Fiction

A Gracious Neighbor

A Gracious Neighbor

  • Downloads：9611
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-07-03 11:21:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Chris Cander
  • ISBN：1713656418
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A gripping novel about friendship， secrets， misjudgments， and redemption among women by the USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of a Piano。

Martha Hale is an affable wife and mother who lives in an affluent neighborhood of well-tended lawns and high expectations。 If only her clumsiness at penetrating the social circles of her neighbors weren’t making Martha so lonely。

That’s why she’s thrilled when the glamorous Minnie Foster， a former high school classmate， moves in next door。 Despite Martha’s determination， picking up where they left off is trickier than anticipated—especially when their memories of the past don’t always align。 But Martha is undeterred。 In fact， her preoccupation with Minnie’s life， her success， and her marriage is becoming an obsession。 When she sees a darkness and shame hiding inside Minnie’s perfectly deceptive home， Martha realizes that not even Minnie’s secrets are what they seem。

Visceral， sharp-witted， and deeply empathetic， A Gracious Neighbor explores the judgments women pass on one another and the ills of a society curated to keep them on the outside looking in。

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Reviews

Rae ，

I enjoyed reading this bookThis was a very good book: well written and interesting。 I could not put it down。 I will say I saw the ending coming but it still worked。

Glen Seaboldt ，

story without a story？Well written， and close to my personal narrative as a SAHM， almost， but nothing seems to really happen until almost 90%， and then the ending is stunted and doesn’t follow through。 Felt like a waste after I read it， but I look forward to trying author’s other pieces because she has a wonderful voice。

Robyn ，

I like smarter heroinesBad ending， fumbling main character。 I was waiting for the last chapter that speaks from Minnie's voice， shares her story and gives her experience with Martha。 Then the book just。。。。ends。 very jarring。 In a kindle you don't know you're running out of book！ Lots of good humor， the reader can figure out more than the narrator has， but she had no sense。 I really found her choices unfathomable。 Leaving it all open just felt lazy rather than a literary choice。 I like smarter heroinesBad ending， fumbling main character。 I was waiting for the last chapter that speaks from Minnie's voice， shares her story and gives her experience with Martha。 Then the book just。。。。ends。 very jarring。 In a kindle you don't know you're running out of book！ Lots of good humor， the reader can figure out more than the narrator has， but she had no sense。 I really found her choices unfathomable。 Leaving it all open just felt lazy rather than a literary choice。 。。。more

Stephanie ，

This was incredibly slow and， at times， unbelievable。

Robna Wiles-Pfeifler ，

Good grief！ I can't believe I read this whole book thinking that it might get better。 The stupidity never ended！ Good grief！ I can't believe I read this whole book thinking that it might get better。 The stupidity never ended！ 。。。more

Danielle ，

I don't know why this one is getting so many negative reviews！ I thought it was a juicy little neighborhood drama。 We all know a Martha。 You see them on Facebook if you still check your account（I do not）。 Stuck in high school deep down。 Longing to belong， which is understandable to an extent but we witness a descent into madness and desperation。 I was cringing for sure。It was a nice and quick summer read。 I got the book for the Prime First Reads thingamajig last month， but when I saw Karissa Vac I don't know why this one is getting so many negative reviews！ I thought it was a juicy little neighborhood drama。 We all know a Martha。 You see them on Facebook if you still check your account（I do not）。 Stuck in high school deep down。 Longing to belong， which is understandable to an extent but we witness a descent into madness and desperation。 I was cringing for sure。It was a nice and quick summer read。 I got the book for the Prime First Reads thingamajig last month， but when I saw Karissa Vacker was narrating I clicked pre-order with the quickness because that's my girl。 The audio just came out today and I've already finished it！ 😂💕 。。。more

Ellen Apgar ，

Absolutely a fun read！ Would make a wonderful movie！

Phyllis Childs ，

Graciously Good！I love how Martha’s character evolved and developed over the course of the text。 She mad me angry a few times， which means I was truly engrossed。 Excellent reading！

