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The Murderer Next Door
Molly's good intentions may cost her her life when she takes in the eight-year-old daughter of her murdered best friend and then becomes unexpectedly seduced by the killer's evil charms
282 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 1990
16 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
About the author
Rafael Yglesias
18 books35 followersRafael Yglesias (b. 1954) is a master American storyteller whose career began with the publication of his first novel, Hide Fox, and All After, at seventeen. Through four decades Yglesias has produced numerous highly acclaimed novels, including the New York Times bestseller Fearless, which was adapted into the film starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez. He lives on New York City’s Upper East Side.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 4, 2019
I read this accidentally, not sure where it was recommended and how/when I came by it. However the murder theme is what pulled me in. But, this book is so much more than a murder/psychological thriller. I'm not going to go into a plot synopsis, someone's already done that. So many murder-y books out there so it's great to come across one that isn't a generic cookie cutter style of murder story with obligatory "twists". Just good old fashioned story telling.
I love the way and style in which it's written and I'll be looking for more by Rafael Yglesias. I'm honestly surprised this doesn't have more reviews and that it isn't more well known.
I love the way and style in which it's written and I'll be looking for more by Rafael Yglesias. I'm honestly surprised this doesn't have more reviews and that it isn't more well known.
May 4, 2025
Wanted it to be Better than it was
Too pretentious. Too convoluted. Too unlike real people and real dialogue. Interesting enough plot. Interesting enough characters. But in the end you didn't care what happened to any of them.
Too pretentious. Too convoluted. Too unlike real people and real dialogue. Interesting enough plot. Interesting enough characters. But in the end you didn't care what happened to any of them.
November 6, 2018
This novel started out a bit slowly, but soon became a page turner, and an interesting look at what some people may do in the name of love or passion.
September 5, 2021
Didn’t even finish this fully…. It was boring to me.
September 1, 2025
Stunning!!!
December 6, 2007
Molly's life began in poverty, with a father who drank and knocked around both her and her mother. Then she was rescued by a wealthy do-gooder. Molly is ashamed of her origins (among the slobby, half-witted "Boneless People") and fears being found out. She feels pressure from her benefactor to help others, but Molly wanted only to escape. She becomes a lawyer, finds a husband, and roots herself comfortably in New York.
Molly's true passion is for her friend Wendy, and Wendy's daughter, Naomi. Molly believes she has found the wedge that will separate her friend from her husband, Ben. She discovers that he has kept his bachelor apartment as a secret cross-dressing lair.
Wendy and Ben go to their country house to hash things out. Wendy never returns. And soon Wendy's bludgeoned body is found in a Dumpster.
Molly's grief is trumped by her frantic need to protect Naomi. Unfortunately, the law is not on her side. While Ben is out on bail, he'll have custody. Even if he is convicted, he will have the right to designate the girl's guardian.
Molly decides she must ally herself, or appear to do so, with Ben. Molly cooks for him, gives him $50,000 to assist his defense, and tries to humor him however she can. For Molly, protecting Naomi is imperative--because she didn't protect her mother and Wendy, because she was not protected as a child.
She considers kidnapping Naomi. She persuades Ben to let her take Naomi to a movie. Instead, she drives aimlessly out of the city. When they stop at a fast food restaurant, Naomi builds a snowman with three strangers. One, suspicious, insists on following Molly back to the city. His headlights dog Molly along the dark highway. Finally, she flips a switch to make the brake lights flash; B.J. brakes suddenly and flips his car.
Molly believes her action is different from Ben's, that her act is forgivable. She just flipped a switch, she didn't know for sure what happened to B.J., although she believes he might be dead. But isn't Molly's action colder, more dispassionate, purely self-interested?
Molly continues her string of bad decisions when she returns to New York. Ben propositions her. She refuses, but then she persuades Ben to show her what he looks like dressed as a woman. Seeing him so vulnerable, and also more confident, she willingly sleeps with him.
Molly finds herself on an uncomfortable weekend trip with Ben and Naomi. Alliances are made and broken quicksilver quick. One minute Ben is attentive to Naomi, the next he's badgering her. Then Molly scolds Ben and he lashes out at her. Then Naomi tries to cuddle up to one or the other.
Molly calls a police lieutenant from their hotel room, thinking that perhaps what Ben has told her about the murder will be enough to guarantee his conviction. The call forces the denoument. Ben sees the number on the hotel bill. Enraged he beats Molly. The assault, partially witnessed by Naomi, ends Ben's custody and, coupled with Molly's testimony, ensures his conviction.
Molly doesn't quite get what she wanted. Her ex-husband gains custody of Naomi. Molly seems to be in some kind of mental institution--voluntarily or has she been committed? Her remaining, abiding pleasure is that she can wait near Naomi's school or in the park to catch a glimpse of the girl.
Is this a story of "the unraveling of Molly's judgment"? I'm not convinced Molly ever had any judgment. The crisis of Wendy's murder simply breaks her facade; the foundation has been cracked all along. Molly believes that she's bad--therefore, she isn't surprised to find herself doing bad things. She always expected blood to tell in the end. If Molly could see her father as something other than a monster, if she had more compassion and less shame about her origins, she might be able to hold herself more accountable for her current actions.
Molly's true passion is for her friend Wendy, and Wendy's daughter, Naomi. Molly believes she has found the wedge that will separate her friend from her husband, Ben. She discovers that he has kept his bachelor apartment as a secret cross-dressing lair.
