NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

In Reida’s mystery novel, a street in a tony Atlanta suburb acquires a well-deserved nickname: Murder Avenue.

Adelaide McKenzie can’t believe her good fortune: After growing up in a trailer park, she now resides with her handsome surgeon husband, William, in a huge white mansion that looks like a wedding cake, “the kind you don’t want to slice into because it’s too fancy to eat.” But happy as she is, she knows fairy tales aren’t real. Flaws and secrets, ranging from minor to major, abound in many of her neighbors, including Ray Willis (“There’s something almost reptilian about the way she blinks”); Helen Beecham, who waits each day for 4:00, “an acceptable time for her first Moscow Mule”; adulterer Conner Boyle; homophobe Beverly Grant; racist HOA president Pam Muenster; and Neo-Nazi Tripp Schulman. Faith Martin, earning money for college during her gap year, weaves in and out of the homes, doing housework and running errands for the residents. After an extravagant party, two of those people are murdered. Faith is shocked to find that after the murders there is no sign such crimes occurred (“everyone wants to pretend nothing bad can ever happen in a place like this”). But when the killings continue, tensions understandably ratchet up, as do accusations and media coverage. In addition to her evil characters, the author also provides quite a lot of laughs, even as the body count ramps up. (When resident Soon-Li Jung opts for a home elliptical machine instead of a gym membership, the device is only used to hold wet laundry: “It might not help with her heart rate, but it can dry six sweaters at once.”) The killings aren’t grisly and there are some sweet bits, but rough language keeps this mystery from being strictly cozy. A fast pace and a strong ending are welcome features.

Immersive and compelling—this neighborhood’s a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to die there.