The
Neighbor ,
by Lisa Gardner (Read by Emily Janice Card)
This is a strange and very compelling story
that will hold your interest as you try to understand
the behavior of a married couple, Jason and Sandra Jones.
They live in a modest house in south Boston with a precocious
four-year-old daughter, Clarissa, who they call Ree.
Sandra was five months pregnant when she married thirty-year-old
Jason, and during the four years since their marriage,
Jason and Sandra have not had sex. Jason works nights
as a reporter for the local newspaper and Sandra teaches
sixth grade at the junior high school. They don't socialize,
and their child has never been left alone with anyone
other than Jason or Sandra. One night Jason comes home
and Sandra is gone. He finds Ree sleeping in her room,
but no Sandra. When the police are notified, they are
baffled by Jason's behavior. He is quiet and doesn't
demand that they get search parties to find his missing
wife. The police find it strange that both front and
back doors to the house are heavy steel doors with slide-through
bolts. Every window has a wooden dowel to hold it from
being slid open. Jason is the main suspect since there
is no evidence of a break-in. The police find it strange
that the wife's car is in the driveway and her purse
and keys are on a side table in the hall. Nothing is
missing, according to Jason. There is a broken lamp
next to the bed, but no signs that it was used as a
weapon. There is a blanket from the master bedroom that
is missing. Other than that, nothing seems out of order.
The police discover that a registered sex
offender lives five houses away from the Jones' house.
Having served time for having sex with a consenting
fourteen-year-old girl when he was nineteen and having
been clean for the last two years, he is not considered
a serious suspect by the police, but he is possibly
involved. Sandra's father, a prominent judge, shows
up demanding custody of the four-year-old child, since
he says that Jason is not fit to take care of Ree. Although
he' s a respected Atlanta judge, questions arise about
his past relationship with Sandra, so he also comes
under scrutiny. From this point on, Gardiner fills her
story with twists and turns as the characters other
than Jason give their versions of the events. The listener
will be in a constant state of suspense and surprise,
trying to find out what happened to Sandra. In the end,
even the most astute listener will be as stunned as
the police with the shocking conclusion.
The final outcome is well worth waiting
for, as it gives a vital message to all. The abnormal
behavior of Jason can be understood when his background
is finally exposed. The Neighbor is an appropriate title
for this book, because it reminds us that the people
who live next door probably have secrets which would
surprise us, if we knew them. I find this a story worth
reading as it tells the emotional conditions people
must endure to survive.
John
Mormon
7/31/09
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