Really really annoyed this book! I loved the CIA/FBI aspect of this. I thought this book did a great job of keeping me guessing-I always felt on the edge of my seat. When I thought I figured it out, it would I throw me another twist. I also really loved the short chapters.

In The New Neighbor, author Karen Cleveland returns to familiar territory. Her protagonist, Beth Bradford, is a CIA analyst working counterintelligence in a division dedicated to Iranian intelligence services. The focus of her efforts is Quds Force, Iran's external operations wing, and one of their high ranking commanders, Reza Karimi. The Agency has long believed Karimi is striving to gain undetected access to the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System. If he succeeds, Quds Force will have "the keys to the kingdom" -- full access via the intranet to top secret information. "There's nothing more dangerous, from a national security perspective." It is believed that Quds Force has already planted malware in locations external to the intelligence community -- for example, in power plants -- that just needs to be activated. It's a project Beth has been working on for two decades and during that time, she has disrupted many attempts to breach security by ferreting out Karimi's recruits.

But one recruit has evaded Beth for fifteen years. Known as The Neighbor, he or she is an access agent, recruited for the purpose of recruiting others, usually foreign intelligence service employees who prove to be valuable assets because they are difficult to detect since no one suspects them of wrongdoing. Most of them have security clearances and access to sensitive information they can pass on to their handler. Over the years, numerous conversations have been intercepted, suggesting that Karimi is moving incrementally closer to his goal.

As the story opens, Beth's is navigating several simultaneous major life transitions. She and her husband, Mike, an attorney on track to become a partner in the law firm where he practices, have just sold their spacious home in the quiet cul-de-sac where they raised their three children and developed close ties to their neighbors. They no longer need such a large residence with both of their daughters, Aubrey and Caitlyn, finished with college. Aubrey is a teacher who has recently married. After graduating from Georgetown, Caitlyn has moved to London to work as a travel reporter. Beth and Mike take eighteen-year-old Tyler to the University of Virginia and get him settled into his dorm room, before returning home to spent their last night in the house. They have rented an apartment in which they will reside temporarily while looking for a smaller home. Or so Beth believes. Their marriage has been troubled for some time, but they have agreed that, as empty nesters, they will focus on repairing their relationship and she will have more time to devote to finally tracking down The Neighbor. Mike reveals, however, that he has other plans. He has already rented his own apartment and has no interest in saving the marriage. For the first time in twenty-five years, Beth will be completely on her own. She's far from heartbroken, acknowledging in the first-person narrative through which Cleveland relates her story, "The truth is, I don't want him. I just want the life we used to have."

To make matters worse, Beth's boss, Dale, informs her, "You've been selected for a position at the Kent School." She's not only been taken off The Neighbor case. She's being involuntarily transferred to a teaching position and her access to the relevant database, Frozen Piranha, has already been revoked. Her protests are futile, and Dale will not share details about the latest intercept with her. She is no longer authorized to receive information about the case to which she has devoted nearly twenty years of her career. But she does see "The cul-de-sac" noted on the whiteboard in the room where the team brainstorms. Her coworker, Annemarie, won't discuss her transfer or the case with her, warning her, "Let it go, Beth." Beth is devastated and feels that her once-blissful life is suddenly unraveling.

Returning to her house, one of several perfect homes in a quiet, serene cul-de-sac that has always felt welcoming and comforting, Beth instinctually senses that something is amiss. "Something seems off. I feel unsettled," she observes. The sale of the house is consummated and the buyers, Madeline and Josh Sterling, who purchased it sight unseen, take up residence immediately. Beth becomes obsessed with Madeline, however. She is convinced that Madeline is not the person she claims to be -- a kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home mother to three young children. Her suspicions are fueled when she observes a large gun safe being moved into the house, spies a vase of red roses on a table in the living room (a signal used by Iranian intelligence agents since the red rose is the national flower of Iran), and hears Madeline speaking in Farsi. Could Madeline be The Neighbor and the cul-de-sac referenced in the intercept the very street on which Beth lived for so many years?

