Debra Ginsberg - The Neighbors Are Watching

Fans of Desperate Housewives will enjoy Ginsberg’s engaging, if somewhat predictable, mix of domestic drama and psychological suspense. When Diana, a very pregnant teenager, shows up at her biological father Joe’s door in San Diego, the gossip mill among residents of snooty Fuller Court starts churning immediately. Joe’s wife, Allison, has a complete meltdown—drinking, sleeping all day, and (gasp) not even doing her hair. Joe had never uttered a word about having a child; now Allison wonders what else he’s kept mum. Prudish neighbors Dick Werner and his wife, Dorothy, positively salivate over the scandal. To their chagrin, the Werners’ son, Kevin, has fallen for Diana—and her newborn baby, Zoe, too. Lesbian neighbors Sam and Gloria and a sexy former reality-TV star named Jessalyn become entangled in the chaos when Diana goes missing during the area’s worst-ever wildfires. Everyone is a suspect here; even seemingly upstanding citizens have closets bulging with skeletons. Ginsberg (The Grift, 2008) serves up deliciously flawed characters. A good read for a lazy day at the beach.