A NEIGHBOR’S GUIDE TO MURDER

LOUISE CANDLISH

A neighbor's guide to Murder brings out many mixed emotions and, in the end, serves as an entertaining and life-enhancing read. Unlike some mysteries, this book focuses on older people and what it must be like to have reached the end rather than the beginning of life

 A Neighbor's Guide to Murder reminds us that people closest to us may sometimes treat us differently than we would expect. The protagonist, Gwen, loses all she has due to misplaced trust: her children, her friends, and others whom she could once count on have abandoned her. However, if Gwen had not been so concerned with others' affairs, perhaps all of her misery could have been avoided.

The story moves along at a nice pace, eliciting emotions that perhaps have not been experienced in quite a while. While we root for Gwen, we also learn that it is perhaps better, as the kids say, to "stay in your lane."