I love reading about dark things happening right under my nose. Sometimes things can feel dull and predictable out in the suburbs…but rarely are they dull when you’re reading suburban noir. The stories can take you anywhere from “how bad things can happen to good people” to “how well do you really know your neighbors?” to “what lengths people will go to protect the ones they love.” You know you’re going to be blown away at the end, but you never know exactly how it’s going to happen.
Below are a few of my favorites. These books will be sure to meet your voyeuristic tendencies, and have you thanking your lucky stars your neighborhood is dull.
Liane Moriarty, The Husband’s Secret
Liane Moriarty has got to be queen of suburban noir, doesn’t she? Sure, everyone’s heard of Big Little Lies, but before that, there was The Husband’s Secret. In it, Cecelia Fitzgerald finds a letter addressed to her. It’s an old letter, yellowed at the edges, and it says in her husband’s handwriting: For my wife: to be opened in the event of my death. Cecelia grapples with whether or not to open the letter, after all, her husband is still alive. Then again, how bad can it be? She’s been married to the man for twenty years and he’s a good, law abiding citizen! Cecelia soon finds out that bad things can happen to just about anyone. More importantly, she finds out that good people can do some pretty bad things.
Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, The Wife Between Us
In this new bestseller by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, we find out the true horrors of what can happen after a move to the suburbs. Nellie is engaged to be married to Richard when he surprises her with the ultimate wedding gift: a sprawling, four-bedroom Colonial in Connecticut. But soon enough, she feels terribly isolated, wrestles with bouts of insomnia, her beloved dog goes missing (or does he?). Is there a stalker in her midst, is it all in her head, or is the danger closer to home than she can even imagine? Bottom line: nothing is as it seems. I was sure I knew where this book was headed, but boy was I wrong. I love when a novel can surprise me. The Wife Between Us is that novel that makes you wonder if you ever know anyone as well as you think you do.
Mary Kubica, Pretty Baby
Pretty Baby is a tale of how the strangest things happen in the most familiar of places. When Heidi Wood notices a teenage girl with a baby on her local train platform, she can’t help but worry. It’s cold and rainy—and no one seems to notice the girl and the baby at all. Heidi can’t resist the urge to approach the girl to find out more about her. As Heidi gets to know her better, the girl and her baby become part of Heidi’s life. Heidi isn’t sure the girl’s story adds up, but as long as she–and more importantly, her baby, are safe and looked after, who cares? As the novel takes you through twists and turns it will have you screaming…WHO ON EARTH CAN I TRUST?
Shari Lapena, The Couple Next Door
Most people think of their home as a safe place, for them and their children. This is certainly the case in Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door. When the babysitter cancels at the last minute, Anne and Marco decide to take a chance and leave their baby daughter at home alone. After all, they are just going next door and will have the baby monitor with them. They check on Cora at intervals, but when Anne goes home just after midnight, the baby is gone.
A search follows, where everyone becomes a suspect—even Anne and Marco themselves. Before long it becomes clear that you never know the neighbors as well as you think you do. In fact, maybe you don’t even know the people living in your own home.
Herman Koch, The Dinner
When two couples meet for dinner one summer’s evening in Amsterdam, it looks like they are set to have a pleasant evening. As they dig into their starters, conversation is polite and touches on the trivial—work, vacations, life. But more is going on under the surface of the conversation than even some of the people in attendance know. As the couples make their way toward dessert, the conversation finally touches on the purpose of their meeting—a horrific act that has been committed by their fifteen-year-old sons. As courteousness begins to crumble, each couple shows just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. The Dinner is that book that will make you forever wonder what the people at the next table are discussing.
Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train
In The Girl on the Train, Rachel catches the same train every morning. Day after day she becomes more familiar with the homes she passes, particularly the little row of homes where the train stops for a minute, every morning and evening. Some days Rachel gets a glimpse of the people living in them and she can’t help but stare. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. But when, one day, Rachel witnesses a shocking act take place in one of the homes, she suddenly has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Not only that, she feels her life has a purpose for the first time in a long time. The question is, is she helping these people … or is she the one to be feared?
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My own novel, The Family Next Door, also explores how well we can ever know people. It’s set in a cul de sac in Melbourne, Australia, with a small-town feel. When a new neighbor moves to the sleepy suburb, people become suspicious. What is this single, childless woman doing in their family neighborhood? Why is she so interested in the children of the street? All they know is that something isn’t right with their new neighbor. Or is it that something isn’t right with them?
