The Book:
Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon
Published January 17, 2023 by Celadon Books
Date read: October 31, 2022
The Characters:
Patrick
Danielle, Eden’s mother
Celia and Oliver and their son Jack
Jack and Hannah are dating
Alice and Geoff and their daughter Hannah
Alice is having an affair with Christopher’s father, Michel
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.
The Spoilers:
Christopher was in love with Eden, but she wasn’t interested in him. Jack was abusing Hannah, and encouraged Christopher to “just go for it” with Eden and “show her what she wants”. The night Eden died, the girls took drugs (that Hannah stole from her father) and were out of it. While Eden was passed out on the couch, Jack convinced Christopher to sexually assault Eden. He tried to get Christopher to rape her, but when Christopher refused, he decided to “just do it himself”. Eden woke up just as Jack was about to rape her.
Eden understandably freaked out, thinking Jack already had raped her as his pants were off. Jack called his father to help him calm her down. Jack and Hannah left, and then Christopher left, and Oliver was the one that killed Eden. He said he didn’t mean to, that he pushed her away from him too hard and she hit her head and died.
Patrick had seen Oliver, not Jack, but they look almost identical so he mistook Oliver for Jack when he saw Jack’s picture. Patrick and Danielle became friends. He got drunk though and went to the Parrish house to confront Jack, saw Oliver and realized what happened, and got shot and died.
Alice left town after Celia revealed her affair and her past.
The Review:
Thank you to Celadon Books for this gifted copy.
I absolutely love thrillers set in affluent neighborhoods. There’s just something about the way that the characters’ seemingly perfect lives unravel that completely draws me in! Plus this cover couldn’t be more perfect for this time of year.
In Locust Lane, I really liked how I had no idea which characters to trust. There are a lot of characters and relationships, so it took me a few chapters (and writing it down) to get them all straight. I liked that the reader isn’t sure who they should be rooting for, because even the sympathetic characters were realistically flawed. I did find it strange, though, how passive Danielle was about her daughter’s death. I never really felt her grief.
I found it interesting that we never heard directly from any of the characters that were involved in the case. This had its pros and cons, but ultimately I would have liked a chapter or two from each of the teens.
I would consider Locust Lane more of a neighborhood drama with some mystery and a death, not a true thriller. I wasn’t spooked, and it was a slow burn where the reader already knew who died and is working backward to figure out what really happened. The ending is satisfying but not tied up in a perfect, unbelievable bow, and I enjoyed how the story was wrapped up.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I certainly am interested in reading more by him in the future.
My least favorite part: I will always read the name Geoff as “gay-off”. If you don’t want me to call the character Gay-off, spell Jeff correctly!
QOTD: Do you live somewhere with changing leaves? If so, do you still have pretty colors? I took this picture a week ago–our leaves are definitely past their prime now, but the past few weeks have been so gorgeous here!
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