Y'all, it's my second book in a row about the Ouroboros symbol and I've now done some deep dive research into it. I'm a firm believer in signs, sort of like Marlowe is, so I took it as a sign that I needed to learn more about the snake eating itself in a never ending circle. It's a symbol, using a creature that is typically depicted as evil, that depicts a snake or dragon devouring its own tail and that is used especially to represent the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth. In this case, it is positive, and really resonated with me and my life. So, thank you to Sarah Pinborough and now Carter Wilson for introducing me to this concept.

Additional thank to Carter Wilson for writing a fantastic, male perspective thriller. It was somehow both perfectly suburban domestic drama and psychologically thrilling. A powerful, fictional study of grief and its impact; in The New Neighbor, Aidan Marlowe wins the lottery the day he bids farewell to his deceased wife. As an Irish man with a firm believer in signs, every moment from the funeral is a sign and he uproots his children from Baltimore to Bury, New Hampshire and a grand 8,000 sq. footage of a home. He believes he's set himself and them up for success, the lotto win is a secret, or so he thinks. Soon threatening letters begin to arrive and every member of the small, wealthy town of Bury becomes a suspect. As he investigates he discovers that four members of the family who lived here disappeared previously and they've never been found. In the midst of his grief and concern for his family, Marlowe begins experiencing gaps, lost moments in time, and it will take everyone around him to hold him up as he uncovers the truth.

I 100% loved this book, flaws and all. Of course, there's some plot holes I wish I could get an answer for, which leads to my four star rating, but otherwise Carter Wilson delivers a solid, fast-paced thriller that can be read by thriller fans and domestic drama fans alike. I couldn't guess this one, I too felt like one of his children, watching my father lose his marbles in a house that feels like a doomed maze. It's mysterious and suspenseful, with multiple plot lines running at once, amped up by the despair of grief. It was a one shot read for me, impossible to put down, and I cannot recommend it enough. Plus, there's an excellent reader's guide in the back and I can see some book clubs having some marvelous discussions after reading this.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

I enjoyed this creepy stalker story, but the twist was a little lackluster for me. The lottery winner angle was an interesting, refreshing plotline.

The pacing was good and the story was entertaining, but I do think it was somewhat more character-driven than I normally go for. I appreciated that the potentially “crazy” character in this story was a man instead of a woman–too often, it’s the wife that no one believes and who is gaslit into thinking she is crazy.

The main character’s dad reminded me of Pat’s father!

In the end, the way the story wrapped up wasn’t quite satisfying enough for me. There were a few holes that were never closed. I’m sorry I didn’t write spoilers for this one when I read it, though, because I can’t remember enough details!

Why do the neighbourhood tropes always find their way to me?? I love them. It was a fast paced read, with short chapters , the ending was disappointing though so I took a star of for that.

I couldn't not get into this one. It could be the writing style or it was just wrong timing. I liked the premise of the book so I will try it again at another time.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the psychological aspect of the story, about a man's difficulty to struggle with a very bad news and a very good news at the same time.

Instant wealth can bring jealousy and greed from other people, and I loved how this subject has been approached.

Very gripping story. Took me a few chapters to have my full interest, but totally worth it in the end.

Another creeptastic thriller from Carter Wilson. Aiden Marlowe's life is upturned twice, first by the unexpected loss of his wife, and then again by winning the lottery (on the day of her funeral). His newfound wealth allows him to try for a fresh start by moving with his two children, to a mansion in Bury. He's mysteriously drawn to this house in this town, but right away, this doesn't seem like the fresh start he was looking for... Threatening letters show up at his doorstep, and he starts losing time. This novel was full of enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. Darkly enjoyable, just as I expect from this author.

This is an interesting psychological thriller. Aidan’s wife has recently died leaving him a widower with two small children. On the day of his wife’s funeral he finds out he has won the Powerball lottery. Still grieving Aidan moves the family to a new town and into a huge house with it’s own creepy history. Soon after moving in threatening notes start to arrive. I found the suspense was continuous throughout the book and it was a quick read as I raced to see how this story was going to resolve.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I was expecting this to be another domestic suspense and was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case!
When recent widower Aiden and his two young children win the lottery, they move into a mansion with a dark past - the owner, his two daughters and his grandson disappeared along with him. When Aiden starts getting anonymous notes from someone who knows way too much about him, and a dark secret from his past, he starts to wonder if this has anything to do with the family that was there before him.
I loved this premise! The short chapters and fast pace kept me hooked! I ended up reading this in one sitting.
However, I found myself really disappointed with the ending. The story had so much potential, but ended up falling flat for me. One of the mystery’s was never even answered and I totally want to know what happened!
Thank you to the author and Poisoned Pen Press for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like The New Neighbor much more than I actually did. It's not that it was a bad book... the premise was great, the twists were interesting, and it certainly was a fast paced book that I was excited to read. The problem was that all the characters - with the exception of Marlowe - felt flat and stereotypical (especially in terms of race/ethnicity as well as gender and profession). There was so much potential to explore how grief shapes a family, as this family has just lost their mother in tragedy. And the author does do that, to an extent, when exploring how the kids and their father cope after winning the lottery and moving to a new town. But then the characterizations get lost in the oddness of their new home and the unreliability of Marlowe as a narrator. Additionally, I was unsatisfied with the ending. Yes, it was a twist and some things were resolved but not everything... I just felt something was missing. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced ebook to read. All opinions are my own.

I love a good neighborhood thriller! This one was pretty decent but the twist was a bit cringey and far-fetched and it read more like a character based story of Aidan than a thriller

I love a good neighborhood thriller! I'm always intrigued by the ambience of a quiet street, a looming mansion, or any house with a story and the people that reside within the walls. Thank you to the author, publisher, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A fast paced thriller about a new comer who has recently won the lottery, but wishes to remain anonymous, but can he? Trouble keeps following him wherever he goes? Can he keep his family safe or willl his true identity be revealed? I enjoyed this novel!

This is the first time I've read this author & this book left me wanting to read more. A fast-paced psychological thriller where I thought I had it figured it, but it had an unexpected twist that completely caught me off guard.

Aiden wins the lottery after his wife passes away and moves his family to get a new start in a fresh place and that's where it all begins, but does it? Kudos to the author for creating such a fascinating read that I could not put down. I'll definitely be reading more, just don't know where to start.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a thrillingly enticing book by Wilson!

This was a gripping thriller from start to finish, and Carter knew how to keep me on the edge of my seat with this one.

I LOVED the short chapters and enjoyed the characters as well. This book makes you think a little, and I love that!

This was my first book by this author, and it did not disappoint! It was an entertaining, gripping, and twisted read! I am looking forward to see what Wilson has up his sleeve next!

The suspense about a good neighbourhood thriller!

Imagine playing the same lottery numbers for fifteen years but never hitting the jackpot, until the day of your spouse’s funeral.

Aidan Marlowe life took two massive turns, instant unimaginable wealth, and the loss of the only woman he's ever loved, the mother of his twin children.
Will the money compensate for the loss in his life?
Can money bring in second chances and will Aidan think about starting a new life?

Just when Aidan tries to find balance in his life between all the money and grief, he gets hit but his old demons. Someone is watching him and his family and knows the truth Aidan doesn’t want people to know.

The plot takes a surprising turn and there’s way more than you can anticipate. The unexpected multiple twists will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The characters were well presented and just when you’ll start resonating with one, the twist will make you question your opinion. Although, there were some gut wrenching questions through the plot that were left unanswered in the end. A little bummer there, but the overall plot is gripping and suspenseful.

If you love short striking chapters which leave you on a cliffhanger wanting you read just one more page, this one’s for you.

2.5 stars

"That razor's edge of being just sane enough to realize you're not."

While most of this narrative was pretty predictable, there were a few excellent creepy parts which I very much enjoyed.

We open on Marlowe at his wife's funeral, deeply grieving her untimely death. It's pretty impressive to start in this sympathy-inducing place and still find him incredibly unlikeable. He's cocky and so sure he can 'read people', particularly their 'energy', but the only untrustworthy person he should be concerned about is himself.

After a lot of buildup, the reveal felt anticlimactic; it could have been because the predictability spoiled the moment, or it's possible that I was just over Marlowe and his delusional, self-destructive bullshit. But by the end, I was ready to be done reading The New Neighbor . With too many threads left ungathered, there was a lot of potential but not enough follow-through.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It actually held my attention at first, and I liked the premise of the plot. However, the more I read, the more I got bored with the story, and while I finished the book, I wish it had been more engaging.

Review

I truly wanted to like this book because, based on the description, it seemed like an interesting mystery thriller. I also must say that I read an ARC copy of the book, so some of the issues I had with the story could've been potentially fixed for the final copy.
While the story goes fast and it is an easy read, I found that the plot of the book was very inconsistent, and there were many plotholes and undeveloped storylines. As someone who reads many thrillers, I was able to figure out what was happening early on. I actually liked the part of the story in which the letters' author is revealed, and I found the explanation realistic. Predictability in a storyline doesn't bother me, but it is an easy thing to guess based on foreshadowing in the first few chapters of the book.
One thing I truly liked about the book was the depiction of grief and how it affects people differently. Marlowe is clearly in distress since he lost his wife and the love of his life. However, he has to appear strong because of his children. He's in pain and many of his choices, such as moving to a town where he doesn't know anyone nor has a support system, are based on his sorrow. The twins are also dealing with their pain in their own way. While they are secondary characters, they also portray the behaviors of people going through the stages of grief, which can't be easy at such a young age.
When it comes to characters, everything that we know about them is from Marlowe's perspective. It is clear, early on, that he is not a reliable narrator, so I kept that in mind while he interacted with the rest of the characters. Marlowe's relationship with his dad, who ends up moving in with the family halfway through the story, also brings up many of the issues that Marlowe is dealing with and it helps to understand his character more.
I must say that many of the characters lacked depth. And this could be explained by the fact that Mack is a terrible narrator. However, I also found that some of the people in the book are written based on stereotypes, which left a bad taste in my mouth. The portrayal of the Latino characters was abysmal, and their Spanish was terrible. Some other characters that were introduced, completely disappeared as the story unfolded, so I wasn't sure what their role was or how they were relevant to the story.
Finally, I wish the other storyline happening in the book would have been fully explained. I started the book with the notion that the disappearance of the Yates family would be brought up and solved while Marlowe also figured out who was sending the letters and why. And while the crime was somewhat revealed, I was dissatisfied with how this storyline kept getting lost in Marlowe's story. I wish it had more closure for everyone involved, including the young girl who lost her family with no explanation.
Overall, this book was entertaining, but it left me wishing for more. I don't usually ditch authors based on one book, so I'll keep an eye for more of Carter Wilson's work.

Thank you Netgalley and Carter Wilson for the ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this book!

It was a pleasant suprise as this is the first book from this author I have read - it won't be my last.

This was an easy and quick read with an unreliable narrator, twists and mystery.

I enjoyed the ride this book took me on and would recommend it 100%.