Around 35% I almost put the book down and chalked it up to be a DNF. It just wasn’t keeping my attention and I was kinda bored of all the jealousy and overly detailed descriptions. I told myself just try one more chapter, and all I can say is wow, I’m glad I did. After that the story started picking up and then I could not put it down. I thought I had the book figured out but it kept making me second guess my theories or it completely demolished my theories. Part of my theory was correct, but everything else came out of left field. I love a good book that I can’t guess the ending to. Loved of great twists and turns! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed this book from start to finish! It’s been on my TBR for quite some time now, and I’m happy I chose this as the next contender! The book centers around CIA analyst Beth, who we quickly learn is becoming an empty nester, going through a divorce, moving out of her beloved family
Home, and getting demoted at work all at once. This leads Beth to rely heavily on alcohol to get her through each day, but does not deter her from pursuing the CIA mission she was just discharged from. Obsession, paranoia, and alcohol lead her family, friends, and coworkers to lose faith and confidence in her accusations, and you as the reader is left to determine whether you believe the drunk expert or the sketchy naysayers.

This book had me snapping my head left and right trying to keep up with the twists and turns. While I found this exciting, it also led to the narrator being untrustworthy and even a bit unrealistic. This fast paced drama is a quick but confusing read. It ends on a cliffhanger/set up for a sequel, so I am excited to learn whether that comes to fruition!

I am pretty proud of myself for finishing this one because I was <—-> this close to DNF. It was a huge disappointment after the premise gave me high hopes. It was redundant, slow-moving and dull. Beth was the only character that you really got to know and there was zero character building or push for emotional attachment. I enjoyed the feeling of you don’t know who your enemy is or Beth is alone in a race against time but I’m sorry but I do not recommend this story at all.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This is one of the most compelling and suspenseful stories I have read in a while. I think it is even better than Need to Know also by Karen Cleveland. Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst, is going through a personal crisis—her youngest has left for college and her husband has left now that the nest is empty. As if that isn’t enough to deal with, she is removed from the project she has been working on for years—trying to track down an Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor. She can’t let go of the project and continues to investigate on her own, confronting friends and neighbors. Most of the neighbors in her former neighborhood have ties to the CIA, Beth also believes Madeline Sterling, who has moved into Beth’s old house, may have ties to Iranian intelligence. Is Beth losing it due to the stress she is under, or is she getting close to discovering who The Neighbor really is. I can’t say more or it would spoil the story, but the ending really surprised me.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. The publish date for The New Neighbor is July 26, 2022. I highly recommend it.
#TheNewNeighbor, #KarenCleveland, #NetGalley

What a wild ride! This book was very interesting from the start. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day! Lots of twists and turns and the ending surely shocked me.

I’m definitely in the minority with my 2 star rating but this story fell flat for me and I could not connect with any of the characters. DNF at 45%. The whole story about the CIA just had me totally confused. I’m sure it’s just me! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.

I really liked the plot/storyline. What I didn't care for was all the CIA lingo. I spent too much time trying to understand it all. I felt like I was being tested on CIA terminology. This book would have been much better for me without all that. Intriguing book if you left some of that out though. Lots of twists when trying to find out who was actually the neighbor.

This was great! I loved the authors first book, the second was good but didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. Fortunately this one did and j flew through it! It was a great thriller!

This book was interesting. It had a good idea for a plot and builds up well as you try to figure out who the neighbor is and whether the lead character is loosing her mind. It has a lot of twist and turns but the ending feels rushed and like it was all tied up in a pretty package. Overall, a pretty good read but the ending is just ok.

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!

This is my first Karen Cleveland book and it won't be my last! What a page turner, full of twist and turns!
Beth works for the CIA and lives in the 'perfect' neighborhood on the 'perfect' cul de sac. She and her neighbors share a love of country, as they all work for the CIA or other departments of the government.
The story begins when Beth and her husband, Mike, drop off their youngest for college. They begin to sell their house, rent a temporary home and begin their new life as empty nesters- and this is when the excitement begins!

Beth had been working on an old cold case and is taken off of it. She is given a new position, but can't stop investigating her cold case. This leads her to suspecting her neighbors, breaking into their homes, using burner phones and spying from her car. Her friends begin to think that Beth has been drinking too much, her kids are gone, her husband left her...... what is really happening on this quiet street?

I thought I figured this out three different times, but I was wrong each time! The ending left me wanting more, I wonder if there will be a sequel? I sure hope so!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House for the digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

The New Neighbor is the story of Beth Bradford who is working for the CIA. Beth’s main mission is to find a foreign spy who is called The Neighbor. At some point, everything seems to be turning against her when her life changes on both personal and professional levels. Her marriage is failing and the CIA decides to take her case from her and hand it to someone else. Just when she was getting close to finding out about the spy’s identity the case is taken from her. However, Beth decides to continue to do her own work to find the spy but in the process, she will suspect many people. She cannot trust anybody. She has to be on her own until she finds the neighbor.

I’m usually not a fan of stories that involve the CIA and espionage. When I decided to pick up this thriller I just read the first line from the synopsis “Secrets, jealousy, and paranoia collide when a seemingly perfect new family moves into a neighborhood”. I do this with all the thrillers because sometimes the synopsis contains spoilers that might spoil the story for me. I prefer to get into the book blindly. I had no idea this story was about espionage or the CIA. I thought it involved a new neighbor in a small town who would cause problems for the residents or something like that. Despite not being what I thought it was, I still think this was a decent thriller.

The author kept the plot moving by making the main character suspect many different characters. So the pace was consistent throughout the book. I can’t say there is much character development because this is a story in which the main focus is the plot itself. There are many twists and turns that will keep the fans of the genre interested. I think readers who enjoy reading about espionage will enjoy it a lot.

