Woman Next Door FROM OUR EDITORS
In a spellbinding novel about the hope of dreams, the power of suspicion, and the fragility of relationships, Barbara Delinsky stirs things up in quiet suburbia with The Woman Next Door. Three seemingly secure marriages begin to unravel when a young widow whoﾽs new to the neighborhood turns up pregnant and no one knows who the father is. Amanda wonders if the strain of infertility has finally led her husband Graham to take desperate measures to ensure he has a child. For Karen, suspicion only seems natural, given that her husband, Lee, has been unfaithful several times before. And Georgia canﾽt help but wonder if the demands of her career have finally driven a permanent wedge between herself and her stay-at-home husband, Russ. Delinsky carefully peels away the surface faﾽades in this cliquish clan of women, revealing their soft, vulnerable underbellies in a process thatﾽs both riveting and painful. But thanks to Delinskyﾽs poignant prose, itﾽs also wonderfully unforgettable.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky paints an ingenious portrait of the secrets inside every marriage in a sharp-eyed novel filled with suspense and surprise. Three married couples in peaceful suburban Connecticut are challenged and forever changed by the presence of the woman next door...
Along with their husbands, Amanda, Karen, and Georgia are a close-knit circle of friends enjoying seemingly ideal lives in an upscale neighborhood. But when they learn that their lovely younger neighbor, widowed for a year and presumably still unattached, is pregnant, the strains and imperfections of their lives come into full focus. As they ponder who the father might be, each of the women harbors suspicions about her own husband -- and each is forced to a crisis point that will strengthen or shatter her marriage.
SYNOPSIS
In The Woman Next Door, New York Times bestselling novelist Barbara Delinsky delivers her most engaging novel to date, a story of trust, jealousy, and the struggle to keep love alive.
On a charming cul-de-sac in suburban Connecticut, three close-knit couples find their long-cherished harmony undone when a lovely, younger neighbor, widowed a year ago and presumably still unattached, becomes pregnant.
Who is the father? Could it be one of the husbands?
One by one, the couples turn inward, taking stock of their marriages and of the loyalties that perhaps have been taken too much for granted. In each case this close scrutiny reveals a weakness, and for each wife the situation becomes the kind of crisis that forces her to make a decision, one that will result in either the strengthening or the dissolution of her marriage.
Filled with suspense, surprises, and the kind of insights into the minds and hearts of her characters that have won Barbara Delinsky a huge and loyal following, The Woman Next Door is an ingenious portrait of suspicion and deception, faith and love.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The woman next door is young, attractive, widowed, and pregnant. Since the neighboring ladies know that she keeps to herself and doesn't receive visitors, they naturally wonder: "Could my husband be the father?" Delinsky's latest novel is like a murder mystery, with clues and even red herrings thrown in along the way, but Delinsky surprises the reader in the end. Her plot concerns the personal problems of the three close couples who live on the widow's cul-de-sac, focusing mainly on Amanda and Graham. Every detail of their own baby quest is noted, including fertility treatments and the dissension with Graham's baby-demanding family. Amanda's job as a school counselor is highlighted, especially when a teenager commits suicide at school. Will Amanda have a baby of her own? And will the father of her neighbor's baby make himself known? Popular author Delinsky (The Vineyard) has written another book that will appeal to readers of traditional women's fiction. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/01.] Carol J. Bissett, New Braunfels P.L., TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
This unusual love story combines the relationships of three couples living on a cul-de-sac and the mystery of a beautiful widow who is pregnant one year after the death of her husband. As the story unfolds, Karen Ziemba's sweet voice wraps itself around the emotional needs of each character, from the neglected wife to the wandering husband, from the widow to the childless couple. Ziemba's emotional vocal performance illuminates the daily interactions of these neighbors, their struggles to keep their marriages fresh and rewarding, and their questions about the widow's pregnancy. Ziemba keeps up with each twist of the plot until the surprising end. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
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