Over This Plot

When Leah and her husband, Clay, move from Seattle to Maine, she envisions a vibrant new neighborhood packed with families—playmates for her twins, new friends she can confide in and bond with. But while Clay works long hours to establish his brewery, Leah is left alone each day in a nearly deserted housing development where the only other occupants are aloof and standoffish.
 
Bored and adrift, Leah finds herself watching Clarissa and Russell Gaines next door, envying their stylishly decorated home and their university careers. But Leah’s obsession with the intriguing, elegant Clarissa grows until she’s not just spying from afar but sneaking into their house, taking small objects...reading Clarissa’s diary. It contains clues to a hidden turmoil Leah never guessed at—and a connection to a local college girl who’s disappeared. 
 
The more Leah learns about Clarissa, the more questions emerge. Because behind every neighbor’s door there are secrets that could shatter lives forever...

The Neighbor by Joseph Souza lacks the quality found in Unpaved Surfaces or the originality of Need to Find You. I've been enjoying Souza's transition from zombie novels to mystery-thrillers, but this novel has left me wondering if the author has "sold out." While the author's writing style is still as captivating as ever, with alternating POVs between Leah and Clay, the story premise is an over-done theme. Unfortunately, I can't go into detail without giving away spoilers.

Souza also spends more time working current social issues into his story than developing his characters. Clay is a drunk, Leah is a bored housewife, Russell is a cheating husband...I could go on, but my point is everyone is a stereotype, without any effort to give their personalities the depth I've come to expect from the author's characters in previous novels.

The best thing I can say about The Neighbor is this novel would make a great movie for the Lifetime channel.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sunday Suspense: Need To Find You [book review]

Need To Find You by Joseph Souza is an intriguing crime drama, proving that Souza is just as comfortable with this genre as he is with the horror genre. Joseph Souza is well-known for his zombie series such as The Living Dead and The Liger Plague. However, after releasing his award winning novel, Unpaved Surfaces (and, no, that’s not just a blurb, he really did win multiple awards for his first crime drama), Souza is well on his way to becoming the next big thing out of Maine.

Souza avoids the cliché of violence as a plot device, and slowly weaves a story based on a hidden manuscript that might destroy the reputation of a classic author. Mikiela, investigating the memoirs of Robert Cornish, is abruptly kidnapped, but she manages to give her phone to Yasmine. As luck would have it, Yasmine has a history with the kidnappers and plans on using the phone’s contents to exact revenge on a man known only as The Viking. Whip is a former undercover detective struggling to overcome his alcohol addiction, but he accepts the task of finding Mikiela. Haskins is the corrupt assistant police chief who is trying to tie up all the loose ends to pay his debt to The Viking, but both Whip and Mikiela have a score to settle with the dirty cop.

The setup is slow, and there are several more characters to keep track of…to be honest, I wasn’t sure this book was going to be to my liking. I shouldn’t have doubted Souza’s ability to draw readers into one hell of a mystery. I would never have believed a crime drama could be centered on something as simple as a manuscript. Patience is required, but rewarded with the electrifying ending of Need To Find You.

I can’t wait for the next book in The Liger Series, but I’m thinking Souza needs to leave the undead behind and consider giving Whip his own detective series.

As always,

AstraDaemon