The Good Neighbour by R. J. Parker had an interesting premise however the story became repetitive. As a creepy, killer, stalker Martin Tate was always there. Leah made out and out unbelievable decisions and her actions were questionable. Elliot, the philandering husband, why oh why did Leah stay with him for so long? Many unanswered questions which with a bit more background into the characters could have explained.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I was intrigued by the blurb of this book. Once I picked it up I found I couldn't put it down until I knew the outcome. I was on the edge of my seat as there were some scary moments. The tension grew throughout the book and didnt let up .

This is a brilliant read.

Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.

I love the characters and found them believable.

Great suspense and action with a great twist.

Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.

Leah is involved in a deer accident on Valentine’s Day night in a deserted road. The battery of her phone died and she is not able to call the police nor her estranged husband Elliot. As her gaze wanders around she can see light in the house nearby and she heads there. After knocking on the the door, charming and lovely Martin Tate opens the door and lets her enter his home. He helps her by calling the police and AA and in the meantime he comforts her and there is a pull towards him that Leah is unable to withhold. The next day she comes back to Martins house to thank him again and give him a present, but the police is already there. The house owner is dead and it’s a woman Alice Booth. So who is Martin Tate?

This thriller is very fast-paced and enthralling it will engulf you from beginning to end. The chapters are so short that you will tell yourself „just one more chapter“ and in one sitting you‘ll be finished and breathless. The plot is smartly crafted, intriguing and gripping. This is an impressive cat and mouse game, which will leave you on the edge of your seat and have you wishing, that you never ever encounter such a sociopathic neighbour. I look forward to read more of R.J. Parker’s books.
Ideal for fans of J.P Delaney and Cristina Alger.

Thank you NetGalley / Harper Collins UK One More Chapter for providing me with this arc in exchange for a honest review.

Loved this! So good, so exciting, so gripping and great story. Can't wait to read more by this author - absolutely brilliant.

This book was sent to me on Kindle for a review. It is a chilling read because it could happen to anyone...car breaks down...stranger helping...a mystery...creepy mystery...the characters are not fuzzy likeable, but they are ordinary people with ordinary problems...enjoy...if you can get through the thoughts that it could happen...

Woooo what a book!!! I cannot believe I've had this on my kindle since December and haven't read it until today!!

So you are driving home and on one of the lines hit a deer, it's late and you are close to a "neighbour's" house only a few streets away from home. They let you use their phone to call the AA and you have a moment but you feel a tad uncomfortable so you wait outside the following day you go to say thank you bottle of wine in hand only to come face to face with loads of police officers they inform you the owner of the house has been murdered!!! But you only saw him 8 hours ago but turns out he wasn't the occupant he is the killer and you know his face the questions are why did he open the door and are you in danger? This is the predicament Leah finds herself in!


This book is literally one of my worst nightmares, mainly because it's believable. We all know there are sociopaths out there and this is the kind of thing they can do. I had actually forgotten what the plot of the book was and I quite glad I had as when the plot kicked in it was completely unexpected.

Leah is an interesting choice as the lead protagonists as she doesn't appear that strong as a person. But I really enjoyed watching how she develops throughout the book. Over the course of 24 hours her life is turned upside down. Her relationship with her husband is Elliott is at breaking point she seems to look the other way at some very obvious signs that her marriage is completely over. Yet she is willing to risk herself for him! I wasn't keen on that but I understood the point.

The killer is one messed up guy and he has an obsession with Leah before she even knocked on the door, he thinks it's a sign! Now here's the thing he is not right in the head but I thought he made a great villain I found him quite "relatable". You almost want to feel sorry for him but then we'll he took it to far for me. But I found the dynamic between him and Leah very interesting they seem to be quite similar with the hurt they both suffer.

The writing is done extremely well. Description of different scenes is done so well, at times I felt like I was there. The begining chapters when Leah hits the deer the description is done so well I could unfortunately picture it.
Plus it's written in third person, I normally prefer first person narrator but this felt like I was on the outside looking in it added to the narrative.

