctant to give pictures or engage on social media - right away you know things are not as they seem.

The story is told in different viewpoints - which I tend to like.

My problem with this book , it felt like it was rushed, like the author was just trying to get the shock factor out of the reader, some of it did not make sense or was not fully fleshed out. I would have liked to have seen/heard more perspective from some of the players in the book. I felt the ending was definitely rushed. It had a lot of potential.

With all that said - it was a pretty quick read - I was invested - I just wish some things could have been better.

The Good Neighbor is a great thriller that has some slow parts,but it is well worth the finish. Interesting characters and a good storyline.

Another good psycho thriller and I will be sure to look for more books by this author as I enjoyed her writing style.

A teenage girl, Britanny, goes missing in the middle of the night and then one of her neighbors rallies the neighbors to get involved searching for her. Taylor for seem reason seems really vested in the search and discovering all the is to discover, but ends up perhaps too involved.

Each chapter is told from a different perspective, sometimes by Brittany herself, other chapters by her mother and others by neighbors. This way we get to read the story with many different angles.

I have just finished this book and wanted to write my review while it is still fresh in my mind. I found I could not put it down but also found it unbelievable with characters I couldn’t relate to at all. There were so many things that did not ring true such as the police investigation or should I say non investigation, Taylor’s obsession and not reporting a crime even when she had absolute proof and Crystal’s ability to find her way around a city she had never visited ( sorry I am trying not to give the story away).
The ending was bizarre.
I think I liked this book but I am not sure! However, I am giving it 4 stars because it certainly made me think.
Thank you Cathryn Grant and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to give this unbiased and rather confused review.

The Good Neighbor is a twisty and gripping read that is unputdownable. The plot and premise of this book are super creepy and keeps you turning the pages. I had quite a few issues with the characters and the accuracy/believability of this one. I still liked it- a lot!

When 14-year old Brittany Cushing disappears from her cushy home in California, her parents are left devasted and certain its a kidnapping. Through all the drama is their rock-steady neighbor Taylor who holds their hands, lends a listening ear, counsels them and even sets up a page to get the word out. Taylor believes the world has regressed into technology and is growing increasingly dependent on their virtual devices and living virtual lives. Taylor who abhors technology reluctantly sets up a Facebook page to find Brittany but quickly gets drawn into the world of social media. She quickly uncovers dark secrets from the Cushings' past, secrets that must be kept at all costs!

I loved this book, but I disliked almost all the characters! Told from the POV of Taylor, Brittany, Moira & Alan- Brittany's parents, Crystal & Luke, we see the story shape from many angles and that's what I liked about this book. The plot is tense and can keep one hooked till the very end- well, almost! The ending is a bit predictable but not entirely plausible. The main character - the good neighbor - Taylor was the most irritating of the lot. While her behavior may have been irksome to me, it gave the story lot of flavor. The chapters on Brittany were brilliant! Hence, I could not put this one down. The cops in this book are complete duds and despite the many chapters of them running around for answers, they do not have much to add to the story. Even though this is isn't a police procedural, I would have liked to see some of the concrete steps they took to find Brittany. This was half-assed police investigation at best. The books ending was not the greatest in my opinion. I'm also not sure the ending is legally believable hence I am reluctant to add another star to the rating. Otherwise, all said and done, I enjoyed reading this book overall.

Thank you, NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Cathryn Grant for an arc!

This book really makes you think and question how you would react in a similar situation, a story of love and friendship that goes above and beyond.

A great thriller with lots of twists and turns along the way. Definitely a page turner and well worth the read.

3-4 stars. This book took me a few tries and many chapters before it hooked me. Not a in your face chilling thrilling, but one that slowly builds the intensity and finally hits that spot I love in thrillers. Overall, a good read that gave me a few thrills, chills, and shocks!
Will make sure I recommend to others!