Rather than accept the Agency's decision to unassign her from the case, Beth employs reckless means to continuing gathering information. She spends a great deal of time surveilling her former home and its new owners, following them, and even resorts to lying to a colleague to obtain a report she is no longer authorized to review. The latest intercept? "The Neighbor has found a new cul-de-sac."

To her former neighbors and friends, as well as her colleagues, Beth appears to be having an emotional breakdown that has caused her to become obsessed not only with the purchasers of her former home, but the other inhabitants of the cul-de-sac. But from Beth's perspective, she is determined to uncover the truth about Madeline and ascertain the identity of The Neighbor before it is too late to stop Karimi from breaching protocols and harming the nation's security interests. Although she recognizes that she is behaving in ways that appear erratic to others and taking chances that jeopardize her career, she explains that the potential benefits far outweigh the risks. Beth has never lost sight of the intercept that got her interested in the case so many years ago: "Remind The Neighbor to use the children." She recalls. "Using children to accomplish goals -- that was a bridge too far," It was the impetus for her commitment to the mission to stop Karimi and Beth will not be dissuaded, even when she finds herself in danger.

Cleveland has once again crafted a tensely gripping thriller that proceeds at a consistently rapid pace. Beth is an unreliable narrator, and Cleveland deftly heightens the suspense by causing readers to question whether she is correct when she insists that "the ends justify the means. Everyone lies." Are her colleagues correct to be concerned about her emotional well-being or is she being subjected to workplace misogyny, marginalized and stripped of her responsibilities because of a stereotypical, arcane notion that a "hysterical" woman is inappropriately acting out? Beth remembers happier days when her children were young, describing how she was introduced to the neighbors who became her best friends, especially Alice, the federal judge who lives next door, and fondly recalling all the evenings spent sitting in lawn chairs in the cul-de-sac drinking wine, gossiping, and watching the children play. She also is reminded of specific conversations that did not seem particularly significant at the time but, in hindsight, contained clues to who might be the recruiter. As her rogue investigation proceeds, Beth suspects nearly all of her neighbors at various junctures, most of whom also work at the CIA. In light of the evidence she uncovers, she questions whether any of her neighbors were true friends or if, rather, they befriended her only to further an agenda. And she suffers horrible betrayals. She employs unconventional and unethical means to attempt to elicit confessions as she inches closer to learning the identity of The Neighbor.

Cleveland's clever story is contemporary and timely. In addition to illustrating the sexism to which Beth is subjected, Cleveland injects the well-publicized vulnerabilities of both governmental and corporate data storage systems and the U.S. power grid, and the ongoing student loan crisis also figures into the story. The evidence Beth discovers is nothing less than terrifying and, based upon Cleveland's background, believable. She credibly demonstrates the ingeniously diabolical lengths to which America's enemies will go in order to accomplish their goals.

Ultimately, Cleveland convincingly affirms that U.S. interests depend upon security professionals living up to the oath they swear to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, especially traitors lurking among their ranks. And that it is not possible to ever really know or wise to blindly trust one's neighbors, no matter how beautiful and idyllic your cul-de-sac may seem.

CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all, or does she? She is hit with a divorce she didn't see coming, but she should have. Her kids have all moved out, off to collage, living a life of their own. She is a dedicated CIA analyst, and she thinks she's at the top of her game. Until..... Can she put some of the pieces of her life back together so that she can move on, or will she destroy herself?

I enjoy a great neighborhood thriller and this one had all the makings of what sounded like a great one. A CIA agent on a mission? Count me in. However, it was a slow burn and never quite did it for me. I did not like or connect with the main character at all. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me.

Beth is a CIA analyst that has spent the past several years looking for an Iranian spy with the code name “The Neighbor.” She has dedicated her life to finding this person and is surprised when she is pulled from the team. Amidst the changes at work Beth is also experiencing several changes at home- an empty nest, selling the family home and marriage problems. Before Beth can truly move on and out of her cul de sac she becomes suspicious of the new family that has moved in to her home, especially the wife. Her tenacity will not allow her to walk away. Could this actually be the person she has spent the last few years searching for?

