Thank you so much Netgalley, Carter Wilson, and Poisoned Pen Press for my gifted copy!

Synopsis:
The best day in Aidan's life is actually his worst, too - because he's at his wife's funeral when he finds out that he just won 30 million dollars on the lottery. Wanting a fresh start with his kids, he decides to buy a house in a small town called Bury. But something just doesn't feel right - and then he gets some letters indicating someone knows about the darkest parts of his past, and that they are watching until they got what is his...

My thoughts:
Honestly, I loved this book! It put me out of a major reading slump with its unique storyline and its tense and suspenseful plot. I really liked Aidan as a MC, but I wish his relationship to another character would've been executed and elaborated further. The ending surprised me, and the whole thing kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. Also, I appreciated the mention of a character from The Dead Husband, Carter's novel before that one! I would have rated this novel even a star higher, if it weren't for the animal abuse. Again.

This was my second book by this author, and I liked them both equally.

Blimey, what a page turner.

Imagine losing your wife then winning millions on the lottery. That surely would mess with your head and that's the starting point for this brilliant thriller from an author that's new to me but I've just ordered two of the previous novels.

This is one of the twistiest thrillers I've read this year so far with the most unreliable of unreliable narrators and enough "ooh" moments to satisfy the most ardent of psychological thriller readers.

An emotionally charged, oft edge of the seat, addictive novel that works its way to a confrontational conclusion. I adored every minute of it.

Highly Recommended

This is a creepy (in the best way possible), suspenseful novel & I absolutely enjoyed it! I couldn’t quite peg what was going on at the start but there’s plenty of eerie occurrences to keep you turning the pages. It deals so well with guilt & loss & regret, what’s real & what isn’t. Wilson very adeptly pens a man that’s slowly losing his way/mind. There’s one aspect of the mystery that wasn’t resolved, that left me a bit let down but overall it’s a really strong book, especially if you like reading ones with unrealisable narrators. Easily a recommend.

The premise of this one sounded so good.  A recently widowed dad wins the Powerball and wants a fresh start for his family.  They move to a mansion in the small town of Bury and after arriving they find that previous inhabitants disappeared.  The family starts receiving threatening notes after arrival and other strange things happen.  The story kept me guessing and I had so many different theories going in my head.  I love when a story does that.  There were short chapters which always makes the pace of the story move faster. Unfortunately the story went in a direction that I just didn't like which made the story fall a bit flat for me. I think others might really like this story so I recommend giving it a shot.

A man wins the lottery on the same day he is burying his wife. Hard to imagine how it would feel to undergo two life-changing events at such extreme ends of the spectrum. He uses his newfound wealth to buy a fresh start in a mansion in a distant town. The house has a creepy history – its prior owner and 3 relatives disappeared. The man starts receiving threatening, vaguely personalized letters. What is going on? It’s hard to tell, as the man is not the most reliable narrator. This one had me zipping along, with short, suspenseful chapters.

I was intrigued by the set up of this thriller, a man winning the lottery on the day of his wife’s funeral, but overall this book made me feel quite anxious. I wanted to know what happened but I can’t say I really wanted to keep reading. There were some twists and turns as well as some loose ends that were a bit unsatisfying for my taste.

The New Neighbor is full of fast paced suspense that will keep you guessing until the end! The author did a great job at capturing raw human emotions such as grief and fear. I found it was easy to empathize with the main character and his struggles and relationships in the book. The suspense was great, I never knew what to expect next and I loved seeing it all unfold. A great thriller for your bookshelf!

I loved the creepy tone of this book. The plot and subplots were all intriguing. I did guess the twist but not until right before the reveal, so it was not predictable. I really like Carter Wilson’s style of writing, which is reminiscent of Stephen King, and I plan to go back and read his older works. I really enjoyed this one.

Wow! What a thrill ride! This was my first book by Carter Wilson and won't be my last. This book had me hooked from page one and had me suspicious of everyone! This was a solid five star story with great descriptions, dialogue, and inner dialogue. I could easily visualize the setting and felt like I was right there with the characters. I also loved the creep factor and hints of paranormal.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. In the first 100 pages I was sure we were heading in one direction, then about halfway through I thought the story was wrapping up but couldn't figure out why we needed another 50%, and then as the story got into the second half I could really see where we were headed. I loved our main character as an unreliable narrator, though that was easier to see as the reader in the first half than the second half (maybe intentional). While the sidebars with Holly, Rose, and also himself added to the story in some places they felt excessive and I felt like perhaps our main character could have figured these things out without them. I loved the fast pace, and the escalating story - I think I finished this book in only 4 sittings - so it was a banger for sure. The short chapters helped break up the story, but also kept it moving steadily. In terms of the days he'd lived in Bury, I found myself frequently going back to find out how many days the last several chapters had been about, to get a sense of whether it was the next day or several later - perhaps this could have been "three days later" instead? Overall, going to be checking out Carter Wilson's backlist and definitely The Dead Husband.
Thanks so much for the ARC!