Teri ，

A good readI won this through a giveaway on Goodreads。 The summary of this story is what made me want to sign up for the giveaway on this book。 As I read the book， I sympathized with the main character， Martha Hale。 Growing up， I wasn’t the popular kid in school， and struggled to be part of the crowd。 I understood her need to be part of the best neighborhood and try to be a friend to your neighbors。 It also clarified that life can still be like high school， where there’s always gossip， the need A good readI won this through a giveaway on Goodreads。 The summary of this story is what made me want to sign up for the giveaway on this book。 As I read the book， I sympathized with the main character， Martha Hale。 Growing up， I wasn’t the popular kid in school， and struggled to be part of the crowd。 I understood her need to be part of the best neighborhood and try to be a friend to your neighbors。 It also clarified that life can still be like high school， where there’s always gossip， the need to fit in， and be part something。 Martha does that in this book， but she goes a lot farther with Minnie， her new neighbor that she knew in high school。 She almost becomes obsessed to be her friend。 Those parts were the most interesting thing to read and how Martha’s mind works trying to figure it out。 The author was really good about digging into her mind and trying to feel Martha’s point of view。 I also like the mention about society and having to fit in。 Plus， the common gossips in communities， when you make up what you don’t know or heard about your neighbors。 This made it feel more realistic than just fiction。 Now， I don’t want to ruin what happens， so I am not going to do spoilers， but I had a feeling that I knew what the climax was going to be。 That part was kind of predictable。 The ending also left me wanting more though。 I thought it should’ve been finished， and it wasn’t。 It was a good read and I liked it， but the ending made me give it 4 out of 5 stars。 I do recommend reading the book， and I am willing to check out this author’s other books。 。。。more

Jessica Harding ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Unsatisfying ending， bad plot， characters I did not like。 I felt pity for Martha most of the book， physically cringed at almost all her actions， and was waiting for a murder that never came until the end with an unsatisfying wrap up。 The story was slightly interesting and kept me hooked， seemed like it was going to be good and was excited for this one but it just didn’t meet any expectation。

Nicole Dahlgren ，

I struggled to finish this， I kept reading hoping it would get more interesting。 It never did。 The main character was totally unlikable。 The ending was a lot of nothing。 Save yourself the trouble of struggling through this one。

renee young ，

detective type fiction I could not stop reading this book because it depicted a woman desperate for friendship and tried so hard to make friends。 She was different from many of her neighbors and from her high school classmates years ago。 Her own insecurity distorted her thinking and she acted in ways that were strange and unethical to me。 Was she a gracious neighbor？ Read to discover for yourself。

Denise M ，

Awful ending， slow read。 I want the time I spent reading this book back！

Maxine4President ，

Well， I was intrigued because of Martha's flimsy friend relationships。 I agreed with her mother in regards to her attire。 Mother's that take their children to school， driving in pajamas carries over into other areas where a proper dress code should be considered。 Personally I've never left our home without making the bed， tidying the kitchen， properly dressed with makeup and hair done every single day。 I don't care for sloppy people。 Back to the story。 I skipped a few paragraphs that seemed repe Well， I was intrigued because of Martha's flimsy friend relationships。 I agreed with her mother in regards to her attire。 Mother's that take their children to school， driving in pajamas carries over into other areas where a proper dress code should be considered。 Personally I've never left our home without making the bed， tidying the kitchen， properly dressed with makeup and hair done every single day。 I don't care for sloppy people。 Back to the story。 I skipped a few paragraphs that seemed repetitive， but I did finish the book。The ending。。。。。。a disaster。 The end。 。。。more

Misty Harper ，

If i hadn't read the short story "A Jury of Her Peers，" mentioned by the author in her note at the beginning of the nook， I doubt that I would have gotten what she was doing qith this story。 On that note。。。 I really hated the main character。 The authors writing was fine and I appreciated the effort to honor the original short story。 If i hadn't read the short story "A Jury of Her Peers，" mentioned by the author in her note at the beginning of the nook， I doubt that I would have gotten what she was doing qith this story。 On that note。。。 I really hated the main character。 The authors writing was fine and I appreciated the effort to honor the original short story。 。。。more

