Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Gracious Neighbor

By: Chris Cander
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A gripping novel about friendship, secrets, misjudgments, and redemption among women by the USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of a Piano.

Martha Hale is an affable wife and mother who lives in an affluent neighborhood of well-tended lawns and high expectations. If only her clumsiness at penetrating the social circles of her neighbors weren’t making Martha so lonely.

That’s why she’s thrilled when the glamorous Minnie Foster, a former high school classmate, moves in next door. Despite Martha’s determination, picking up where they left off is trickier than anticipated—especially when their memories of the past don’t always align. But Martha is undeterred. In fact, her preoccupation with Minnie’s life, her success, and her marriage is becoming an obsession. When she sees a darkness and shame hiding inside Minnie’s perfectly deceptive home, Martha realizes that not even Minnie’s secrets are what they seem.

Visceral, sharp-witted, and deeply empathetic, A Gracious Neighbor explores the judgments women pass on one another and the ills of a society curated to keep them on the outside looking in.

©2022 Chris Cander. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Cander cleverly combines sharply observed satire, a keen sense of place, and a feminist sensibility. Fans of Liane Moriarty will eat this up.”Publishers Weekly

“A suspenseful tale of relationships, loneliness and what goes on behind closed doors.”People

“A dynamic and insightful storyteller, Cander imbues her work with such poignant character detail, as a reader, I felt I’d all but moved into Martha’s neighborhood. As a documented lover of tales of complicated relationships between women, I must say that A Gracious Neighbor is among the best.”—Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands

What listeners say about A Gracious Neighbor

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    64
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    94
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    38
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    16

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

ANXIETY TRIGGERING... well, at least for me.

This book was really good and I felt like I was right there in the midst of everything. However, Martha triggered my anxiety so bad. I was talking at her like she could really hear. I also, at times connected with her with regards to how her neighbors treated her. I did feel she took some things personal that she shouldn't have but who hasn't made themselves an unnecessary victim on occasion? I felt very much like her husband grew to be so caught up with work and himself that he stopped really paying attention to her because he didn't notice that she'd stopped sharing with him as much and who knows how that would've changed the ending or not. Then, there's Minnie. I didn't care very much for her actions towards Martha but as I read more and more, I started noticing things weren't really what they seemed to be. Then, I adjusted my line of thinking and I was spot on. I don't think I've been so stressed from reading as was while reading the last 1/4 of this book. When it was over, I had several questions and wanted to know more. I doubt there will be a follow-up to this one but if so, I'll definitely pre-order my copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Goodness Gracious!

Outstanding writing, riveting tale, exposing the good and the complicated of our neighborly relations!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable domestic

I found the characters were believable if not relatable. This novel kept my interest and kept me guessing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Meh

I really wanted to like this but the main character was so pathetic it was hard to relate. And it goes on and poof just ends. The part about West U was accurate

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great story

This is great story telling. The male characters could be fleshed out a bit more but I like the interactions that play out as real. I had audio version and didn't love the female narrators' imitation of male voices that sounded like, well, a female imitating a male :-)

The main character, Martha, has the audacity to talk and look down on gossipy West U people but actually does ultimate nosy things!

I will look for other titles by this author and loved references to hometown locations, etc.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Still Waiting

Blah story line! I kept reading waiting for a climax that never came. Don't waste your credit. Sam

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must for Houstonians

This book is particularly good if you are familiar with Houston neighborhoods. Great narration and intriguing story. I personally liked the ending, don’t understand why other reviewers said it wasn’t good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A nice, insightful story.

Itss worth the read. A peek into the life of someone, a family, who loved their every day life, surrounded by a changing neighborhood, nose-to-the-grindstone. A story about understanding....one's self, and others. When you think you know, you really don't.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just not for me...

This book was really a strange one, and I had a hard time finishing it. The narrator has a "breathy" voice which I find annoying. She drops to a "whispery" tone very often, so forget trying to listen in bed- you can't get the volume right. if I'd noticed it was her again, I'd have deleted the book without listening to it.
Over all, the book was a waste if my time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Nosey Neighbor

A long story about a nosey neighbor replaying high school slights that mature adults would have long forgotten. The reader’s whining, while befitting for the protagonist had me longing for the story to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful