Book Review: The Body Next Door | Maia Chance

I was excited to read The Body Next Door because it promised to deliver some salacious content. I would say it’s unexpected! The cult storyline is mentioned but is much more prominent than I thought it would be. The ending was delightful!

What is The Body Next Door about?

They buried their secrets, but not deep enough…

Hannah McCollough’s life is far from perfect, but you’d never know it by looking at her. Instead, you’d see a beautiful young mother wholly devoted to her two children and a docile wife utterly besotted with her self-made millionaire husband, Allan. You’d see the designer clothes she wears, the luxury car she drives, the dewy-eyed au pair she employs.

You wouldn’t see the dark secret she carries.

But when a construction crew unearths the body of a young girl near the McCulloughs’ vacation home on Orcas Island, Hannah has no choice but to confront her past. She wonders how much Allan knows about the victim and the apocalyptic cult she was connected to. Meanwhile, Allan can’t seem to understand why his beautiful young bride, as polished and pristine as the collectible artifacts in his glass case, would threaten their fairy-tale lifestyle by digging too deep, in places she knows she shouldn’t.

As the police investigation into the gruesome discovery deepens, the facade of Hannah’s picture-perfect marriage starts to crumble, and she soon finds herself on a dire hunt for answers. And Hannah’s search takes an unexpected turn after she crosses paths with three strangers with shocking secrets of their own.

What did I think?

An historic northeast coastal island with a small crew of locals, a scandalous history, and a now-defunct cult are at the center of The Body Next Door. The book is initiated by the discovery of a body at the site of an excavation. We don’t find out whose body it is or what it means for some time, but Hannah McCollough certainly seems to have suspicions about that body.

The book is told though multiple narrators: Hannah, her husband Allan, a boy who goes by Greene, a violinist named Josh, and a local woman named Caroline. I found the multiple narrators hard to keep track of at the beginning, especially since it wasn’t clear how they all tied together. They seemed like separate stories, with the obvious exception of Allan and Hannah. Eventually, the confusion and complexity pays off, so stick with it! You aren’t supposed to know how the characters fit together—especially, Josh, Greene, and Caroline. Each time one character entered another’s storyline, I was giddy. Each was another piece of the puzzle that was this book and what exactly was happening with the body (next door).

Hannah and Allan have an interesting relationship. From the beginning it’s clear that Hannah is not the typical young, hot wife of a millionaire. But there is a lot to be learned. Colliding in terms of timing with the news of the dead body on the property next door to Allan and Hannah’s home on Orca Island is her son being expelled from school. Hannah and Allan greatly differ in their take on this, and she takes the kids and flees to Orca Island where she knows Allan won’t look for her. She has history there outside of that house, and he knows how much she hates the island. Interesting!

I was curious about Hannah. What is her history with Orca Island and why does she hate it? It also seemed as though she and Allan both knew something about that body, but I wasn’t sure what. Allan is revealed pretty early on to be a philanderer, a narcissist, and a criminal. But there is a lot to learn about Allan—don’t think you have him figured out. I thought I did but there was a lot more to him than I expected. Frankly, there’s a lot more to all of these characters than I expected. The ways they fit together and the broader story were delightfully strange and unexpected.

Greene’s storyline takes us to the cult that used to be on Orca Island before it disbanded. It takes a long time before we find out why it disbanded, but that is worth the wait. The story of the cult intrigued me—I love a good cult! Seeing it from the perspective of a child who didn’t get a choice about whether to join or not and is into let in the loop on all of the intricacies of the cult was a unique take on the cult storyline. Greene has his own unique views and the adults underestimate how perceptive he is. He may not understand some of the more adult concepts (such as the leader ranking the women, with more and less prestigious positions at the table), but he sees how it changes people—especially the girls as they get into adolescence and puberty.

In addition to the cult, the book is steeped in lore. Ancient artifacts that seem to hold meaning (and may be involved in the murder), whispers of witchcraft, and unexplained phenomenon. If I’m honest, these elements weren’t exactly necessary, but they added a fun layer to the story that I enjoyed. You don’t have to be a paranormal person to enjoy this. It’s not the point of the book, it just adds a lot of atmosphere and tone that makes the story feel richer.

You may guess a few twists but you definitely won’t expect how everything will come together! I liked when the pieces clicked into place with the five narrators and how it changed what I thought was happening as each piece clicked into place. Even with Hannah and Allan there is more to the story than you think. There was one reveal in particular that I re-read because it was such an unexpected and delicious little twist!

Thank you to Harlequin Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.