This was the first time I've read from Karen Cleveland, and I have to say I was impressed. She had me guessing and flipping pages wondering what was going to happen next. I liked the twists and turns and being on the journey with the main character . I also enjoyed the flashbacks and how everything led up to the final moments. This is a great book if you're into CIA conspiracies and intrigue.

This book started out strong, but fell super flat in the middle where it was hard to keep me interested. I am glad I kept reading for the ending / epilogue, but definitely not my favorite read lately.

And so who's minding the store?

Apparently not Beth Bradford, CIA Iranian Intelligence officer at the headquarters in Virginia.

Back up the bus and try to parallel park this one in a tight spot. 'Cause Beth is having a bit of difficulty here. Beth, wife/mother, has been working at the CIA on a particular case involving a dangerous threat to our national security for over seventeen years. Iranian Reza Karimi, a Quads Force commander, has been trying to infiltrate U.S. Security through one of his operatives called "The Neighbor". Beth has been hitting brick walls while trying to break through all of this for years.It appears that we may be dealing with a homegrown variety.

And life is shifting the once stable ground for Beth and her family. With the last child off to college, Beth and her husband of twenty-five years decide to sell their spacious home. Only Mike has been honest about their failing marriage and he's moving on. Beth clutches tightly to the memories on that cul-de-saq and can't quite let go. And, believe me, it's affecting her.

This emotional turmoil is leaving Beth so unsettled that it's now costing her a transfer out of her Iranian Intelligence Unit. She's farmed out to the Kent School for the CIA where she's teaching intelligence analysis. Beth doesn't give 100% there either and dismisses her students early almost on a daily basis.

Beth now suspects the woman who bought her house on the cul-de-saq to be the operative known as "The Neighbor". She's even taken to sitting in the shadows at night staking out her old house. Beth's life is no longer finely buttoned up. The threads are unraveling. Her boss won't even consider Beth's accusations.

The New Neighbor had elements here that could have skyrocketed. When an author chooses a very weak unbelievable central character to carry out the storyline, weakness just leaves splotches all over the place. At no time did I buy into Beth's capabilities as a CIA intelligence agent. She dispensed excuses and trivialities like a vending machine. With this being Women's History Month, please give us a female who is on top of her game and extremely professional in her deliverance of her duties.......no matter what. And lacking that, we were left with a vapid read that went nowhere. Truth is truth.

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

Thank you to Ballantine & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love the cover of this book it really grabbed my attention.
This drew me in right from the start. Had me turning pages fast wanting to know what would happen next. Kept me guessing and changing my mind who was the neighbor the entire time. Then ended with a Great twist.
It’s true you will do Anything to protect your kids
Now I want to live on a cul de sac& work for the agency!
I have posted this review on my Goodreads profile

I’ve enjoyed all of Ms. Cleveland’s books and was very excited to get an early look at it. It did not disappoint. The twists and turns kept me guessing — and Beth the protagonist as well. It was a little tiresome that a smart CIA agent would emphatically accuse different characters one after the other of being the bad guy. But the resolution was clever and and the kicker at the end was even better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC of this stellar novel. As it turns out, Karen Cleveland herself is a former CIA analyst which makes the backdrop of this story all the more realistic. Loved the plot and how you’re constantly guessing who the “Neighbor” is. Worth the read. To hit bookshelves July 26th 2022!

Perfect neighborhood, idyllic family, purposeful career. CIA analyst Beth Bradford appears to have it all. Until she moves out of her forever family home on the brink of divorce right when her son goes off to college. Beth is moving from the cul-de-sac she’s long called home, and the CIA has just removed her from the case that she’s been tracking for 10+ years: monitoring an Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor.

This book gave me some “Woman in The Window” vibes since Beth appears to have an alcohol issue early on in the novel. Is she an unreliable narrator? I loved the whodunnit chase of trying to figure out who’s behind this on their cul-de-sac, no one can be trusted and everyone is suspect. If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced mystery, this move is worth a read. I’ve never read any of her other books, but it appears she writes a lot about CIA with personal experience to tout.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland tells the story of a group of neighbors who are passing secrets to Iran and trying to break into the CIA network. Wow! What a creative story. Loved the characters and the plot kept getting better the more I read. Will definitely look to reading more from this author. I couldn’t put the book down I wanted the book to keep going. I will definitely recommend this book. Thanks for letting me review this book.

Special thanks to NetGally and Random House Publishing for an e-arc of this mystery.

I had never read anything by Karen Cleveland before this novel. Her descriptions and character development were great. There are a lot of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Its a spy thriller and I normally do not read spy thrillers. The book kept me interested but just really isn't my type of book.

If you like thrillers and you like spies, possible terrorists type books, then this one is well written and you will probably like it.

ARC releasing 7/26/22. Beth has been in the CIA tracking a spy for 15 years when she’s suddenly pulled off when she thinks she’s getting close. A big reason for my high rating comes down to the short, bite sized chapters that makes you want to keep turning, but not a bad plot either.

The Cul-de-sac will never be the same. Beth Bradford, CIA analyst, is seeing her youngest off to college and selling her house. As if those changes weren't enough, he husband leaves her and she is reassigned after she is unsuccessful in finding The Neighbor, an operative for the Iranians who is tasked with infiltrating American Intelligence. Suddenly suspicious of everyone she knows and increasingly isolated, Beth continues the hunt her own.
The New Neighbor is superbly written and full of twists. I non-stop page turner. Complex doesn't begin to describe the characters as layer after layer is revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, twisty read.

