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| "The first boy had taken less than a week. She hadn't liked him. He had been a slob just like Mickey, and it disturbed Harlow how at home he had seemed in that shithouse of a rental. His name had been Christopher Clark, and he hadn't had an inkling of ambition--no drive, no common sense in that empty skull. When Harlow had taken in the spectacle that had been Christopher Clark's bedroom, she had shaken her head in disgust. The boy had slept among trash, hadn't bothered to obtain any furniture; the entire room had a sharp stink of body odor... "But she pursued him anyway. He wasn't perfect, but dumb enough to not know any better, which gave her a sense of comfort. She intended on stepping up her game as time went on, but that first time on Magnolia, she had been nervous, and Christopher was easy. "But Andrew Morrison was different. She could already\ sense it..." |
By Ania Ahlborn
An author who sets a slow pace normally, to me, means sit back and enjoy what I have to say...but Ania Ahlborn fooled me. She pulled me slowly in, not allowing me to realize what would be happening...
This is my only warning...
Andrew Morrison had just found a little freedom--he had, of course, moved out of his family home to room with an old friend that he hadn't seen for years, but for whom he had great memories. Mickey Fitch had been a childhood friend; in fact, he'd been a boy who had helped him out of trouble so it was with gratitude that Drew was going to renew their earlier friendship.
When he found the street, he thought he had the address when he pulled up in front of a beautiful house--only to discover that the right place was next door. What a difference! In fact, he was surprised the building was even in this neighborhood where most homes were well maintained.
His new home reminded him more of where he had just been living with his mother...
Getting inside was even worse! His old friend seemed "out of it" and the place was filthy--good thing he was used to taking care of housekeeping! First thing he did was go buy cleaning supplies and cleaned the bathroom...then started looking at his own room... As time went on, he realized that the friend he had once looked up to was...quite different now...
He'd have to start looking for work right away, but he at least needed to work on the kitchen first.
But at least a bright spot occurred when the next door neighbor brought cookies. Readers will quickly find that she knows Mickey very well and mandates that the cookies were only for Drew since she, as you probably guessed, had already watched the new boy and was interested in "getting to know him..."
Surely by now you've realized that getting cookies from a beautiful female neighbor is not a good thing ...LOL so I'm not going to get into the lovely lady's routine with the young men who have been Mickey's former roomies. Other than to say that Drew turned out to be different...and that really shook up...everybody! If you enjoy edgy, let your imagination fly freely and I'll wager you won't guess even half of what happens...
This is my first time reading Ahlborn and I'll admit in my mind the genre was closer to horror than the psychological suspense advertised; however, the writing is great, the story line unique even though the theme is not; and the surprises at the end lend credibility that this is not just another slasher story... Ahlborn provides psychological backgrounds of her main characters, helping readers to better understand the why questions that we are always troubled with when real-life sometimes follows fiction.
Highly recommended for all those that wonder about their new neighbors...
GABixlerReviews
Beyond writing, Ania enjoys gourmet cooking, baking, movies, drawing, and traveling. She currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband and two dogs, Beau the Scottie and Galaxy the Yorkie.
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