The New Neighbors is the first book of Simon Lelic's that I have read. I found it to be a really enjoyable read. It is a twisty thriller that kept me guessing until the end. The story was so hard to put down because the author alternated between the two narrators...Syd and Jack. There was so much happening and the back and forth created a sense of urgency that helped you to just keep reading! You need to know what is going to happen next!

Highly recommend The New Neighbors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a copy of this book to read. My honest opinion follows.

Syd and Jack found a "too good to be true" house in London. It's affordable and the former owner left behind all of his belongings - dead animals and everything! But not all is at it seems in their new house. The couple begin to uncover a few things that aren't quite right. Then when a murder takes place in their back yard the police start coming around to ask questions.

The synopsis for this book really drew me in. I stayed for the unique story telling style. In this book Jack and Syd take turns sharing their point of view about what happened leading up to this murder. The book has a diary feel too it. I love alternating POVs in a book and this was a nice way to do it. However, I didn't love the book.

I wanted more. I needed more action, a better ending. The reveal of who murdered whom and why was very ho-hum for this reader. I don't believe this will be a story I remember well in a few weeks.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A smartly revealed domestic suspense novel with twists, misdirection, and heavy social issues.

THE NEW NEIGHBORS will give you a story packed tension, emotion, and lies. Lelic brings to light the effects of abuse without exploiting the issue. He has manages to not only explore the pain and suffering these girls/women go through, but also he addresses how each person is shaped by their experiences.

Throughout the story, the reader is given two perspectives. At times, I felt as if the two narrators, Jack and Syd, were giving two different accounts of what lead up to the murder. It is this misdirection and playing with the reader's perception of what was going on that made the book so good. Personally, I don't like a cut and dry murder. I love the dark twisty paths that people can take, and THE NEW NEIGHBORS has quite a few of those.

The reveal of what exactly was going on and the overall vibe of the book was thoroughly enjoyable to me. I delved into this world that Lelic created only to be brought out the other side satisfied with the way the tale ended.

The New Neighbors is written in a unique style. The chapters are in alternating points of view. Jack and Sydney share the responsibility of telling their story. The unique part is they respond to one another. Jack writes first, Sydney responds to what he writes. Sydney writes, Jack responds to what Sydney writes. I have never read a book in this style and I loved it.

I loved how much the reader gets to learn about Jack and Sydney but would have loved to have more information about the secondary characters. I felt like there was more of a story to tell with them. That being said I liked the story. I was able to connect to the main characters; I felt their fear for their future, their fear for what was happening in their new house.

Simon Lelix managed to write a psychological thriller with a haunted house twist that I enjoyed reading. I recommend picking up your own copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Simon Lelic for the opportunity to read this great psychological thriller - 4.5 stars!!

This book was written in such a clever manner. A young couple, Jack and Syd, are house hunting in London, where long lines to view homes are common and prices reflective of that seller's market. Syd falls in love with a house whose owner just abandoned it, so it's full to the brim of stuff. Then Jack discovers something in the attic and Syd discovers something wrong in the house behind her - but they keep their findings secret. Until a body is found nearby.

In hopes of being able to tell their story, Jack and Syd sit down independently and write their versions of what happened. This is presented in alternating chapters so you get the entire story from 2 different points of view.

Lots of twists and turns in this one that I didn't see coming - a great book - highly recommended!

I have a bad habit of not reading the synopsis of a book again before starting it. I'll read it once, request or buy the book, then it'll sit on my shelf for a bit. I don't read it again because I figure if I have it, it's something that I wanted. Quite frankly, it's fun to go in blind at times - like reading roulette! When I first started reading this, I was instantly hooked and was thinking, "ooOooOo, this seems like a really cool and eerie ghost story!" Then the further I read, "Wait, what? Is this not paranormal?!" And so, in the first time in a long time, I went back and read the synopsis and looked at the genre category. PHEW! Ok - NOW that makes more sense... and I'll come back to this point in just a bit.

I absolutely love the way that this is written. I can see where this *might* throw some readers off, but the back and forth banter between Syd and Jack was a pleasure to read. Also, I immediately fell in love with Syd - a snarky girl who seems to like to swear as much as I do. That short fuse, tempered by her love for a man who surprised her. We see the ebb and flow of their relationship as the story continues. What was an interesting turn of events for me was that the story seems to take a skew a bit at one point and I kept trying to rectify what I read at the beginning to what I was reading towards the end.

