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A review by bougainvillea
The Neighbors Are Watching by Debra Ginsberg
3.0
I'm not sure how to classify this. It's not a mystery in the sense that who did what to whom is not the most pressing question of the book. It's almost an afterthought. In fact, that aspect of the book really reminded me of [b:Something Might Happen|758688|Something Might Happen|Julie Myerson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178114956s/758688.jpg|744797]. Which is not a bad thing. I'm just not sure why the publisher chose to promote it as a mystery. If I was really in the mood for a mystery and was tricked into reading this, I'd be pissed. On the back cover, it says this book will appeal to fans of [a:Lisa Gardner|18282|Lisa Gardner|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1256576734p2/18282.jpg] and [a:Mary Higgins Clark|99044|Mary Higgins Clark|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1287227564p2/99044.jpg]. Um, no. First of all, those two authors are nothing alike, and second of all, The Neighbors are watching did not remind me of either one of them. Both Gardner and Clark write mysteries, albeit in their own ways.
Ok, having said that, Ginsberg creates some interesting characters and the plot is not bad. I like the whole neighborhood analysis factor. The book was also pretty well written. However, I honestly didn't care about any of the characters. I felt really detached from them, which made it hard to invest in what happened to them. The only exception was the lesbian couple, especially Sam. Towards the end of the book, I became more curious about Dorothy and Allison? became more interesting to me. But, overall, I really didn't care too much about any of them, to the point where I had no interest in the murder or finding out what happened to the victim at the end. And the big reveal seemed really random to me.
One thing I truly enjoyed was the description of the fire. I know nothing about wildfires and the whole description of how it encroached and developed and the soot covering everything... Fascinating.
I don't regret reading this, but I won't run out and read another of her novels, either. I'm actually more interested in her memoirs.
Ok, having said that, Ginsberg creates some interesting characters and the plot is not bad. I like the whole neighborhood analysis factor. The book was also pretty well written. However, I honestly didn't care about any of the characters. I felt really detached from them, which made it hard to invest in what happened to them. The only exception was the lesbian couple, especially Sam. Towards the end of the book, I became more curious about Dorothy and Allison? became more interesting to me. But, overall, I really didn't care too much about any of them, to the point where I had no interest in the murder or finding out what happened to the victim at the end. And the big reveal seemed really random to me.
One thing I truly enjoyed was the description of the fire. I know nothing about wildfires and the whole description of how it encroached and developed and the soot covering everything... Fascinating.
I don't regret reading this, but I won't run out and read another of her novels, either. I'm actually more interested in her memoirs.