Wendy and Ben go to their country house to hash things out. Wendy never returns. And soon Wendy's bludgeoned body is found in a Dumpster.
Molly's grief is trumped by her frantic need to protect Naomi. Unfortunately, the law is not on her side. While Ben is out on bail, he'll have custody. Even if he is convicted, he will have the right to designate the girl's guardian.
Molly decides she must ally herself, or appear to do so, with Ben. Molly cooks for him, gives him $50,000 to assist his defense, and tries to humor him however she can. For Molly, protecting Naomi is imperative--because she didn't protect her mother and Wendy, because she was not protected as a child.
She considers kidnapping Naomi. She persuades Ben to let her take Naomi to a movie. Instead, she drives aimlessly out of the city. When they stop at a fast food restaurant, Naomi builds a snowman with three strangers. One, suspicious, insists on following Molly back to the city. His headlights dog Molly along the dark highway. Finally, she flips a switch to make the brake lights flash; B.J. brakes suddenly and flips his car.
Molly believes her action is different from Ben's, that her act is forgivable. She just flipped a switch, she didn't know for sure what happened to B.J., although she believes he might be dead. But isn't Molly's action colder, more dispassionate, purely self-interested?
Molly continues her string of bad decisions when she returns to New York. Ben propositions her. She refuses, but then she persuades Ben to show her what he looks like dressed as a woman. Seeing him so vulnerable, and also more confident, she willingly sleeps with him.
Molly finds herself on an uncomfortable weekend trip with Ben and Naomi. Alliances are made and broken quicksilver quick. One minute Ben is attentive to Naomi, the next he's badgering her. Then Molly scolds Ben and he lashes out at her. Then Naomi tries to cuddle up to one or the other.
Molly calls a police lieutenant from their hotel room, thinking that perhaps what Ben has told her about the murder will be enough to guarantee his conviction. The call forces the denoument. Ben sees the number on the hotel bill. Enraged he beats Molly. The assault, partially witnessed by Naomi, ends Ben's custody and, coupled with Molly's testimony, ensures his conviction.
Molly doesn't quite get what she wanted. Her ex-husband gains custody of Naomi. Molly seems to be in some kind of mental institution--voluntarily or has she been committed? Her remaining, abiding pleasure is that she can wait near Naomi's school or in the park to catch a glimpse of the girl.
Is this a story of "the unraveling of Molly's judgment"? I'm not convinced Molly ever had any judgment. The crisis of Wendy's murder simply breaks her facade; the foundation has been cracked all along. Molly believes that she's bad--therefore, she isn't surprised to find herself doing bad things. She always expected blood to tell in the end. If Molly could see her father as something other than a monster, if she had more compassion and less shame about her origins, she might be able to hold herself more accountable for her current actions.
January 3, 2017
I saw this book listed on a best thriller list so decided to give it a try. It is hard to review without giving anything away but I will start by saying I hated the narrator/heroine of the story. The story is the first person account of Molly, born to a poor fisherman family in rural main. Molly is doomed to a life of hard work and physical abuse until a rich woman spots her while buying crab. Naomi takes in Molly and sends her to expensive boarding schools, paying all her expenses. We are never given the reasons why Naomi took in Molly, or how it affected her son Josh. The book spends a lot of time skipping over huge chunks of time and the next time we see Molly she is a lawyer living in New York.
There is a murderer and it forms the basis for the story but telling too much will ruin the plot so I will concentrate on what I disliked. Molly is a terrible person. She is given the world but remains hateful and judgmental. I found it appalling how fat people were described as "boneless people, barely human." In factor, Molly finds nothing but flaws in every human she meets. Her own husband Stefan is like "a small hairy rodent, rubbing his cheeks together." Other characters are poorly dressed, haggard, with dark pools for eyes. Wrinkled, past their prime etc etc. Molly didn't seem to care for anyone, not even for her best friend Wendy who she describes as unattractive and says she "waddles rather than walks." I was interested in the plot which was somewhat original, but there was never any motivation for Molly's actions (and the whole scene with the fat people in the trucks made me boiling mad) and I have no idea why the author made the narrator so horrible.
There is a murderer and it forms the basis for the story but telling too much will ruin the plot so I will concentrate on what I disliked. Molly is a terrible person. She is given the world but remains hateful and judgmental. I found it appalling how fat people were described as "boneless people, barely human." In factor, Molly finds nothing but flaws in every human she meets. Her own husband Stefan is like "a small hairy rodent, rubbing his cheeks together." Other characters are poorly dressed, haggard, with dark pools for eyes. Wrinkled, past their prime etc etc. Molly didn't seem to care for anyone, not even for her best friend Wendy who she describes as unattractive and says she "waddles rather than walks." I was interested in the plot which was somewhat original, but there was never any motivation for Molly's actions (and the whole scene with the fat people in the trucks made me boiling mad) and I have no idea why the author made the narrator so horrible.
January 18, 2015
I've read this book several times and never tire of Yglesias or his characters. The murderer is one of the most vividly described characters I've ever met. I can't tell you the number of times in my life, since reading this book, that I've caught myself saying, "he looks like Ben!"
May 15, 2009
This is the first book I have read by this author. It was a good book and I will read another of his books to see if I still like him.
May 26, 2012
Started out well and then got frustrating.
October 23, 2013
This story is so stupid that no amount of writing skill can compensate for it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews