I read it in one day - I really loved the fast pace of this book. It felt like watching Homeland - so exciting! I am a fan of Karen Cleveland's books - she can't write them quickly enough for me! My only criticism is that it is slightly repetitive to certain elements of other of her books, but it didn't spoil the fun for me.

A gripping page turner, with twists and turns around every corner. It will make you question how much you truly know about your neighbors and who you can trust. You won't want to put it down

Classic KC. Fast pacing, industry detailing, with a female-forward narrative. Just what we come to expect and savor from Cleveland, by now. Brava.

Such a great political thriller! This was my first Karen Cleveland book and I absolutely loved it.

Beth is a CIA analyst living in a neighborhood right outside of Langley with her husband and three kids. As their kids are getting older and moving out, they realize it’s time to sell the house and downsize. Once they sell the house, all of the other changes start happening too, so fast, with her marriage and her job. This leads Beth to wonder just what happened to her perfect life that she tried so hard to build and maintain.

As she is forced to change positions within the job she has worked at and devoted her entire career to, she starts investigating on her own time, potentially jeopardizing the current job she has now. But as time goes on and she starts finding things out that make her question everything, she can’t stop digging.

Such a great book! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will absolutely check out more of her books.

Karen Cleveland does it again!!!

This book was so full of twisty suspense! I read it in 2 days and couldn’t put it down!! The ending completely blew me away!!

This book is a must read!

Beth Bradford works for the CIA, and she's spent the last 15 years trying to find the identity of The Neighbor, a recruit for Iranian spies who is used to recruit others. Her world is turned upside down by her youngest son leaving for college and becoming an empty nester, packing up and selling the house where she raised her family, her husband leaving her, and being removed from her assignment at the CIA and being sent to teach analysts instead. Beth can't let go and continues to try to figure out the identity of The Neighbor, which leads her to become very suspicious of the woman who has moved into her home (and in her eyes, her life) as well as her actual neighbors she's known all these years. Maybe she doesn't know them as well as she thought.

I read another book by this author, and I did enjoy her writing style. Fast-paced (for the most part; the beginning was a bit slow to get through), lots of twists to keep you guessing. She writes the current story in present tense and flashbacks in past tense. I was used to that from reading her other novel, so I was used to the back and forth, but that might take some getting used to for a reader new to this author. However, I liked the effect and the slow reveal of background information.

I just had a really hard time connecting with the main character and her choices. In the beginning, I felt SO BAD for her with everything in her life collapsing around her. But she continues to be obsessed with The Neighbor, and the way she grasps at straws really makes you wonder if she's losing it. And she continues to investigate even after she's taken off of the case, and the tactics she uses would feel extremely invasive even if she was still on the case as a CIA agent, but since she's just doing this on her own, they made me cringe. At one point, she was weighing yet another thing she probably shouldn't do but then decided she HAD to do it, and I said, "No! You really don't!" The straws she grasps at end up being lucky guesses that eventually lead to more information (or something just more straws), so there is some movement in the mystery, but it was just so hard reading about how she looked like she was losing her mind and feeling like she was way out of line with her investigation.

I will say this was once again a pretty clean book. This one had a smattering of moderate language but no violence or sexual content. If you like spy novels or mysteries with lots of twists, you would probably enjoy this book (and this author). I just wouldn't say this was my favorite book I had ever read. I would be willing to give this author another look, though, since I mostly enjoyed the other book of hers that I read. Thank you to NetGalley for the free ebook ARC.

She Can’t Stop Searching For The Neighbor

After many years of following clues and searching endlessly for an Iranian intelligence asset known as The Neighbor, Beth is suddenly removed from her job of CIA Analyst and sent off to teach new recruits. No reason was given, no discussion at all, just a sudden jolt when she least expected it. To make matters worse, she has just sent her youngest off to college in another town, her cherished home on the cul-de-sac has been put on the market, and her husband has surprises for her which left her current life unstable. With everything in turmoil, Beth still couldn’t let go of the case she had been working on so long, so she secretly continues her search for The Neighbor. What ensues is a paranoid obsession by Beth, questioning everything and every person she knows and has known for years. She sneaks around, suspecting one person after another until there is no one left in her circle of acquaintances she can trust. She seems on the brink of insanity at times, but doggedly pursues every suspicion, every thought. She can’t let it go, until the truth smacks her upside the head.

