The Murder Next Door: A Graphic Memoir

by Hugh D'Andrade

When someone is murdered next door, it changes everything about the way you live your life.

When Hugh was ten years old, he walked home from school to find his friends next door crying outside – they had just come home and discovered their mother’s body. She had been murdered.

Now an adult, Hugh has a happy social life and a successful career as an artist in Oakland, California. But even so he is plagued by anxiety, anger, and panic attacks. As he attends therapy and looks back on his childhood, he comes to realize the trauma and stress that the murder next door had on his life, and how it still affects him today.

Does trauma ever go away? Or does it just hang around, in the backs of our minds forever? This thoughtful, powerful memoir explores how one event in childhood can make a permanent mark on someone’s life.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Memoir, Comics, True Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult

152 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

When he was 10 years old, Hugh D'Andrade entered a murder scene, saw the body of his neighbor -- the mother of his playmates -- and reported it to his parents, who called the police. D'Andrade explores how the trauma of this day echoed through his life for the next four decades, up through his work with a therapist in 2018.

This engrossing real story immediately made me think of the similar graphic novel by Elizabeth A. Trembley, Look Again: A Memoir, that I read six months ago. And there she is on the back cover providing one of the book's many blurbs.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: 1. Vipassana -- 2. Inside on the Left -- 3. The New Normal -- 4. The Black Hole -- 5. The Polite Troll -- 6. 10 to Midnight -- 7. No Blood for Oil -- 8. Go Wildcats -- 9. Golden State -- 10. Color Theory

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Murder Next Door is a graphic memoir that addresses the author's experience when his neighbour was murdered when he was ten. What the official description doesn't get into is that this was the mother of his next door childhood friends and playmates Derek and Ari (a woman who was friends with his mother and always kind to him), and all three boys bear witness to the body before getting help from Andrade's parents. The book is told in two simultaneous timelines, the past events when everything first happened and his present day (2018, forty years after the murder) therapy sessions. The book delves into how this trauma has impacted every facet of his life for decades, ranging from stripping him of a sense of safety from a young age to give him a deep hatred of conspiracies (due to local conspiracies surrounding the murder in its aftermath) to a hatred and fear of toxic masculinity in others and in himself. It is a surprisingly tense and emotional work, and I was especially emotional over the scene of the funeral when he uncontrollably cries at the thought of her not coming back, it made me think of my dad's funeral. The art is really well done and suits the story he has to tell perfectly.

If you're looking for a graphic novel about the ways trauma haunts us, this is for you. I'm so glad I read this.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'Normal' feels like - just this low-level, shitty anxiety and unease. It's like I'm stuck, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happens."

The Murder Next Door tells the true story of Hugh D'Andrade and the day that changed his whole life, and him reflecting on that impact through therapy and flashbacks in his adulthood. One day, when he's on his way home, young Hugh runs into his next door neighbors - two boys named Derek and Ari Bauer- arguing outside. When Hugh tries to help, Derek tells him that his mother is dead inside, though Ari argues that it's not their mom, just someone else. Hugh, thinking that they're playing a prank on him, goes inside and see's that unfortunately his two friends are not playing a prank, and their mother has in fact been murdered and Hugh has just walked into the crime scene. "We all decided it was best to not talk about it," was the common answer when Hugh tried to open up, and what unfolds next is years of loneliness, fear, anxiety, and the new normal that encompasses all of this, with Hugh not knowing how to move forward and process his trauma.

Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I read this in one sitting. D’Andrade looks back at 40 years of suffering from PTSD after seeing his neighbor friend’s mother dead in their house as a ten-year-old boy. The murder has impacted his life since then, from feeling unsafe as a child (the perpetrator didn’t get caught when it happened) as well as turmoil realizing life is unjust and people suffer. He very deftly probes his own masculinity, knowing that toxic masculinity is connected to any man killing a woman. The book was very successful relating the unchanging unease that is anxiety, and also the rage and depression he feels. The art is very simple, the colors are great, and the facial expressions are very effective.

[Translator Monkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming to grips with a murder that impacts you, your friends, your family, your community, and which appears to guide, or at the very least heavily impact, your whole life for decades to come.

This was a compelling read that offered a few answers but mostly hope for the author and artist of this graphic memoir. D'Andrade put himself out there, for better or for worse, his good and bad behaviors and twitchy moral compass as he grew from the ten-year-old who saw the murdered body of the mother of his best friends until the "present day" of the memoir.

Three and a half stars.

[Diana Flores]

Another graphic memoir that deals with the author struggling with something traumatic through therapy. I don't think I can assign a star value to this work, since it is something deeply personal and probably therapeutic for the author to create.

Read an advanced copy courtesy of the publisher via Edelweiss. Publication date of February 2025.

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true crime memoir in graphic novel form was a lot more moving and intense than I had expected going into it. I enjoyed the dual storyline of adult therapy and childhood trauma.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an unusual memoir.

Violence has long-lasting ramifications, regardless of how close you are to it. This is something that I've come to learn the hard way earlier this year. D'Andrade captured the way that panic attacks don't really subside, but instead evolve. The smallest thing can set you off, even long after others felt (or even you felt) you should have "gotten over" whatever that trauma was.

