Pretty good. Quick listen. Reminds me of Mitch Rapp in a way. Lots of characters and some excitement. The narrator was easy to listen to. It would be a 3.5 or so but rounded up. Feels like it could become a series since there is a solid protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio advanced copy.

This book had a lot of action! I found the premise to be very interesting and exciting. I wished there was more character development. Overall it was a solid story.

could have been a thrilling novel about Zach Chambers, former CIA operative whose suburban gated community is invaded by ruthless killers, prompting Zach to spring into action. Unfortunately, the book is bogged down by long backstories about Zach and numerous supporting characters. Shifting character points of view within scenes made my head spin and my eyes roll. There are some exciting action scenes but ultimately I don’t recommend it.

This was an action packed suspense, with alternating past and present timelines, but it fell a bit flat in the end for me unfortunately.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD is about an American subdivision called Hidden Refuge, full of normal American suburbanites. At least that's what the citizens thought before men impersonating police officers show up on their doorsteps in the middle of the night. Once the entire community is under siege, so begins a long, dark night that will prove to be anything but ordinary.

*many thanks to Blackstone and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

All communications to the outside world are cut off in the bucolic Virginian suburb of Hidden Refuge and families are surprised by armed men dressed as police officers who arrive and tell them to evacuate. But, one elderly man with dementia tries to run and is killed. And it becomes evident that the men are not actually police officers. Sam, a 16 year old babysitter who is home alone is frightened but determined. She works with her neighbor, Zack Chambers, to try to 'take back the neighborhood'.

Sam soon discovers that "Mr. C" has a lot more skills than she realized. A former CIA operative, Chambers is deadly and determined to protect his neighbors. Sam's boyfriend, Ben, uses his martial arts skills to help, Zack's brother appears, and several other neighbors join in to rescue them from the trained killers holding them hostage.

With wry twists of humor, Betley keeps the action moving at a relentless pace and you won't want to take a break to learn if the neighbors are successful in staving off the intruders.

Experienced actor/narrator George Newbern easily keeps the story flowing at a sometimes breakneck pace.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys action.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, with a great premise ("Die Hard in a suburb"), but to be fair to it it's more like R.E.D. without Morgan Freeman or Helen Mirren. It reads like a military thriller, meaning it's high on action and lengthy descriptions of specific artillery and weapons, and low on character depth, with the main character remaining relatively unchanged at the end. I'm not a fan of third person omniscient, and this book reminded me why. The head-hopping confused me, especially listening to the audiobook despite the narrator's valiant efforts to make each voice sound different. I don't feel much was gained by having so much firsthand insight into Griffin's and Barrett's thoughts and motivations, or to have the thoughts of so many minor characters. While it was likely intended to explain their motives and to show scenes that didn't involve Zack or Sam (who was really the only truly dynamic character), but since the villains were so archetypical it felt like an attempt to make the reader sympathize with unsympathetic characters. The premise relies on absolutely wild and ridiculous coincidences, which I won't give away here, but there's one that jumps out at me: yes, it's a suburb called "Hidden Refuge", so it's off in the woods, but it's outside of Washington DC. With all the gunfire going on, and even a helicopter at one point, not a single police car comes to investigate?

The action scenes are intense, and as a veteran the author clearly knows what he's talking about, especially in the flashbacks depicting a CIA mission gone wrong, and there were some plot points that seemed irrelevant at first but were more logical at the conclusion. If you're a diehard (see what I did there?) military thriller fan, you'll enjoy this book.

Zack Chambers is a man I'd want on my neighborhood watch! He is smart, level headed and a complete killing machine but with a conscious and a big heart! The book was action packed and Matthew Betley told a great story!

This is such a fun, clever, action-packed adventure and I enjoyed every moment. It takes place in the present with flashback chapters and I loved finding out the back story as the current events were taking place. It was so interesting to see the characters' different skill sets come into play and the intriguing reveals throughout the book. This is a great story to go into blind and enjoy the wild ride. It would also make a fantastic movie!

I couldn't get into this book. I didn't care for the narrator or story line. The cover art attracted me though.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, beautiful day in the neighborhood, won’t you…wait the neighborhood is under attack. One fateful Friday night the residents of the idyllic quiet neighborhood of Hidden Refuge are awoken and instructed to evacuate by uniformed police officers. Those that didn’t leave are taken hostage in the local elementary school.

Zach Chambers is a covert military operative turned computer programmer. He never thought he’d have to use his clandestine skills again but that facade comes crashing down when a fake police officer orders his to evacuate. Zach instead takes off and starts tracking down and killing those who took the subdivision hostage. Zach learns what the hostage takers are after and works to remedy the situation before too much blood, innocent and not, is shed.

This was my first Matthew Betley novel and it was an action packed ride. At times I didn’t appreciate the overly explained gun information just because it’s not really something I want to be educated in, but it worked for this novel. While I enjoyed the action and slight thriller aspect of this book, I just didn’t get invested with the characters too much besides the teenage girl thrown into the action, Sam. If the author does a spin off focusing on her you could count me in, otherwise I probably won’t read more by the author. I want to extend my thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for sending me and audio copy of this book in exchange for this review. Overall I’d give this book a 3.5. Make sure to check it out now if you want an action based novel!

