September 7, 2019

I picked this book up expecting it to be a decent psychological thriller with the ever-popular “shocking twist.” What I got was a lot more than that.

On the surface, The Good Neighbor is about a missing girl and how the community (one neighbor in particular) comes together to help find her. On another level, however, there are astute observations about homeschooling, social media, and society as a whole that gave this book tremendous depth.

Being a homeschooling mom myself, I am always a little suspicious when I see it as a plot point. Is the author going to do it justice, or go with a stereotype? I was pleased to find that this author knows her stuff. Whether she homeschools herself or spoke with homeschooling families, she perfectly captured so many aspects of the experience.

Brittany’s observations about her homeschooled peers were especially true-to-life. While they may be more advanced in book knowledge, there is a large number of students who falter at social situations and lack common sense knowledge gained through peers.

She also described a significant attraction of homeschooling – the ability to focus on what interests a student and complete guided learning instead of having to do rote memorization or be distracted by 30 other students.

Obviously, I was impressed with how the author handled this sometimes controversial topic. But I digress from the actual plot.

I thought the author also had some accurate reflections on social media and its impact on society, which was illustrated by Taylor’s obsession with her Facebook page. I found it interesting that the more Taylor wanted to build community within her neighborhood, the more she seemed to bastardize it for her purposes, which brought her motives into question.

As with all of my reviews, you will not find any reveals or spoilers here. But I will say that the book went in a different direction than I expected it to more than a few times. And the shocking twist? Yeah, it’s in there. And that is what ultimately made it an excellent read.

The Good Neighbor by Cathryn Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You will find everything from commentary on social media to accurate descriptions of homeschooling in this psychological thriller. The characters are realistic, the action is plausible, and the author gives the story depth by weaving the topics mentioned above into what could be a run-of-the-mill basic plot. It was definitely a page-turner, and I highly recommend it. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. This review was written based on a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of the book.
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About Cathryn Grant:

When she’s not writing, Cathryn reads fiction, eavesdrops, and tries to play golf without hitting her ball into the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California coast with her husband and two cats. Cathryn’s fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, The Shroud Quarterly Journal, and The Best of Every Day Fiction. Her story “I Was Young Once” received an honorable mention in the 2007 Zoetrope Fiction contest. She’s the author of the Alexandra Mallory Psychological Suspense series, Psychological Thrillers, Suburban Noir novels, The Haunted Ship Trilogy, and the Madison Keith Ghost Story series.

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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathryn-Grant/e/B004G1I484?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1566901527&sr=8-3

I was happy to find this short book because it was the perfect piece of escapism. There were not a lot of deep thoughts or plot twists to complicate matters. I was able just to read and enjoy the ride.

Alice was a character that many people could relate to – a scorned woman who wanted to get on with her life but still had enough anger left for some revenge (even though it’s not exactly what she thought she needed).

The author did move things right along, so there was not a lot of time to dig deep into motivation or reasoning. Events happened, and repercussions that led to more decisions.

(I know this all sounds a little vague, but because the story is brief and the action moves quickly, I don’t want to give away any of the plot points)

I thought the author did a great job of tracing the indecisiveness of Alice. There were times when she seemed thoroughly happy with where she was, yet in an instant was insecure and doubting the trajectory of her new life. There were moments that it was hard to tell if Alice was relying on what she thought was happening with her trinkets, or if she was finding the strength within herself to move on. I liked this dual focus. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

About Rachel Ellyn:

Life and loves after the career.

With degrees in Finance and Economics, Rachel found wonderful success in the business world, which took her I.T. and financial process consulting international. However, with her mind focused on business, and with the lack of training and mentoring in her personal life, marriage success eluded her.

After foraging on a path of self-awareness and exploration with a determination to avoid repeating patterns again, she found the key to relationship bliss. Now, combining her passion for writing and storytelling with her skills, knowledge, and drive that led to her business acclaim, Rachel shares her off beat take on the world, and her findings where life, love, divorce, and children are concerned.

Rachel is determined to be a publicist’s nightmare by writing in multiple genres including children’s fiction, flash fiction, romance, and suspense/thriller.

After multiple divorces, she is now happily married and lives in the Kansas City Metropolitan area enjoying the household noise of her soon-to-be empty nest.

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