When a 14 year old girl goes missing from her bedroom one night a California town- and one neighbor in particular- go frantic for answers. Although the family was new in town and hadn't made any effort to get to know their new neighbors, Taylor, the neighborhood busybody makes it her personal mission to reunite 14 year old Brittany with her family. When suspicion falls on the parents, Taylor keeps looking for answers and stands by her new friends. How could the police turn on these innocent people who only wish for the return of their daughter? Friends so loyal are rare and even rarer still when you factor in the loss of other friendships when her own suspicions lead her to the son of one of her friends. This story of deceit and mystery is so twisted and confusing- in a good way! Your own suspicions will change after each chapter in this engrossing book. What really happened to Brittany and why? I promise you, the ending will be a total surprise!

Surprising book that was a slow burn at first but once I got into it, throughly enjoyed it. Missing teenager allegedly from perfect family that soon becomes apparent theres definitely something amiss. Found it hard at first to like any characters but they grew on me and liked that it had different chapters from different characters. Surprising ending and worth a read

The synopsis grabbed my attention, unfortunately the book didn't hold my attention quite as well.
There were a few surprises along the way, but that didn't really happen until the second half of the book, by which time I was less invested.

This book seemed so promising from the synopsis, but unfortunately just wasn't for me. I was unable to connect with the characters, and felt them to be more than a little unrealistic. I read so many raving reviews, so perhaps at another stage in my life I'd have loved it. The fentanyl use though, touched too close to home and had I known the book would have drug use I likely wouldnt have requested.

Wow. A real page-turner with multiple twists and a great ending - happily ever after or chilling?
The story is told in multiple voices, each having separate chapters so that's easy to follow. At first I was annoyed by the chapters in the voice of the nosy neighbor who seemed to think it was all about her when the new neighbor's daughter goes missing. However, as the suspense built, her role did indeed become essential to the story. Do NOT read the ending first!

I totally enjoyed this domestic psychological thriller!! Each character was so well developed that I felt like I knew them and was a part of the story. So many secrets, so many lies and so much deception.
I loved all of the dark twists and turns! Especially towards the end of the book when I thought I knew just what was going to happen. I actually gasped out loud!
I highly recommend this book!! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I had so much high hopes for this book but it was a little predictable for me. I did like a few of the twists in this story but other than that, I just couldn't really get into it. Maybe I'll give it another shot in the future but I prefer books less predictable.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis of this story sounds fascinating, right? It certainly caught my attention when I came across it and had me biting at the chomp to read it. Sadly though, for as captivating as the description is, this one just didn’t do it for me. Other than one surprise twist towards the end that ties in the prologue, I figured out what was going on halfway through the story. Let me be clear, this story wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the greatest either. It truly has an interesting premise, but it just wasn’t executed well.

To be honest, I’m not sure how to write this review, while I didn’t hate the book, I also didn’t particularly like it. The situation aside, I think what bothered me most in this story was the characters. There’s the missing teenager Brittany, her parents Moira and Alan, the neighbor across the street Taylor, Brittany’s biological mother Crystal, a neighborhood late-teenaged Luke and his group of friends, and a slew of other characters that pop in and out. Surprisingly, these characters seemed relatively realistic at first, but as the story unfolded that realism took a nosedive and just became tedious and ridiculous.

Starting with Taylor, she’s the neighborhood watcher/busy body. She wants that ideal everyone knows everyone and helps each other out neighborhood (which isn’t a bad thing) and is a social media-phobe who, when Brittany goes missing, on the advice of the detective in charge, creates a Facebook page for the missing girl and then gets addicted to it and the attention it receives. She annoyed me; she was always up in everyone’s business, despite not knowing them well or at all and her husband was constantly telling her to cool it, yet she just couldn’t help herself and then got annoyed when not everyone was doing the same thing.

