I really enjoyed The New Neighbour. It has plenty of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. Carter Wilson is a new author to me but I will definitely be looking out for more books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC.

The new neighbor was an enjoyable read. Marlow was an unreliable narrator so you were always questioning if what he was saying was really the truth or not. I loved the characters and the backstory for Marlow.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for the advance reader’s copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The story was definitely a unique premise - a recently widowed Irish father of twins figures out he wins the MD lottery on the day he buries his wife. A house across the country in Bury, CT calls to him via the internet. The family that lived in it prior vanished into thin air, and strange things begin to happen when the family moves in. They start to receive anonymous threatening letters. Eventually, through the father’s drunken stupors and psychotic self-harm episodes, we find out the truth about the letters and the folks of Bury, but never about the vanished family (or did I just miss that??).

Gosh, there are so many triggers in this book.

I was a little nervous going in, as I saw a few negative arc reviews prior to my read but I am so glad I committed because I really enjoyed it and devoured it in less than 48 hours! I thought the Irish theme and references were a neat addition to the story.

Overall, I would rate this book 4/5 stars. I enjoyed it and would recommend to others interested in this genre.

Happy publishing week!! 🥳

#TheNewNeighbor:

“It’s been said loss can either define you, break you, or make you stronger. But that’s shite. Because loss…real loss. It doesn’t do any of those things. What it does is festers. Sits inside you like a cancer. Better some days, worse others. But it never goes away, and you still die in the end.”

I mean, the worst day of your life (your wife’s funeral) and you also win the lottery? If there not the luck of the Irish (pub intended) I don’t know what is. I found this psychological thriller to be different as we don’t have the drunk unreliable narrator woman, but, man! There’s so many lines we cannot decide what’s real or what’s in his mind and it makes for a fun and fast read.

The We Who Watch letters were so creepy. They were sinister and really had me thoroughly on edge. It was such a goof take on a thriller. I wouldn’t say it was a slow start, but the 35 percent in, I just kind of listened and didn’t really feel invested. But I wasn’t bored. 35 percent hit and we went full investigation, accusation, hallucination, all the “ions”. But honestly the biggest shock was that 1998 was 24 years ago and not 8. There’s a flashback and it took me a minute to register it. 😂

I did an audio/read combo and loved Gary Bennett reading. The accent came out with perfect timing and really sold the story. I felt I was on autopilot listening to a friend tell a story. Some of the twists you can easily notice early on and you’re just in agonizing pain waiting for Marlowe to catch on. But, that’s the thing about unreliable characters right? There’s more than what we see and what they see as well.

Overall, a quick different take on thrillers with a male MC taking the lead on unpredictability. It flowed well and I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much @posin and @dreamscapenfor the gifted copy. The New Neighbor is out 4/12!

I really enjoyed this book because it was full of twists and turns that made this book impossible to put down. The only issue I have is that the book ended up in a sort of a cliffhanger. Regardless, I would still recommend this book to those who are into psychological thrillers. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for Providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It is on the same day as Aidan, a father of seven year old twins, buries his wife, that he wins the lotto. He moves his family into a mansion with an eerie past.

This book drew me in right from the start, each chapter leaving me wanting more. It really captured my imagination to the point I felt I was there in the mansion trying to solve everything. It isn’t often a thriller scares me but I had goosebumps reading this!

This was my first @carterwilsonauthor book and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I highly recommend this book and would give it:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would like to thank @poisonedpenpress for a copy of this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book is out on April 12th and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good psychological thriller.

Carter Wilson's The New Neighbor is a brilliant psychological thriller with themes of grief, bereavement, guilt, child/sibling loss, spousal loss, and self harm - that's a whole lot of pain; which somehow, winning the lottery the very day he buried his wife doesn't quite change his life balance for the better...at least not in the new neighborhood, with its intrinsically dark creepiness..

The suspense is tense, and beautifully, tightly, woven. Carter Wilson's protagonist, Aiden Marlow, is an Irish expat, and his narration is, on many levels, a hat's off to the great Irish poets. Wilson's writing reminds me of Stephen King's most poetic works, such as 11/22/63, Duma Key, and Bag of Bones. I highlighted several passages, and many individual sentences (occasionally, merely two words), simply because they are so beautifully poetic.

Underneath it all, there is love, and it is a love which sustains Aiden Marlow, in the midst of his psychological unraveling - love for his wife Holly, whom he lost to a freak aneurism, love for his children, his father, and his deceased brother. Aiden's father, Da, knows grief and loss, and provides a profoundly, heartbreakingly, accurate statement on what it means to lose a child. He is right on the mark. Tears were shed.

This is not merely a story of thrills and chills, though there are indeed plenty; it is a story of a simple man thrust into the vortex of best of times and the worst of times - all at the same time. Carter Wilson artfully draws a picture of a man who is nearly destroyed, whilst being threatened by a looming dark force. He must find a way to to survive and rebuild a life for himself, and his children, before descending into complete madness.

My highest recommendation for superb literary writing and engaging suspenseful plot,

My sincere gratitude to Carter Wilson, Poisoned Pen, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my wholly honest and objective review.


Trigger warnings:
Animal cruelty
Self harm
Child loss
Child harm
Spousal loss
Child loss
Sibling loss

At his wife’s funeral Aidan out he won the lottery. He moves his family to the city of Bury because he was burying his wife when his life changed again. At his new house Aiden begins to receive letters from someone who is not happy with him.

The plot of the book is simple but the execution is complex. I never knew what to trust, which made the book exciting. It is a thriller that keeps you guessing right until the very end.

Marlowe has buried his wife only to discover he has also won the lottery. He up and moves his family to this huge old house, sight unseen, in Bury, NH. Then weird thing start happening and someone wants his lottery winnings. For a casual read, this was a good thrilling read. But if the reader starts to think about what is going on along the way, cracks begin to appear. Too many times I stopped to wonder why something had happened or why a certain response took place. Things didn't connect well for me the way I expect a good thriller puzzle to connect. I need this to be fully sucked in to a book. But, it did make for a good afternoon cuddle on the couch read while ignoring the rainy weather outside!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

OH mayn, this was a thriller you cannot quickly forget about because wooooow what a ride! The book follows Marlowe left to raise twins after the death of his devoted wife who grounded him . The story truly begins during the burial when he gets a message with the numbers he has been playing all along for the lottery that make him a lottery number . What follows is one man's journey to healing, settling and a quest to answer ' who can you trust'. I loved it so much. Book is perfect for thriller lovers! The plot is amazing, character development is top notch and the pace is what the doctor ordered

I've been a Carter Wilson fan since his first book and with every new book, I declare it to be his 'best ever'. He continues to top himself and turns out intelligent thrillers time after time.

As always, I knew the Carter Creepiness Factor would enter soon after I began reading the book. Some of the most unlikely things (winning the lottery?!) seem perfectly normal. Moving to a completely different town seems extreme, but Marlowe has had two huge events upset his life so a fresh start doesn't feel unlikely.

My thoughts continuously changed as the mystery unfolded - - and though I had some doubts about one character early on, the final reveal still was shocking.

This is one of those books where I have a hard time putting it down or getting anything else done. Love it!

Imagine burying your young wife, the mother of your children on the same day you win millions playing the lottery. Talk about having the highest high and the lowest low, how can you even describe that. Aidan Marlowe is a lost man, struggling to get through the day without the love of his life and trying to care for his seven-year-old twins. He is failing in all regards; he is a wreck. He decides to uproot the three of them and move them to Bury, NH. You read that right, the town name is in fact named Bury. He buys them a stunner of a home, sight unseen. As soon as he walks through that door, he knows there is something off about the place. It feels heavy, creepy, something has occurred behind these large, lavish doors. But what?

Within a few days he begins receiving notes. The contents within these letters no one could possibly know...yet they do. As you descend into the tailspin that they call their life. More and more interesting tidbits come to light. About Marlowe's past, the house, and the last family that lived there. Is someone trying to hurt him and his family or is there something more going on? There are twists and turns. You will think you have figured it out just as something new comes to light. I am still unsure how I feel about the book. It was hard reading about Marlowe in his almost manic state. You are made to feel out of control and a sense of panic as you read. There is fear around every corner, and deeply guarded secrets that needed to be revealed. Thank you to Carter Wilson and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me this tornado of a book.

This book grabs you right from the beginning! I loved how often my theories would change throughout and how I even doubted the sanity of Mr. Marlowe several times. The mystery definitely kept me on my toes through the twists and turns. Great read!

The New Neighbor by Carter Wilson
@CarterWilsonAuthor
Pub Date: April 12, 2022
Narrator: Gary Bennett
Duration: 9H 22M

Widower Aiden Marlowe won the lottery on the day of his beloved wife’s funeral, leaving him widowed with 7-year-old twins. A stroke of luck on the worst possible day of his life? Or is it? There’s truth to the saying ‘Money can’t buy happiness’ and Mr. Wilson will show us just how true this is.

Marlowe is susceptible to energies and he is feeling spiritually pressed to move to Bury, NH – if you’ve read The Dead Husband, you’ll recognize this fictional town from The Dead Husband. Marlowe purchases a mansion there but straight off things get weird. Someone is threatening Marlowe, leaving letters that demand money or else serious harm will befall his children.