Karen Cleveland has created an in-depth character that comes to life on the pages of The New Neighbor, a story that draws you into the cul-de-sac and makes you feel all the paranoia that is going through Beth’s head. Beth is a totally unlikable character, so obsessed with her quest that I just wanted someone to grab her and tell her to slow down. Instead of a steady build toward the end Beth was more like a whirlwind of scattered thoughts that were discombobulated and uncomfortable to read. It was difficult to read at times, but that was because the characters felt so real.

I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley

I didn't realize this was more of a domestic thriller before requesting it, so that's my fault because I am kind of burnt out in those, but this is a solid book and I very much think you'd really like it if it's what you're looking for. The main character isn't exactly likeable and I can see that being an issue for some people if you prefer your MCs a certain way. Very intriguing and is a bit different than typical domestic thrillers, so would for sure recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Karen Cleveland for the advanced copy eBook of The New Neighbor in exchange for my honest review.

Beth is a CIA worker who has been tracking to crack a case for 15 years. The same week her youngest child goes off to college, she gets demoted at work and her husband leaves her. Being left in a vulnerable state, Beth continues to obsess over the case and starts to question who she can really trust. Sometimes the answer is closer than you think.

This book kept me guessing until the very last page. I liked the quick pace of this book, the character build ups, and the twists and turns. A solid 4/5 stars for me.

The New Neighbor is on bookshelves on August 30, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4504683642

#TheNewNeighbor#NetGalley
By: Karen Cleveland
Review by: Librarian

Life in Langley is comfortable, exciting, and familiar until Beth arrives at her CIA job to discover she's been taken off the case she's worked for the past fifteen years. She feels she is near to discovering the spy's identity who's infiltrated the system and is busy recruiting others. Unable to accept her dismissal from the active case, she improvises ways to continue her investigation. At the same time she's transferred from her job, her husband, Mike, announces he is leaving their marriage. This is a shock but not the emotional blow she expected since she realizes how apart they have grown. Free to pursue the master spy, she puts herself in bodily harm and destroys her credibility among her peers until she ferrets out the culprit. The shocking denouement brings this thriller to a satisfying end. A must read.

A suburban neighborhood outside Washington, D.C. becomes the focal point of an Iranian espionage plot in this fast-paced thriller, as a CIA counter-terrorism analyst realizes she doesn't know who to trust -- friends, neighbors or even her husband. This novel has lots of plot twists and engaging characters. I could not put it down for the last 200 pages. A must-read!

When CIA employee Beth sees her youngest off at college she knows her life will change. Just how much it will change she doesn’t know. When they return home her husband tells her he’s leaving. He wants a divorce, and he’s already rented an apartment for himself. Well, she thinks, I still have the stability of my job. But does she? Beth finds she’s been removed from her long term project and moved to a teaching facility. She’s been trying to find an enemy operative known as The New Neighbor for several years. Now she’s relegated to a non-investigative office, but Beth is certain she has new clues to trace on her own. She goes round and round fighting dead ends and suspicious coworkers and neighbors.

The New Neighbor is a good who done it or more a who is doing it. There are lots of twists and turns that can leave you quizzing as to who might be the enemy. It’s a good intense read.

Beth Bradford, who works Counterintelligence for the CIA, finds herself at an uncomfortable crossroad in her life. After leaving her youngest child at college, and the sale of their family home, her husband announces the end of their marriage. Wanting to get back to normal, Beth returns to work early, only to find Langley informs her that she is being transferred off her “mission” of the past 15 years, “The New Neighbor” and “essentially” put out to pasture in a teaching position. Feeling “out of sorts” on all fronts, Beth takes us on a wild ride through her “adjustment” and her pursuit of The Neighbor on her own terms, thwarted by Langley and the FBI, at every turn. While everyone around her believes her to be suffering from depression, or anxiety, Beth remains committed to finding the spy among them.

The investigation of the suspects, all of her former neighbors on the cul-de-sac, and CIA, or family members of CIA, find Beth feeling more unsettled, but determined. She cannot process the idea that one of the people she has befriended for years could be the elusive “Neighbor”, the object of her obsession for fifteen years. Her secretive operation focuses on the new owner of her former home, Madeleine, who turns out to be the FBI agent, now in charge of “The New Neighbor” case. Using bits of clues gleaned from her surreptitious sleuthing within the agency, using methods legal, and legal, she methodically investigates each of the people in the cul-de-sac. Everything she has known to be true in her life, soon unfolds into a domino of untruths, revealing the “ New Neighbor” to be eerily close to home.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early preview! I thoroughly enjoyed the twists, and turns, in The Neighbor, by Karen Cleveland. Five stars for me!

I spent my teenage summers staying up all night reading books. But I can't tell you the last time I couldn't put a book down. I almost finished The New Neighbor in one sitting; it was so addicting. If you like thrillers with three-letter agencies, you will love this book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The New Neighbor arrives on July 26, 2022. You MUST pre-order this one for your end-of-summer read.

Beth Bradford has it all; perfect family, idyllic neighborhood, a meaningful career at the CIA. On the day she drops her youngest off at college, her life is going to change more drastically than she ever could have imagined.

I'm finding it difficult to discuss this book without revealing any spoilers. A testament to the layered details throughout the book, I changed my mind at least five times trying to figure out the case. There was the right amount of suspense without making me anxious. I felt like I was watching a spy movie rather than reading a book in bed.

The New Neighbor is the perfect travel companion; you'll completely lose yourself in this tale. I hope there is a sequel; there are definitely more stories in this neighborhood.

Exciting story with spy/espionage themes. Beth, the protagonist, is friends with and lives on a cul-de-sac with several other families associated with the CIA. Beth's Iranian counterintelligence job has been to safeguard the intelligence community's intranet from the Quds Force's attempts at cyber malware. She is suddenly--and suspiciously, relieved of her duties while another woman with the CIA and Iranian ties moves into the cul-de-sac. Many leads and secrets follow. This is a thrilling story, I read it in 24 hours. Couldn't put it down.

Makes a person wonder just who you really can trust! What a great read! I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to. It caught my attention from the very beginning and held it throughout the entire book. There are a lot of characters so it was hard to keep them all straight at first but became easier once you got into the heart of it. There is a bit of a cliff hanger so I imagine there will be a sequel and I would look forward to reading another one. Thank you too Netgalley, the author and publisher for the free advanced copy. I'm voluntarily leaving this review.

Wow! This book read just like a movie! Thank you to NetGalley and Karen Cleaveland for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review.
This really makes you question if you really know your neighbors. I wonder what is going to happen next after that twist at the end?!

I loved this author and the cover of this book the book itself is brilliant and awesome thank you so for letting me read this book

Review of The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland


Imagine spending twenty years searching for a spy, always finding yourself one step behind, constantly outmaneuvered. Then suddenly you come back from vacation to find your entire life has changed, you have been demoted and all top secret access removed. This is the situation Beth Bradford finds herself in. Her youngest child has left for college. She and her husband have sold their home and moved into a rental. And if that is not enough, her husband announces that he’s leaving her.

In this fast paced thriller, Ms. Cleveland has managed to capture the reader’s attention immediately taking us on a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions as Beth struggles to make sense of what is happening to her. Get ready, because you won’t be able to put this one down until the end! With a cast of believable characters and just enough information to keep you guessing right up until the finale, this is a book to please anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. Well done, Ms. Cleveland!

This book was provided to me free by the publisher so that I would post my own, accurate review of it. I certify that receiving this book did not affect my opinion or the contents of my review.

Fast pace, entertaining definitely a book that should be made into a movie. Characters are great and I really liked that there was several things going on at the time time. Type of book that you can't put down until you get to the end.