The Perfect Neighborhood

The outstanding performances of narrators Amanda Dolan, Priya Ayyar, Gail Shalan, Hillary Huber, and Laura Jennings allow listeners to become absorbed in the drama of Alterman’s (He’ll Be Waiting) adult fiction debut. The “mommy mafia” of Oak Hill, NJ, a tony NYC suburb, consists mostly of wealthy women who don’t work outside their fabulously decorated, spotlessly clean homes. While Oak Hill residents seemingly live in domestic bliss, they do find enough flaws in one another to maintain a steady stream of snarky gossip. When the five-year-old son of one of the few working moms disappears on his short walk home where after-school babysitter Cassidy should be waiting, the idyllic community veneer begins to crack as the moms struggle to cope with a real crisis, as opposed to those they typically manufacture (e.g., “Can you believe she served wine in plastic cups?” “Her house is a disaster since she had her third child!”). All the narrators excel, but Shalan, who voices 18-year-old Cassidy, is especially compelling, exuding teenage vulnerability and angst, especially when Cassidy becomes the prime gossip target because she was late meeting Billy before he disappeared.