Twenty years later, Abby’s husband, Nate, is also living with a deep sense of guilt. He was the driver who first came upon the scene of Abby’s accident, the man who pulled her to safety before the car erupted in flames, the man who could not save her brother in time. It’s this guilt, this regret that binds them together. They understand each other. Or so Nate believes.
In a strange twist of fate, Liam (her old lover—possibly her true soulmate) moves in with his own family next door, releasing a flood of memories that Abby has been trying to keep buried all these years. Abby and Liam, in a complicit agreement, pretend never to have met, yet cannot resist the pull of the past—nor the repercussions of the dark secrets they’ve both been carrying… (Pub Date: Mar 13, 2018)
And I turn more and more into McKinnon's fan.
Have you ever wondered how it would be to have The One You Lost move to the house next door? Well, let's just say Abby is not as happy as we think we would be when she finds Liam to be her new neighbor. After losing her brother, her best friend ever, Abby has found herself the perfect family—or almost, considering the constant arguments with her teenage daughter. But the farce she has built along the years starts to show now Liam is back in her life. However, she may not be the only one keeping secrets.
This story is told from multiple point of views and yet the characters still managed to surprise me with all they hide and manage to cause. Even though I don't really consider the book to be a thriller, I think it got really close so full of revelations it was.
To be honest, "the story of two couples suffering middle-life crises hashtag firstworldproblems" isn't the type that calls to me. To be even more honest the "dark secrets" in the summary only read like daytime soap opera cliffhanger, they really wouldn't have been enough for me to give this a try. Luckily, I had read McKinnon's previous novel, Time After Time, and fallen in love with her smart and fun narrative. This is the reason I'm telling you—give this a chance.
I think this book's weak point were the characters, actually. Abby is obviously the main one, the one around whom all others revolve. And still, I couldn't connect. It's not for no reason, she has lost herself since the death of her younger brother, which made her really hard to love. In a much less complex way, Liam also seems too fake to really love; even though he is wealthy, has a great body and seems to be amicable enough, there's just that "too perfect to be true" aura about him. And the thing is that it may have been the author's intention to build both that way. After all, this is about secrets.
My favorites were Nate and Sarah, the daughter. They were really precious and made me feel like giving them hugs all the time, despite and/or because of their flaws. Sarah's voice was especially charming, made me long for a YA by this same author. And notwithstanding what I said about Abby above, I liked the way she narrated. And well, I've also said this already but I'm a fan of McKinnon's fun way to narrate. Countless times, I found myself chuckling and nodding because I could just see myself in the same situation.
While this is no lighthearted story, the book is very easy and quick to read. Not only is it funny, but it also just grabs you, sits you there and won't let you stop until it's over. The way you dive into these character's hidden skeletons after a few chapters of feeling you also want that life for you made me feel out of breath, panicky to simply get there and ohmygodhowdoIgetoutofthis.
I also have to mention McKinnon has considerably improved since her debut novel. And this is amazing because she was already a really good writer. The Neighbors turned out to be more complex, darker, but I can still see the elements that made me fall for her style. It's like she decided to give good a twist on Time After Time's premise of what if you could have another chance with the love of your life. And considering all the differences, I'm extremely curious to see what she'll write next.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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