I thought this book was ok, it was a slow start, with always having to build the background for characters. But the CIA was a nice storyline.. something different I’ve not read before! Overall an ok read for me..

Great read! This type of CIA thriller was a bit outside my usual crime preference and I’m so glad I found it! Full of twists you genuinely do not expect- even when you think you’ve figured it out. I’d be excited to read something from this author again in the future.

This books starts out with a clique…last child goes to college, the house is sold and plans have been made to move forward but the husband announces that he is leaving. I was not sure that I wanted to continue after that but it turned out to have a twisty plot based on CIA employees all living on a cul de sac. They live seemingly normal lives but underneath is the intrigue.
This book takes you on a ride where you never know what is true….I enjoyed the investigation that revealed unexpected truths. The characters are very interesting and believable…especially the new owners of the house.
I recommend the book to those that like espionage.

Karen Cleveland has utilized her knowledge as a former CIA counterterrorism analyst to write this novel, “The New Neighbor”. The story revolves around Beth, a CIA analyst who has been searching for an Iranian spy known as “The Neighbor” for 15 long years.
Beth Bradford’s life is about to change in more ways than one. Her husband has asked for a divorce, now the children are grown and gone, and they don’t seem to have anything in common any longer. Along with that, they have sold their house on the cul-de-sac, and she must leave all her close neighbors behind. To make matters even worse, she has lost her position at the CIA as she has failed to find “The Neighbor” and now she is working as a trainer to new CIA recruits. Beth cannot let go of her search and continues to try to find the spy on her own time causing everyone to think she might be losing her mind. There are many twists and turns to this story, which made it difficult to guess who “The Neighbor” really is until the very end.
I really enjoyed this book and how it was written, it was quite the page turner and hard to lay down. I would recommend this book if you enjoy spy thrillers, or a great story about a strong persistent woman who is determined to finish what she started, Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the ARC.

The New Neighbor

Karen Cleveland has brought her skills as a former counterterrorism analyst and a publisher author to bear to bring forward this thoroughly engaging novel. I am usually very good at figuring out what the plot line will end up being in most books I read and review but this one had me changing my mind constantly. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
The characters take a while to develop and have there relationships firm up but it is well worth the journey. The trip is worth the destination.
As I neared the end about 80% through I had many interruptions. It turned out that these breaks allowed me to ponder the information I had already been given and try to predict the future. It was enjoyable seeing how right and more frequently wrong I was when I resumed my reading.
I am sure you will enjoy this Karen Cleveland novel. I hope she is already working on the next one.
I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

4.5⭐️ This was a GREAT thriller with compelling characters, a wild premise, and a ton of angst and suspense. It’s about a CIA analyst, Beth Bradford, who has spent the past 15 years searching for an Iranian spy known as The Neighbor. After taking two weeks off for vacation, she comes back to work told she is being moved off the case just as a major development has been made. Unable to give up, Beth decides to pursue this case on her own, despite her friends thinking she’s crazy, her former coworkers blocking her out, and losing people she trusts.

I loved the quick pace of this book. I have to say, at times, I was questioning Beth’s sanity and becoming anxious with every risky move she made. Still, I was rooting for her every step of the way and enjoyed seeing he put the pieces of the puzzle together. I didn’t realize until the author’s notes that Cleavland was a former CIA counterterrorism analyst. Her experience clearly lends itself to the great character development and insightful explanations of the inner works of the agency. While she used a lot of CIA/FBI jargon throughout the story, it didn’t distract me from the narrative. I will say that some parts of the storyline are far fetched and not totally believable. It didn’t bother me because the story gripped me until the very and and left me shocked, but if that bothers you, I’d know that going in!

Read if you like:
👀 Spy thrillers
🕵️‍♀️CIA/FBI investigations
👩🏼‍💻Technology
🤐Secrets and drama
🏡Tight-knit communities
🧗‍♀️Cliffhangers

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for the ARC. Pub date: 7/26/22

It was a good solid easy read. I enjoyed the family aspect part of the story. I also liked how she formed the relationships among all of the neighbors. That said it seemed pretty convenient everyone she was hunting was all in her neighborhood. Another thing I didn’t love was the CIA intelligence aspect. I found it hard to understand. I wish there could have been another angle besides that. I got lost at times but in the end it didn’t take anything away from the story for me. It just slowed me down. I found myself reading faster to get to the end and the pace of the book didn’t slow down one bit. The ending was suspenseful and everything it should have been.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital copy with me to review!

This was awesome. There were several twists and turns and the book kept your interest. I know it is a cliche to say it is hard to put down but it really holds true in this case. Highly recommend.

I have read all of this author’s novels and while I find them kind of uneven, they’re always fun. I enjoyed the fact that the main character was older. I am so tired of reading books where the main character is 26 years old and has not experienced life. This one is a fun ride from start to finish. I recommend.

I am a fan of Karen Cleveland, so was excited to get a chance to read a new book by her. If you like books with a lot of drama and secrets, then this book is for you! I love books with a good twist. Every family always seems like the perfect one, until you know what goes on behind closed doors. Beth works for the CIA as an analyst who seems to have it all until things change.
It reads like a movie, and I wanted to skip to the end a few times, but was able to hold out. You won't be disappointed!