The subject matter went dark (all the better for my love of the darkness), the story went sideways (in a fantastic way) and I was still scratching my head and going back to the synopsis. (Seriously, ya'll - I cant' even explain how many times I did this!) Now, taking all of that, the implausibility of some of the story was actually fun for me to read. Honestly, if you're going to go sideways, DO IT ALL THE WAY. And I always say to remember that this is a work of FICTION. While some novels go a little too far and you're like ok, fiction is fiction but um.. WHAT, it actually worked for me in this one. I'm not sure what it as about it that shook me, but it did. Mostly I think it's because it surprised me and most of the time, I can appreciate that. 😉

Revisiting the first paragraph of this review... I think some readers are going to wonder why it starts off seemingly as a ghost story and then twists into something off center. And my question to you is... did you read the Note from the Author at the end? I IMPLORE EVERYONE TO DO THIS (for every book). Once I read this: "...what are ghosts anyway but the things that haunt us? Our shame, guilt, remorse, fear. Our secrets. Our pasts. All the things we've endured in our lives that we spend so much of our time trying to escape." - it all made a lot more sense and made my love for this grow a bit.

You never really know all about the person you live with. Everyone has some secrets. But in some instances, what you don't know might kill you...

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It is being published today.

The author has his characters each take turns writing a chapter so you get the story from two points of view. At first, it didn't provide the continuity I would like but as the story went on, it got better.

This is about fathers who abuse their children. Some is mental abuse, some is physical abuse but it's the type of hurt that can permanently alter a child. Syd has been broken and is trying to heal. She trusts and loves Jack. Jack loves her. But will that be enough?

The story is filled with tension and psychological trauma. It moves right along and makes you wonder what's coming next.

I hate this subject matter. There's a lot of pain in the world but I just cannot imagine a father who enjoys controlling and hurting his own child. It's out there and we get an insight into how these girls were effected and how Syd finally overcame her problems. It's twisted tale and it's not the best solution but it does the job. And Jack and Syd have no secrets between them...

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.


Jack and Syd say this whole story started with a house, one that Jack wasn't that in love with especially since they would have to sort out the old owner's stuff. But Jack wants to make Syd happy and there is something she loves about the house.


However, strange things begin to occur after they move in, Jack doesn't tell Syd at the time but upon investigating the source of a smell he finds a dead cat and a box of stuff that was a young girl's. He thinks it is strange because the cat clearly had it's legs broken, but when talking about with his friend he decides that he is thinking of it too much.


Syd meanwhile begins to befriend Eloise, the young girl across the street. Syd also suspects that Eloise is not having a good childhood. When Eloise's father catches them and then attacks Jack on the street. Syd is forced to stop communication with her. The strange things within the house are still happening.



Soon Jack and Syd are caught up in a twisted game with someone that is out to ruin their lives, can they come out ahead or even with just their lives?



Whew, I started this book and just could not stop reading it. At first I wondered if there might be a paranormal aspect, but as it goes you find that it is a deadly game of cat and mouse between one of the characters and a unknown person. Well you know, but I hate spoilers and that is for sure a spoiler. The author reveals it all like an onion in layers.



I love Syd, she is hot mess and knows that she is a hot mess, but she loves Jack. I mean really loves him, he has stood by her even though she is an addict, and hasn't really told him much about her past.

Jack is like the best boyfriend, and I love their relationship. I was literally biting my nails hoping it would end well for them. This a thriller that will keep you guessing all the way until the end. It is clever and well written. I look forward to reading more things by this author!

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: This is the first time I've read anything by Simon Lelic and I am definitely intrigued by his writing style. It was dark and twisted, yet it was the writing style that kept me more intrigued than anything else!

I love this type of book - the type of book that sneaks up on you, sometimes without you even realizing it. That's the type of book this is. It starts off quite benignly, and then before you know it, it's moved into something quite dark and sinister and you are completely hooked. And the short chapters that alternate between Jack and Syd, writing entries into a journal of sorts just adds to the intrigue.

What I loved about this writing style, the use of the journal, is that it forces them to be concise and to the point. There isn't a lot of complex dialogues and flowing descriptions. I found this to be a nice change of pace from all the other books out there - not to say that I would want to see this all the time, but it worked here. And I liked that not only did this allow for us to get their thoughts about what was going on about the house, but it also provided us with the background information about each of them before they were a couple. It really was a clever way to tell a story.

This is a fast-paced, gripping book and the tension runs throughout. You know things aren't right, you know not all is as it seems but you just can't put you finger on why or how. And I for one did not see that final twist coming, which I love...I love when I am totally surprised! I will definitely be checking out what else Simon Lelic has written as I think he is an author I will enjoy reading. Have you read anything else by him?