This was an interesting one. Fast paced and full of action right from the start. You both love and dislike Marlowe as he slowly unravels. The plot twists were unpredictable and tied the ending together nicely. A first from Carter Wilson but won’t be my last.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I found that by the end of Chapter 12 of The New Neighbor (Carter Wilson) I was getting goosebumps. I kept getting them off and on through the entire book. What a ride! I've read other stories by Mr. Wilson, but I honestly think this is his best.
Aiden Marlowe hits the lottery for millions the same day his wife died. Because Marlowe was actually in the process of saying goodbye to his wife while she was being buried when he discovered the lottery win he decided it was a sign to move to Bury, New Hampshire. I want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an early copy to review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.

This was a great thriller read toward the end of the night when I wanted to stay up late and be spooked! Stories about neighbors are always a little more chilling, because you start to look at your own neighbors with just a little more suspicion. Great story and great thrills!

Aidan Marlowe wins the lottery on the day of his wife’s funeral, so he’s conflicted on how he feels. One of the best things to ever happen to him happens on the worst day of his life. He relocates himself and his 7 year old twins to a suburban upscale neighborhood in New Hampshire. The house he moves into has a history of the previous family mysteriously disappearing.
Almost immediately, strange occurrences and discoveries begin, and Aidan thinks someone is watching him. Aidan begins to feel very unsettled and paranoid and afraid for his family. This novel was very fast paced with a funny and mostly likeable main character. He sometimes makes you wonder what was he thinking and oftentimes laugh out loud at some of his dialogue. I enjoyed it and give it 4.5 stars rounding up to 5. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this EBook and the opportunity to read and review it!

I did not finish this title. I struggled to stay loyal to the characters and storyline. This may be a better book for another reader.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: April 12, 2022

SUMMARY:
This is the story of Marlowe, and what happens when both the best in life, and the worst in life, happen to him on the very same day. Marlowe was a happily married bartender, father to twins Mags and Bo when his beloved wife Holly suddenly dies. On the day of the funeral, he discovers he has won $30 million in the lottery. How will Marlowe cope with such extremes? And when someone starts sending mysterious notes, how will one man handle this? Turns out not very well…

PROS and CONS:
This book had a very compelling storyline - heartbreaking death and a lottery win - two extremes. Marlowe is spiraling, but who is the cause? Who is writing these notes? And why? I’ll admit it took me some time to get through this one - I liked that it was a father who was the potentially unreliable narrator (ladies get such a bad rap!) My main issue however, is the amount of unanswered questions in this book - listed as a standalone, there is another book that must explain one of the huge plot threads (the Dead Husband). This is mentioned in the blurb on Goodreads, and If you haven’t read it, you’ll end up disappointed in this one.

READ IT?
I like Wilson’s writing style but wish The New Neighbor was either listed as a sequel, or did a better job of explaining one of the main storylines.

3 Stars

I don't like this trend of "stand alone crossovers" either write another book in a series or have a standalone. I don't like feeling like I'm missing some context or backstory when reading a book that repeatedly is sold as a "standalone". Maybe that is why the book felt flat. Maybe it was just poorly written but I'm too irritated to read the other book to find out.

Oh my this book, my first by Carter Wilson, was so intriguing. While reading last night I kept saying one more chapter and finally put it down one hundred and fifty pages later. This book has pretty much everything I enjoy about psychological thrillers, it sucked me in, it had some surprises, it had characters to cheer for and characters to hate. I loved getting inside Aidan's head and man was it dark! I loved the back story too as it was so different. I loved the short chapters and it ramped the tension up, I found myself holding my breath at the end of a lot of them! I loved that the new house was a character as well, it made the setting so creepy. This is a standalone story with crossover to his previous novel The Dead Husband and I for one intended to read that as well, but please know you don't have to to be able to enjoy this one.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review The New Neighbor early. Unfortunately, this book was not the best fit for me and I ended up not finishing it. I do think others will enjoy it, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Carter Wilson for the advanced copy of The New Neighbor in exchange for my honest review.

Aiden Marlowe, known to his friends as simply Marlowe, has played the same lottery numbers for 15 years straight. He finally hits the winning Powerball numbers... on the day of his wife's funeral. Mentally, he's completely spiraling out of control, and becoming instantly wealthy provides its own set of challenges. Marlowe decides to take his seven-year-old twins and start over in a new town.

Marlowe struggles to get through every day, which only gets worse when he discovers someone is watching he and his family. They know details that Marlowe was certain were buried deeply, and they won't stop watching until they get exactly what they want.

This was my first foray into the works of Carter Wilson, and I must say I was not one bit disappointed. The synopsis immediately piqued my interest, can you imagine the absolute low of losing your spouse paired with the complete high of winning tens of millions of dollars? I think it's entirely fair to say none of us knows how we'd react to such an insane situation.

I enjoyed the pacing of this story, the short chapters, the complete unreliability of Marlowe as a narrator, and the ultimate twist definitely worked for me. My only major gripe is there's one mysterious aspect of the story that didn't get resolved well enough for my liking.

This may have been my first time reading a Carter Wilson book but it absolutely won't be my last. The New Neighbor is on bookshelves in the US April 12, 2022!