Claire has four kids, and her husband has recently left her and quickly remarried. So when all the neighborhood ladies notice the gorgeous new neighbor, Steel Nolan, at first, Claire is not sure she’s ready to begin any kind of relationship. But Steel is so gorgeous and charming and hard to resist. The rest I will leave for you to discover.

London Clarke, who I had never read before, does a great job building the creepiness and parallels to other well-known horror tales, while keeping the story totally original and fun. This writer has a truly twisted and elaborate imagination, and I loved it!

I'm between 4 and 5 stars for this book. This is one of the first horror / supernatural books I read, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it didn't disappoint. It does deal with some heavy themes such as murders, rape, pedophilia.

Our POV is Claire Vogel, a divorced woman raising her 4 daughters. Her tight-knit neighbourhood then gets a new addition, the mysterious Steel Nolan, whose relationship with Claire soon flourishes. But as the romance develops, so does sleepwalking, voices in the seemingly empty house, and spooky shadows.

I liked the characters and the writing, namely the 1st person POV, but I feel one of the daughters - Bridget - could've played a bigger role (I don't remember a single one of her lines). The mystery was there, for sure, and the book was thriller-like, but I never felt particularly scared, so that's why I don't give it a higher rating. But it was, especially in the end, action-packed and I always wanted to know more. And the plot twists kept coming, which I loved.

I also didn't feel the plot was particularly original, in a way I feel like there must be hundred of movies and books very similar to this one. This is not necessarily bad, but if anyone wants to read a book to just be in complete awe after, this is not the one.

Overall, the reading was really good, and if now I can think of some mistakes and things that bother me, I 100% loved it while I was reading it (which took only 2 days)

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this.

Recently divorced mother of four, Claire Vogel is a therapist living in a prestigious community. But make no mistake, this is not Mr. Rogers neighborhood! When Steel Nolan, the handsome construction worker moves in next door, he gets the neighborhood women's hearts beating all a flutter. He offers to tear down Claire's damaged shed and build her a new one. After all, it’s the neighborly thing to do! But when they meet out one night, he offers her much, much more.

As I mentioned, this neighborhood looks picture perfect. But there is a teenager who drives recklessly down the street, Claire's oldest daughter, Annalen begins sleepwalking, her youngest, Paris, sees dark shapes and hears something in her room talking to her.

That is only the beginning!

Creepy, gripping and the stuff that nightmares are made of!!!

I do not think that horror books need to be gory or bloody to be good. In my opinion, the most enjoyable horror books are ones that creep me out, make me feel uneasy and have me looking under my bed and pulling back the shower curtain. You know the ones? Blood and guts do not bother me as much as things that go bump in the night. Things that get my heart pounding, things that have me questioning is this really happening or is something sinister to blame?

I have always been more freaked out by the things that can get you that you cannot even image. Haunted homes, ghosts, demons have always been frightening to me. If you cannot feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe? What is worse than not feeling safe. Home is where the heart is. It is where you family is. It is supposed to be your happy place. Where you can let your hair down, it is a place to relax and rejuvenate. What happens when all of that is gone?

I also have to say, when I read the name Steel, I thought that is the perfect porn star or alpha male in erotic fiction name. That name just conjures up sexy, good looking, great in bed vibes to me. Will the Steel in this book live up to those names? I digress. I also thought this book could have been written with Claire having two daughters and not four. Her oldest and youngest get the most parts, the other two are mentioned and play a part, but the book could have also worked without them. At times, I also thought “Seriously Claire?” She had me shaking my head a times. Take your foot off the gas already woman! That is just a little quibble and did not affect my enjoyment of the book at all.

I enjoyed how thing unfolded in this book. The Neighbor begins slowly but is never dull. This book will creep up on you when you least expect it. It will give you shivers, have you guessing and worrying for the characters. This book is fraught with tension and an underlying sense of danger.
I also enjoyed the supernatural elements of this book. Plus, the little message at the end of getting to know your neighbors.

Horrifying, pulse pounding and spooky, and dangerous The Neighbor does not disappoint.

This was my first book by this author and will not be my last.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial 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 London Clarke's newest novel a new neighbor and strange activity culminate in an engrossing and chilling supernatural thriller. Claire Vogel a divorced mother of four lives in an establlished and presticious neighborhood when one day her new neighbor, Steel Nolan turns up and helps her fix her shed. Soon they are spending a lot of time together and a fledgling romance ensues. Then strange things start happing in both her home and her neighborhood. One daughter is sleepwalking, another is hearing voices and a teenage neighbor is terrorizing everyone in sight and what starts out as a thriller soon morphs into the supernatural tale of terror.

I really liked this book. I enjoyed how it started out as one thing and then changed into something else and all the while kept the action and tension at an even pace. What Clarke has done here is a tricky thing to do. To combine two different genres and pay equal attention to both and pull each off successfully is quite a feat. This book elicits genuine chills and I think Clarke is definitely an author to keep your eye on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The most terrifying thing about this book is that is so believeable....neighbors who behave oddly, some uncontrollable teens and a lonely divorcee, a handsome, helpful neighbor who seems too good to be true - a past trauma coming back to haunt you.

London skillfully weaves all the strands of the story together to create a chain of events that is
non-stop horror! The pace never really lets up - from the slightly creepy begining, to the double headed twist at the end, it was a quick read for me and was as horrifying as it was enjoyable!

Highly recommended if you like your books well written, yet scary and disturbing.

This book was a thrill to read from the moment that I started. I could not put it down no matter what I needed to do. I was hooked on it and needed to finish it in one sitting. It moves along at a great pace which was neither too fast nor too slow but just perfect for the story. The characters are amazing you feel as though you know them and no matter what you want o be there to help them. The story will grab you and keep you interested all the way through and when you get to the end you need more. This book is a must read, no doubt about it.

I have just found another great author. The book is about a mum of 4 Claire that likes to reinvent herself occassinally for a bit of fun on a night out. It gives her a thrill and she isn't hurting anyone is she. That is until she meets her new hunky next door neighbour. He is charming at first then he shows his true darker side and soon wishes she had never got involved with him.
I really enjoyed reading this book. For anyone that is into paranormal books this for you, I found it very hard to put down.

This is my first book by London Clarke. I was pleasantly surprised by how good The Neighbor is. Although the story is about demon infestation and haunted houses the clichés are masterfully treated as to be, well, not clichés. The main character is a strong woman but she feels real, original. The entire book was well written, interesting and entertaining.

London Clarke, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of Wildfell and the Legacy of Darkness series, brings us The Neighbor - a paranormal thriller which is sure to keep you up at night...

Claire Vogel - a mother of four girls whose divorce is still fresh and relatively raw - is a well balanced, relatable character. As a professional counselor, Claire is seen to be a successful and level-headed woman... but she has a secret pastime which, to anyone who knew her, could seem reckless and stupid.

When a new neighbour arrives, Claire finds herself reacting in ways even she can't fully explain. She finds herself opening herself up to Steel; which leads to some fairly compromising situations - like being caught in the back of his truck by her ex-husband and eldest daughter. It's not until her childrens behaviour starts changing that she begins to worry though...

When she does start to really worry about the strange events going on in the neighbourhood and her house, Claire recruits the help of some paranormal investigators. This is when things really take a turn and there's no denying something unnatural is going on.

Clarke's use of character archs and threads is one of the reasons that this is such a good read. There are so many bits of information that is subtly fed into the narrative which makes the conclusion so much more effective and fulfilling. Claire's physcological journey through these strands, for me, was the most satisfying part of Clarke's story-telling as the clues left throughout are all tied up neatly at the end giving even more insight to the character and the chain of events.

Ultimately, although I wouldn't say this is the scariest story I've ever heard/read, it is very well written and the real-life tragedies which back the paranormal horrors makes the whole nightmare all the more chilling.

~~

****

Trigger Warnings: includes murder, suicide, still birth, assault, child abuse/rape, mental illness, paranormal activity

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3

Thank you to NetGalley and BookGoSocial for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story centers around Claire, a recently divorced mom of 4. She’s trying to get into the groove of life on her own and just the kids. Her way of coping is engaging in reckless behavior at night, no one has any idea of what she’s been doing.
Enter Steel Nolan, her new neighbor and a total dream guy. However, once Claire starts having a relationship with him, spooky things begin happening. Are his intentions pure? Or is he more sinister than meets the eye?

This is supposed to be a horror/thriller novel and I was struggling to find what was scary or thrilling about this one.
I found myself unable to connect with Claire the entire time I was reading this. I just didn’t find her very realistic, I’m all for characters making bad decisions, but it felt like Claire was making the bad decisions on purpose. I felt like the book dragged on for way too long, I didn’t really start enjoying it until the last 5-10 chapters.

I honestly wish the rest of the book had been what the end was. It was slightly more suspenseful and had more interesting things happening. If the beginning hadn’t taken so long to build everything up, I think I would have enjoyed the story more.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite. I would definitely check out more from this author in the future and hopefully find something I really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this horror novel, and felt that it was very fast-paced and unique. It centers on Claire, a divorced mom of 4 who lives in a close-knit neighborhood of folks who are naturally curious when a handsome single man moves in next door. Claire gets close quickly to the new neighbor, Steel, but weird things keep happening with him and in general, which makes her question what his intentions really are.

This is a horror book with a supernatural aspect, so if you are expecting a thriller that does not require you to suspend your disbelief, this is not the book for you. If you are all in on exploring the supernatural and evil, you'll have trouble putting this one down.

I did find Claire occasionally annoying and thought some of her decisions were not smart ones. That being said, she was an authentic character who I couldn't help rooting for throughout the book. When her secrets were revealed, a lot of her behavior made even more sense.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun and I found myself looking to see what other books Clarke has written. It's a little different than your average thriller and will likely keep you reading well into the night. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fun summer read, felt very nostalgic as à la Poltergeist. There weren’t any big surprises, but it’s got a strong spook factor helping to boost it up.

The Neighbor is the 1st paranormal thriller I have read. The story is engaging and based on the character development and sub plots I would recommend it. The paranormal aspect is a bit of a stretch but it kept it's feet on the ground and if you stretch your mind a bit it's credible. The only link that I didn't buy was the need for the heroine to have this dangerous, reckless other persona, this wasn't necessary for the plot.

This is a novel about a single mom plagued by the supernatural events around her. This novel is more of a 3.5 than a 4. I found the narrative believable even the otherworldly things that keep happening in her house and how her neighborhood is in turmoil because of all of it. Using first person POV, Clarke creates a nearly believable narrator. I questioned her secret risky behavior (I wasn't convinced of her reasons for it and it really wasn't that risky) but she was otherwise easy to identify with.

I did wonder about demons as smart as this one was because it seems to me that this kind of manipulative behavior is more human than anything. The climactic scene was effective although it felt long.

Overall a good read. Thank you to NG for the ARC copy. I will also publish this to Amazon, B&N and Goodreads.

The Neighbor had me hooked from the very beginning and I could not put it down. I read the entire thing in one sitting! London Clarke does an amazing job building suspense and giving you the chills. You just have to see what happens next. My absolute favorite type of thriller/horror novel is one in which you can't tell if the main character is crazy, or there is something sinister going on and this book delivers all of the suspense. Add in kids doing creepy stuff, a hot neighbor who we don't know anything about, and a group of friends who like to gossip, and you have the recipe for a good read. Living in a neighborhood a lot like the one described kicked the creep-out factor even more for me. So if you're looking for a sort of domestic thriller with some supernatural elements, this one's for you. It reminded me a lot of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires- in the best possible way. Just a lot less gory, if that's not your thing. So, if you enjoyed that one, pick this one up next. I'm definitely going to pick up some more books by London Clarke after giving this one a go.

With Thanks to London Clarke and BooksGoSocial for an advanced readers copy of this book.

4*

A pleasant surprise, with some genuinely creepy moments.

The story follows Claire, single mother of four as she becomes wrapped up with the influence and charm of new neighbour on the block Steel. What starts off as a typical psych thriller quickly builds layers and morphs into a full blow supernatural horror, that left even this veteran of fights uneasy in a dark room.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I LOVED this book and I really hope it ends up as a movie or TV show! It was really not what I expected and I absolutely would recommend to anyone who loves horror!

It was a slow burn at the start but quickly picked up pace. The sense of helplessness and dread throughout the book was slowly increased by the writer and led to an excellent conclusion.

Claire has 4 daughters. When her kids come home from visiting their father, she finds out that he married. Even though they are divorced, it hurts Claire. During one of the kids visit with the dad, she decides to be someone else. She dresses “flirty” and goes to a bar. Usually she meets a man and has a conversation then goes home and to bed alone. However she ends up meeting her new neighbor (name Steel) who ends up going to her home and sit on the porch talking. When her kids meet the neighbor, her oldest daughter says she doesn’t like him as there is something “off” about him. As Claire gets to know her new neighbor, she starts to worry about herself and her kids. The neighbor is danger. People are disappearing. Claire and her daughters are hearing voices and sleepwalking. Claire wonders if she is going crazy. With all the strange activity going in the house, she decides to have a paranormal team check out her home. She learns that demons can take many shapes. They get scare when one of the team is attacked and leave. She grabs her daughters and goes to a friend’s home. What will she do to save her family? Will she be able to fight whoever the demon is?

The characters in this novel are so real. Claire has a wild twist and turn “roller coaster ride” in this book. It’s a great scary novel to read. I have read only one other book by this author. Her books do not disappoint. Her writing is excellent.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the pleasure of reading the neighbour. This book gave me the creeps. Definitely tossed and turned a bit after finishing reading this one.

In a time where we don't necessary know our neighbors. The Neighbour shows a world where not all is what it seems and you never know what is behind the doors of the house next door or across the road.

Definitely worth reading if your into creepy, paranormal stories.

Claire is a recently divorced mother of 4, a therapist and she is finally starting to relax a little. When a new neighbor moves in next door Claire notices him, as do all of the neighborhood women, but Claire's not interested in dating and the other women are all married. He's eye candy, nothing more. He has his eyes on Claire though. Steele Nolan worms his way into her good graces, helps out, charms and seduces her. About the same time things are becoming odd all over the neighborhood. Bad dreams, sleepwalking, violence, fear and Clair's eldest daughter is displaying all of these scary behaviors and more. Her youngest says her new stuffed Kitty talks to her and moves on it's own. Even the "perfect" Steele is getting creepy and scary. Everything is going "to Hell" so to speak.
This is a terrific twist on a stalker tale due to the supernatural elements. I was glued to the pages and loved the way that it slowly crept up on me in the most subtle way. #netgalley #TheNeighbor