Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of The New Neighbor. Working as an analyst for the CIA, Beth’s focus for years has been to identify the person recruiting agents for the Iranian government. When she is unceremoniously removed from her division and moved to a lesser assignment with all access to her previous mission denied, she becomes obsessed with finishing the job. Living in the perfect neighborhood with her perfect family and seemingly perfect neighbors, Beth suddenly finds herself on the outside of everything. Her total focus becomes completing her operation as she becomes suspicious of everyone, including her closest friends, and sets out to prove herself right. How far are people willing to go to protect their families? How far are family members willing to go to maintain the pretense of perfection? The book has its good moments but, for a CIA agent, Beth seems amateurish so her actions lack authenticity.

This page was a page turner, I didn’t want to put it down. It kept you guessing who “the neighbor” was.

Idyllic neighborhood, perfect family, meaningful career. CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all—

Until she doesn’t.

Now, facing an empty nest and a broken marriage, Beth is moving from the cul-de-sac she’s long called home, and the CIA is removing her from the case that’s long been hers: tracking an elusive Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor.

Madeline Sterling moves into Beth’s old house. She has what Beth once had: an adoring husband, three beautiful young children, and the close-knit group of neighbors on the block. Now she has it all. And Beth—who can’t stop watching the woman stepping in to her old life—thinks the new neighbor has something else too: ties to Iranian intelligence.

Is Beth just jealous? Paranoid? Or is something more at play?

After all, most of the families on the cul-de-sac have some tie to the CIA. They’re all keeping secrets. And they all know more about their neighbors than they should. It would be the perfect place to insert a spy—unless one was there all along.

Wow, this is how it is done. First you drive them crazy and have them doubt herself, husband leaves! then the agency doubts you! Your done! Help the children?

Beth has lived in a beautiful home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Langley, VA, for years, as she worked at the CIA trying to track down an Iranian Intelligence Agent known as 'The Neighbor'. When her son heads off to college, her husband decides it's time to go their separate ways, and Beth finds herself sidelined at work.

Suddenly she's living alone, away from her friends, shut out of the investigation she has been a part of for many years. She sees Madeline Sterling move into her old home, with her husband and young children, seemingly taking Beth's place in the lives of her friends and her role in the cul-de-sac.

Beth starts to suspect that something isn't right in the old cul-de-sac. Who is Madeline? Is she connected to the investigation that Beth is no longer involved in? Beth starts digging on her own, still determine to discover the identity of 'The Neighbor'.

This was a slow burn in the first half of the book, before taking off in many directions for the second half. It had so many twists and turns. I was a little disappointed in Beth's behavior and many wild theories, as it just didn't seem to fit a seasoned counter terrorist investigator. The ending was stunning, and while totally unrealistic, I did find it a unique way to finish the book.

This was a quick and enjoyable read. It could have been stronger if Beth's character was a little more realistic, but a good book nonetheless.

Summer beach read alert!! Quick-paced, small chapters novel with twists and turns to keep your head spinning just enough….love when the setting in a novel in like another character and this book’s setting is just that. Read in two sittings propelled to see how it resolved. Suspend belief and know that it’s like a made for TV movie that is entertaining yet silly and unbelievable. Thanks to Ballantine for the copy!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. Cleveland puts a new twist, Iranian Intelligence, on an old jealous of a former life, book plot. Lots of secrets and neighbors to keep track of, but a good story.

Slow to really get started and not quite as illusive or action packed as previous works by Cleveland. Would recommend “Need to Know” and “You Can Run”! (Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!)

Having trouble figuring out how I feel about this one to be completely honest. The premise of the woman not being believed because too much is going wrong in her life at the moment and becoming obsessive felt over played and I found myself becoming agitated with the main character and some of her traits. Couldn’t stand Mike and really didn’t like how things ended with his character. The ending was good! It was easy to figure out as she had 3 kids and the book really only gave us insight into 1 of them once everything started happening. I read this in a day though so that has to say something about it’s ability to hold my attention. I’d say give it a try if you’re on the fence!

I had high hopes for this novel by Karen Cleveland but it fell a little short for me. I think it was a good mystery, but a little lacking in the addictive nature that her other novels have been for me. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

📚Book 24 of 2022: The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland

💬Reader’s digest version: Beth Bradford has it all..or so she thinks..perfect family..an exciting job in the CIA and a beautiful home in a cul-de-sac surrounded by neighbors who are more like family. But dark secrets loom beneath the surface..and the world as Beth knows it is about to come crashing down.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: I liked the spy thriller aspect of this book. There were tons of twists and turns..I never knew who I could trust which added another layer of intrigue. Aside from that, I would say this was an “ok” beach read. The ending was fairly predictable..and the main character was a little bland. Overall, didn’t hate it..didn’t love it but it was a quick, fun read.

🙏🏻Big thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the arc! You can check out The New Neighbor when it hits shelves on July 26th!

