The People Next Door (Paperback)

Lisa and Darrel' Canfield have decided to take the plunge and move across the state line from Georgia to Florida. They've already selected plans for a perfect new house in Jacksonville, where they both work. At last, the couple will have a space large enough to accommodate both of their fifteen-year-old daughters from previous marriages, the eight-year-old twin sons they have together, and Darrell's widowed mother. Thrilled to have found the perfect site on prime riverfront property, Lisa and Darrell feel as though things are finally beginning to come together for them. Meanwhile, Lisa's first husband, radiologist Brad Betancourt, has grown to hate his home. It's located in the middle of nowhere--thirty miles south of Jacksonville, on the outskirts of St. Augustine. The nearest supermarket is ten miles away, and all of his children's potential playmaters are even farther away. So when Brad discovers that one of his colleagues is abandoning the construction of a new house in Jacksonville, he drags his reluctant wife Suzanne along to see the site. After quickly falling in love with the beautiful waterfront location, the Betancourts arrange to take over the construction of the house--which, as it happens, is right next door to the Canfields new home. Upon discovering the coincidence, the men find it humorous--but their wives are horrified. Will the families ever learn to get along with The People Next Door? Warmhearted and seamlessly written, Bettye Griffin's engaging new novel captures the rhythms of everyday life.