Like A Good Neighbor by Dwayne Murray, Sr.

Not for the faint-hearted, Like A Good Neighbor starts with an in-your-face scene of heartstopping violence. At an apartment building in Chicago, police have been called. Once there, they face a scene of mayhem. In almost every apartment, there has been a murder, a suicide, a maiming. It is one of the most horrific crimes ever seen. But one woman walks away....

Cut to New York. Raven Thorn has moved into another apartment building, and starts doing what she does best. An early blow in life has turned her into an evil manipulator, never happier than when creating havoc and chaos in others' lives, so that they will suffer as she has. Raven is a larger than life figure, gorgeous and sexy. She goes out of her way to insinuate herself into the lives of her new neighbors. She sympathesizes with a young woman trapped into being a caretaker for her insensitive, ungrateful father. She works her way into relationships, breaking up marriages. She encourages drug dealers. She uses her sexuality to bring teenagers, always impressionable, into conflict. There seems to be nothing she won't do.

The only people in the apartment building that seem to see through her try to fight back. Crystal is a young woman in recovery from a crack addiction. She sees the problems with Raven right away, but her insights are ignored by her neighbors. Eddie is a policeman, but wracked by guilt from an incident where a child was killed. He is slow to see the truth about Raven also.

Many readers will be put off by the violence, sex and language. For those who aren't, Dwayne Murray, Sr. has woven an intricate tale of suspense and a memorable character who will not be quickly forgotten.