The Couple Next Door

Who stole baby Cora, and why? Kristen Potter throws herself earnestly into the drama, but her overarticulated delivery unfortunately highlights the ways in which the writing is wooden and repetitive. The plot is old-fashioned noir, light on believable psychology, heavy on James M. Cain-vintage stereotypes. Anne's parents, mean old country club WASPS, have money; Anne's attractive and talented husband, Marco, loves her despite Anne's being fragile and damaged, but Anne's parents disdain him because he's not their class. When Anne and Marco's baby disappears while they are drunkenly canoodling with the couple next door, we soon learn no one here is innocent except possibly the baby. There is fun to be had here, plus much room for improvement. B.G. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

May 23, 2016
At the start of Lapena’s suspenseful, heart-wrenching debut, set in upstate New York, Anne and Marco Conti come home from a party at their neighbors’ house to find their front door open and their infant daughter Cora’s crib empty. They left Cora alone after the sitter cancelled at the last minute. Not a shred of evidence indicates that anyone entered the house after the Contis left for the party, though the police detectives on the case, Rasbach and Jennings, discover that the motion detector on the back door was disabled, the Contis’ garage door was left open, and tire tracks, not from the Contis’ car, were in the garage. Could the couple be covering up a kidnapping? Rasbach and Jennings suspect that they’re withholding something, but they sense the Contis’ anguish is legitimate. The tension grows as the united front that Anne and Marco have presented crumbles. After numerous twists and turns, just when everything appears to be resolved, Lapena delivers one final, deftly crafted surprise. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency (Canada).