If I could have read The New Neighbor in one sitting I would have. Beth is a CIA agent who has been tracking an Iranian spy network for much of her career. Just as she is convinced that she has solved the case, she is taken off the case and moved to another division. But she cannot just stop after all the work she has put in. The book is very suspenseful and I was compelled to find out who the new neighbor was. The ending was a shock! It just goes to show that you never really know about the people around you, so be cautious!

This is one of the better thrillers that I have read lately. This is my first book by this author, but I will look for her again. I had such sympathy for the protagonist, Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst, dealing with so many difficulties at once, that most would be destroyed. Her husband ends their marriage, they sell the house she has lived in and raised her kids in, her youngest child goes off to college, and she is demoted at her job with the CIA. It is hard to say much about what happens next, but this book is a page turner. I really liked Beth and spent most of the book hoping she would be vindicated and not turn out to be having a breakdown. Those who love a good thriller will enjoy this one! I have already recommended it to several readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Beth is a CIA analyst working for the Iranian Counter-terrorism division. She lives on a cull-de-sack in Langley with others that work for our country. Beth has been working on one particular case for years, without any real breaks in the case, but she knows that is going to change soon. Life is about to change for Beth. After she and her husband take their youngest to college, they decide it is time to sell their home. Unbeknown to Beth, her husband has bought another home for himself and announces that he is ready for a divorce. The only thing she has left in her life is her work. She goes back earlier than expected and finds she has been taken off of the Iranian case and sent elsewhere to teach.

Beth just can’t let her case go. She knows she is close to finding out who “The Neighbor” is. She starts doing reconnaissance of her own, drinking more than usual and as more information comes available, she starts believing the person she has been looking for just bought her house!

Twist and turns that I didn’t see coming kept this book in my hands until I was finished. I loved the story and could easily see a sequel if the writer wanted.

Tantalizing thriller from beginning to the end! Even though I had my suspicions on the "who done it" it was a brilliant web of tales. I was a bit worried for Beth in the beginning as I felt she was being a bit careless in her efforts, but it quickly came together and started twisting a nice story until the end.

Whew! Such an exciting thriller about infiltration into the CIA. Beth Bradford is a CIA analyst and for 15 years she has been trying to locate “the neighbor”. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances she is taken off of that duty.
Beth and her husband Mike and their children had moved to a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood where most of the residents worked for the government. Beth and the other ladies in the neighborhood would sit out in their lawn chairs and drink wine and watch the kids play. But suddenly most of the kids are grown up and Mike wants a divorce as soon as their youngest Tyler graduates.

They sell their house to Madeleine Sterling and her husband, but Beth finds something strange about them! She has been taken off the case to find the neighbor but she can’t let it go. She is starting to find more and more clues and starts believing her friends are the neighbor. Is Beth going crazy are people trying to make her believe she is! The suspense was killing me to figure out who was the neighbor! I thought I had figured it out twice. The deceiving, manuplations and threats were unbelievable but so possible.
I hope Karen Cleveland as another book to continue this story.

I received this ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

National and international security are at stake and one woman’s quest to put a stop to the threat is thwarted at every point until she gets bold. Clues come together, the tables turn so many times, but will you actually figure out the threat before it’s too late?
Cleveland’s plot is thick with suspicious events, gas lighting and questions of sanity before unfolding into a clear picture. The characters are like you, me, our neighbors and friends, which makes it that much harder to pinpoint when you think you know someone! Well done- a real page turner that I couldn't put down.

I have mixed feelings about this story. The blurb and concept intrigued me and I couldn’t wait to dive in. It had the suspense and thrill of what could happen next. But it also had slow times where I was confused and I had to reread and think back. The twists were there and it had me back wondering where it would go next. I’m giving it a 3.5. I would certainly give it a read if you love suspense, drama and a lot of twists and turns.

Beth and her husband Mike live on a cul-de-sac in McLean. She was a long term CIA agent working for a number of years on a case searching for an Iranian agent known as The Neighbor. She and her husband have been married twenty-five years and had lived in their house for approximately seventeen years. Their daughters have already left home, one to marriage and the other a job in England. Their son just started college. Her husband then informed her that he is also moving out as their marriage was well over. The next day she goes to her job only to learn that she has been taken off the case and transferred to a teaching position. The novel deals with her continuing search for The Neighbor as well as her past life. Unfortunately I found much of it to be simplistic and figured out who The Neighbor was by chapter 2. It is formulaic and the gaslighting doesn’t help. Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine for an ARC for an honest review.

To be a CIA analyst and get taken off the case that Beth has been woking on for years, is bad enough, but to also be an empty nester and have a husband who is moving out, just about sends Beth over the edge. She lives in a nice cul-de-sac and has many friends there, but when she is forced to leave her home, she begins to watch Madeline who has moved into her house. Something just does not seem right and suddenly her old friends seem to have secrets. Is it just Beth's imagination or is there really something going on.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.