Fear Thy Neighbor by Fern MichaelsMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book was, in short, a hot mess. It was a slow, almost nonexistent burn, during which the dialogue and character development were both positively abhorrent.
The story is that of Alison (Ali)—a product of the foster care system, abused and neglected by those who were responsible for her safety and well being. At 17, Ali graduates high school and, after a harrowing experience at home, goes on the run. The story is of Ali visiting a new-to-her village in Florida and purchasing her first home. In spite of being drugged and dragged, finding human bones in her yard, and having horrendous experiences with the nefarious characters who inhabit the space, Ali moves ahead with buying a beach house there. She knows something is not quite right (ya think?), and as the story unfolds, the community’s secrets are revealed.
Whilst reading, I kept waiting for some big reveal or some significant event to occur—something that would anchor this novel. Instead, what I got was a series of unrelated crises and events that portrayed Ali as, at once, a bad ass and a woman who just could not make good decisions. The result was a muddled protagonist about whom I could not possibly have cared any less.
While the lack of a central plot was disconcerting, it was the uncomfortable and stilted dialogue that sealed the two star deal. When Ali is chased while inadvertently trespassing on a private beach, she, weapon in reach, tells her pursuer she will “blow (his) frigging head off”. When the man backs off and tells her he never meant to scare her, Ali responds with “Then what the hell are your intentions?” His INTENTIONS? Really? She’s just been chased down and she asks his intentions? It was just so out of character. Was she the brusque and base woman who threatened to blow his head off or the more refined lady asking a man of his “intentions”? When she goes into a “dollar store”, she asks to purchase a “cellular phone”. So formal for a street rat who has had to live by the seat of her pants! The inconsistencies were prevalent through out and extended beyond the dialogue. At one stage, she was convinced she had food poisoning, then pages later professed that she never believed her illness was food poisoning. She talked about having to, in the past, eat from garbage cans, but then we find she has well over $100,000 she has managed to “save” over a period of only 12 years, all the while moving from place to place. She even has her own investment broker, was weapon trained by an ex-military captain and knows enough to check the behind-the-scenes plumbing when she looks to purchase a home. Must have been a busy 12 years.
Overall, an incredible disappointment from an accomplished author. Two stars—and that’s being generous.
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