The Perfect Neighbors: A Novel

I was hooked on Sarah Pekkanen's books from the first one I read. After reading that first book I bought all of the others and devoured them. I was excited to learn that The Perfect Neighbors was coming and I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available. I read this book in a day, and that is a rarity in my world. I read it on my back deck until there was no more light, read it in the tub until the steamy water went cold, and made the kids fend for themselves for food...no worries, they are old enough to fend!

The Perfect Neighbors was that good. The thing I love about Sarah's books is that you can relate to the characters and the women in this book are no different. Each has a seemingly perfect life and lives in a seemingly perfect community where all streets are named for flowers. This gives it a Wisteria Lane, Desperate Housewives feel but in a much more believable way. Each woman has a secret but Pekkanen doesn't spill the dirt too soon. Instead she weaves each woman's story gradually, which is why I couldn't put it down. I was invested and wanted to know what was coming next. There is a sadness in some of the women's stories but there is hilarity too. Every chapter starts with a neighborhood daily email digest and they are hysterical! Some had me laughing out loud because I live in a subdivision and the digest called out behavior I see often...such as a running dialog on neighbors who allow their dogs to poop on neighbor lawns without cleaning it up. Then there is the neighbor who takes it upon herself to answer everyone.

If you are a Sarah Pekkanen fan, you will not be disappointed in her newest book. If you aren't familiar with Sarah's books, give this one a try. You won't be disappointed!

Considering my one neighbor mows the lawn in his underwear while the opposing side's couple enjoys making love in their outdoor hammock LOUDLY in the wee hours of the evening, I was intrigued by the idea of "The Perfect Neighbors". Does such a thing exist? I did not think so and therefore in my mind this was already a masterpiece of modern fiction.

As I filled my glass of wine and settled in to my deck chair to read, I marveled over the lovely cover. Front and center was the requisite faceless woman that is on the cover of all of Ms. Pekkanen's novels. This one was different in that she was peering over the hedges. Ooh! A peeper! Immediately I was intrigued. What was so salacious on the other side of the hedge that got her attention? Was she not afraid of getting caught? Aha! Now we had a brazen peeper. Could this get any better? My hopes were high. Also, who did her blowout? The model's hair was Pantene commercial worthy. I gazed at the glossy locks finding myself impressed with the hair stylist's mad skills.

Folicle envy aside, I finally began the book with the hope that it would provide a brief momentary escape from the humdrum of my everyday existence. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked and the day's troubles were all but a distant memory. I was now happily ensconced in Newport Cove and was no longer subject to the memory of Mr. Bulging Belly mowing the lawn at 5 a.m. in his BVD's. What kept me hooked you ask? I really don't want to go into plot details because frankly, if you need them there are many other reviews besides mine that will go into it a lot more eloquently than I ever could. All I know is that the wine was flowing, the pages were turning and time was flying. Could you really describe a more ideal evening? Ahem. A more REALISTIC ideal evening? (Tuck those Ryan Gosling fantasies away you Pekkafan)

Anyway, I read the book from beginning to end in one evening since I was unable to put it down. The storyline kept me hooked and the list serv excerpts at the beginning had me laughing out loud so much that it gave my amorous neighbor performance anxiety. For once I did not have to tell my children that the shrieking sounds coming from next door was the neighbor's cat. The book paid for itself right then and there if you ask me.

So grab "The Perfect Neighbors" for a beach read or for one of those days when you require some much needed 'me' time. I've read all of Ms. Pekkanen's books and this by far is her best. Enjoy (and please stay out of the hammock #28). Thanks.

Sarah Pekkanen’s writing gets better and better with each new novel. I seriously heart her and look forward to getting a new story from her every year. I love how its never the same type of character from book to book and now to have a married with children Desperate Housewives tale – what a joy!

What I loved: My favorite part of each present-day chapter was the ListServ messages at the start. These messages gave such insight into the comings and goings of the community more than a tweet ever could. How I wish Reese was one of the characters ! Her life would be terrific to peek into because if I were her, I would just be in a ball in the corner drinking myself into a stupor.

