Overall a compelling read. The first half was much slower compared to the second. Entertaining with several twists towards the end.

I may be the exception here but I just couldn't finish it.
When I find myself reading word for word just to finish a chapter and just can't "get into it", I know it's time to put it down.
It just wasn't interesting to me at all and from the very beginning the CIA stuff seemed to "complicated" to continue to take in.
I had to "think" to understand constantly what was going on because this book just couldn't keep my attention or pull me in even from the very beginning.
Maybe for someone who is really into "spy" books this would be a good read but for me I didn't enjoy reading the few chapters that I did.

Honestly this book did not knock my socks off with a wow factor. It did however keep me interested enough that I wanted to finish it. I enjoyed the plot twist at the end

I went into this thinking it would be like a mindless thriller, all suspense and no heart. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how the story was balanced. It was equal parts tense and nostalgic.

As someone with young children, it made me feel sad for Beth, how much her life and relationship with her children changed as they got older. I’m not ready to think about that yet! But it was affective for garnering sympathy for Beth, and understanding why she’s so dogged. It also helps drive the story, as you see the dynamics at play.

The story makes you suspicious of everyone, and I’m glad my early suspicious panned out. The hints are all there, nothing comes out of left field. It built tension very well, not knowing who to trust, in addition to feeling the frustration that no one trusts Beth. I found it really enjoyable!

Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst, loves her neighbors, her job and her family. All is great until she returns to work from an absence and finds out she has been demoted with no explanation. Not only, but her husband is leaving her and her children are out of the house which has been sold. For most of her career she has spent her time tracking an Iranian Intelligence Agent, The Neighbor. Beth still wants to find The Neighbor and becomes obsessed with who is moving in her house and what her neighbors are doing. This is where the mystery begins . The plot will keep you guessing until the final chapter. Alll’s well that ends well, or does it?

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

WOW!! THIS one was a keeper!! I cannot wait for the sequel - because there has GOT to be a sequel!!

CIA agent Beth Bradford has a perfect life. She has a job she loves, three wonderful children, and lives in the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, filled with friends who all have ties in some way to the CIA.

But when she returns from dropping off her youngest child at college, and is preparing to move out of the perfect house and neighborhood,, her husband tells her he is leaving. At loose ends, alone in a new apartment, she returns early to work, only to be told she is no longer working on the case she has diligently worked for 15 years and is being transferred to an end-of-the-road assignment elsewhere.

Not quite able to let go of her old life, she begins stalking the woman who has seemingly taken over her perfect life, and then begins to think maybe the "new her" is more than she seems. Maybe she is the spy that Beth has been chasing all these years?

Secrets, the lifeblood of the intelligence service, play a huge part in this story and I LOVED IT!!

Summer readers are in for a treat with The New Neighbor! Karen Cleveland is so reliable and I use this word as a form of the highest praise! You know when you see she has new book out it will be filled with relatable details of everyday life which draw you into the web the characters weave all to lead to a finish you never saw coming! The toughest part with finishing The New Neighbor is the wait for Cleveland’s next book. If you haven’t read Need to Know add that title to your must list as well! Happy Reading!!

This book was a page turner and with the narrator’s voice being unreliable, kept me constantly guessing. And the twist at the end was perfect!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all, or so it seems. A loving husband, three wonderful children, a beautiful home, great neighbors, a challenging career. Then everything falls apart at the seams. Beth and her husband, Mike, now empty-nesters with their youngest off to college, should be starting the next chapter of their lives together. They decide to downsize, selling their house on an idyllic cul de sac where a majority of their neighbors are also government employees who don’t talk about their jobs. Instead of beginning a new chapter together, Mike tells Beth he is leaving her. Sadly, Beth is more upset at the loss of her former life than an impending divorce. She is insanely jealous of Madeline, the woman who has moved into Beth and Mike's old house. Madeline is living Beth’s old life, full of children, friends and love. Beth just can’t leave her old life behind, and she drives by, parks and watches Madeline enjoying the life that was hers. And there is something about Madeline that is unsettling to Beth.

Beth then finds out she has been removed from the case she has worked for 17 years, trying to unmask the Iranian intelligence officer behind recruiting Americans. Code-named The Neighbor, Beth has no intention of letting go of what she considers her case. Beth is convinced that Madeline is The New Neighbor, the spy recruiter she has been looking for all these years. Is it envy and bitterness motivating Beth, or is there some substance to Beth’s assumptions? I can only tell you Beth uncovers a web of secrets and deceit, but who will believe anything Beth says? By this time, all her friends, family and coworkers believe Beth’s paranoia is fueled by Beth’s fantasies, not reality.

