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New York Times Bestselling author Lisa Gardner discusses her latest release, The Neighbor (Bantam, June, 2009) with fellow thriller author CJ Lyons.

CJ: Tell us about The Neighbor.

LG: Jason Jones returns home in the middle of the night to discover his four-year old daughter asleep in her bed, but no sign of his wife.  Sandra’s purse is on the counter, her car in the driveway.  But she’s gone, disappeared into thin air.  Suddenly, Jason’s the prime suspect while his little girl is the lone witness.  Bad things happen from there.

CJ: You’re known for your meticulous research and plotting—what did you learn while researching The Neighbor that surprised you? 


LG: I wanted a sex offender in the novel.  When a woman goes missing, the police round up the usual suspects, so clearly there should be a registered sex offender living on the block.  Have to say, as a mother and neighbor, I was totally willing to hate that character. 

But yeah, I learned some things doing the research.  For example, the label sex offender covers way more offenses than most of us think.  Also, the ongoing treatment protocols for a sex offender are extremely rigorous and very expensive.  It’s a tough lifestyle for the guys honestly trying to get on track.  This lead to one of my favorite scenes in The Neighbor, which is a group therapy session.  Half a dozen sex offenders in one room.  Some scary, some scarier.  From a suspense author’s perspective, loads of fun to write.

CJ: The main character, DD Warren, has been a recurring character in previous books.  Why did you decide to give her her own story?  How does she change over the course of the book?


LG: I started The Neighbor with the premise that D.D. really needed to get laid.  Poor woman has spent two novels watching her former lover fall for the other girl.  So, this was going to be D.D.’s turn, and I figured a dark, handsome guy suspected of murdering his own wife would be perfect.  But yeah, things change.  Maybe D.D. doesn’t need to get a man.  Maybe, what D.D. really needs is to save a four-year old girl caught in the middle of a deadly game.

CJ: The Neighbor deals with secrets, intimate secrets between intimates.  And a four year old girl caught in the middle.  As a mother and wife, how did writing this book affect your own life?


LG: The scariest part of writing The Neighbor was realizing the thin line between domestic bliss and absolute chaos.  One moment, the Joneses are a typical family.  The next, Sandra is missing, and Jason is racing against the clock to determine what happened to his wife before the cops arrest him and his four-year old girl becomes a ward of the state.  While the media descends upon his home.  And he loses his job.  And oh yeah, he takes care of his child.  Talk about pressure!

CJ: What’s up next for you?


LG: I just finished up my latest manuscript, where D.D. returns to investigate a string of family homicides.  Are men all over Boston suddenly murdering their entire families, or is something much more sinister at work?  You’ll find out in 2010.

CJ: Where can readers find you on the web?

LG: I’ve just joined Facebook, so please come visit!  Readers are also welcome to check out www.LisaGardner.com, where they can nominate the person of their choice to die in the annual Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy Sweepstakes.  Think of it as the perfect gift for that person who has everything.

About CJ:
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels.  Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a National Bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a “breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller.”  The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, was released January, 2009 and the third, URGENT CARE, is due out October, 2009.  Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net