Many thanks to the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

My first Karen Cleveland book and it will definitely not be my last! I really enjoyed this one! Read this, you’ll love it!!

A new family moves in with connections to the CIA, Beth, a CIA analyst who had it all, thinks her new neighbor is part of Iranian intelligence. Who are these neighbors, does she know anything about them. Great new thriller by Karen Cleveland.

📖 The New Neighbor
✍️ Karen Cleveland
🔪 Thriller
#️⃣ 320 pages
🗓️ 07/26/22

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley + Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Beth once had the perfect life; a beautiful family, an idyllic neighborhood and a career she loved: tracking an Iranian intelligence operative known as The Neighbor. All of a sudden, Beth finds the life she once loved completely upended… her husband has left, the kids are grown and out of the nest, she’s being taken off her CIA assignment and there’s a new family moving into her beautiful house. Only… there’s something suspicious about the cul-de-sac’s new neighbor…could the target Beth has been searching for for years really be right under her nose?

When I tell you this story was fast-paced, I mean it flew by lightning quick!! I was on the edge of my seat for the entire ride. I loved the writing style - every chapter ended in a bit of a cliffhanger that kept you desperate to read more. It read like an episode of 24 which is really the highest praise I can give. I love storylines that have to deal with CIA/FBI… takes you right back to the days of prime time political/investigation dramas. My gut instinct is that this is *not* how foreign intelligence agents actually operate (lol) but I couldn’t tell ya for sure! Overall, I just really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend!

🏘️ Single POV
🏘️ Multiple timelines
🏘️ Fast-paced
🏘️ Short chapters
🏘️ CIA/FBI investigation storyline
🏘️ Explores what you’d do to protect your family
🏘️ Epilogue

#caitsquietplacereviews #caitsquietplace #cqpthrillers #thenewneighbor #ballantinebooks #netgalley

The New Neighbor is a fast paced, thrilling read. I cannot wait to use this one for a book club event. And that ending...*chef's kiss*!

I have been on a roll with books that I have loved reading lately, and this one is no exception. Did I think I was going to like it as much as I did? Nope - because I can be narrow-minded and judge-y when it comes to certain genres. I generally love thrillers, but think of spy thrillers as "boy stuff" and too brainy for me. I usually have a hard time following and understanding the complexities. But, I need to stop making assumptions and doing that, because this really was a fantastic read. Very twisty and turny and riveting, and I had no problems following right where the author wanted me to go. The reason it's not 5 stars then? Well.....for a seasoned counterintelligence agent, she sure did suspect everybody. When that person didn't pan out, she'd move on to the next. I suppose maybe that's a good thing and the correct way to do things so you follow the clues and evidence, but she just didn't seem to have great instincts. It's my neighbor, no her husband, no the other neighbor's husband, eek nope I mean the OTHER other neighbor, well that wasn't it, so maybe the neighbor's dog. Other than that, this was a thrilling little thriller.

Beth Bradford and her husband Mike have just dropped their last child off at college. They have a buyer for the large home they raised their children in and are downsizing. The cul-de-sac they have lived in will be getting a new neighbor and Beth is feeling sad.

But wait, things can always get worse! Turns out Mike is not moving in with Beth. He has a place of his own and wants a divorce. PIle on top of that her demotion as she calls it at the CIA. For fifteen years she has been chasing a terrorist who is known as The Neighbor. Recruiting in the states now. But she is nowhere close to solving this case and when she goes to work she is told she is being transferred to a teaching facility.

But Beth has had way too much piled on her this week. She begins spying on the couple that bought their house after she sees a message from The neighbor saying they have moved to a new cul-de-sac. There is something suspicious about the woman. Her story doesn’t check out. And the more she digs the more secrets she finds among the neighbors she once called friends.

Madeline has moved into Beth’s old house. She knows way too much about Beth and the neighbors. Beth thinks she may be the link to the neighbor.

Is she being paranoid? Almost all of the neighbors work for Langley, so secrets are the norm.

Beth isn’t a quitter and she isn’t giving up on this case. Even after she’s told to let it go and people are hinting she is unstable. But she isn’t letting it go. And neither is Madeline.

The ending was shocking and unexpected. I will be looking at my neighbors in a new light now.

NetGalley/July 26th, 2022 by Ballantine Books

Two things are downright terrifying about The New Neighbor. The first is how easy Karen Cleveland makes it seem for a foreign spy or terrorist to infiltrate an ordinary American community and bribe (usually by offering to pay off substantial debt) or blackmail (with evidence of an affair or illegal activity) people into turning against their own country. The second is...if Beth Bradford is a typical CIA intelligence officer, well, it explains how simple it is to find these traitors. Beth has been working in Iranian intelligence for decades, and much of that time has been in pursuit of The Neighbor, an especially adapt terrorist preying on US citizens with a secret. Just when Beth appears close to uncovering the identity of The Neighbor she is pulled off the case and sent to teach new CIA analysts. But Beth can't let go that quickly (especially when evidence suggests there's a New Neighbor in town) and her dogged determination to find The Neighbor goes from dangerous to deranged. You want to feel sorry for Beth-her husband has just left her and she is facing an empty nest with their youngest child heading off to college-but you also wonder how in the world she got so far ahead in her career. Beth bungles basic investigative tactics like a stakeout. But underneath these inadequacies is a tantalizing plot with terrific writing and twists galore. The New Neighbor is fast paced and engaging, and in the end, scarily plausible. It will have you looking at your neighbors with very suspicious eyes.