Good Neighbors

Sarah Langan

"Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.Arlo Wilde, a gruff has-been rock star who's got nothing to show for his fame but track marks, is always two steps behind the other dads. His wife, beautiful ex-pageant queen Gertie, feels socially ostracized and adrift. Spunky preteen Julie curses like a sailor and her kid brother Larry is called "Robot Boy" by the kids on the block.Their next-door neighbor and Maple Street's Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder - a lonely community college professor repressing her own dark past - welcomes Gertie and family into the fold. Then, during one spritzer-fueled summer evening, the new best friends share too much, too soon. As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea's daughter Shelly falls inside. The...