There are so many twists and turns in this story that I might have whiplash! I really enjoy Karen Cleveland’s books because of her insight and the realism she brings to the story. This one was a little off the mark for me. Unlike her other books this one seemed unrealistic. I appreciated Beth’s determination but I just couldn’t understand many of her actions.. The epilogue was not what I was expecting or how I had wanted the story to end. That being said it was an action packed thriller from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

3 ⭐️

Karen Cleveland is one of my favorite thriller authors and I’m always super excited for a new release! The New Neighbor is about CIA analyst Beth Bradford who has spent the last 15 years trying to track down an Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor.

As things fall apart in Beth’s life, she’s removed from the case but she’s unable to let it go. She knows she’s close to finally finding The Neighbor.

Without giving any spoilers, I’ll say this wasn’t my favorite Cleveland book (read Need to Know and You Can Run IMMEDIATELY if you haven’t already!!) but it did keep me guessing and compelled to keep reading and see how it would end.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

The New Neighbor is a classic who-dun-it in a kind of Hallmark Movie format. Your "typical" CIA mom returns from vacation to find everything in her life twisted and turned upside down. Beth's kids are all leaving or have left home, the home itself is being sold, she is summarily dumped from her fifteen-year pursuit of a counterintelligence target, her personal and professional relationships all seem to be unraveling faster than she can process. But Beth is nothing if not strong and she fights through it all to save her country from a villainous attack years in the making while forging a new path for her new life. The New Neighbor is not a great genre thriller, but it is definitely an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC.

This book was a wild ride for me. I didn't quite care for the first 50%...it was slow for me, and I really didn't like the main character Beth. She was convinced that she knew a lot of different things, but I was not convinced, and therefore I didn't like the multiple ways that she acted so unethically and with blatant disregard to anyone's privacy. I mean, I know that's what characters do when they think they're going to "solve their case' or whatever might be happening in the story...I just felt that she never showed any real emotions about anything happening in her life, and her only solution was to spy on people and drink wine with almost no repurcussions whatsoever. It just didn't sit right with me.

I enjoyed the last 50% of the book more. It moved super quick, and got very twisty. However, there were so many twists that I felt like I didn't even get to sit with one and think it through before the next one was coming, and that kind of took away the general surprise factor that would've been there. I did like the very ending, which I found the most surprising, but the rest of the book was either too fast paced, or too slow paced, and at times there was a lot of technical CIA/FBI stuff that I had a hard time following,

I'll admit, I don't read spy-type CIA/FBI books often, so this one might have just not been what I'm used to, and I can definitely see how someone who is more familiar with this type of book or either of the agencies in general might enjoy it a lot more. I did mostly enjoy the second half of the book, and I would recommend it to individuals who, again, like reading this style of book. However, I tend to like books with more emotional and character development, and this one almost had too much going on that I didn't care enough about, and not enough going on that I actually did care about, so it just wasn't personally for me.

I could not put this book down! Beth seems to have her life perfectly in order. As she drops her youngest son off to college, she and her husband return home to finish packing up their house as they are downsizing. To her surprise, things are not going as planned. Her husband announces that he is leaving her and moving to a separate place. Reeling from this surprise, she goes to work only to find all her things packed up as she has been reassigned to a teaching position instead of her normal duties as a CIA analyst. Most of her friends and neighbors revolve around her career at Langley. With her life in tatters, Beth catches a glimpse of the woman who has purchased her house. It seems to Beth that this woman has taken over the life she once had. She tries to maintain her friendships, but people are acting strangely around her. At work, she tries to continue her work on her target without access to parts of information she is used to working with. There are many twists and turns in this gripping novel and you will not be disappointed!

Also reviewed on B&N under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland is a fast paced spy mystery set in a sleepy cul-de-sac. CIA Analyst Beth, everything is changing: her youngest child is off to college, her home is on the market, and she’s been kicked off the case that has defined her career. As she settles into her new life, she can’t let the case or her neighborhood go, and the deeper she digs, the more the two intersect.