Moira and Alan Cushing are the parents in this story and completely bonkers. On the surface, they seem like fantastic parents who love and dote on their child but are horrendously overprotective the deeper it goes. Homeschooling Brittany always and keeping a close eye on everything she does, these two, take parenting to the extreme and not in a good way. When they discover her missing, Moira immediately jumps to the conclusion that she had been abducted from her bedroom and refused to hear any different. This isn’t too much of a jump given the scenario readers are presented, but, before I knew the whole story, it just bothered me that she was unwilling even to consider that Brittany had left of her own accord. Alan isn’t quite as bad as Moira, he obviously loves his wife and daughter, which is proven throughout the story, but alongside his wife did a lot of messed up things regarding Brittany.

Crystal, Brittany’s biological mother, as we find out, was involved in a car accident that killed her husband leaving her injured and a single mother. She fell into a deep depression and got hooked on pain medication for her back. Based on what is told via Crystal’s POV and the Cushing’s, the back injury received in the accident left her debilitated, depressed, unable to work, and neglectful towards her daughter. It was this neglect that created the situation where Moira and Alan were able to ‘abduct’ Brittany. As someone who has never been addicted to any substance and am not a mother, I can’t begin to imagine what this character has gone/ is going through, but some of her actions as the story progresses and she’s featured more, are highly questionable.

Luke and his friends are the typical late teens/early twenties college students that are figuring out what they want and where they fit into the world. Hanging out after hours smoking pot in the gazebo in front of his house, the group welcomes Brittany when she begins sneaking out to meet them. Brittany learns a lot from this group, and it’s this group that are the ones who help her when revelations are made, and things get overwhelming. Given Luke’s habit of hanging out in the gazebo and watching the neighborhood, Moira goes off on how he’s a creep who constantly stared at Brittany. This accusation not only gets him hauled in for questioning but has the neighborhood turning on him and vandalizing his car.

Brittany Cushing is a character that I just can’t help feeling for at first. Readers first introduction to Brittany is through Taylor’s eyes as the Cushing’s furniture is being moved in, Taylor notes that they must have a little girl due to the princess bed that alludes to a young girl. When Moira and Brittany arrive, Taylor is surprised that instead of a little kid, the daughter is a teenager. From there we learn more about Brittany and her highly censored and sheltered world. For as adamant as Moira was about Brittany’s time being on the computer constantly being monitored, neither parent knows that she’d figured out their password and had been sneaking on to it at night while they’re sleeping and exploring the world through the web the way any teenager would. As the story progresses, readers are shown some disturbing things that the Cushing’s, Moira particularly, have done to her; nothing sexual mind you, it didn’t reach that level of terrible.

Just in case anyone wishes to read this book, the next little bit is full of spoilers, so I will have it marked when I finish and it’s safe to read again.

*SPOILERS*
The seclusion of Brittany by the Cushing’s, while terrible, isn’t surprising when it’s found out that they kidnapped her as a child and therefore have no papers for her, and it’s the reason they move around a bit under cover of Alan’s job. The worst part about the entire situation is that readers come to find out that Moira and Alan had been giving Brittany shots for years that would delay her puberty. She only comes to realize what’s happening when one of the girls in Luke’s group of friends mentions being on her period; a topic Brittany knows nothing about. When asking Moira about it, Moira freaks out and demands to know where she heard such a thing. Not giving up her source, Brittany brushes it off and begins her own investigation. Looking up the drug that she was injected continuously with (it was never named), she learns what it does and is horrified by the discovery, which leads her to “running away”.

Focusing off Brittany for a bit, the ending is so strange that I couldn’t believe it. Moira and Alan attempt to give Crystal a fatal dose of fentanyl when she comes to California while Britany is missing, and instead of it working, because of her tolerance, she came to while in the trunk of Alan's car when he went to dump her body. She ends up killing Alan with a shovel before returning to the Cushing’s house where Brittany, Taylor, and Moira all are. Seeing Crystal for the first time since she was a child, Brittany yells out “mommy” and runs to her hugging her. This bothered me slightly just due to how the scene was set up, but this showing sets off Moira, who grabs a kitchen knife and stabs Crystal a couple of times, eventually killing her. Here’s one little twist, Taylor took the knife from Moira and killed her, and when the police asked what happened, Brittany lied and told them that Taylor did it because she thought that Moira was going to stab Brittany; she wasn’t by the way, Taylor straight up killed her.