While the plot is excellent with quite a few twists, I found myself becoming bored with Beth after a while. She really is a bit crazy, but I guess she needed to be for the plot to work. One part that didn’t work for me is that later in the book some things are revealed which Beth never bothered to check. For someone so thorough, it just didn’t ring true. All in all, it was still an enjoyable book and will keep you guessing to the very end.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

Oh my goodness. What an incredibly suspenseful story. There were so many twists and turns that you just can't stop reading until the end. Beth is such a sympathetic character that you can really relate to with all of the sudden life changing events happening. As the story progresses, you really begin to question the reality of her actions but never really knowing what might happen next. I look forward to reading more books from this author

4.5 creepy stars

I have become a fan of Karen Cleveland, so I jumped at the chance to read her newest book. This one kept me turning the pages and suspecting everyone, just like I like it!

Beth is a CIA analyst living in a neighborhood near Langley with lots of other CIA employees, all raising their families and working for their country. Now things are at a crossroads as Beth and her husband drop off their youngest child at college. They’ve decided it’s time to sell their house and look for something smaller. There are changes for her marriage and job too and soon Beth wonders what happened to her perfect life.

This one kept me guessing and was a quick read. It made me think more about how much I share with my neighbors! Just like her last book, this one ended with a cliffhanger ending so I’m wondering if I’ll get to read more about Beth, the CIA, and her family.

This one made for an excellent buddy read with Mary Beth.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the copy of this one to read and review. Scheduled to publish on 7.26.22

This book follows a woman that works for the CIA that amidst some major life changes becomes obsessed with a particular case and with the woman the recently purchased her home.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! Usually, CIA/FBI books are NOT my go-to genre, but I think the fact that Karen Cleveland worked for the CIA herself made the details more realistic and enjoyable. Her unique background/perspective really sets her writing at the top of this genre! I felt like the first chunk of the book was a little slow for me, but it quickly picked up the pace and I flew threw it! One trope that I do not enjoy that this book played into a little bit was the "is she right about everything or is she just crazy" trope. I cannot stand that plot line in books, and I got really nervous for what the book was going to hold when I saw this trope appearing, but luckily this was only present for a short chunk of the book. Overall, an enjoyable, quick read!

I received a copy of The New Neighbor through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House (Ballantine Books) and to Karen Cleveland for the opportunity.

What a great book except for that last 2 percent. Honestly, I was prepared to gush about this book because I was intrigued all the way through. I thought it was fast-paced, well-written, and exciting. It took me by surprise too because the whole CIA thing usually isn't my cup of tea. Then everything was left unresolved at the end. No one had resolution. I don't mind a loose end or two or a hint at something unresolved or not totally done (many thrillers are guilty of that). But this ended up putting the whole plot back to square one. Giving it three stars. What a disappointment.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. In reading the excerpt, I thought the book would have the perfect recipe for a fast paced mystery. However, the storyline seemed to drag, and I found some of the characters to be unlikeable. I also struggled with it jumping around i.e. one paragraph would be about present day happenings, and next paragraph would be about something that happened in the past. It was up to the reader to figure out if it was talking in the past or present. I also felt some of the events that happened were not realistic so I had to let that part go and just enjoy the ride. Overall it was just an ok book for me, but would still like to read other books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a good spy thriller. It was well written and a fast read. It was not obvious from the beginning who the neighbor was. I didn’t really starting class at that person till later in the book but that didn’t destroy the story for me. I see this as a good beach read or when you need relaxing fiction that doesn’t require too much thought. I’d have no hesitation recommending this or buying it for friends.

#TheNewNeighbor #NetGalley

This is a must read! And honestly, I thought I had it all figured out from the beginning! But wow! I didn’t see that ending coming. Very well written and kept me wanting more. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher of The New Neighbor for an ARC of this book!

After spending over a decade working in the DC area I rarely read books about espionage. However, the nerd in me was captured when I realized this book was about an Iranian intelligence officer- not the cliche Russian spy. Everything is falling apart in CIA analyst’s life- she’s newly an empty nester, her husband is leaving and to top it off she’s taken off the case she has devoted her career to. Definitely a twisty novel that constantly kept you guessing!

Well, this was fun.

It’s a bit messy and complicated at times, but it definitely kept me reading!

Fair warning that you may not like most of the characters – however they’re entertaining characters nonetheless.

There were times my logic sensors were blaring. I mean…there were so many things I didn’t believe when it came to law enforcement in the book. But I also didn’t care because I was trying feverishly to figure out who exactly was doing what.

A fun book that definitely kept me guessing!

*ARC via Publisher

I had really high expectations for this book, and for the most part, it met them! It wasn’t anything like I thought it would be, but it turned out to be a really good read!

This was my first Karen Cleveland book, and I was hooked from the beginning. The New Neighbor has so many twists and turns. I enjoyed everything about it.