***This was originally published as The House in the UK.

I thought the synopsis of this book sounded pretty intriguing, grisly discovery in the attic of the new home and a murder outside the back door! Sounds like the making of a good thriller. Unfortunately, for me this one fell a bit short in the shocking twists and turns department.
This story is told in a dual perspective diary style format between the main characters, Jack and Syd. Through these diary entries Jack and Syd are interacting with one another and telling the story of what has occurred. I found this method of story telling a bit awkward to follow and I found myself just trying to follow what was going on for the first part of the book.
Once I got on board and caught up with what was going on with the story I thought it to be an interesting story and I actually flew through the book in two days. Unfortunately, I saw the ending coming before I got there. This does not totally ruin a book for me, but for a mystery/thriller to be really great the ending has to really catch me off guard.
I would like to thank Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found The New Neighbors to be a pretty standard psychological thriller (and I’m using the word “thriller” loosely). The writing wasn’t bad, but I just found myself pretty underwhelmed with the plot and the characters.

I thought the synopsis sounded pretty intriguing. I thought the house and the neighborhood was going to provide a really creepy atmosphere. However, I don’t feel like the house played that big of a role. In the beginning there was a good deal of description of it, but I felt like after being told it was creepy a couple of times, that was kind of it. And the “grisly discovery in the attic” was a pretty big letdown, as well.

I’ve seen lots of reviews talking about the journal formatting, but it didn’t really work for me. In the first part of the book we get alternating 1st person POVs from Jack and Syd and we’re told they’re writing everything down so they can hand it over to the police. I was never sure if there were parts of those chapters that were supposed to be regular narrative or if everything we were reading was supposed to be a journal. With few exceptions, it just didn’t read like journal entries. It read as very straightforward regular narration. In the second half of the book they are done with the journaling and the style was not any different than the first half. I thought that Jack and Syd’s voices were very distinct in the very beginning, but as the book went on, they sounded exactly the same.

I didn’t think the “surprises” were done very well. A lot of things are alluded to throughout the book that are supposed to help build suspense, but when things were finally revealed I just didn’t find them to be very impactful or surprising. To be honest, I just felt let down by the direction the “mystery” went. I found the ending very underwhelming.

Overall, The New Neighbors was a little disappointing to me. The main idea and the writing itself weren’t bad, but the formatting, the characters, and the progression of the plot were lacking. I think people who don’t read a lot of this genre and like character-driven stories would probably enjoy this a little more.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5 Stars

3.5 Stars

This book has a feel of something it's not. It's interesting and will keep you reading until the end - where it drop off.
I was really intrigued with the mystery of what the characters were alluding to, but the actual mystery was a little bit of a flop. It ended up being anticlimactic after such a wonderful build up. It felt as if it were a bit rushed once the authorities got involved.

Jack and Syd had a strong, loving relationship until one insignificant thing happened causing Syd to question everything. The book is written in a letters to each other style and they sound as if they're actually communicating, which is what made it interesting. When things start going downhill, it starts to get messy and I found myself starting to skim.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, because what I don't like, someone else might. Give it a fair try and don't just take my word on it, who knows, it may be a 5 star read for someone else.

Fans of domestic suspense will want to check this one out. Simon Lelic is a UK-based author who continues to rise in popularity with each new book. This might just be the novel that makes him a household name on both sides of the pond.

4.5 Dark and Twisted Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5


This book was originally titled “The House“ I believe this is actually a more apt title...... this book is about Jack and Sid finding their dream house... a house really out of their price range.... yet unbelievably they get it..... at first they feel lucky although Jack is never quite sold on the house.... The house is also filled with all the possessions and furnishings of the previous owner... who moved to Australia and left his belongings behind.... at first they were having fun going through the former owner’s belongings.... having fun playing the vinyl records, but then they encounter a strange smell.... and then things go sideways and bump in the night.....

The beginning of this book is told very cleverly... Jack and Sid are co-authoring a manuscript to give to the police..... explaining all the events leading up to the discovery of a murdered neighbor in the alley behind their house.... I thought this was very effective you got a glimpse into both Sid and Jack’s perspectives.... it was almost as though you were reading their journal or they were talking directly to you..... I found both Sid and Jack’s characters quite interesting although I was always a little more sure that Jack was being honest.... Sid was a little bit more of a mystery...

Don’t want to go too much into the plot just know it is full of twists and turns and quite dark.... there is also abuse, so if this is something that puts you off a book I would not recommend....

Something I found interesting is in the beginning I was thinking... is this a ghost story? Did I misread the blurb, I had read it many months ago.... then I read the authors notes at the end of the book and this book did in fact start off as a ghost story but then it took a turn.... I‘d classify this as a domestic thriller with a dab of psychological thriller thrown in.... so if you are a fan of either of these genres I would strongly recommend.....