The end of the story comes in two parts, the first that ties in the prologue, and the second with Taylor and her husband fostering/adopting Brittany. Finally getting to the prologue, readers come to find out that the Cushing’s had a daughter named Grace that compared to Brittany, had an average life. She wasn’t sheltered by Moira and Alan in the slightest; it wasn’t until she got her period that things changed and may or may not have resulted in her death. Honestly, the last few pages of the second to the last chapter of the book was the best to me because it was an excerpt of Grace’s diary that was written on the day that she died (also see prologue) and explained a few things about Moira and why she did what she did to Brittany. If there was a prequel to this story, even if it was just a short story, that focused on Grace and how Moira was prior to Grace’s death that would be an interesting read cause boy does Moira have untreated issues, and it might make this story slightly better by knowing the possible why’s behind why Moira is the way she is.

*END SPOILERS*

Overall, I know that this book has gotten primarily good reviews so far, and just because I didn’t care for it doesn’t mean that others won’t. With winter approaching, if you’ve got a free afternoon sometime, give the book a go and see what you think; as of this posting, the book is available on kindle unlimited. I would genuinely love to hear from those who have read this and find out their take on it. So, if you do read this or if you already have, please leave a comment letting me know what you think/thought about it. I don’t know much about this author, but I’ll likely check out some of her other works at some point and see how I find them compared to this one.

*Thank you NetGalley for this free eBook copy in exchange for an honest review.

*thank you to Netgalley, Cathryn Grant and Inkubator Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


Sometimes you read things into other people that you’re feeling yourself. It’s rarely possible to know what someone is thinking just by looking at them, but we always think it is. 


5 stars.

This was utterly fascinating to read! It was beyond my expectations. From near the beginning I could easily tell that something wasn't right with this neighbourhood. But I guess maybe most people will come to that conclusion based on the synopsis of this story.

Brittany is a 14 year old girl who has a Mother named Moria and a Father, Alan. They move to California to begin a new life there.  The neighbours don't really see or hear much from the household until that is, one night Moria comes racing out of the house knocking on doors, frantic because Brittany is nowhere to be found. Pretty soon it becomes obvious that Brittany has been kidnapped. Or has she?

Spread out in the story are little secrets that reveal that things aren't exactly as they seem. Are the neighbours hiding something? One neighbour, Luke, in his early 20s spends quite a lot of time watching the neighbourhood occupations. While Taylor, who also lives on the street, at first seems to be just a kind and caring person, but she seems overly eager to be so 'helpful.' She made even me feel smothered at times. There is definitely an uneasy feeling I get from these people.

Then there is another character, Crystal, who pops up in the story after discovering the Facebook page that is there to try and get help from people to find Brittany. She sends a message to Taylor. What she reveals, is a twist I didn't see coming.

This story was different to most missing person stories that I have read. It was captivating the whole way through and because it was a bit different to my usual storylines, it made it feel like I couldn't predict what had happened. Moria was a character that got creepier and creepier. Something just wasn't right with her. I had thought the same with Taylor as well so I was really interested to see how the story would pan out. I wasn't disappointed. The story wrapped up nicely at the end and I felt satisfied with it. The ending can make or break a story and this one gets a tick for doing it well. I would definitely recommend this.

Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.Could not finish. Not my cup of tea so I ad to give up.

In spite of not being able to relate to any of the decisions any of the characters made, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-moving and unpredictable thriller. Not your typical "child abduction" story; there were lots of twists and turns in this plot.

* Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.