Cover Image: The New Neighbour

The New Neighbour

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Member Reviews

This was an average psychological thriller
The pacing was too slow for me. I like my thrillers to be a faster pace.
I felt the ending was weak.

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This was a very solid, quick read with some interesting twists. I really don’t like when the authors make the lead female characters act incredibly dumb. So, there was a bit of an element of that here, but it wasn’t bad enough to ruin the whole story.

This review was also published on Goodreads.

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I loved this book! It was a great psychological thriller, with enough twists and turns, and with the major twist being something I absolutely did not guess. I read enough psychological thrillers that I am often quite quick to pick up on the twist, but in this case I didn't have a clue, which I loved. This little neighbourhood close is an intriguing place, and Miranda Rijks did a great job of making the characters come to life and setting the scene. There was just something missing which meant I did not give it 5 stars, but I could not quite put my finger on what it was.

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3.5 stars.
This is a great popcorn thriller - perfect if you want a fast-paced, quick mystery.

I was really interested in the central mystery - what happened to the neighbor? And the twists did keep me invested throughout. I did also like that we got Linette's perspective, I was surprised to see that considering it does take a bit of the mystery away from the reader, but she was so vindictive, and I do enjoy a protagonist POV.

I'm learning that neighborhood drama thrillers just aren't my favorite - a lot of the drama and fights seem petty, and it isn't the "rich people problems" I like to read about. Although this book does do the trope pretty well, most of the fighting between the neighbors seems pretty justified considering the multiple deaths.

I would read another book from this author, but I won't request anymore as ARCs, because this author has a faithful audience, and I'd hate to take a spot as a reviewer when someone else would enjoy their work much more than me.

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This book was ok. I found it to be a little suspenseful. I took issue with the main character Isobel. I didn't find her all that interesting.

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For a small close with few houses quite a lot seems to go on! First major thing was a hit and run involving a teenager and then other things of varying nastiness. Isabel, a trained architect, shows very limited intelligence, does a lot of whining and comes across as dense and feeble. The other neighbours aren’t too nice either, none of them being who you’d want living near you. There’s quite a bit of repetition. I haven’t been keen on the last two or three of Miranda’s books but this was better and easy to get into. The ending was rather abrupt, the story was predictable and implausible. Light reading for when you don’t want to concentrate too much.

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With every dramatic event, there is the time before and the time after. This book starts with a bang (or rather a crash) and spirals into a series of murders.

After a hit-and-run accident rocked the calm suburbia of The Close, the arrival of a new neighbour promises to shake the residents out of their discomfort zones.

Despite their close proximity, the neighbours of this quiet West Sussex area are anything but close-knit. Everyone seems harmless enough, but no one can be trusted. Between them, they share secrets, lies, betrayal and more than one motive to have finished off a missing pig. Not to mention that someone must surely know something about the actual murders of other residents.

The story is told from the perspective of Isobel and, in parts, new neighbour Linette.

Isobel soon learns that what happens right on your doorstep is always too close to home. When she begins to look behind the façade of polite (and sometimes impolite) neighbourliness, she finds dodgy dealings and repugnant behaviour.

Meanwhile, Linette tries to bring everyone together in the wake of the still-unsolved hit-and-run tragedy. But are they too divided? And why are her actions often so at odds with what she says?

When tragedy strikes again, local police seem more adept at catch-and-release fishing than actually closing the case. There's always a little tension to keep you on the edge of your seat in this book and I'm certain even super sleuths will find some surprises between the pages.

This was my second read by Miranda Rijks, and I'd definitely pick up more. Thanks very much NetGalley and Inkubator Books for a copy of The New Neighbour in exchange for an honest review.

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The New Neighbour was a page turner. I loved the quick pace and twists and turns. Would definitely read more from the author.

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Thank you NetGalley for the kindle copy in exchange for a honest review. Isobel and her family live in a quiet close of houses in the beautiful countryside. The small community were rocked by a hit and run that resulted in the death of a teenage boy. The family moved away and they now have a new neighbour Linette. To start with she is the perfect neighbour trying to bring the community back together. Then Isobel’s business and family life starts to fall apart. Who is Linette and what is she really doing in the close?

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Thank you to Net Galley and Inkubator books for a copy of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

The story of Isobel and her neighbors in “the Close” a rural small neighborhood in the UK immediately draws you in. As we learn about all the neighbors, we also learn about a hit and run that ended in the death of one of the neighbors, a secret affair, a new neighbor moving to the Close, and yet another murder.

It was so hard for me to put this book down because you really feel as if you’re one of their neighbors as you read. Whenever you thought you had the suspect correct, you would keep reading to find another bombshell being dropped. So often in domestic thrillers the twists are predictable, and expected. In the New Neighbour the twists were so unexpected, and the final one of the story had my jaw on the floor.