*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***

This was so highly anticipated for me but in the end, the narrative style completely threw me off. I couldn't get behind their relaxed back and forth narrative and the bickering had me irritated instead of interested in what happened. Sadly, I wasn't the right reader for this one.

Yes, another book with neighbor in the title, but honestly I’m reeled in by the title alone, so if it’s the new replacement for Girl in thriller titles, so be it. Besides the whole neighbor thing drawing me in, that blurb hooked me too. It said just enough to get my attention and leave me wanting more. Unfortunately only half of this book actually worked for me so I’m honestly not even sure how to rate it, much less review it but here goes!

The first half of this I was totally absorbed, it flips between Sydney and Jack and is written via diary style entries where they’re almost speaking directly to each other. Original, right? They were bickering a little and jumping all over the place a bit, but overall the voices were so strong that I was willing to see where it was headed. Then part two started and things sorta fell apart for me here. I felt like it was messy and disjointed and didn’t really match up with the first part. I know that sounds super vague, but spoilers. I was all set for the plot to head in one direction and it took a left turn while I went right, it happens and I’m sure plenty of people will love this one. It’s addictive for sure and well written but was missing that certain “something” for me that I can’t totally pinpoint.

If you’re intrigued by the blurb I say give it a chance, it had several elements I need in a thriller, fast pacing, twists and questionable narrators so the bones of the story are certainly there. The execution and my feelings of misdirection and slight confusion are what kept me from loving this one.

The perfect couple. The perfect house. The perfect crime.
Londoners Jack and Syd found their dream home: lots of space, a great location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it.
Everything is exactly what they hoped for when they move in--except Jack makes a disturbing discovery in the attic, and Syd begins to wonder about the girl next door. And they each keep the other in the dark.
A Mistake.
Because someone has just been killed outside their back door, and now the police are watching them.
This is their chance to prove they're innocent--or to get away with murder.
Whose story do you believe?


We read psychological thrillers like some people drink their morning coffee.. fast and furious! There are components to thrillers that are the same across the board...i.e. Someone feels like they are going crazy, mysterious and unexplained things happen, multiple people could be to blame etc.... what we LOVED about this thriller was the unique way it was told.
At first, I had to reread the beginning pages as they could definitely confuse the reader if your not 100% focused. So don't go to the hair salon and start this book! But very quickly, the plot thickens and you are hooked. Like the description indicates, Syd and Jack are new to the neighborhood. Jack finds something disturbing in the attic and Syd discovers something disturbing about their neighbor. Secrets are being kept, lies are being told, and all the while... more plot thickening events develop.
Simon Lelic's unique writing style added to the love we have for this thriller! Some reviewers complained about the multiple plots but what we found the way he tied them all together was genius!
All in all, Lelic wrote a fantastic, unique, twisty tale of what can happen when a relationship isn't built on trust, your past comes back to haunt you, and it seems like everyone is out to get you when all along you have the real story all laid out! Why is it so hard to believe?
I would definitely recommend this book to people who thoroughly enjoy a twisted tale that because of its believability, seems even scarier to comprehend! We look forward to reading more from Simon Lelic!

I loved this book. Fast paced psychological thriller told from two first person perspectives. I enjoyed the way the author had the characters critiquing each other's narrative. Inventive story with atypical twists and turns. Recommended

We read psychological thrillers like some people drink their morning coffee.. fast and furious! There are components to thrillers that are the same across the board...i.e. Someone feels like they are going crazy, mysterious and unexplained things happen, multiple people could be to blame etc.... what we LOVED about this thriller was the unique way it was told.
At first, I had to reread the beginning pages as they could definitely confuse the reader if your not 100% focused. So don't go to the hair salon and start this book! But very quickly, the plot thickens and you are hooked. Like the description indicates, Syd and Jack are new to the neighborhood. Jack finds something disturbing in the attic and Syd discovers something disturbing about their neighbor. Secrets are being kept, lies are being told, and all the while... more plot thickening events develop. 
Simon Lelic's unique writing style added to the love we have for this thriller! Some reviewers complained about the multiple plots but what we found the way he tied them all together was genius! 
All in all, Lelic wrote a fantastic, unique, twisty tale of what can happen when a relationship isn't built on trust, your past comes back to haunt you, and it seems like everyone is out to get you when all along you have the real story all laid out! Why is it so hard to believe? 
I would definitely recommend this book to people who thoroughly enjoy a twisted tale that because of its believability, seems even scarier to comprehend! We look forward to reading more from Simon Lelic!

I figured out this story too early (hence the three stars). I usually like a slow burn but this story was too predictable. However, I enjoyed the plot and really liked the ending. I will be recommending it to my patrons.