Orland Park Inspires Backdrop For Resident's Newest Thriller Book

ORLAND PARK, IL — Inspiration can strike at the strangest of times, but for Kevin Kenealy, it happened to be in all the right places.

Kenealy, an Orland Park resident and high school teacher, simply had to look around to scheme up the setting for his newest thriller book, titled "Neighborhood Watch." A member of a similar group in his own neighborhood off 143rd and 82nd Avenue in Orland Park, starting his next work was as simple as putting the proverbial pen to paper.

"What would happen underneath the surface?" Kenealy said he wondered about a tight-knit community and its intrinsic groups. "As a thriller-horror writer, I ask these questions 'what-if?'"

The plot takes a look at a neighborhood watch group and its inner workings, its expectations of the people within the community. In his fictional version of Orland Park, residents are expected to dress, act, and behave a certain way, with very strict rules and regulations. The neighborhood watch observes carefully, watching for those who might stray. Then, people turn up missing, and no one seems to know why, until others begin to suspect it has something to do with the group set in place to protect them.

The book is Kenealy's fourth, and second foray into the thriller/horror genre. It's also the first that's attracting a significant amount of critical acclaim and reviews. He published his first book at 23, and continues to pursue the craft as he teaches AP Literature, journalism, and English at Crete-Monee High School.

His background in journalism—he attained a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University—has helped him hone his eye for creating plots and developing characters.

"I take a lot of ideas from the world, and the news," Kenealy said. "Truth is often stranger than fiction. When you’re aware of things, and have this attention to detail, you can take that and fictionalize it.

"I really just think of the story structure first, and think about who would fit that plot. I get that idea of this perfect town gone wrong. And who would be that person who would be perfect on the outside, evil on the inside. Then I start to form a character map, based on one character build-out."

Kenealy then takes his passion for creating and shares it with students.

"I kinda take what I do as a craft, and take it into the classroom," he said. "This is how you should approach this, approach that. Not only am I teaching it, I’m also doing it."

A Chicago Ridge native and graduate of Richards High School, the father to Sean (3) and Conor (4 months) and husband to Mary Ellen is also pursuing his master's degree in English literature and creative writing, and expects to complete it in 2023.

He is working on his next thriller/horror book, which is set to come out in the next year. In the meantime, he's enjoying his teaching gig, with a bit of dabbling in fiction writing on the side.

"I kind of just want to see where this goes, I’m enjoying the ride right now," Kenealy said. "I do like teaching, but I really enjoy being an author.

"I envision being able to do this as a full-time thing. … We’ll see where it goes. This book has been gaining a lot of traction, moreso than a lot of my other books combined. ... We’ll see … You never know."

"Neighborhood Watch" can be found on Amazon and other online retailers.