Told in flashback style, Cleveland does a good job mixing Beth’s investigative suspicions with clues from her past. As everyone becomes a suspect and the truth is revealed, the plot jumps around more than it needed to but I liked the way the story wrapped up and set the stage for potential sequels. Overall a fun summer read for fans of spy novels and quick gripping reads.

I read another book by Karen Cleveland that I loved, Need to Know, so I was excited to read this one as well. But I was very disappointed. I can hardly believe it was written by the same author.

I spent a lot of the time while reading this shaking my head and rolling my eyes at the unbelievable stupidity and downright foolishness of the protagonist, Beth Bradford, a woman who has been working as an analyst at the CIA for many years, chasing down an Iranian spy network operating in the U.S. Far from the meticulous, carefully thought out behavior you’d expect from someone in this position, she reminded me of a teenager, prone to simplistic thinking and emotional outbursts. This sometimes led to crazy behaviors like divulging classified information to unauthorized people and jumping to wild conclusions based on the tiniest slivers of dubious information. For example, at one point she believes she has discovered the identity of a dangerous enemy agent, so she agrees to meet him alone in the woods in the middle of the night to confront him and thinks he might confess all to her while she secretly tapes it. What?!
Her wildly irrational behavior was the opposite of what I’ve always imagined an intelligence agent would do. At least I hope I’m not wrong. Yikes! What is scary is that the author used to be an analyst at the CIA. Is this the reality of what is going on in the CIA?! Another scary thought is that in this story, it was so darned easy for the Iranian spy network to convince recruited government employees to commit treason. Of course, people can be threatened or bribed, but that so many of them caved to the pressure was unbelievable. If this were realistic, the CIA would be riddled with traitors and our national intelligence would be worthless. Also, after being caught doing all kinds of illegal and frankly criminal things to continue an investigation she had been been barred from, there is no fallout when some of what she discovered is proven right. It’s no big deal that she illegally accessed top secret intelligence information and manipulated people to do it. It all water under the bridge. Again…Yikes!
When I first began reading, I had hopes that maybe this weird behavior was actually a clever ruse to throw people off and that she had a plan that made sense. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

This would be a very different review and rating if the main character had been remotely bearable. I could not stand Beth at any point in the story. I love the idea of a CIA book with a woman at the helm investigating her instincts about a new neighbor, but not a single piece of the plot outweighed the character. Be prepared for twists on twists on twists that will give an unearned ending.

**Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC**

This book was not for me. I sadly had to DNF the book at about 40%. I found myself avoiding reading it. The CIA terms were poorly explained and left me confused. I didn't understand the premise of the story and found Beth to be annoying. Due to this, I could not finish the book. I don't do this often and feel bad for leaving such a negative review.

Beth always thought she had the perfect life. A loving husband, three wonderful children, a beautiful house in an idyllic cul-de-sac surround with great neighbors, but now her life seems to be falling apart. She’s moving, her husband is leaving her, and she’s being forced off a job she’s obsessed over for 15 years: search for an Iran spy known only as The Neighbor. How well did she ever know her neighbors? Has everything in her life been a lie? I enjoyed the heck out of this book. This was a smart, intense, thriller with excellent characters and one heck of a twisty plot. And the ending? Wow. Thanks so much to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Karen Cleveland’s excellent thriller The New Neighbor.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-new-neighbor-karen-cleveland/1140572963?ean=9780593358023&bvnotificationId=001c59aa-0dd0-11ed-a034-0e16cd083b09&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/214165786

https://www.amazon.com/review/RX5GQ4UG0YMDP/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 320 / Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

CIA analyst Beth Bradford has spent her career chasing down an Iranian sleeper agent known as The Neighbor. And just when both of her children are grown and out of the house and her husband has left her and she literally has nothing to do but pursue The Neighbor, she’s suddenly pulled from the case right when new information has surfaced. Information that has led her to her own neighborhood and close group of friends. Could one of them actually have been The Neighbor all this time?

