Thanks to net galley, Atria publishing and Sarah Langan for this ARC. This book was one I don’t think I ever read one like it before. A fiction used novel that takes place in the near future. It reads like a true crime book. I found it difficult to put down until I read it all. I enjoyed it very much. I wasn’t sure which way this story was going but I did like the way it went. This is my first book by this author so for that reason I gave it four stars is I am looking to see what else she’s written.

What a fantastic book! This is the first Sara Langan book I have read and I really enjoyed this one. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy. I will most definitely be recommending this book.

Social commentary meets psychological thriller in this neighborhood story that bens your mind. A bit creepy but I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

The idyllic stretch of Maple Street in suburban New Jersey has something dark lurking beneath its perfectly manicured lawns, but what dwells in the clean cookie cutter homes lining the quiet neighborhood is even more sinister. Families on Maple Street have children who get good grades, fathers who work long hours, and housewives who revel in their domesticity, with few outliers. When the Wildes arrive, the atmosphere changes. Arlo, the rockstar father, and his former pageant queen wife and two children (one a rebel and one neurodivergent) along with a sinkhole full of stinking tar that opens after their arrival on Maple Street, trigger the rise of a frightening current of darkness among these good suburban neighbors. Sarah Langan weaves a dark tale of the most disturbing sides of human nature, and shines a light on the ripples which childhood trauma can create in the lives which it touches.

A picture perfect neighborhood with successful and happy families. Of course, not everything is as it appears. Dark secrets, lies, and fears are in every household. Complex characters and an intriguing story combine for an enthralling read.

Good Neighbors is a new domestic suspense novel by Sarah Langan. I’ve read horror novels by Langan before, so I was expecting a creepy read… and I wasn’t disappointed. Good Neighbors definitely has a creep factor that makes it a little uncomfortable to read. However, the horror and discomfort is in a psychological way, not in a monster way. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for books set in neighborhoods/households where everything seems perfect, but is more complicated than it appears.

A slow burning novel. Recommended for fans of Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies. Disturbing, contemporary, and compelling.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A deeply unsettling, odd, unnerving read. Good Neighbors was just too engrossing for me to put it down. I had to find out what happened on Maple Street.
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Long Island, NY. It’s 2027 and Maple Street is a somewhat exclusive, upper middle class suburban street. The folks who live there like to think they have the perfect neighborhood, but as I read, I came to find out that life in general isn’t as perfect as the unlikeable residents think it is. For one, climate change is a very real part of their daily lives. And so it happens that during an abnormally hot July, a huge sinkhole opens up in the park where the neighbors have picnics and where their kids play. The sinkhole opens up more than just the ground beneath them. It destroys the picture-perfect suburbia that the people who live on Maple Street have created for themselves. And when a tragedy strikes, the people turn against the Wilde family. Arlo is a has-been rock musician with tattoos and a former drug problem. Mom Gertie is a former beauty pageant queen who likes to wear high heels and silver eyeshadow. She’s pregnant with the couple’s third child. And the Maple Street crowd doesn’t much like the Wilde children either. They think teenage Julia taught their kids to smoke and curse. And then there’s Larry who is strange and has lots of issues.
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The other families feel like the Wildes don’t belong, especially Rhea Schroeder, the self-professed “Queen Bee” of Maple Street. Rhea appears to be the perfect wife and mother to her four children. But Rhea might not be the perfect PTA mom she claims to be. In fact, there are many secrets on Maple Street.
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I think this is the perfect book club read. There are so many issues to discuss. And even though parts of Good Neighbors reads like a thriller, it’s much more than just that. The mob mentality that occurs in the wake of the sinkhole is so scary because it could actually happen. I feel like we are witnessing what happens when people turn against one another instead of helping one another. I will be thinking about this book for awhile and I’m grateful that I read it.

Wow! This book was a HARD one to read. It held me in its grip the whole way through, but while I was reading it, I was stressed and tense the whole time. This story is about a family who has moved to a "Good Neighborhood" in hopes it will help their children have a better life than they did. What they find when they get there is a neighborhood full of people who are uncomfortable and unaccepting of anyone they see as "different". This is not a book about racism, but rather about that inherent fear inside people that makes all "-isms" exist. While we are watching a very sick situation unfold amongst the neighbors, we are also seeing the long-term effects of global-warming in the form of huge sinkholes that keep popping up in residential areas.

