The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

None of the neighbors really knew Jason and Sandy Jones. She worked days as a teacher; he worked nights as a reporter. And, they doted on their four-year-old precocious daughter. So, why were their doors made of steel, and the windows blocked in the relatively safe Southie neighborhood of Boston? That only came to light, when Sandy disappeared from their house, leaving behind their daughter. And, Jason insisted she never would have left Ree.

But, there's something suspicious about Jason Jones' reaction to his wife's disappearance, and Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren is determined to discover if he killed her. He has almost no reaction to her disappearance, only caring about Ree, who might be the only witness. And, isn't it always the husband?

But, there's also no blood, and no proof Sandy was killed. And, Aiden Brewster, the neighbor down the road is a registered sex offender. What about the brilliant thirteen-year-old boy who is totally in love with his teacher? Everyone knows teachers get caught with their students nowadays. And, why did Sandy run off with Jason in the first place, a few years after her mother's death?

Who are the Joneses, those secretive people who lived behind steel doors? Jason Jones knows he'll be the primary suspect. The husband always is. Aiden Brewster knows he'll be suspected, and his life is over. The sex offender down the road is always the suspect. D.D. Warren isn't at all happy with her choices.

So where is Sandy Jones? The Neighbor will keep readers in suspense right until the final chapter. I'll admit, I was hooked. That doesn't mean I'll read more suspense now. It means Lisa Gardner's latest book is intriguing, with constant red herrings. Good luck in guessing the ending.





Another real thriller.... thanks Tammy. Don't start this book unless you have time to finish it lol. It twisted and turned right up to the end. Very intriguing.

Bones by Jonathan Kellerman

Bones is one of Kellerman’s better efforts in recent years. It’s definitely not one of his best (check out “The Butcher’s
Theater” and “The Conspiracy Club”), but it’s an improvement over “Compulsion” and “Obsession.”
In “Bones,” Delaware is wittier and more energetic and seems to have a renewed passion to solve the case at hand, which has a lot of tentacles.
A young woman’s body is discovered at the Bird Marsh nature conservancy near Marina Del Rey in California. Los Angeles homicide detective Milo Sturgis, a mainstay in the Delaware stories, investigates, and he soon uncovers a horrible scene. More female bodies are found — they’re all prostitutes. A serial killer is apparently on the loose. Sturgis calls in Delaware for assistance.
At this point, it looks like a paint-by-numbers mystery. But the most recent victim is a talented young musician from the East Coast. Her name is Selena Bass, and she had been employed by a wealthy family, the Vanders, to tutor a musical prodigy.
This strange twist puzzles Delaware and Sturgis, and the two launch a wide-ranging, bumpy investigation that leads them to all corners of L.A. They first discover that the Vanders are nowhere to be found, and the Vanders’ estate manager, Travis Huck, seems to be a little suspicious.
“His sad, crooked mouth straightened into a position of neutrality, at odds with the tension around his eyes,” writes Kellerman, describing Huck during the duo’s questioning. They soon realize he has a criminal background.
Sturgis, playing the starring role for once in a Kellerman novel, and Delaware don’t settle for the obvious, however, and unearth more startling details about the marsh deaths.
Not surprisingly, there are some surprises in the investigation, which leads them down a path with some combative characters and a brooding sense of violence.



I enjoyed the storyline and the mystery was intriguing, but it was a little muddled in the middle. I would recommend this book.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.

Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, ...moreA foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.

Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.

Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.



I LOVED this book. The friend that loaned it to me did it kind of off handed saying... 'don't know if you'll like this book. It jumps around a lot.' So I must say it covers a time from the early 1900's, 1975 and 2005 - and going back and forth among the times. I did read it in a short period of time and didn't find it hard to keep the characters in order. The story line was good, the characters well described and the mystery was very fasinating. Let me know if you read it and what you think of it.