I really enjoyed this fast-paced thriller! It kept me guessing all the way to the end.

This CIA thriller isn't that thrilling but has a nice twist.

CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all, or so she thinks. Now, not only, she is facing an empty nest and a divorcee, the CIA is removing her from the case that’s long been hers. She has spent decades tracking an elusive Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor. When Madeline Sterling moves into Beth’s old house. Beth can't stop watching the woman stepping into her old life. Is she The Neighbor? Or is it someone else in her neighborhood? After all, most of the families on the cul de sac have some tie to the CIA and they all have secrets. Beth won't give up until she proves to the CIA she can solve the case.

I enjoyed Keep You Close as the book was engaging and kept you guessing, (only the ending is disappointing) but this novel was something else. This plot is easy to figure out. While there is one twist at the very end, I called the Neighbor from the very beginning. I found the book uncomfortable to read from secondary embarrassment. Beth is so obsessed she goes off half-cocked on everyone in her neighborhood. And it was painful to see herself embarrass herself in such a manner. No wonder people thought she was mentally unwell.

But unlike Keep You Close, the ending to The New Neighbor doesn't involve some magic fix. Karen Cleveland creates an organic ending for the characters that make sense to the plot. I loved the twist at the very end which made the book anything special. I would never have guessed where the author was going. I also like that there is some unfinished business that might lead to another book that might be more interesting. The conflict between those characters is better than in the majority of the book.

This wasn't my favorite story but the twist was fun. I also like the back and forth between the main character and the woman who movies into her house. But the secondary embarrassment made the majority of the book uncomfortable for me.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland is the third book I have read by the author. I really liked the first one I read. I disliked the second. The New Neighbor is definitely in the same category as the first. I enjoyed the book and thought it was a fun read. The book reminded me of what Shonda Rhimes would make into a CIA/FBI themed television show: Over the top characters and coincidences, but as addictive as candy.

While I am not sure Beth's age was ever specifically said, I got the impression she was in her late 40's or early 50's. That in itself is makes this book unique as leading females are rarely in that stage of life. Beth's youngest child has just left for college. Her family home of the past 15+ years has just been sold so she and her husband can downsize. Marriage unexpectedly falls apart. All Beth has left is her job as a CIA IT investigator. And suddenly, even the project she has been assigned to and immersed by for the past 15 years is reassigned away from her and she is relegated to teaching CIA courses.

The one thing I hated about the book was Beth's obsessive tendency toward her case and the woman who now lives in Beth's old house. It made her seem fully unhinged and at times made it difficult to root for. And I really wanted to root for this underdog, unusual lead!

Overall, I can't imagine this story could happen in real life, but its written in such a way I could totally overlook my disbelief and just have fun with it.

Actual rating: 3.5 out of 5

Do you really know who your neighbors are? This book is suspenseful with lots of twists and turns. A skillfully-woven plot that will keep you guessing until the very end. I did however find the protagonist, Beth, really annoying. She's obsessive who basically accuses everyone of being "The Neighbor". Overall, it was an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Karen Cleveland for an ARC of "The New Neighbor" in exchange of an honest review.

Don’t start The New Neighbor, by Karen Cleveland, on a busy day. You are going to want to read and finish this with as few stops as possible. The protagonist is smart, troubled, tenacious, and dangerous. The pacing is unrelenting, the plot spiraling down to darker and darker space. I loved the contrast of suburban moms and dads drinking wine on their driveways and counterterrorism. This is a thoroughly diverting and fun quick read. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing -Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC. It was truly a pleasure.

This book combines my 2 favorite things- neighborhood domestic drama and CIA/FBI thriller. I really enjoyed this one! Twist after twist with an ending I for sure did not see coming, my only gripe is Beth acted incredibly dumb for a CIA agent at times. I just chalked it up to her being under a lot of stress from her personal life. I liked the action and this was one I had trouble putting down!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine and Karen Cleveland for an ARC of this story!