One neighbor rules the roost. She has something in her past she is terrified of anyone learning about. When she finds herself getting too emotionally vulnerable with the wife of the new family that has moved to the neighborhood, it terrifies her and she turns on the new family as a whole....and since that is not enough to drive a novel, she sets out to turn ALL the neighbors against the new family. What better way to do that than to accuse the father of the family of sexual abuse? That storyline is what really made me the sickest reading it. In an effort to support the accuser, parents start basically talking their own children into accusing the man of abusing them. All this, naturally leads to tensions amongst the neighbors that ultimately lead to violence.

What I loved most in the book are the neighborhood kids. They see the insanity of their parents and fight it to the degree they can. That seems to be the subtext of the novel, which is that there is hope for humanity through the future generations. The neighborhood in this book really digs into the worst possible outcomes of moving. Sadly, it also gives a hopeless view of mature adults in that in the whole neighborhood, there is not a balance of people willing to take any stance against the mob.

I like to hope that in the situation that took place in this book, there would be SOME neighbors that wouldn't blindly follow the herd. This made me feel really sad reading the book, which is not something I I love in a book, but I think the author wrote a gripping story that can start good conversations, so for that, I give it 4 stars.

Struggled with what to rate this one and landed on a 3.5/5, rounded down.

I understand why this was marketed to fans of Shirley Jackson — there is definitely a sense of dread that underscores the story, and it leads up to what I thought was a truly shocking ending. I liked the incorporation of newspaper articles and interviews in between chapters and thought it gave some interesting context to the story. But overall, there were parts of this that just didn't work for me. I thought the climate change component of the story was inconsistently handled, and I found the portrayal of Rhea as a character to be almost cartoonish. Also, there were too many side characters, which made the story difficult to follow at times.

3.5/5

Well, I have to hand it to Sarah Langan, Good Neighbors is an incredibly unique and a lot of the time heavy read, and it was really something. So something in fact, that I had a very hard time rating it before ending up at a 3.5/5. The end left me feeling very torn and unsure of how I felt about the story. Langan tackles quite a few heavy-hitting topics in this book and it is futuristic but also very current and relatable. You can see that she was thinking about a bigger picture than what is in the story, and it makes you think about our current world and where things are headed. I don't want to say too much because I feel like it would become a spoiler, but this is definitely a thought-provoking read.

There are a lot of characters and a lot going on, and I thought it was very interesting that Langan decided to have a map of the neighborhood in the book. It shows who lives in which house, and there is also a chart that tells you the names and ages of each family member. This changes as the book goes on, and updates as people move away. I think in a different book this could have been very helpful, but in this one, it wasn't really necessary and didn't help me understand the characters any better. However, it was a nice added feature for something different, and I did love the inclusion of all the media such as articles and interviews.

While I am still unsure of my exact feelings about Good Neighbors, I definitely think it was gripping and quite the page-turner. There are a lot of rave reviews out there, so I do recommend checking it out if it piques your interest. I also think the audio would be great to check out since it is narrated by Nicole Lewis who is amazing!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

GOOD NEIGHBORS is a dark and disturbing retelling of "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street."

A ruthless and portrayal of suburbia, GOOD NEIGHBORS is a claustrophobic domestic thriller that tells the story of family trauma, paranoia, and the insidious nature of mob mentality. All is not well on a Maple Street after a sinkhole forms in the neighborhood park. Like Chekhov's gun, readers know from the start that tragedy will strike. Langan's excellent use of future commentary on the evens of the novel is an excellent and intriguing plot device. GOOD NEIGHBORS will have readers squirming with suspense and reading through their fingers, but they will not be able to put this novel down.

GOOD NEIGHBORS is perfect for fans of harrowing suburban hysteria, Shirley Jackson, Celeste Ng, Jack Ketchum.

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan takes place in the near future and focuses on several families living on Maple Street. One day a sinkhole appears on the street and someone disappears down it. The rest of the story involves how the street families react to the disappearance as well as the secret lives of the families on the street. So many accusations are thrown out that you feel as though you’re attending a tennis match and don’t know where to look. Read and enjoy!

