Secrets, jealousy, and paranoia collide when a seemingly perfect new family moves into a neighborhood with ties to Langley in this gripping thriller

Beth is a CIA analyst whose life is not going so great. She is alone when her marriage collapses on her and her kids are all gone. Someone moves into her house and she is not happy! The mystery begins when she starts looking into the new inhabitants of her old home. I liked the story even as someone who is a passive mystery reader.

Beth, a CIA agent working in counterintelligence has been trying to find “The Neighbor” for fifteen years. But suddenly, she’s completely thrown off the case and demoted to a completely new position. This is happening as her world seems to be crumbling down. Her son leaves for college, her marriage is falling apart, her house that she’s lived in for seventeen years is being sold. To make things worse, she hears that there is new information on “The Neighbor” case and she can’t stand the thought of not knowing and not trying to find the person behind this. Beth can’t let it go and continues to investigate on her own, leading to dangerous situations and daring accusations. Her co-workers are concerned for her mental health as she seems to make crazy accusations and becomes obsessed with the woman how moved into her old house. Her family and friends all worry about her and tell her to let it go. But maybe the people telling her to let it go have secrets of their own. Tensions run high as she uncovers secrets and learns that she can’t trust everyone, and there are more connections than it seems.

This was a wild ride! I loved that as I was reading, I started to question Beth’s sanity just like her neighbors and coworkers. The twists and turns throughout the book are surprising and kept me on the edge of my seat. I flew through the last half of the book because I just couldn’t put it down. I did have trouble relating to Beth while she was making such daring moves and accusations. I felt some of her actions were too risky and not very realistic, which is why I rated it as four stars. Overall, though, The New Neighbor was an excellent read and I really enjoyed it!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and Karen Cleveland for this advanced reading copy. This ARC was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

This was a surprisingly good read! At first I wasn't so sure. It seemed so clinical, so serious and sad with the way Beth Bradford seemed to lose her entire way of life in one fell swoop. Her kids are grown and out of the house they've sold after fifteen years, her husband's left her, and to top it all off, her job's kicked her off of the case she's spent a good chunk of her career on.

But the more I read, the more I got into the deep dive of Beth seemingly on the edge of losing her mind as she tries to unravel the mystery that is the case of The Neighbor, if there even is one at all. I like to pride myself on being able to guess endings and twists, but this book definitely had some twists and turns that surprised me.

I'm definitely going to have to check out Cleveland's other books and purchase this one myself when it comes out on 7/26!

CIA analyst Beth has it all. Then suddenly her husband is leaving her. And she is taken off the case she has been leading for fifteen years. Yet she cannot let this case go. This has been her life. She needs to find out who she has been so close to her in life has betrayed her. And when she finds out - let me tell you the end had me yelling out NO WAY!! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst who seems to have it all, and then suddenly doesn’t. Her marriage is done, her kids have left the house and her job has moved her off the case of her career, discovering the identity of an Iranian intelligence agent, The Neighbor. And worse, someone new, who seems to have everything that Beth has lost, has moved into her house. But Beth also thinks that Madeline might have ties to Iran—and be watching her neighbors in her cul-de-sac. All of her neighbors have secrets, and have some connection to the CIA. Are they all suspects or is Beth paranoid?

This was an entertaining read, full of twists and turns. I'm a fan of Karen Cleveland’s novels--her insider knowledge of the CIA is central to the plot and always informative, if a little scary. However, this one was a little less thrilling than her previous novels--mostly because the premise required the dismantling of Beth’s entire life—she is gaslit, in danger and making progressively more dangerous, risky decisions as the novel progresses. This does contribute to the breakneck pace and the suspense, but to the detriment of the well-drawn character of Beth. Her choices seem to be self destructive and as readers, we aren’t sure why she is making these choices.

You will be surprised by the ending, however. I recommend this as a good, solid read.

Fast paced and exciting from start to finish. I love that Beth's job was with the CIA. She is such a strong character and really carried the story from start to finish. The story line keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

This is my first read of this author, since I'm not a fan of reminiscing or going back & forth from the past to present back to the past over & over, I'm not sure how to rate this. It drag for way too long to get to the end ( the one & only kind of exciting part of the story) and yet it wasn't even the real end. It was an open-ended sort where you have to speculate what was or what is, it leaves you hanging, wondering if this is just the first part of the book & a second book is coming. To be honest, if there is a 2nd book coming, I'm not at all interested.

The New Neighbor

This thriller read like a movie or a Blacklist episode 📺

Beth has had the picture perfect life in her neighborhood until all of sudden she doesn’t. She becomes obsessed with watching the women who has moved into her old home. Meanwhile most families have ties to the CIA and they are on the hunt for ties to Iran Intelligence

I didn’t expect the CIA themes in the book but I liked this one way more than other spy books I have tried. It felt relatable and easier to follow. There were some big twists - I definitely guessed wrong! 🤯

Thank you @netgalley and @ballantine books for this ARC! Out 8/30!

Beth has reached the point in her life that she is done raising the three children she adored watching grow. With her last child just starting college, she can now focus 100% on her job at the CIA. She's always been dedicated to her work, but now she can give it everything she has.

Just as she believes this is her new direction, her marriage falls apart and she loses the position she has been in for so many years. The position she just now thought would have all of her focus. But things are changing very fast. A new family has moved into her old house, becoming friends with her old neighbors. This family has the life she now misses. Then Beth finds a connection between this family and the bad person she has spent the bulk of her career in search of. She also realizes may not have know those closest to her as well as she thought she did.

Has Beth become paranoid, or is this really the break she has been looking for? As people around her begin to question her sanity, she sees that things are becoming so much clearer.

This book was fantastic. I loved the twists and turns. You definitely start to question what is real and Beth may be imagining.

A terrifying, suspense, psychological, spy novel that is amazing.
One never knows who their neighbors are, do they?
Beth Bradford lives in a beautiful home on a cul-de-sac with her family and neighbors that she loves.
The neighbors have things in common, as most work in the CIA in some capacity. They have children and all would do whatever is needed to protect their families.
They all have secrets, but what type of secrets? That is what we need to learn.
Beth Bradford also works with the CIA and has been on a case tracking an Iranian intelligence agent known as "The Neighbor” for so many years. She knows she is getting close to solving the mystery.
But then.... The bottom drops out and creates craziness in Beth's life.
She is removed from the job she has "claimed" as hers, she becomes an empty-nester selling their family home to downsize and her husband is leaving her.
It is so mush upheaval. Could this be creating havoc in Beth's mind? Is she now paranoid?
What is she doing?
She can't she stop driving through her neighborhood and checking on her old home and the people who now reside in it.
People are suspicious and the journey of trying to find The Neighbor is the priority!

This is one wild story and I read it an one whole day! This is not my usual genre, but I needed to see how it ended! It is really excellent!
Thank you to Random House Publishing- Ballantine and Netgalley for this ARC as I read and provided and honest review.

I loved Karen Cleveland's first book, Need To Know. The New Neighbor is a slow simmer with plenty of twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed the main character and her search for the truth. I read this on a flight and it kept my interest until the bitter end.

Psychological thriller about a mother of three who, in addition to becoming an empty nester, moving out of the family home, also has her husband leave her. She decides to throw herself into her work at the CIA only to find out that she has been demoted and moved to another building to teach new recruits. She does not however want to give up on finding the Neighbor, her old CIA target. Good page-turner with many twists set in the FBI/CIA world.

How well do you know your friends and neighbors? What would you do to protect your children?

Beth and her husband Mike are selling their home on a cul-de-sac after their youngest child goes off to college. Beth works for the CIA and has been looking for the Neighbor for years. The Neighbor has been providing intelligence to Iran and she is determine to find him. She is suddenly taken off the case and is also suddenly suspicious of the new owner of her house. Beth can’t let the case, or the new neighbor go so she continues to investigate.

Wow what a ride this one was. There were so many twists and turns and it kept me guessing until the end. I found myself cringing at times at Beth’s actions as they didn’t seem credible but that seems to have been the author’s intent to make her seem unreliable and unstable.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I look forward to reading more from Cleveland.

I've long been a fan of Karen Cleveland. Need to Know. Keep You Close. You Can Run. They all have something in common. A protagonist who is a hard-charging agent by day, loving wife and mother by night. An exploration into how this sort of woman can (or can't) strike the balance between a career like this and a safe life at home with her loved one.

In The New Neighbor, CIA Analyst Beth Bradford is the mother who must compartmentalize her life into two boxes: CIA agent and mother. What comes first? Your children or your duty to your country?

I'm going to be honest. I didn't love this one. Beth came across as absolutely unhinged and, while she wasn't totally wrong, I cannot believe someone like her would be cleared for such a sensitive position in the CIA. I kept going because I had to know what happened, but I didn't really enjoy the story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This spy thriller reads just like a movie, I ended up reading the second half of the book in one long sitting because I just had to know who the heck “The Neighbor” was! I thought this would be another fun story about creepy noisy neighbors and their secrets but this goes way above and beyond that. Solving this case had a tint of paranoia that made me question everything I was being shown and told, and I really enjoyed that.
Beth Bradford, our main character works counter intelligence at CIA on a case that has taken up fifteen years of her life tracking an Iranian agent that recruits average looking Americans for small but sinister purposed which are building up to something big. Beth is on the hunt until she’s suddenly taken off the case as her entire life flips upside down. After years of semi domestic bliss she’s suddenly all alone with not much to do. The kids are grown up and moved out, her relationship killed off by her dedication to her clandestine type of work and the ever evasive target seems so close yet so far. Beth decides to solve her case no matter what cost because she feels that’s all she has left and she’s pissed off and determined. That’s when story ride gets wild. Beth goes MacGyver in some instances and I can’t even begin to describe how much I enjoyed that.

The story could have been a little shorter but in retrospect I liked the maze of actual clues but also some deceit. I felt very engaged with this book, I also really liked how a few chapters ended on a really good note that made me pause and say some really salty stuff out loud. Also please don’t think that the topic isn’t your jam if you only wanted a juicy bad neighbor book, this might be about tracking an agent but it really puts a magnifying glass on human nature and what we’re really capable of doing.

Big thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for early reading access of this awesome story.

- Kas

I wanted to like this a whole lot more than I did. I felt confused through most of the first third of the novel, struggling to keep the plot and characters straight, and disliked how much it felt like pure exposition. I wonder if dropping into the story at another point would have helped? Just not for me.

The last half of this was surprisingly twisty and suspenseful! There were so many plausible culprits and I couldn’t stop second guessing myself up until the end. The ending did a good job of ending the story but also leaving it open enough for a second book. So we will see if we get to hear more from Beth!

Karen Cleveland is a one of a kind espionage writer that excels at presenting her characters’ weaknesses and making those the crux of the story. This tale focuses on the analyst whom nobody trusts and yet manages to become the winner. And wow, that ending!

I loved NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland so I was looking forward to this one as well. However, I am over the unreliable woman who drinks and acts bizarrely. We need better women characters in fiction; it is truly time. The premise is good on this one, but it winds all over the place, and it is just plain hard to root for the main character. Let's get some strong, sane women in books instead of all the crazies.

Something is amiss in an elite neighborhood full of cul-de-sacs right outside of Washington DC.. A tightknit community where the neighbors are very close. Mike and Beth put their house up for sale after their last child goes off to college. Suddenly things get crazy and this book takes you on a ride full of twists and turns.