As a child, Hugh D'Andrade happened to walk in on the aftermath of a murder in his next-door neighbor's house. He witnessed the blood, the body of his best friend's mother, and had no real context for fully grasping it all. This memoir unfolds as a series of therapy sessions, discussing the effect it has had on him. How do you understand your own masculinity when you know that so often men murder women? How do you contextualize life? How do you live knowing that the person who did it is likely still out there, unknown?

It was a fascinating read and brought to life in an evocative art style. The whole book read like a conversation in the dead of night, and I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to write. Damn good work.

[em · Rating 3 out of 5]

a great graphic novel about trauma, especially childhood trauma & how that is always with us, even throughout adulthood.

i liked the premise of the entire book taking place over the course of a few therapy sessions instead of simply being chronological. the trauma theme was a little much for me & a bit triggering, but i knew what the book was about going in. if it was a bit longer i don’t think i would’ve been able to finish it. don’t even really know why. the brain is a weird thing that way.

also the illustrations were beautiful & creative!! i only wish the illustrator would have used more colors instead of just the blue, black, & red since ‘bright colors’ were such an important motif within the story.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The most striking thing in this book (to me) was the expression the artist is able to portray in their work. I can feel (to an extent) the traumatizing fear simply by locking my eyes with a drawn picture of Hugh as a child. The limited color palette and intentional use of red strikes horror so successfully. I'm very impressed by the artistic storytelling. That, paired with emotional words that were formulated so intentionally over years of therapy, creates a narrative that is powerfully emotional and real. I'm sure that creating this story felt like lifting a cinder block off of Hugh's chest. I only didn't rate it higher because there are many stories I've read that are more my style and to my liking, but I would absolutely recommend this book.

[Rick Umali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this graphic memoir. Hugh drew himself in three or four variations, each one a stage of his life, from a young boy to the present day. I liked the expressiveness of his art, and the more fantastic images spoke volumes of words so eloquently.

In the memoir, he explores an early childhood trauma, and how it manifested in his current day irritability and anxiety. I like the lessons he shares from his therapy, and his reflections on his upbringing.

The book reminds us that everyone has their unique burden, some of course larger than others. It's not a contest of who's got it worse. Instead, coping and healing and setting trauma aside is a function of talking through it, looking at it, confronting it, no matter what size it is.

It is a hard but wonderful memoir!

[David Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This intelligent and insightful novel delves into the subtle and not-so-subtle ways trauma affects people’s lives for years. The mysterious murder of a neighbor’s mother deeply impacts young Hugh, leading to various emotional responses. Some of these reactions are predictable, such as his anger towards conspiracy theories stemming from the lack of information he received as a child. However, the novel’s framing device of having Hugh talk to a therapist occasionally feels didactic. Despite this, the book is well-crafted, personal, and highly effective in conveying its message.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This deeply moving memoir explores the ways violence can have repercussions for decades and lifetimes for survivors, even those not intimately connected to the victims. The artwork is outstanding and really conveys the emotions of the author and other characters. Despite being about violence and being illustrated, it is not overly graphic and treats the victim, the author’s next door neighbor and family friend, with a great deal of sensitivity and respect. I appreciated the author’s discussion of his efforts to create a masculine identity that didn’t harm or scare others.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Murder Next Door is a memoir of a tragic incident in Hugh D’Andrade’s life where at 10 years old, his next door neighbor was murdered, and he saw her body. Largely framed as a conversation between Hugh and his therapist, this book delves into what it means when traumatic events happen in our lives and how we can process them. This is a very powerful read and I highly recommend it.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man comes to grips with a traumatic childhood event in this graphic novel. The main character, Hugh, sees a therapist and tries to deal with a murder that he witnessed when he was just a young kid. The artwork is very well done, but the plot was just so so.

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rating of five is because yes, this is an interesting story. But, it is actually more of a 4.75 as there were a few places I was not "feeling it."  With that said, the focus of a murder that happened 40 years prior, but still affecting our narrator, is powerful, interesting and oddly relatable. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, but overall a darn (only didn't say darn) good read. (Mature themes, images)

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of the commendable honesty on display here, I came away with a ton of compassion for D'Andrade, as well as respect for his boundless creativity in delving deep into his past -- and his intensely challenging present -- to let others know that they are not alone.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

PTSD. Murder. Childhood.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m still just learning how to live with it.

[Fern Gimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations were a powerful tool in conveying the emotions of fear and anxiety. My first graphic and i was impressed with how the illustrations added depth and moved the story along.

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting graphic memoir about childhood trauma shattering the illusion of safety.

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful story, that though told in a simple way, packs a punch.

[Yvette · Rating 3 out of 5]

个人回忆录，童年阴影，心理治疗。

[Henry Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love graphic memoirs a lot, and this one was fantastic. It's only issue was its length. I wanted it to be longer!

[Amethyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a powerful story about trauma and grief.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad, but honest depiction of trauma and grief. Great illustrations.

[Jose Angel Guevara Velasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the artwork in this, short but incredibly relatable. Childhood trauma creating this need to “fix” things and make them better; so much empathy on these pages. I love humanist work like this.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Hugh was ten, his friends' mother was murdered. He spends the next thirty years making sense of this trauma. It helps explain his own sense of justice--fighting for an end to war for instance--and also his complicated relationship to his masculinity--he doesn't want to be the kind of domineering man he imagines murdered his neighbor, but he also wants to be able to protect those around him. This graphic memoir is based on D'Andrade's experiences and is simply and beautifully drawn. The end had me sobbing.