The Woman Next Door

by Barbara Delinsky

Book Overview

The lives of three couples are thrown into turmoil when their beautiful and much younger neighbor, who has been widowed for a year, announces that she is pregnant, forcing the wives to reevaluate their marriages and relationships.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743204697
• ISBN13: 9780743204699
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 367 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A good read

I really enjoyed reading this book. Entertaining yet suspenseful.

An intriguing 5 star read

The Woman Next Door focuses on three married couples, two with children, and a widow who live on a cul-de-sac. Amanda and Graham have the perfect life-except for the baby they want so much to have and can't. Georgia and Russ have reverse roles with Russ being the stay at home parent and Georgia the traveling business woman. Karen and Lee have the most turbulent marriage of the three couples. Karen is a stay at home mom who volunteers for everything and Lee is the computer wizard who owns his own business and has a record of cheating on his wife. Gretchen is the lonely widow who is pregnant. When the women of the cul-de-sac find out Gretchen is pregnant distrust runs wild in the minds of the three wives as they try to figure out who the father is. They not only suspect their friends husbands but also their own.This book was absolutely wonderful. It was my first, but definitely not last, Delinsky novel. The plot was well thought out and the characters were well developed. It was almost like reading a whodunit novel. Ms. Delinsky keeps you riveted to the pages until the end when you find out who the father is. This is a book about self-discovery and discovery about other people and what makes them tick. The storyline of teen suicide was very well written. Ms. Delinsky obviusly did her research well and did an excellent job of writing this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It is a great read and is a book to read more than once. Definitly a keeper.

Insightful

Barbara Delinsky once again displays her supurb talent for insightful and authentic characters. Using well-thought-out action and dialogue to draw the reader into the plot, this author writes with a having-lived-it kind of reality. I found this page turning novel hard to put down when chore time came. "The Woman Next Door" is another winner for Delinsky.Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

First book that I have ever..........

This is the first book that I have ever read of Ms.Delinsky's and I truly loved it.The characters were so real and I loved Amanda and Gray.........I was wanting to read more about the two of them.Especially at the end........I will be reading more of Ms Delinsky's books.........................

A DECIDEDLY DELICIOUS READING

Tony Award winning actress Karen Ziemba renders a decidedly delicious reading to this story that gives block party a new name. Spring arrives in Connecticut, but that's not all that's blossoming on a well-to-do block of homes - Gretchen, an attractive young widow who is not known to have been seeing anyone since the death of her husband a year ago, is pregnant. If one were to guess who the father might be it would be one or another of three neighbors' husbands. Each of the men has been helpful to the grieving widow, and each is a likely suspect. One has strayed in the past, another is often left alone by his fast track business woman wife, and the third and his spouse have an infertility problem. The author said she had "always been fascinated by neighborhood dynamics and the requisite balancing act between intimacy and separation." From that interest she has woven an intriguing tale as each woman takes a closer look at her marriage and the forces that impact it - in-laws, neighbors, children, fidelity, suspicion, and love. In the end, the question is, exactly who is the woman next door?

Barbara Delinsky Does It Again

This is just another in a long line of wonderful books by Barbara Delinsky.The book revolves around the occupants of four houses in a cul-de-sac,with Amanda and Graham O'Leary being the primary characters. Amanda is a school psychologist and Graham is a landscaper. They are trying desperately to have a child with no luck, and their marriage is suffering from their total focus on this. The other neighbors are Georgia and Russ Lange. She runs a large business, necessitating constant travel,and would like to sell it and remain at home. Russ stays at home with their two children, writing articles on the side.Karen and Lee Cotter come next;she busies herself with much volunteer work, and he owns a computer business,being frequently away from home and seeing other women.They have three young children and teen-age,Jordie who plays a vital role in the story. The fourth house harbors Gretchen,a young widow who married Ben after the death of his wife, and who has also now died. She is pregnant, long after Ben's death. Her pregnancy stirs many questions among the other three women, all wondering if perhaps one of their husbands fathered this child. Things in each household become unstable,with potential estrangements arising. A tragedy, followed by a major crisis, shakes up everyone and resolves many of the situations. Barbara Delinsky's characters are so believable. Her story flows smoothly from one event to the other and the people are like people we all know.Her characters have such substance,and, Amanda, the main character, is so lovable, you want to rush to her aid during her difficult times.Barbara Delinsky engenders such strong feelings for her characters in all of her books and she has done so again. This is a highly readable book.