This novel had one of the most satisfying endings that I could have ever hoped for. At first, I found myself too put off by a certain character in the book (who you’re supposed to dislike/hate anyway) and I’d considered giving up on it a time or two for this reason, however, I found skimming that particular character’s storyline and focusing more on the other characters helped me as a reader. The book is truly masterfully written, and while it’s darker than many books I’ve read before, I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy books revolving around secrets that are sometimes better left buried, and getting to know the characters’ backstories to see why they turn out the way they do.
Before you dive into your copy of the book, check out this Q&A with author Maia Chance for an inside look at the writing process and more.
When did you first come up with the storyline for your latest novel, The Body Next Door?
The Body Next Door is a fast-paced domestic thriller with an uncanny twist, set largely on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. The story delves into the entangled lives of an extended family that harbors a terrible, magical secret. When I first dreamed up the plot, I was deep inside writing my PhD dissertation on nineteenth-century American literature. The lonely forests in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the Faustian bargain in Hawthorne’s “Ethan Brand,” and the warped family dynamics in Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” certainly found their way into my manuscript.
Tell me about the research process for the book.
The Body Next Door is very personal, so in many ways the research began long before I dreamed up the plot. For example, the story involves a back-to-the-land cult group that comes to a catastrophic end. I grew up in Northern Idaho and was a teenager at the time of the infamous standoff at Ruby Ridge. Everyone in my town was glued to the local newspaper’s reporting of that tragic series of days. Ruby Ridge had a huge impact on me. It was the first time I saw how children could get caught up in the dangerous games adults play, and how there’s a lot of gray area between right and wrong. The Body Next Door also involves a classical violinist. I went to music conservatory to study violin and my own fraught relationship with music-making and my instrument ultimately ended up as a crucial piece of the story.
Have you visited Orcas Island where most of the book is set?
Yes, many times. A family vacation on Orcas made me obsessed with the idea of setting a story there, and after that I made subsequent research trips. Luckily I live in Washington State, so it isn’t so far away. In fact, I live on a different Washington State island, so my daily island life also furnished some of the research. One thing about island life is that the ferry schedule—and whether or not the ferry is even running—rules your life. These islands are beautiful, magical places. But they do have an eeriness, too. That’s actually part of their magic. Especially in the winter, when all the Douglas firs look black and you’ve had cloud cover for months on end.
Did you always know which character was in the grave?
Yes. But it took me a while to figure out who killed her.
What was the hardest scene to write?
It was harrowing to write the early scene where Greene, a young boy, and his mom meet the cult leader Uncle for the first time. That scene made me feel upset every single time I had to read or revise it. It encapsulates how powerless children are, and how their fates are sealed by the adults around them.
Which character or character’s storyline did you feel the most connection to?
There’s part of me in all of my characters, even the bad guys, because I have to be able to get into their heads. But I think I felt most connected to Hannah, a young mother who will do anything to protect her children. I’m fascinated by the fierceness that rises up in otherwise placid people when they sense their children are under threat.
If The Body Next Door was turned into a feature film, who do you imagine in the lead roles?
My dream cast would have Florence Pugh as Hannah and Jason Statham as her sinister older husband Allan.
Are you working on your next novel, and if so can we get a sneak peek?
I just finished putting the finishing touches on another uncanny domestic thriller about a woman who suspects her tradwife momfluencer neighbor is behind a series of gruesome occult crimes in their neighborhood.
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Order your copy of The Body Next Door.
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