I really enjoyed this book. Partly it was due to the narrator who did an amazing job. Also, having the neighborhood under siege element is not really done that often so points for originality. I enjoyed how the author fleshed out the main characters and gave us a nice backstory. The ending was not what I expected but that was ok too.

OMG I loved this book! Thriller vibes w/spy stuff is one of my faves! This book was so well written it just flew by and I was sucked in almost the minute I started reading it! My fave part is the bad-ass teen girl that kicks ass and takes names! I will definitely be picking up more books by this author!

#TheNeighborhood#NetGalley

This was my introduction to Betley's writing. I found it engaging. I loved the characters he created, especially Sam.

We were given dual timelines in this story, which filled in the background of the main characters. It helped to show how this one day had more history to it than was previously known and showed the true character of the main players.

This was a very action-packed book. There are fight scenes, car chases, hostages, fires... I thought several times while reading it that it would make a great movie. Unfortunately for me, I usually skim over the fight scenes and car chases. I don't really care about the details of who hit who where and when. I just need to know the basics - who was hurt, who won. So, these scenes didn't help move the story along for me. However, the storyline was interesting and I wanted to know what was on the laptop and how it would play out. I hope this one gets optioned. I love to see it in the theater.

I listened to the audio version which was narrated by George Newbern. He did an excellent job portraying Zack Chambers and relaying the story.

Ok I admit it, I picked this book up because the cover gave me all the "psychological thriller" vibes that I crave.

I am so glad I got my hands on this book through NetGalley, I am not sure it would have popped up for me on other recommended reading. The basic story surrounds the inhabitants of a small neighborhood, unbeknownst to them, someone in the neighborhood has taken home something that doesn't belong to them. In order to recover this item a team of mercenaries were dispatched to isolate the neighborhood and retrieve the item. Little do those soldiers know, it's not going to be as easy as they expected.

This book gave me a mixture of "Red Dawn" and "Die Hard" feelings. The possibility of a suburb under siege and your neighbors fighting back was exciting. The characters were engaging and I do hope they come back in a series. Was the book perfect, no, was it totally entertaining... Absolutely!

I am off to pick up other books by Matthew Betley!

Hidden Refuge is your typical American town- until the night it wasn't. Men claiming to be police officers arrive in the neighborhood and tell residents that they need to evacuate for their own safety. They are there because there is something in Hidden Refuge that they want and are willing to kill to get. But there is someone in this neighborhood, Zack Chambers, who has deadly skills and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family and his neighborhood. Survival is the name of the game in this one especially when an unwelcomed blast from Zach's past is in his neighborhood.

This book/audio moves at a nice pace and there is plenty of action. Readers/listeners are given Zach's backstory through flashbacks which also show the relationship between two characters. I enjoyed the story and thought the narrator did a good job. Plus, Sam was a great character as well. She stole the scenes she was in!

If you enjoy plenty of action with some humor thrown in, this may be the book for you.


#TheNeighborhood #NetGalley

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

In The Neighborhood, author Matthew Betley writes about Zack Chambers, a resident in Hidden Refuge, just a normal American subdivision. But suburbanite Zack is not what he seems. And when men impersonating police officers show up to find a secret hidden item in his neighborhood, Zack takes deadly action!
This was a fun, action packed and quirky book. I loved the humor and look forward to more in the series. The audio-book narration was very well done. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD – by Matthew Betley
Source – NetGalley/Audiobook
Narrated by – George Newbern

Looking for an action-packed Military Thriller set in suburbia? Look no further…

‘Welcome to Hidden Refuge, a normal American subdivision full of normal American suburbanites. At least that’s what the citizens thought before men impersonating police officers show up on their doorsteps in the middle of the night. Once the entire community is under siege, so begins a long, dark night that will prove to be anything but ordinary.’

THE NEIGHBORHOOD blends past and present events in the life of Zack Chambers—a family man and ex-CIA agent—who must defend his neighborhood with the help of his younger brother, Nick, and his kids feisty babysitter, Sam (Love Her!)

Thank you, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for providing me with an Audiobook of THE NEIGHBORHOOD at the request of an honest review.

Recommend!

Scheduled For Release – August 9, 2022

After a recent book slump, this was perfect timing for me to read this one. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was perfect!! The book drew me in immediately and I enjoyed the storyline all the way to the end. It was interesting and suspenseful, highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Bottom line, know who your neighbors are! Zach Chambers' neighborhood is taken over by fake policemen looking for something. Zach was former CIA and he fights back trying to save his neighbors. Loved the babysitter.


Solid narration by George Newbern.

Audiobook: The Neighborhood
Author: Matthew Betley
Audiobook Narrator: George Newbern
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: August 9, 2022
Rating: 3.5 rounded up

Aww to neighborhood Zack Chambers is a programmer and a family man however, when his neighborhood is held hostage by men dressed as police officers, Zack returns to his special forces past! These men are accepted as police officers; so when they are ordered to leave their homes for their safety they do so. However, as soon as they leave their homes are torn apart while searching for something mysterious.

I encourage you to read author, Matthew Betley's bio. I guarantee it will add to your enjoyment of his writing and this story
https://matthewbetley.com/

Additionally I totally enjoyed George Newbern’s performance of the characters. He is a great audiobook performer.

Want to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this Audio eGalley.
Publishing Date scheduled for August 9, 2022