The Neighbors Review

The Neighbors
by Ania Ahlborn
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Format: Paperback ARC
Midnight Minute: A deliciously creepy tale.
From Goodreads:

Andrew Morrison sacrificed everything—his childhood, his education, and the girl of his dreams—to look after his alcoholic mother. But enough is enough, and now he’s determined to get out and live his life. That means trading the home he grew up in for a rented room in the house of an old childhood friend— both of which are in sorry shape.

The only thing worse than Drew’s squalid new digs and sullen new roommate is the envy he feels for the house next door: a picture-perfect suburban domicile straight out of Norman Rockwell, with a couple of happy householders to match. But the better acquainted he gets with his new neighbors—especially the sweet and sexy Harlow Ward—the more he suspects unspeakable darkness beyond the white picket fence.

At the intersection of Blue Velvet and Basic Instinct lies The Neighbors, an insidiously entertaining tale of psychological suspense and mounting terror by the boldest new master of the form, Ania Ahlborn.

Midnight Thoughts:

~Drew leaves home looking for a new start, and finds everything he's ever dreamed of right next door to his new house.
~This book will make you scared of your neighbors, especially the ones with the best lawns.
~The tension builds and builds throughout the book, and I thought the ending came at the right time.  The book is a relatively short one (well, if your used to reading Stephen King books to get your dose of horror) but it's the right length, anything longer would have slowed it down too much.
~Harlow and Red's past flashbacks are some of my favorite parts of the story, you really get a good glimpse into the events that have shaped them into the people that they are when Drew meets them.
~Nitpick: It took me awhile to figure out that Mickey was several years older than Drew, because I couldn't understand how they lost touch while living in the same town.
~Everything that has ever happened in Drew's life sets him up to be vulnerable to Harlow, he barely needs to be played.
~I did think there was going to be a supernatural element to the story, because Harlow certainly reminded me of Circe in greek myths, but in the end she's just a woman who's very good at manipulating people.
~I'm not easily shock-able, but learning of Harlow and Red's son made my jaw drop, it was deeply disturbing.
~I now worry that my house is the Mickey house on the street...
~Where were the other neighbors?  I realize that times have changed and there's no longer neighborhood block parties but surely they were watching the Ward's house, right?
~The relationship Drew has with his mom, and her illness and addiction, was handled very realistically.  His guilt, torment, anger, love and disappointment were all very easy to relate to, even though I don't actually know any alcoholic agoraphobics.
~The only thing that would have made the ending better (for me personally) was an epilogue featuring the news coverage of what's found on Magnolia Lane in the aftermath.

Timeless Characters:

~Andrew (Drew, or Andy): Our hero, a damaged young man still dealing with his father's abandonment and his guilt over leaving his alcoholic, agoraphobic mother behind.  All he wants is a normal, clean life.

Tyler Labine as Sock

~Mickey- Drew's childhood friend, also comes from a less than ideal family, now he's a scruffy, game-playing loser with a tense relationship with his next door neighbors.  Mickey really grew on me.  Mostly because I can totally picture him as Sock Wykowski from Reaper. I miss that show! Mickey, however, has a bad past that he's still very much entangled in.
~Harlow- a cross between Jayne Mansfield and Bree from Desperate Housewives, there's a hell of a lot going on under her perfect facade.  I found her strangely likeable.
~Red- at first he's like Ward Cleaver (coincidence that his last name is Ward? I think not!), but as Drew spends more and more time with Harlow, Red's perfect demeanor begins to slip/

Midnight Moment:

Finding out what's behind Locked Door Number One.  I have to admit, I didn't see that coming! 

Stop The Clock:

The Neighbors is definitely worth your time if you're looking for a scary read.  I love the cover, although sadly, my ARC only has a small pic of it.  Guess that just means I have to buy the finished copy!  I picked up another book by Alhborn at BEA, and now I can't wait to get to it. I think I'll be adding her book Seed to my October 13th Readathon pile.  I am so excited to discover a new horror author! 



Ania Ahlborn— Website | http://www.aniaahlborn.com/
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The Neighbors gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

**I received a copy of the arc from Wunderkind PR in exchange for my honest review.  All thought, opinion and snark are my own.**

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