Thank you to @RandonHouse and #NetGalley for a digital ARC of #TheNewNeighbor in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I discovered Karen Cleveland on NetGalley with her first book "Need to Know". And I've continued to enjoy all of her books. Cleveland returns to familiar territory in #TheNewNeighbor. Beth Bradford is a CIA analyst who's been tracking an Iranian target for years. But things are changing rapidly in Beth's life and she's not sure who she can trust.

This book felt a little formulaic to me, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, a decent spy thriller that keeps you guessing until the end.

Thanks so much netgalley for the chance to read this book! It really had you wondering oh gosh is this person “the neighbor”!? I never would’ve guessed the ending! I enjoyed this book.

We follow Beth, a CIA agent as she is pulled off a case she has spent 15 years trying to solve. The Neighbor, an Iranian asset on US soil - and Beth has been obsessed with uncovering their identity. But just as she thinks she's getting close to solving their identity, she is transferred out of CIC to start teaching agents in training. But Beth refuses to let the case go.

I found myself really frustrated with Beth. She is irrational and paranoid and it's no wonder the CIA won't listen to her, even when she has good points. She accuses almost every other character in the book of being the neighbor.

Even when I was annoyed though I couldn't stop reading. The pacing is great and it never stalls. The last 20% is really good. I thought I had solved the identity of the Neighbor early on, and I was very much mistaken, just like Beth.

Overall I give this 3.5 stars, rounded up. Thank you netgalley and Random house ballantine for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Karen Cleveland has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and I'm always on the lookout for new books by her. I'm sure Cleveland's career as a CIA analyst has a lot to do with how realistic her books are.

The characters in this story are extremely well developed, and the plot kept me glued to the pages as I held my breath hoping Beth, the main character, didn't get in trouble as she made risky decisions and took chances that seemed to be at once necessary but also scary.

In our present day world, much of the content in Cleveland's books seem to be closer to reality than any of us would care to think.

What a fast paced twisty thriller. When CIA agent Beth gets kicked out of her case she has been working on for 15 years, she is more determined than ever to solve it. The question who is The Neighbor that is working for the Iranians. When new clues emerge she is determined to get her hands on them and when she does she finds this case hits a little to close to home. This begins the reader on a wild ride of twists and turns where everybody is suspect. And the ending will just blow you away. WOW. I WILL BE READING MORE FROM, THIS AUTHOR

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know what was going to happen next. However, while the book definitely kept my interest I felt that the entire story was just too far-fetched and the characters were not likeable or easy to relate to.

The story is about CIA agent Beth Bradford whose husband leaves her after a 25 year marriage and they move out of their idyllic cul-de-sac neighborhood (filled with other CIA agents). Beth finds out she has been pulled off the case she has been working for years- chasing down an Iranian terrorist known as The Neighbor. Beth then is convinced the woman that has bought her home is The Neighbor and is trying to recruit her old friends and neighbors and she is determined to stop her through any means necessary.

I will say the story is fast paced and I did enjoy it overall despite it not being believable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVE a thriller/ mystery that takes place in a neighborhood or enclosed community. This book lived up to those standards. It kept me at the edge of my seat the whole story. This was my first Karen Cleveland novel and I can’t wait to read more.

This was entertaining. I expected a neighborhood drama full of people picking sides, but this involved the CIA and FBI and an off-the-rails lead character. I did fly through it and I'd recommend for a good beach read. But by the end, I may have wanted to shout WHO WASN'T the Neighbor ???

Suspene to the nth degree.Lots of twists and turns which capture the imagination.Fabulous ending. buy this book.

