Member Reviews
Miranda Rijks has done it again! I have been reading a lot from her lately and she always manages to provide a unique, fast paced thriller with some unexpected twists and turns. This New Neighbor has a full cast of characters that live on a private neighborhood called The Close. The author did a good job of differentiating each of the neighbors and making it easy to keep them straight. I liked that she threw in a bit of foreshadowing but not enough to give anything away. I was completely shocked by the ending few twists. Miranda Rijks does as excellent job of throwing you off the scent with red herrings and unreliable narrators. I really liked the main character in this as she was a bit naive but not TOO naive in that she was able to figure out what was truly going on with her neighbors. I loved watching her uncover the truth and figure out who could actually be trusted. This was an excellent thriller and I look forward to more from Miranda Rijks! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 STARS!
I can always count on this author for a twisty, suspenseful psychological thriller! Just under 300 pages this was an entertaining read. I love books centered around neighbors behaving badly and this checked of all the boxes. Secrets, lies, and murder. What a page-turner with a surprise ending! I look forward to diving into more of this author's books!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.
Isobel and her family live in The Close, a neighborhood on the outskirts of London. Linette moves into a vacant house next door. The previous occupants’ son died in a tragic hit and run, and the driver was never discovered. Isobel tries to befriend Linette but gets a strange vibe, and Linette is full of gossip that Isobel doesn't know whether or not to believe. Suddenly, strange occurrences start happening in the neighborhood, and Isobel investigates to see if her hunches are correct.
Overall, The New Neighbour was a solid thriller with plenty of good twists. I enjoyed Isobel’s amateur detective work but wished she had more expressions than “whaaat?!?” Although I do appreciate the British-accented version of it on the audiobook. As a first-person narration, some of Isobel’s internal dialogue felt a bit repetitive. Still, Miranda Rijks moved the plot at a suspenseful, quick pace that my curiosity remained piqued as I tried to guess the whodunit, which I didn't figure out until the end - always a sign of a good thriller!
That was really lackluster, everything from the plot to the characters were so poorly written and lame, it wasn't hard to read but it lacked considerably.
* I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange of my honest review*
Clocking in just over 250 pages, The New Neighbour is a fast-paced whodunit murder mystery that kept me guessing up until the last 20% of the book.
Nestled in the countryside of England, Isobel and her family are one of five homes in their “neighborhood.” A family moves out shortly after the mysterious hit and run death of their 19 year-old son, leaving the neighbors to wonder who could have possibly done it and was it one of them? A new neighbor moves into the vacated home and quickly stirs up drama, pinning the neighbors on each other. When someone else winds up dead, we have two murders to solve and wonder if they’re connected.
The New Neighbour had well-developed characters, a good plot, plenty of drama and speculation and a nice twist at the end. I would have give it 5, but I felt invested in the family and the ending left me wanting to know more. I really enjoyed this and will definitely pick up more of Miranda Rijks work in the future. If you like murder mysteries without all the extra fluff, I highly recommend this one. Thanks to the author and publisher for my gifted e-copy. The New Neighbour is available now.
Full of suspense and secrets, lots of twists,turns and surprises. Good characters who are believable.
A new neighbour moves into an up market Close apparently unaware of a fatal hit and run accident which took place there recently. As Linette (for it is she) settles in tensions arise between the neighbours and a collection of back stories emerge. Told mostly from the perspective of a lapsed architect and stay at home Mum Isobel, an easy to read narrative makes sense of why these folk were so distant from the victim’s family at the time of death. Includes a pig, a Labrador and a drone.
This is the second book by the author I have read and it did tempt me to download some others for light reading on sunny afternoons
Great book which I could see being a TV thriller, but for me something let it down slightly hence the 3 stars - would have given 3.5 if I could have done. Sorry!
This author never lets me down. I love all of her books. She can write about the most mundane thing and I’ll read it.
Had all the great makings of a good BBC thriller but somewhere in the writing it fell flat for me. If I see another plot that intrigues me I will try again with the author in the future.
A fantastic close community thriller. Rijks is a brilliant writer who never fails to impress with her intricately woven stories. A must read
This is the first book I've read by the author and it was great. I will definitely be looking to read all her other books.
Isobel lived in a quiet road situated in the beautiful English countryside, a beautiful place, and what could go wrong? But the atmosphere of the community changed around six months ago when a young man was killed in a hit and run incident in curious circumstances. The police investigated the accident but the killer was never found and the case remained open.
The local community never returned back to normal and there was an eerie undertone and a feeling that someone knew more about the death of the young man. And then a new neighbour enters and Isobel hopes that that will change the atmosphere. It does but for the worse. Another death occurs!
The author has done a great job with the characters. You understand them and their actions which are real. The setting is believable and the atmosphere created is on point.
This is such an engaging read and I would definitely recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the producers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Amazing! Couldn’t put it down! This author is always keeping its readers on the edge of our seats! Can’t wait for the next book!
Love this author and read almost all her books. The house across from Isobel has been empty for 5 months after Wilson, a 19-year-old young man living there with his family, was struck by a car and killed. The driver has never been found. The family moved soon after. Now, someone is moving in. Linette is renting the house and says she is newly divorced. She is eager to meet the neighbors and throws a drinks party. Things spiral and I was gripped from the first chapter! Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.
The New Neighbour by Miranda Rijks is another book in the style of secretive small communities. Within the Close, there are many secrets but when a boy is killed in a hit and run secrets slowly start to unravel.
Although I enjoyed this book and it was an easy and entertaining read, it was nothing new to any other books like this that I have read. There was a nice twist at the end though.
I love trying new authors and it’s a definite plus when I enjoy the book and can’t wait to check out their other books. What at first seemed like a book about revenge quickly turned into much more. Once the twists and secrets began to be revealed it became much harder to put down. I would recommend The New Neighbour to anyone who loves a good suspenseful thriller. I’ll be checking out other books by Miranda Rijks
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.
This book was a definite page-turner that I had to complete in one sitting. It was full of unanticipated twists and kept me on the edge throughtout. Definite recommend to everyone!
Twisty turnt goodness that will keep you up at night trying to guess the plot and the perp. A page turning, worthwhile thriller.
This was a great book, lots of twists and turns to keep one glued to it …. Fast paced which I love and just when you think you know who the baddie is you discover you are wrong, it keeps you guessing until the end ….
Overall, I liked this book. Everyone had something to hide and you learn about all of it and there is plenty of suburban backstabbing.
One small suggestion would be a map of the neighborhood might have been helpful.