I really enjoyed the authors style of writing, and look forward to reading more of her books!

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This was a brilliant psychological thriller. I really loved reading this book. It had a fantastic story line that will take you on a roller coaster ride. There are so many twists and turns that you won't see coming. It's so exciting and thrilling story that the author wrote so well. The characters were brilliant and each had their own quirks. It was so much fun trying to work out who was causing all the drama. And like a good thriller it a great mystery trying to work out just who you can trust. This book really draws you in and emurses you in a wonderfully sense of atmosphere and tension. Leading us to a fantastic ending which was very shocking and totally unexpected. This book was so close to getting full marks but I can't put my finger on what stopped me. I really can't recommend this book enough. 

If you love thrillers with plenty of action and drama then this book is definitely for you. The story flowed so well that it was easily read in one sitting despite it being over 250 pages. I also have 2 more books by this author to read and review so watch this space.

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this wonderful page turning novel with its fantastic unexpected ending. I will definitely be reading more from this author. In fact I can't wait.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-new-neighbour-by-miranda-rijks-inkubator-books-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

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o as you know I love books on neighbours especially new ones that for whatever reason intend to cause trouble, but of late was maybe thinking I had read too many as they were all a bit samey….not so with this book, yes it’s a new neighbour and yes they cause chaos but there is a unusual backstory to their arrival and many secrets on ‘The Close’ and not the usual ones, the story plays well, the characters exactly as you would want in a book like this and I didn’t guess the outcome until literally a few sentences before
I loved the main characters narration and that she didn’t constantly have dizzy do’s or palpitations or go for a run when anxious but was almost stoic in her dealings with what was turning into a nightmare for her, a great bold character to find yourself in a thriller with
A nore than fine psychological whodunit read, all bases for a great read covered and sprinkled with bits of ‘not the norm’ that made it stand out

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This was an easy read, but the characters made me cringe. Do actual people treat each other this way? The WHOLE neighborhood. The only thing the main character thinks about is what her neighbors are doing. Everyone is petty and overtly cruel. The twist at the end I did not see coming, but they were the only character I found bearable. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I was really enjoying this one until about 3/4 of the way in. It took a twist I didn't see coming but it just didn't make sense from everything that had gone on before in the book. Still I do like the plot of crimes in small communities and finding out who the neighbours really are and what secrets they have been keeping.

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I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

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Dark thriller that had you hooked from the off. The book was very well written. Great plot. Very exciting. Fast paced to get your heart racing. Loved this book

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I've been on a Miranda Rijks reading binge, and once again she didn't disappoint! This book was a fantastic read and I can't wait for the next one! Recommended.
TB

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Miranda Rijks has done it again! I have been reading a lot from her lately and she always manages to provide a unique, fast paced thriller with some unexpected twists and turns. This New Neighbor has a full cast of characters that live on a private neighborhood called The Close. The author did a good job of differentiating each of the neighbors and making it easy to keep them straight. I liked that she threw in a bit of foreshadowing but not enough to give anything away. I was completely shocked by the ending few twists. Miranda Rijks does as excellent job of throwing you off the scent with red herrings and unreliable narrators. I really liked the main character in this as she was a bit naive but not TOO naive in that she was able to figure out what was truly going on with her neighbors. I loved watching her uncover the truth and figure out who could actually be trusted. This was an excellent thriller and I look forward to more from Miranda Rijks! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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3.5 STARS!

I can always count on this author for a twisty, suspenseful psychological thriller! Just under 300 pages this was an entertaining read. I love books centered around neighbors behaving badly and this checked of all the boxes. Secrets, lies, and murder. What a page-turner with a surprise ending! I look forward to diving into more of this author's books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

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Isobel and her family live in The Close, a neighborhood on the outskirts of London. Linette moves into a vacant house next door. The previous occupants’ son died in a tragic hit and run, and the driver was never discovered. Isobel tries to befriend Linette but gets a strange vibe, and Linette is full of gossip that Isobel doesn't know whether or not to believe. Suddenly, strange occurrences start happening in the neighborhood, and Isobel investigates to see if her hunches are correct.

Overall, The New Neighbour was a solid thriller with plenty of good twists. I enjoyed Isobel’s amateur detective work but wished she had more expressions than “whaaat?!?” Although I do appreciate the British-accented version of it on the audiobook. As a first-person narration, some of Isobel’s internal dialogue felt a bit repetitive. Still, Miranda Rijks moved the plot at a suspenseful, quick pace that my curiosity remained piqued as I tried to guess the whodunit, which I didn't figure out until the end - always a sign of a good thriller!

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