The speculation jumps between an unknown threat and an unreliable narrator. Are the threats and increasing levels of violence coming from the wrecked mind of a grieving father who’s becoming increasing paranoid, drinking too much and has gaps in his memory or from a series of suspect secondary characters, each greedy for Wilson’s newly won money? In addition to the dodgy secondary characters is a mansion with a dark history of missing people, making this mystery anyone’s game.

The tension in this book is thick and the pace is rapid but what really hooked me was the eerie atmosphere and how Marlowe experiences. It has a bit of a surreal quality at times and it carries over into Marlowe’s self-reflection of his childhood and a dark secret that he’s kept hidden his whole life.

Narration: Gary Bennett does an exceptional job narrating, his voice is emotive and pleasing, moving the story along with perfect pace!

My thanks to Dreamscape Media for this gifted ALC and to @PoisonedPenPress for this gifted copy and to @CarterWilsonAuthor for writing this!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW Carter Wilson! I was blown away by this book. Your writing is brilliant. My heart was pounding, my head was spinning with all the unexpected twists and turns, and I couldn't believe the ending. I LOVED this book so much that I couldn't fall asleep without finishing it. I had to know what was going to happen with Aidan Marlowe and his family.

Everything happens for a reason --- or does it? Aidan Marlowe believes so. He moves his 7-year-old twins to Bury, NH in hopes of starting over after his wife's sudden death and winning the lottery. He buys a mansion in the affluent small town and finds out this house is full of secrets. The Yates family disappeared from this very house, and no one knows why. Aidan Marlowe and Bury, NH both have their fair share of secrets. Someone starts sending him threatening letters the day after he moves in. Who knows so much about his family? What is Aidan Marlowe really hiding? What happened in the old Yates house?

Aidan Marlowe's character was so well-developed and unreliable. I really enjoyed going on this crazy journey with him, trying to figure out his new wealthy life, losing his sanity at times, and all the while trying to protect his family at all costs.

If you haven't read The Dead Husband, I highly recommend reading that first before this book! It involves the highly affluent Yates family that Carter discusses in this book.

This thriller was SO incredibly good. One of the best of 2022!!

I will post my review to my instagram @thrillersandcoffee on 04/09/22.

I never can say no to a neighborhood set thriller and this definitely fits the bill. My first impression was it reminded me of The Watcher true crime story from New Jersey (look it up if you haven’t - it’s wild!) However, this book turns more into a character driven story about a father coping with loss and an unknown future. What brought it down a bit for me was one of the main mysteries was never wrapped up and I was left with too many unknowns. I will definitely check out other books by Carter Wilson!

This book was a great thriller with a pretty good twist but it also deals with many larger issues such as grief and parenting fears. I really enjoyed the complex character of Marlow and his downward spiral while struggling with the loss of his wife. The twist was unusual and unexpected. I was very glad the author didn’t make the explanation an “easy” one like so many do.

I liked it. The New Neighbor has some really twisty parts that continued making me guess where the book was going next. I was always wrong so the author definitely did a good job making me want more. The main character was frustrating to me though. Overall, it was a good twisty thriller.

Thank you, Carter Wilson, for writing a page turning thriller that finally got me out of my reading rut! The New Neighbor grabbed me from the first page and I barely put it down until I had read the last word. It was so refreshing to have a male protagonist who is unreliable, flawed, vulnerable, and resilient. So often in thrillers, males are either saviors or villains, and are rarely complex characters, so Wilson’s protagonist, Marlowe, was a welcome deviation from the norm.
I tend to dislike books where the house is a central character because I find that the author relies on excessive details to give the house its character. This was not the case in The New Neighbor, thank goodness. Instead of focusing on ornate doorknobs or grains in the wood floors, Wilson describes the house’s “energy” or vibe. The fact that this energy is felt differently among the characters makes the reader feel invested in the house rather than just creeped out by it.
While I guessed the twists, I really enjoyed the journey and I thought Wilson did an excellent job of tying Marlowe’s troubled backstory with the modern day mystery. If you’re like me and a little bored with the same thriller protagonists, pick up The New Neighbor for a refreshing and super fast paced read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Aidan Marlowe buries his wife and wins the lottery on the same day… and this is how the book starts out. He moves his twin children to a town called Bury (cheesy yet appropriate when considering his mental state), where he begins to receive threatening letters.

I hate reviews that contain spoilers, so I’m not going to say too much, but I love how this book tapped into a lot of big emotion. Loss, love, hope, fear. There were times that I completely empathized with Marlowe and others when I wished I could reach into the pages and smack some sense into him. There’s a lot of components that keep the reader captivated throughout. I really enjoyed it, and I appreciated the ending and how it gets wrapped up.