In summary would I recommend this book? Yes there is no doubt about it. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read, big statement I know but the fear that this could actually happen in real life messes with my head even more. I sat and ran through his in one setting 6 hours and I was gutted when it ended I wondered how it would be rounded off and woop amazing a part 2 should happen but I doubt it will.. I know u will be re reading this book at some point to see if there is anything I kissed.
Easy 5 stars actually 5+ stars


Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for the digital ARC in exchange for my fair and honest options.

Wow!!! What a creepy, suspenseful, and intense thriller!!! I could not put this book down!! What an awesome thriller this book has been!! A must must read!!

A hugely enjoyable audiobook!
I wasn't expecting much from this, after not hearing of the author or narrator before. That should not detract from my enjoyment, as the combination of an extremely gripping plot and a wonderfully engaging narrator, makes a perfect thriller for me.
My attention was kept throughout which is hugely rare, and the character of Leah was likeable and I was completely taken in by her escapades and what would happen.
It says a lot when I only take 2 days to finish listening to the book!
Rose Robinson as the narrator is now definitely on my radar, as is Parker!
Thank you HarperCollins Audio, One More Chapter for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Leah finds herself in a car accident on her way home and decides to ring a doorbell to get some help. When Martin opens the door and is very helpful she tries to thank him the next day by getting him a bottle of wine. However, when she comes back to the house, she only finds police who let her know that the home owner is dead and it was not Martin from there the story takes off.

I did quite enjoy the plot but do have to say I didn't connect to the characters as much as I would have liked to and some things Leah did were rather cringy (or not fully plausible at least), But overall, I had a good time with this book!

Leah Talbot, 30, is driving home late one night on a winding road when a deer runs out in from of her and she hits it. Now, she can’t move her car. She feels so bad for the deer and checks to find it has died, so she drags it off to the side of the road. Her cell phone battery has died so seeing a house up ahead, she goes there for help. A man answers the door and offers the use of the phone. She calls her husband, Elliot, but has to leave a message. The man tells her he has called the police and the breakdown truck. He introduces himself as Martin Tate. He is very kind to her and suddenly he kisses her. Embarrassed, she insists on waiting outside for the breakdown truck. Back home, she is shocked at herself that she and the man kissed. She and Elliott have been married for 8 years but their marriage is on the rocks because Elliott simply told her he didn’t feel the same way about her. The next day, Leah uses Elliott’s car to stop by with a nice bottle of wine to thank Martin. When she arrives, she sees police cars and crime scene tape and learns that the owner, Alice Booth, has been murdered. She realizes that she must have stepped into the middle of a murder. In addition, she remembers telling him where she lives and her phone number. Sharing this with the police, they tell her and Elliott that they must find a sale place to stay for now.

Now, is when Tate begins to toy with Leah using his sociopath methods and making her think if she does what he says, she can save her family. This got very brutal and a bit stomach-turning. I felt that Leah was stupid in not bringing the police in on what was happening thinking instead that she could do things herself. Oh no - not when you are dealing with a maniac. Stick with the police. They know how to handle these things. Scary story.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Good Neighbour by R.J. Parker is a chilling story that takes stalking to next level madness with a huge side of creepy serial killer to keep things interesting. Leah’s life hasn’t been quite the same since her accident a few years ago; her estranged husband is self-centered and uncaring, at best and she works from home. One dark night after hitting a deer, she’s kindly assisted by a welcoming light on the deserted road near her village. Martin Tate has helped Leah at her most vulnerable time, a time when she’s feeling particularly lonely and unloved so naturally, she can’t help feeling drawn to this warm and charming man, right? It’s not until the next day when she finds out that charming Martin is a serial killer that she realizes she’s lucky to have escaped with her life but has she?

What a thrill ride this is! I will not go into any spoilery details except to say that this cat and mouse game kept me turning pages and I read this in one day – nothing got done but I have zero regrets! This is a suspenseful and chilling read that I’d recommend to any fan of the genre.

Holy Creepshow! I had shivers running up and down my spine on this one.

Imagine a car incident involving a deer. Your car is out of commission. It’s pouring down rain. Your cell phone is dead. You starting walking home and see your neighbour’s gate open so you knock on the door. After several minutes a man opens the door and kindly invites you in to make a phone call to the police and to the tow company. What follows next is shocking and chilling.

