Secrets and gossip--and the fear that those confidences may leak out--seep through the upscale Cottonwood Estates community, where every resident has something to hide. The poignant and often amusing The Neighbor's Secret, L. Allison Keller's third novel, takes a deep dive into the personalities of a group of women and how they keep themselves sane and their families intact while dealing with betrayal. A monthly book club serves as their salvation.
The neighborhood used to revolve around wealthy Lena Meeker, whose elaborate parties united the residents--until 15 years ago, when a teenager was killed in an automobile accident following one of her gatherings. Now a recluse, Lena avoids neighbors, speaks only sporadically with her nearly estranged daughter and thrives on online shopping and "a rotating cast of paid friends," such as landscapers or cleaners. New neighbor Annie Perley desperately wants to be Lena's friend, pressuring her to join the book club. A much-needed social outlet, the club allows the women's personalities to surface as they discuss books, social issues, their children's problems and a vandal destroying neighborhood decorations. As the truth behind that car accident surfaces, more violence unexpectedly enters the women's homes.
Heller's fine hand at humor realistically illustrates the absurdity that can arise daily--an attempt at a woke potluck backfires; silly drinks concocted to match the book discussion (Pernod, champagne, lemon juice); regifted soaps with two bars missing. Heller (The Never Never Sisters) shows an affluent neighborhood's dark side, where threats and violence lie below the polished surface. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer