4.5 stars rounded up. This book absolutely captivated me. I read it so quickly and became so immersed in the mystery. The premise in short is that Beth, the main character, is experiencing a dwindling marriage, an empty nest and a slow career in the CIA. She chooses to move from her previous home - a picture perfect house on a cul-de-sac with houses of wonderful families. Her CIA role involves tracking “the neighbor” a Iranian controlled American close to home. As she moves she starts to suspect that someone on her street has been “the neighbor” all along. I loved the plot and I loved the twist at the end that leaves you wanting another novel. This a fast-paced, clever spy mystery that is oh so enjoyable. My only criticism would be that the “lonely, heavy drinking, unreliable female” lead has been quite common with novels such as Girl on the Train and Woman in the Window. Some people may think this is too overdone but I can honestly say I liked this book better than both of those novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for sending me this eARC to review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for allowing me to read The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland prior to publication in exchange for my honest review.
I love a good spy thriller and this book did not disappoint! CIA agent Beth has the dream life: a successful career, a beautiful home in Langley Oaks, a terrific family, and wonderful neighbors. Beth has stopped many Iranian spies, except one: The Neighbor. Beth finds herself in a season of changes: her children all leave the nest, she is moving out of her dream home, separating from her husband, and being reassigned in the CIA. The woman who bought her house seems off and Beth’s intuition is telling her that the new neighbor is a spy! It begs the question, how well do we really know our neighbors?!
This book was fast paced and filled with many twists. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good spy thriller!

As a fan of Karen Cleveland’s previous novels, I was excited to receive an advance reading copy of her latest book, The New Neighbor. The plot revolves around Beth Bradford, a CIA employee who has been obsessed with finding a spy referred to as “the Neighbor” for 15 years. She experiences a tremendous amount of turmoil in connection with becoming an empty nester, a job demotion, moving from a home after approximately 20 years and a marriage falling apart.

Beth is not a likable character. This reader found her to be a self centered person who did not believe in following the rules and one who had no compunctions about using others to obtain information useful for her tunnel visioned objectives.

The reader is swept along with her quest to uncover the identity of the Neighbor, while blanching at her methodology. Overall, I found the novel disappointing and actually laughed at the preposterous conclusion in the epilogue.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review The New Neighbor.

The New Neighbor
A Novel
by Karen Cleveland

Wow. The New Neighbor was a good book. It was a train at full speed. NO stops insight. It is different than most mystery/suspense novels. It has you ripping thru the book to see, KNOW the whys. Who was this new neighbor? You will love the answer.

Hey my dudes!

Thank you for tuning into my second book review on my blog!

I was sent this book advanced reader copy (ARC), from the Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley, and asked to give an honest review in return.

Here is the blurb of the book from GoodReads:

"Idyllic neighborhood, perfect family, meaningful career. CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all—


Until she doesn’t.

Now, facing an empty nest and a broken marriage, Beth is moving from the cul-de-sac she’s long called home, and the CIA is removing her from the case that’s long been hers: tracking an elusive Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor.

Madeline Sterling moves into Beth’s old house. She has what Beth once had: an adoring husband, three beautiful young children, and the close-knit group of neighbors on the cul-de-sac. Now she has it all. And Beth—who can’t stop watching the woman stepping in to her old life—thinks the new neighbor has something else too: ties to Iranian intelligence.

Is Beth just jealous? Paranoid? Or is something more at play?

After all, most of the families on the cul-de-sac have some tie to the CIA. They’re all keeping secrets. And they all know more about their neighbors than they should. It would be the perfect place to insert a spy—unless one was there all along."
**CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!**



I really enjoyed this book! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it! I would lay in bed at night and tell myself one more chapter, about thirteen times before I could finally shut off my kindle and go to bed. I had to know what happened, and who the neighbor was! I read this book in any spare moment I had. When I first read, I swear I thought it was Madeline who was the neighbor. Then as time went on, I thought it was Alice or Mike. I was concerned at first about Beth, even I thought she was crazy! She was basically stalking her old neighborhood. I thought it was wild to find out Madeline was FBI. I still don't trust her, and think she was involved somehow, I think she wanted the credit for the case and didn't care who she had to step on to get there. There as a distinct parallel between Beth and Madeline. Through the flashbacks, we can see how Beth and Madeline started off the same. New house, children, good marriage, and then both of their lives fall apart. I think Karen did a good job explaining how Mike was the neighbor, and how he gave the neighbors money for their children's college fund so they didn't have to take out loans like he had to. I appreciate how she gave us pieces and clues about Mike being the neighbor. I appreciated the flashbacks, and the use of them helping me understand what was happening, and how it all happened. I feel like Beth nor Madeline got the justice they deserved. Beth was still not on the case, and Madeline was basically getting kicked off of the case. In the end, I was left wanting more. I feel like there was more to Madeline and Beth's story, and to find out Aubrey was the new neighbor? I feel like it was rushed. I would have liked more of a build up, and more of a backstory of why she was the new neighbor. But Beth did say Aubrey was always a daddy's girl, but I want more behind that as well. I wanted more of the story, to see how everything played out, and if Aubrey every got caught. I wonder if there will be a sequel, but regardless I will be buying this book when it comes out in 2022, and I appreciate Karen Cleveland, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this book, and being able to give my honest review!

Beth is a CIA analyst who is tracking an Iranian agent when she’s suddenly taken off the case. However, she continues to try and track down the agent, who may be closer to home then she realizes. The New Neighbor is a tense, page-flipping thriller that continually turns you upside down as Beth chases lead after lead, only to get thwarted at every turn. Filled with tantalizing clues as to the agent’s identity, the suspense level is off the charts with each chapter, as the reader (and Beth) keep getting it wrong as you fly through the pages. The author’s prior books were all 5 star reads, and you can definitely add this one to your collection. Outstanding in every respect, loved it!

A great thriller that will do very well in bookstores. This book would appeal to fans of books about espionage and also fans of family-driven thrillers (like The Woman in the WIndow).

I enjoyed You Can Run so when I seen another Karen novel I jumped all over it!

The New Neighbor is nonstop excitement, believable characters, suspense, twists you don’t see coming, this novel has it all.
Each chapter is filled with edge-of-your-seat tension, thrilling action, and superb dialogue.
I was glued to the story, and couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.
This brilliant novel will keep the reader totally engaged and completely intrigued throughout the book.
I loved these characters they were on point and with every turned page I they kept getting better and better!.
This amazing thriller is so addictive with the full steam plot, it kept me up all night reading!
The closer I got to the end... The more I kept thinking how I didn't want this novel to end.
The pacing is great and suspenseful twists.
I read this straight through and really look forward to the author's next book!

Ballantine Books and NetGalley,
Thank You for this amazing, suspenseful story!
I will post to my platforms closer to pub day!

This was such a great mystery! After I finished roughly 20% of the book I couldn’t put it down. Very fast paced.. I kept trying to figure out who the neighbor was… and it’s for sure not a predictable one.

“The New Neighbor” by Karen Cleveland is a fast paced thriller. We follow Beth Bradford as she undergoes a number of life changes - she’s moved to a different department in the CIA (not her choice), she’s moving from her house of a number of years, and dealing with her last child going away to college. This book is, as mentioned before, very fast paced and Ms. Cleveland’s knowledge of the CIA very evident. There are a number of “is this the person” red herrings, but they all made sense when we’re following Beth’s line of thought - meaning her guesses made sense so everyone and anyone could have been a suspect. I did like the cliff-hanger ending (will this be part of a sequel?), though I guessed something like that would happen (note: this did not lessen my enjoyment of the book). A very strong four stars.

Wow...intrigue at its best. FBI...CIA...all the law enforcement in one novel...This book was sent to me by Netgalley electronically for review...I could not put the book down. Usually, I know the answer to the puzzle from early on...not in this book. Cleveland is an artist at weaving a story that keeps the interest of the reader...red herrings...was it this person? That person? Who was it? I kept asking these questions as I read. Then...we know...easy to guess part of the answer, but the final...not so much...the characters are believable and the story is so real that it could be happening as we read the book...it reads almost as nonfiction, but we know it is totally fiction...or is it? Read this one...answer that question if you can.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Wow! What a page-turner. If you love fast paced, edge of your seat thrillers…this book is for you!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

An absolutely delicious thriller about the CIA. The main character in this book is extremely dynamic and you are eager to see what happens to her. I highly recommend this one the story is great.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, Ballantine Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This one kept me guessing until the end. I can’t wait for the next in the series, it looks to be as promising. The book was fast paced, a true thriller and throughly entertaining.

#TheNewNeighbor #NetGalley
Cleveland's book is phenomenal.
Beth is moving from the cul-de-sac she’s long called home, and the CIA is removing her from the case that’s long been hers: tracking an elusive Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor. Madeline Sterling moves into Beth’s old house. She has what Beth once had: an adoring husband, three beautiful young children, and the close-knit group of neighbors on the cul-de-sac. Now she has it all. And Beth—who can’t stop watching the woman stepping in to her old life—thinks the new neighbor has something else too: ties to Iranian intelligence. Is Beth just jealous? Paranoid? Or is something more at play?
I loved it's concept. At first I wasn't judging Beth for what she's but as soon as I've read a few chapters, I was in. I seriously didn't know who to trust and this is the phenomenal thing of this novel.
I think both female characters were equally important and this becomes more sinister towards its end.
I loved it. This is a brilliant novel which is a must read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an advanced copy.