"I wish you a good night -- your first night alone. I'm turning off the lights now, but I remain with you."

I got to the end of the first chapter of this book, exclaimed "creepy!" out loud and, with a little bit of a grin on my face, thought to myself "oh, this is going to be good". Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last very long. 

Dear Mr. M is about an author who, having written his best seller over forty years ago, is afraid he is washed up and on the verge of death. His bestseller, based on a missing persons case that was never solved, ties him, his neighbor, two teenagers in love and high school teacher together in unexpected ways. Though four decades later, his neighbor might have some information that will help him figure out what exactly happened to that missing teacher, all those years ago.

I absolutely loved the first quarter of this book. I found it compelling, just vague enough that I was sucked in, convinced that I would be made clear if I just kept reading. The first portion is told from the perspective of the author, Mr. M's, downstairs neighbor. The dust jackets describes him as "timid and shy". I would describe him as stalker-y and intriguing. These chapters are written as if in a letter to Mr. M, describing in detail how this unnamed neighbor has been watching him closely. With hints at sub-plots, 3 alternating stories and just enough suspense for it to ring similar to your favorite crime show. I was thrilled. 

But then it was all down hill from there. I spent the rest of the book waiting for the first part of the book to come back. I had just gotten through all the back story before I realized that there was left than a quarter of the book left. I never felt like we never actually got to the whodunit. I guess the real mystery is: where did the mystery go? I kept waiting for the twist, waiting for everything to be made clear: what is the relationship between this author and his neighbor? Why does he have such a keen fascination with him? Why is the entire middle section of this book even included? And I'm sad to say that those questions are never satisfactorily answered for me. Instead, we get stuck with half of the book devoted to the story of a group of teenagers that was drawn out and almost entirely unnecessary.

The ominous foreword, the transcript from the crashed plane's black box (still no idea what that specifically was in there for), the deliciously almost sinister tone the beginning chapters were written with - such potential. But I'm afraid it wasn't enough to carry the rest of the book. Still enjoyed it, but was really disappointed by the end.

p.s. As is the case whenever teenagers are involved, beginning in the middle section and through to the end, there are 7-10 f-bombs and a variety of other swears used. Since a major portion of the story is based on an affair between a student and a teacher, there are a couple times where sex is alluded to. Mostly handled with taste, but there are a couple sentences that I thought we could have done without.

If you'd like to learn more about what this book is all about, go ahead and click here. 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.