Leah is in the wrong place at the wrong time and the only witness to identify a murderer who had the opportunity to kill her but didn’t. Why did he do that? Well, that is that the million-dollar question which is slowly revealed in a sinister and diabolical plotline.

Leah’s life is strange at best. Apparently, she works from home and is a recluse due to an incident that happened several years ago. She is basically sharing a home with her estranged and selfish husband, Elliot, who goes in and out of the house at his discretion without telling her where he is. After finding out the killer had entered her home the night of the murder, she and her husband go their separate ways to stay at different locations. Then the text messages appear from the killer who is fixated on her and sends her on a ghastly treasure hunt of dead bodies to prove his commitment to her.

I recommend this highly charged thriller for those who love disturbing characters and jolting suspense as a psychopath manipulates an unsuspecting victim right up to the pivotal ending.

Thank you to Mr. Parker, One More Chapter, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

What a brilliant concept for a novel! From the start I couldn't put this book down. The idea that on first appearances you can't judge people is awesome, to later find that the man you thought was just a kind stranger is actually a serial killer! Brilliant. I would give the start more than the 5* available, but it trailed off a bit towards the end.
The writing is beautifully done, very descriptive and making the trivial feel important, but I didn't feel invested in the husband's character enough to care if he lived or died. I would have liked more of Leah dealing with the dead bodies, she didn't respond with enough fear and concern.
Overall, I'll say 4* for those reasons, but will definitely go back to the author for more books. Great writing style.

Leah is driving home late on Valentine's Day when she hits a deer and winds up in a ditch. Having no other options, she walks to the nearest neighbor's house and is greeted by a handsome man who warmly welcomes her into his home. Leah promptly passes out from the shock of the whole ordeal, but this kind stranger takes care of her, calling a tow truck and doing whatever he can to make her feel comfortable. She feels drawn to him, which might have something to do with Leah being estranged from her husband, and the two share a brief kiss. Appalled by her actions, Leah quickly leaves and returns to her empty house.

The next morning, she wrestles with her feelings for this unknown man and ultimately decides to pay him another visit under the guise of thanking him. However, when she shows up, police are all over the property and tell her that the homeowner was brutally murdered last night. Even more shocking is the revelation that the homeowner was a woman, which means Leah's knight in shining armor could potentially be a murderer. Not only did he kiss her, but he has her home address and now Leah is under police protection until the killer can be caught.

This novel was as suspenseful as it sounds. From the very first few chapters, I was hooked and did not want to put this down. Some of the story is a bit unrealistic and Leah herself doesn't always make the best decisions, so for those reasons, I'd rate this a solid 4.5 out of 5. It's definitely worth the read if you're a fan of edge-of-your-seat thrillers!

This was a stop everything just to spend the day reading. The first chapter set the scene in a really creepy way and the story continued in the same mode all the way through until the final twist at the end.
I just loved it and all the way through I kept on trying to magine what I would have done had I been Leah.
I cannot give enough praise for such a well written, twisted creepy book. Bring on the next one soon please

The Good Neighbour is a gritty cross between a domestic drama and a serial killer thriller and illustrates just how well those who are psychopathic hide behind a charming and affable facade. 30-year-old Leah Talbot is living in an unhappy marriage. She and her estranged husband, Elliotq, sleep in separate beds in separate rooms and pretty much have completely separate lives. It's clear that it has become a marriage of convenience as there is no love lost between the two of them, and they tend to only communicate with each other when absolutely necessary. Leah strongly suspects Elliot to be having an affair; in fact, she knows it she just doesn't have any solid proof. Call it women’s intuition. It's Valentine's day - a day that is perfect when in love but hell if not, at least for Leah. She knows Elliot will be out late romancing his strumpet so she resolves to stay out late even if she is just driving round in circles. He must be busy, busy enough to not answer his mobile phone. Leah will make sure she returns home later than Elliot just to spite him. All of a sudden, she has a near-miss with a motorcycle but continues on her way home, and at 11:45 she's driving along a country road towards her picture-postcard village of Forley when a deer appears in the lane ahead. She's only doing 40mph but due to the wet road she cannot stop and there is no time to swerve. The Fiat 500 smashes into flesh and bone and Leah feels the seat belt cut into her and her neck snap from the impact. Realising the car would not be moving any further due to the damaged front wheel and seeing that her mobile battery was dead she starts walking along Plough Lane towards the beautiful house concealed behind ornate wooden gates she passes each day on her way to work to gain assistance.

A minute later she arrives at the three-storey house and approaching the canary-yellow door she raps on it three times; despite the late hour a man answers and she relays the unfortunate story to him. She then asks to borrow a phone to call the police, as the scene could be a hazard to other drivers, as well as AA recovery services to get her car out of the ditch. The man’s name was Martin Tate, a seemingly kind, empathetic and caring person who was more than happy to oblige. He invited her in and she made the calls, he looked after her when she went into shock and they had a pleasant conversation while awaiting the recovery vehicle to tow the car and take her home. The two also share a secret smooch as there was no denying the chemistry that sizzled between them. The next morning, Leah returns to the house to see Martin and take him a bottle of wine to show her gratitude, but when she arrives the place is surrounded by swarms of police. Apparently, they've discovered the brutally murdered body of Alice Booth, the woman who owned the house and her time of death was right around the time Leah visited the previous evening; it had been at the hands of Martin. But that one meeting between them was enough for him to now be infatuated with her. Then things begin to get a whole lot darker and more dangerous. This is a riveting and scintillating thriller from first page to last and the original, wickedly twisted plot is full of drama, action, twists, revelations and exciting developments. It's a slow-burner allowing plenty of time for Parker to weave a creepy, unsettling and atmospheric tale with most of the premise being a situation that could very much happen to any of us in real life. Chilling and brilliant. Highly recommended.

The Good Neighbor

Would you go to a strangers door if you were stranded on a dark street with a dead phone?

Lisa Talbot is driving home alone on Valentine’s Day. She hits a deer crossing the road and wrecks her car. In addition to the wrecked car, her phone battery is dead. Lisa goes to the nearest house to ask for help. She knocks on the door and meets the charismatic Martin Tate, who offers to help her. Martin and Lisa seem to have an instant connection that is anything but platonic. The next day, Lisa drives to thank Martin but finds his house is marked with police tape.

I went into the book expecting a psychological thriller but got a story that had police procedural elements. “The Good Neighbor” was original and had the bones to be an amazing tale. I was looking for something more complex, both in story and characters. Lisa was very one dimensional and I was not fond of her decisions. The author also did not flesh out the characters well enough. I would of enjoyed backstories to help the characters really pop off the page.

Siigghhh....this fast paced thriller started off strong. The beginning and the end were my favorite parts of the book but middle left much to be desired. There was not enough suspense to keep me invested in the book. The book had a really good premise and I just wished it was executed better. With that being said, it is a fast paced book with short chapters. Fans of police procedurals might enjoy this.

I have a friend who seemed to hit a deer on an annual basis. Luckily, it only resulted in car damage and not meeting someone like Martin Tate. Despite Mr. Parker's best efforts to make the reader understand why Leah would be drawn to Martin, at the beginning I struggled with her behaviour. Then it got to the point where she really had no choice. I couldn't fault her then! The writing style was very simplistic and easy to follow. But I would have liked more character development for Martin. Other than someone who stumbled upon a woman to be obsessed with, the reader never really gets to know him. He gets lost in the fervor of his own actions and Leah's panicked response to them. I enjoyed what I was given but would have liked more!

Whattttt? I devoured this book. Like sat down and didn’t get up till it was done. I was sweating and had horrible anxiety but couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Leah gets into a car accident and walks to a neighbors house for help. The man there takes care of her and calls the police and tow truck for her. The next day, she goes back to the house to thank him, and finds it swarming with police and the person that lives there was murdered. That person was not the man she met the night before, so that means she met the killer. Leah works with the police to help to try to find “Martin Tate” and as she does, her whole life begins to unravel.
Told in alternate POV and back and forth before and after, this book kept me completely riveted the whole time. I just had to know what was going to happen, and while I enjoyed the ending, there were quite a few things that weren’t explained in there. I am choosing to overlook some things here and go by the sheer fact I couldn’t put it down and giving it a 4 star rating. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who likes suspense and being kept on your toes. Also, I liked the twist at the end. Just saying.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, netgalley and the author for an early copy.