The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

I picked up The Neighbor thinking I was getting a romantic-suspense novel.  What I got was a very interesting mystery which has left me thinking that we need to take another look at how we treat sex-offenders!  Yes, many sex-offenders should be kept on life-long probation, but there is a possibility that some of them are just caught up in the system.  However, the story of Aidan is a side story in The Neighbor.  He's just a young man who gets caught up in the events because of where he lives.
     The real story is Jason and Sandra Jones and their four-year old daughter.  They seem to be the average young family living a quiet life in South Boston.  Then one night when Jason is at work as a reporter for one of the Boston newspapers, Sandra goes missing leaving behind her four-year old daughter as the only witness. 
     Detective Sergeant D. D. Warren catches the case and immediately senses that all is not as it seems.  Why does this pretty little suburban home in a non-crime area have steel exterior doors with industrial sized locks?  Why are there jams in all the windows?  When she questions Jason, why does he know nothing of his wife's background or daily activities?  For that matter, why does Jason seem to have no background?  The deeper D. D. digs, the deeper the questions become and the longer the list of suspects grows.
     Gardner tells the story by moving between D. D., Jason, Sandra, and the neighbor.  Even though you are privy to Jason's and Sandra's thoughts, Gardner keeps their secrets hidden, revealing clues slowly and letting the reader unravel the characters past for yourself.  Gardner does provide a satisfying ending, but the reader may end with the age-old question, "Does the end justify the means?"
     D. D. Warren is a serial character for Lisa Gardner but this is no serial story.  You don't need to know anything about D. D. to get into The Neighbor.

Other books by Lisa Gardner
D. D. Warren books:
Alone  (c2005)
Hide  (c2007)
The Neighbor (c2009)
Live to Tell (c2010)
Love You More (cMarch, 2011)

FBI Profiler Series:
The Perfect Husband (c1997)
The Third Victim (c2001)
The Next Accident (2001)
The Killing Hour (c2003)
Gone  (c2006)
Say Goodbye (c2008)

Stand Alone Books:
The Other Daughter (c1999)
The Survivor's Club (c2002)
I'd Kill for That (2004)