What I didn’t love: I know that all great books cannot go on forever and ever (with the exception of Sweet Valley High since that series never ended) but the ending seemed a little abrupt to my liking. I was hoping for just a little more about Tessa’s backstory – maybe a juicy confrontation or something. It just wrapped up a little too cleanly and quickly.

What I learned: My secrets are still way better than yours….

Overall Grade: A-

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This is the first book I have read by this author and I have to say I am impressed. Newport Cove is the setting and the folks who live here are very happy as they are considered one of the twenty safest neighbourhoods in the United States, quite an honour they think. The story evolves around four women, Susan, Gigi, Tessa and Kellie and I grew to really care about these characters as the book progresses. What really happens at home compared to the face we put on each day to go out and see the world? this is not a perfect world as the residents would like you to think and there are many secrets and twists and turns as the story moves along. We all tend to look at others at times and wish for what they have but in doing so we may discover that things are not as rosy as we think. A great read and I would recommend highly recommend this book

I would say this is more women’s fiction than mystery or suspense. It’s true that each woman does have a secret, but only one of their secrets is of the criminal variety. Even with the element of a potential murder in one of the lady’s past, I still didn’t feel a driving force of suspense. The story is built largely in understanding how each of the women tick, what each one finds important, and the steps the women take to try and find their peace.

It’s a fairly easy read because each woman is interesting, but I did find Kellie to be tedious at points the further along I got into the book. Susan and Gigi were my favorite storylines. This novel took me a little longer to get through; partly because I was busy over the holidays, but also because I never felt compelled to get to the end. When I did read it, the pages went quickly and it was easy to follow along. But when I wasn’t reading it, I didn’t feel driven to get my kindle out and find out what happens. All in all, I do like the author’s writing style; by the end of the novel, I was invested (to varying degrees) in the women’s stories and I was pleased with the resolutions to various roadblocks that each woman had encountered.

For those who are interested: There isn’t a lot of foul language and no graphic sex, but just a warning that there is brief storyline reference of child molestation (nothing in-depth).

While I was entertained by the chatty, conversational tone of the book, it really didn't have any exciting events. It definitely reminded me of a Liane Moriarity book so much. It was like watching an episode of Desperate Housewives but not having anything exciting happen, more just the everyday lives of the people on the street. The buildup of the new neighbors and their secret sort of fell flat to me, but for an entertaining somewhat funny,light kind of book, it served the purpose.

I have no idea how readers can consider any of these characters "complex". Every single one was flat, predictable and unrealistic. No surprises, clearly defined as good or bad and tied up neatly before the story ends. I'm not sure what was more annoying, the poorly foreshadowed plot line around the new neighbors who murdered the pedophile on their last block or the bored housewife who went back to work and had a FLIRTATION with a co-worker that was nothing physical, no kissing, no sex, just one stupid dance at a club and her husband of 17 years is so angry he doesn't think they can survive it. The only interesting antagonist was the campaign manager but the author had to go and crap all over that with him, wait for it, flirting with the daughter to convince her to not be a moody little goth brat. They started down a path of him going through the house but decided rather than develop that let's toss in a random story line about a 80 year homophobe who disowned his son but suddenly was reunited with him by the magical powers this author has to wrap everything up so neatly. I'm aware the stupid symbolism here is supposed to help the recently divorced character, Susan, heal but why the hell she was so bitter in the first place was beyond me. She showed several moments of self reflection where she knew her marriage was in a bad place. Her husband didn't cheat. He recognized he wasn't in love anymore, was honest and moved on. And the crap about her friend was just junk. She had no idea he was married to Susan and they had been friends for five minutes. These characters were all shallow. The only thing entertaining in this book were the listserv feeds at the beginning of the chapters. The best laugh was about how much the HOA paid to video a raccoon pooping which sums up this book nicely as I asked myself several times why did I pay for this crap. Never would have finished it if it hadn't been for my book club.