Cristy Villemaire ，

A gracious neighbor explores the complicated dynamic between neighbors and the secrets they keep。 Martha Hale presents herself as the perfect housewife and the perfect mother。 The story breaks down how her family went from humble beginnings to living in one of the most posh neighborhoods in Houston。 One day everything changes for Martha when her childhood classmate moves next door。 The charming and mysterious Minnie remembers Martha because of her beautiful talent to handle a camera。 I really en A gracious neighbor explores the complicated dynamic between neighbors and the secrets they keep。 Martha Hale presents herself as the perfect housewife and the perfect mother。 The story breaks down how her family went from humble beginnings to living in one of the most posh neighborhoods in Houston。 One day everything changes for Martha when her childhood classmate moves next door。 The charming and mysterious Minnie remembers Martha because of her beautiful talent to handle a camera。 I really enjoyed getting to know both of these characters and their how their lives intertwined。 It definitely touches on so many topics that are relatable， like jealousy， pressure to be perfect and how we use social media to gain access to everyone。 。。。more

Gabriela Probst ，

Like many books I've read recently， I felt I was at a distance with this one。 I didn't connect with the characters at all， although they were clearly drawn。 Maybe it was the slow plot， or the back and forth timelines。 The ending was。。。。。。 Well， it just ended。 Not memorable by any means。 Like many books I've read recently， I felt I was at a distance with this one。 I didn't connect with the characters at all， although they were clearly drawn。 Maybe it was the slow plot， or the back and forth timelines。 The ending was。。。。。。 Well， it just ended。 Not memorable by any means。 。。。more

Kristy Howell ，

This book was a pretty easy read and I was interested in the story line。 I found myself SO annoyed with Martha and wanting to yell at her to stop。 I agree with some of the other reviews about the super long paragraphs but I think that added to Martha's character， I feel she was the kind of person who would just ramble on either out loud or in her head and that was brought through in the run on paragraphs。 The ending was a huge let down though and the reason for the 2 stars， I turned the page （re This book was a pretty easy read and I was interested in the story line。 I found myself SO annoyed with Martha and wanting to yell at her to stop。 I agree with some of the other reviews about the super long paragraphs but I think that added to Martha's character， I feel she was the kind of person who would just ramble on either out loud or in her head and that was brought through in the run on paragraphs。 The ending was a huge let down though and the reason for the 2 stars， I turned the page （reading digitally） and was like WHAT？ That's it？！ I wanted to know what happened to Minnie， if Martha got found out， if there were actually friendships that developed。 I would love to know Minnie's side of the story。。。 。。。more

Charlee ，

This was my Amazon First Reads pick for the month of June。 First off， I have to admit that I dnf this story。 I got to the 60% mark and decided I just didn't care anymore because I was so bored。 Second， I never want a neighbor like Martha。 She thinks she's thoughtful and caring but she's anything but。 It's not just her though。 I didn't like anyone in the book。 Lots of people are saying that the ending is really bad but I didn't even bother to skip ahead like I normally would。 That's how much this This was my Amazon First Reads pick for the month of June。 First off， I have to admit that I dnf this story。 I got to the 60% mark and decided I just didn't care anymore because I was so bored。 Second， I never want a neighbor like Martha。 She thinks she's thoughtful and caring but she's anything but。 It's not just her though。 I didn't like anyone in the book。 Lots of people are saying that the ending is really bad but I didn't even bother to skip ahead like I normally would。 That's how much this book bored me。 It's really not even worth writing a review on。 Bottom line？ Don't bother。 。。。more

Michael John Skibba ，

I agree with most of the readers。 The book never developed into anything and it sure was not "gripping" as advertised。 It started out as something fun， but just rambled on！ And， as others stated， very poor ending。 I agree with most of the readers。 The book never developed into anything and it sure was not "gripping" as advertised。 It started out as something fun， but just rambled on！ And， as others stated， very poor ending。 。。。more

Michelle Clark ，

terrible ending

Jodi Schulz ，

2。5 stars rounded up。 The writing is a tad tedious and over indulgent but the story is good。 I figured out the twist immediately and I’m not even sure it is supposed to be a twist it is so obvious。 Not bad for a free Amazon first read and it is a super fast read。

Dre Mosley ，

This went in an unexpected direction。 Martha， the main character is a woman that has desperately wanted to be a part of the "in crowd" ever since childhood and has never made it there; not as a child， a teen， and now as an almost 40 year-old married suburban mom， she still doesn't fit in。 She's obsessive and has low self esteem。 Her behavior， social awkwardness， and appearance（she's not as stylish or as fit as all the other women in her community who do yoga and live in yoga pants） has caused pe This went in an unexpected direction。 Martha， the main character is a woman that has desperately wanted to be a part of the "in crowd" ever since childhood and has never made it there; not as a child， a teen， and now as an almost 40 year-old married suburban mom， she still doesn't fit in。 She's obsessive and has low self esteem。 Her behavior， social awkwardness， and appearance（she's not as stylish or as fit as all the other women in her community who do yoga and live in yoga pants） has caused people， including those in the neighborhood she's lived in for fifteen years， to just not warm up to her。 I suppose I was expecting her to become some deranged， obsessed psycho especially since a girl she had been mildly obsessed with in high school， by chance moved into the house next door。 That doesn't really happen。 Instead， she does some things that are。 。 。 。not normal throughout the book， but she's more or less harmless; she doesn't kill anyone。 Sometimes， you like her， sometimes you feel sorry for her， and sometimes you just want to grab her and shake her。 The ending is not exactly the most fulfilling， but it wasn't awful。 This was my first time reading this author（got this for free as a Kindle First）; I may check out something else she's written。 。。。more

Lindsey Yarbrough ，

GoodGood first read book for June's options。 Entertaining and quick。 Had its pros and cons but i still finished it。 GoodGood first read book for June's options。 Entertaining and quick。 Had its pros and cons but i still finished it。 。。。more

Carmel ，

I have not read this book yet。 I just （June 2022） received a free copy from Amazon Kindle First Reads。

Heather ，

Didn’t get the main characters choices。

Diane Lehman ，

That's several hours of my time I can never get back。 The characters were awful as was the storyline and then ending。 That's several hours of my time I can never get back。 The characters were awful as was the storyline and then ending。 。。。more

Blake ，

This was one of those books that stumped me on how to rate。 I liked it a lot， but it’s most certainly an acquired taste。 Her style is so uniquely long winded in a way that establishes key character traits and ultimately challenges the norm。 I would describe it as feminist satire。 I actually got fairly strong You， The Woman in the Window， Disturbia （remember Shia LaBeouf？！） and The Woman Next Door vibes。 Publisher’s Weekly smartly described her style as akin to Liane Moriarty。It’s categorized a s This was one of those books that stumped me on how to rate。 I liked it a lot， but it’s most certainly an acquired taste。 Her style is so uniquely long winded in a way that establishes key character traits and ultimately challenges the norm。 I would describe it as feminist satire。 I actually got fairly strong You， The Woman in the Window， Disturbia （remember Shia LaBeouf？！） and The Woman Next Door vibes。 Publisher’s Weekly smartly described her style as akin to Liane Moriarty。It’s categorized a suspense novel。 I would caution readers to give this time as the “suspense” doesn’t really come into play until well in to the second half of the book， although you get a sense early on of where it’s leading。 It’s a slow build with a lot of detail that doesn’t necessarily wind up contributing to the overall plot， but DOES contribute to a sense of understanding of complicated suburban female relationships。 Much of this novel is more about exploring how domestic gender roles in upscale neighborhoods compare to those of the early 20th century。 She calls out specifically that this book was based on a short story her daughter read in school set in the early 1900’s。 Seems more like a modernized adaptation than a unique work of fiction， but I appreciate that about it！I wound up burning through it to find out “what happened，” and was quite surprised at how differently she treated the ending。 [SEMI-SPOILER AHEAD] I’m a fan of closure， so it frustrated me a bit， but I got what she was going for with the openness of the interpretable finale。 She put us in the MC’s shoes so thoroughly throughout the book that we were meant to empathize with her decisions。💚 🅡🅔🅐🅓 🅘🅕 🅨🅞🅤 🅓🅘🅖:-Domestic fiction-Liane Moriarty-satire-gender role exploration -You-The Woman in the Window-Disturbia-The Woman Next Door-Texas⚠️🅣🅦:-infidelity-s&m-death-animal death Bechdel test: ✅ 。。。more

Rebecca L。 Greene ，

Easy read。

Elizabeth ，

The book had such promise but in the end it was a dud。 The plot was not developed。 The characters were not believable。 I think it was supposed to be funny but it wasn’t。 And the ending was the worst I have ever read。 It did not fit the rest of the book and felt like the author just ran out of ideas。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Gracious Neighbor

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Gracious Neighbor&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Gracious Neighbor&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0