Did I read the same book as everyone else? I’m a little confused with the glowing reviews this has received.

I wouldn’t call this a mystery thriller, it’s more of a fiction novel that deals with things escalating quickly in a neighborhood where people just kinda lose their minds. A big theme was mob mentality so that was interesting from a psychological stand point but also kinda scary because it’s a real thing that does happen. I will say I was a little bored for most of the book because everyone was a little petty or dramatic.

I actually liked the Wilde’s and everyone was so unnecessarily mean and I feel like even the kids being mean was just too extra for me at that point. Like obviously these things can happen but to me what happened seemed a little far fetched. I had a hard time believing in some of the events that happened. Most of the characters were crazy and not in a good way, especially Rhea. I had high hopes up for this one and it just didn't live up to my expectations. I definitely didn't see the ending coming though.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Atria books for the advanced copy of this book!

Wow. A stark look at our not too distant future. It was, quite simply, incredible and also incredibly difficult to read.

Thank you to Atria books for the review copy. I won’t be posting this on on my Instagram since I really didn’t even joy it.

This book didn’t work for me for several reasons. I have to believe that some of this is satire, but the violence against children and the senseless beating of poor Larry just to turned me off to this book. The callus use of claiming rape with no evidence or investigation?

I did like the use of newspaper articles and blog posts. I did find that creative.

This book reminded me a lot of Cobble Hill which I also didn’t really love.

It feels a bit premature to say that this is my favorite book of this year in February, so I'm just going to say that this is my favorite book of the year so far! First, the writing style is amazing! Told through flashbacks, articles, and snippets from many places, and set in the future(!!) this book does such a great job with keeping the reader engaged before you even get to how great the story is. Don't get me wrong, the book is dark and at times the subject matter is hard to get through, but it definitely pays off.

The Wildes are not the most loved family on the block. Hailing from East New York, and popping up in this suburban upper-middle-class town, they didn't make the greatest first impression. Dad, Arlo has quite the public past, and mom, Gertie's clothes leave the other mothers in the neighborhood wondering just what she's trying to show off. As much as the Wildes try, they just aren't able to fit in, and things only get worse when a sinkhole opens up in the park across the street. This is a quickly paced story of a family who maybe ended up on the wrong side of a conspiracy theory and community that maybe went too far.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 2027 (though I’m not sure why), interspersed with excerpts from (fictional) books and articles from further in the future, this novel is set in the suburbs of Long Island, and starts with a giant sinkhole opening in a neighborhood, and you know from the start that it’s going to end with murder but you don’t know who/how. But honestly the book is even weirder and darker than that description might suggest. This is the kind of book you finish and say to yourself “what the heck did I just read?” I couldn’t stop reading it, and it was well-written in some respects, but it was both too dark in its view of humanity, and more importantly way too heavy handed for me. Like I guess it’s supposed to be a commentary on mob mentality and childhood trauma, but everything is so over the top and exaggerated with characters that are not believable that I feel like it undercuts the message. 2.5 stars.

Already being compared to classics like THE CRUCIBLE and more recent bestsellers like Celeste Ng’s LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, Sarah Langan’s GOOD NEIGHBORS is a propulsive, endlessly creepy dissection of American suburbia.

On Long Island’s Maple Street, everyone knows everyone. As children (affectionately deemed the “Rat Pack”) play on front lawns, and as parents bond over their kids' silly stories, beer, movie nights and their work, they are all under the illusion that because they are good people, nothing can ever hurt them. But the recent arrival of a new family has rocked Maple Street's careful balance. The Wildes --- Arlo, a former rock star; Gertie, his pregnant beauty queen wife; and their two children, Julia and Larry --- do not reek of the same privileged upbringing of their neighbors, nor do they keep an especially tidy or trendy home. Quite simply, they are normal, and that can be very dangerous in a neighborhood where “keeping up with the Joneses” (or, in this case, the Schroeders) is not just a saying, but a way of life.

When we meet the Wildes, they have just been very obviously left uninvited to a neighborhood block party. Choosing to believe the best of their neighbors, especially Gertie’s best friend, perfect Rhea Schroeder, they put on a brave face and head to the party, encouraging their children to join in the fun. But when they arrive, something is clearly amiss: no one will make eye contact with them, Rhea is aloof and cold, and even the kids have trouble joining their friends. In the blink of an eye, all 72 citizens of Maple Street regroup and play their roles as good neighbors, but an eerie chill hangs over the festivities. And then the sinkhole opens.

Because GOOD NEIGHBORS is set in the year 2027, global warming and lack of funding have taken a toll on the ecosystem and the economy, and sinkholes are not uncommon. But to see one this big on Long Island is as shocking as it is devastating, and though there is only one fatality --- a German shepherd --- the residents are understandably stressed. Once again choosing to see the silver lining, Gertie hopes that the catastrophe will bond her and her neighbors together as they try to rebuild against a common enemy. Instead, families start to leave, forcing the remaining neighbors closer together as the sinkhole exposes deep fractures, setting everyone on edge and fueling dangerous prejudices.

No one is more unmoored than the Schroeders’ daughter, Shelly. Fiery at best and downright destructive at worst, Shelly is a natural-born leader at 13. Under her mother’s not-so-subtle orders, she has begun a campaign against her former best friend, Julia, and the frantic energy of the sinkhole only bolsters her case. Struggling under her mother’s controlling thumb and desperate for an outlet, she launches a full-scale attack on Julia while all the children are outside playing one day. But when Shelly suffers a wardrobe malfunction during her rant, she flips the script, accusing Arlo of sexual assault. None of the children take Shelly seriously, knowing that her behavior, especially of late, has been particularly erratic. But when a tragic accident befalls Shelly, and everyone begins recounting the events of the day, the young girl’s accusation comes to light and takes on a life of its own.

What follows is a dangerous game of telephone, with mothers and fathers harassing their kids into their own retellings of Shelly’s allegations. Eager to impress their parents, each child embellishes the tale until the common agreement is that Arlo has hurt not only Shelly, but his own children and even a few local boys as well. With the sinkhole continuing to wreak havoc on their lives, the citizens of Maple Street start to crack under the pressure, turning the Wildes into scapegoats in a fight that has become desperate for a resolution, be it by legal intervention, public shaming or death. And the Maple Street court of public opinion is only too happy to oblige.

In a combination of prose, newspaper articles, biographies, maps and lists, Sarah Langan reports on the Maple Street murders from 15 years in the future, laying out the main players, the pressure cooker events of the summer and their legacy, but keeping the victims a surprise until the end. Her gaze is keen and cutthroat as she unpacks the failings of American suburbia and the ways that it creates class wars, escalates childhood traumas and inspires fear. GOOD NEIGHBORS starts out as near satire, but under Langan’s skillful hands, it becomes much darker, much more astounding and completely heartbreaking. She carefully juggles complex characters with dark secrets and spellbinding suspense to turn a wild and crazy premise into an allegory full of searing commentary on suburbia (or is it disturbia?) and the fight for the moral high ground that takes place when tragedy occurs.

Though the ending was definitely worth it, I had trouble getting into the book initially. The setting in 2027 is a bit jarring and does not seem to add much to the story as there are no futuristic elements beyond the toll on the ecosystem. The main drama does not occur until nearly 100 pages in, which means that you’ll have to stick with a lot of community-exploring groundwork before getting to the good stuff. That said, Langan keeps the tension simmering at all times, and her descriptions of these “good” neighbors juxtaposed with her unveiling of their very bad actions is as addictive as it is cringeworthy.

Perfect for readers of HOUSE ON FIRE, COBBLE HILL and the aforementioned LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, GOOD NEIGHBORS is a natural choice for book clubs and is sure to make Sarah Langan a household name among readers.

The way this book is written both captivated me and genuinely creeped me out. The characters and chain events were very well developed and it was like a car crash that you couldn't look away from. It began like an orange and each chapter peeled away at the skin of the orange revealing horrid things from the town. The audiobook is riveting and I highly recommend it.

I'm reading this for bookclub and I can't believe the amazing premise. A family dead and a sinkhole. It's full of high school cliqueishness and mean girls... feelings boiling under the guise of manners...well done

I love a good horror novel but this one was just too much for me. I had to put it in my DNF stack and that makes me sad. Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this title.