I plucked this audio out of the bag I keep in my car. It’s been in there a while but I figured now was as good a time as any to finally give it a listen. I’ve been on a horror binge lately and needed a bit of a breather from all of the bloodshed.At the midway point, I have to admit, I was hoping for some bloodshed that would put an end to one, two or perhaps all, of these insufferably miserable people. It didn’t happen but I hung in there and things did improve a little. Not a lot but enough to keep me from DNFing the thing.This is the story of what happens when three well-to-do married couples spend too much time navel gazing and poking into each other’s business but mostly it’s about what happens to a marriage when three unhappy wives fear their spouse has impregnated the pretty widow across the way. They’ve shunned the woman (even before the pregnancy) and she won’t reveal who the daddy is when they finally spare her a few moments of conversation only so they can get all nosey. Hahaha, serves you right you cliquey witches!I have to admit that some dark part of me thoroughly enjoyed watching these women work themselves up into a jealous tizzy when Gretchen evades their questions. And it says much about this book that the most sympathetic character, for the majority of the story, turns out to be the young, widowed trophy wife. I felt terribly sorry for her and her loneliness and grief and feelings of exclusion were written very well. About a third of the way in, one of the wives, who is having a helluva time conceiving (and we get a first row seat to every tedious detail and moment of angst), turns a corner and I ended up enjoying her story but she took a little too long to get there.The audio was capably read by Laura Hicks. She does a good job with the narrative and the voices (even the males) with the noted exception of one of the wives named Karen. She made her sound like a nasty, bitter hag but perhaps that was intentional?If you like reading about marital woes and real life troubles, you may adore this book. I think I need to go back to fantasyland because this was too “real” for my liking.Important Disclaimer:I figured it was time to come clean. This is the guy who ghost writes my reviews. Don't let his goofy looks deceive you, he is slightly smarter than he appears but his taste in books is questionable and he DNF's all the time because he's kind of full of himself and thinks he has better things to do than read lousy books. If you don't like something he writes, I don't recommend sneaking up on him unawares to give him a talking-to because he may eat your face off. He's a little nutzo. You can, however, try bribing him with treats to put him in a better mood. It's likely he'll only eat the treats and leave you with a slobbery hand. In that case, be thankful you still have the hand and slowly back away.
The Woman Next Door is a woman's book. I glanced through pages of reviews on Goodreads and found only one other man who had reviewed it. The book covers a number of problems in suburbia that surround a threesome of friends, Amanda, Karen, and Georgia, who try to help each other but also spend a great deal of time gossiping. The group of friends include the women's husbands and used to include another couple, Ben and June. June died, Ben remarried a younger woman, Gretchen, and then also died. So this suburban circle has been left to deal with a young, attractive widow who doesn't make an obvious effort to reach out to them, but does call on their husbands for help around her house. The situation is complicated when the widow becomes pregnant and the women realize too much time has passed for the baby to be Ben's.The plot of this book revolves around family issues from problems conceiving to problems dealing with teenage angst, with trust and jealousy issues along the way. Amanda is a school psychologist and also the woman who is trying to have a baby. Her husband, Graham, comes from a close knit family and that family isn't very supportive of Amanda. So there are problems there as well.The major characters are well developed, especially the women. They have their flaws, but also qualities such as strength and loyalty. I think more men should read books such as this. The issues belong to both genders, but the perspective is different. I think it's important to understand that. I plan to read other books by Barbara Delinsky.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul
What do You think about The Woman Next Door (2002)?
This is yet another highly recommended Barbara Delinsky book! I was still out on maternity leave and made a second trip with my son to the library as our "field trip". (We were not getting out that much a few months back. I was still getting use to motherhood, scared of everything, stressed, and the H1N1 was at an all time high!)So I blindly grabbed TWO Delinsky reads and waited with great anticipation to dig in to them. It took me a while longer to read this book because my son decided to become more active but I was just as pleased with this book as I was with the first one (Family Tree). She has the ability to add a bit of mystery and intrigue to her books that makes them less predictable (not totally unpredictable) than many authors.
—Tasha
Before I start critiquing the book I do want to say that I was sucked into the story and really had a hard time putting the book down. With that said, I was first put-off when both Karen and Amanda immediately thought Gretchen's baby could be from their husband. There would have to be a large amount of distrust in a relationship to immediately suspect your husband to cheat on you. Granted, Karen has every reason to believe Lee was the father of Gretchen's baby with his past affairs. However Aman
—Michelle
In a cul-da-sac live four women. Amanda, Karen and Georgia are very close friends. Gretchen is a young widow, the outsider of the group. Amanda and Graham have been trying for a long time to conceive a child and the infertility sessions have not been productive. Amanda is a school psychologist and Graham is a landscaping architect. Both very admired in their fields. Except for making a baby. Karen is a stay-at-home mom who's volunteer work IS a full time job, along with her caring for her family. Her husband Lee likes his work and his women on the side. Georgia is the owner of her own business and travels away from work at least two to three days a week. Husband Russ, is the writer of a newspaper article and loves being a stay-at-home dad. Gretchen is Ben's second wife and now that Ben is gone, she is alone in the area, unbefriended by Ben's family and the rest of the neighborhood. Now the neighbors find out that Gretchen is very pregnant. There is no way that her late husband Ben could be the father. So the accusations and mistrusts amongst the other women and their husbands begins. Is one of these women husbands the father?At first I thought the title wasw more toward Gretchen, but as I read this book, it was about every "Woman Next Door." This was a real page turner, with alot of emotion. I really got caught up in the lives of all the characters. I loved some of the characters and hated others. I felt the middle of the book ran on a bit too long, but as it picked up again, it became very exciting, and the ending was NOT what I expected. I am a huge fan of Barbara Delinksy, and I wasn't let down on this one.
—Becky