Every neighbor in this new twist on a spy thriller is a suspect. The setting in the DC area, on a cul-de-sac, is full of couples and families. Most have lived there many years. They know each others kids, share gossip, drink coffee or some wine together. At least one spouse works at Langley in some capacity for the CIA. They don't discuss their confidential work cases.
The neighborhood is about to change. Beth has spent fifteen years in Iranian counterintelligence, specifically to shut down a commander named Reza Karimi. He has a US agent planted, "The Neighbor", who is key to his operation. Rumor has it a "New Neighbor" is being groomed.
Beth and husband, Mike, have settled the youngest of their three kids at college. They no longer need the large house, it's been sold, they're moving. Beth is nostalgic, years of memories, leaving all her friends, and curiosity about the new neighbors moving into her home. Little does she know how much change is ahead. Mike isn't moving to the temporary condo with her. Her boss is putting her out to pasture (teaching), and reassigning her case.
Beth cannot let go of the neighborhood or the case. She becomes obsessively focused on the young couple who now own her house, especially Madeline. But her focus will shift as more clues surface or her paranoid imagination sees new information.
Her best friend, Alice, isn't even above suspicion.  Alice is married to Charles, they're the Kanes. Nobody believes Beth, not Erin and Sean, the O’Malley's, not Des or her husband Darryl, not the Patels’, not widower Jim. Alice has asked Beth to stop, so have others. The covert spying, lurking in her car and snooping has gone beyond reasonable, especially since she's off the case. Her former friends and neighbors think she needs to get professional mental health care.
Even I began to believe she was seriously crazy. She felt left out and missed her old life, she's jealous of the young new young couple who've taken her place. It became tedious. Then Beth sucked me in with new theories, different suspects, I was convinced one neighbor after another was "the New Neighbor". Was Beth just seeing things? Does she need psychiatric help? Or is there really a "New Neighbor "? You will have to read to discover who's lying, cheating, an alcoholic, spying, drowning in debt, or if there is a real " New Neighbor ".
It was a suspense filled story by an author I have not read previously, thoroughly enjoyed it! Would recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "The New Neighbor" by Karen Cleveland and to Ballantine Books. These are my honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

Beth lives in a neighborhood close to Langley and most of her neighbors are employed in various departments of the CIA. They are prevented from discussing their work with anyone. Beth has dedicated her efforts to locate an Iranian spy for 15 years and believes she’s close to an answer. She is surprised and devastated when she returns from a vacation to learn that she is removed from this job and moved to a teaching position. She does not have access to any of her previous work and is bared from learning anything further. This is unacceptable to Beth and she becomes obsessive in keeping up her research. She becomes suspicious her neighbors. Her life is spinning out of control and people are questioning her sanity. The twist at the end is unsettling.

The New Neighbor
by Karen Cleveland
Pub Date: July 26, 2022
Ballantine
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. It was a great thriller!
Did you know? The author, Karen Cleveland spent eight years as a CIA analyst, the last six in counterterrorism.
Maybe that is why this book is so well written and a fast read. It was not obvious from the beginning who the new neighbor was.
Loved it!
4 stars

I thought this book was excellent. I love spy thrillers and it helps that the author is actually former CIA. This had a very gripping plot and I found myself questioning what was going on with main protagonist Beth several times throughout. There were a lot of suspects to the identity of "The Neighbor" and a lot of twists and turns that just kept on coming, with an ending that was completely unexpected. I love when my thrillers are page-turners rather than slow burns and this one did not disappoint. I couldn't put this one down. Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for this DRC in exchange for an honest review. This one will definitely be recommended to patrons and I will rush to read more from this author. 5 stars.

I found this one very hard to get into. The whoa is me attitude of the main character really got under my skin.

Around 35% I almost put the book down and chalked it up to be a DNF. It just wasn’t keeping my attention and I was kinda bored of all the jealousy and overly detailed descriptions. I told myself just try one more chapter, and all I can say is wow, I’m glad I did. After that the story started picking up and then I could not put it down. I thought I had the book figured out but it kept making me second guess my theories or it completely demolished my theories. Part of my theory was correct, but everything else came out of left field. I love a good book that I can’t guess the ending to. Loved of great twists and turns! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed this book from start to finish! It’s been on my TBR for quite some time now, and I’m happy I chose this as the next contender! The book centers around CIA analyst Beth, who we quickly learn is becoming an empty nester, going through a divorce, moving out of her beloved family
Home, and getting demoted at work all at once. This leads Beth to rely heavily on alcohol to get her through each day, but does not deter her from pursuing the CIA mission she was just discharged from. Obsession, paranoia, and alcohol lead her family, friends, and coworkers to lose faith and confidence in her accusations, and you as the reader is left to determine whether you believe the drunk expert or the sketchy naysayers.

This book had me snapping my head left and right trying to keep up with the twists and turns. While I found this exciting, it also led to the narrator being untrustworthy and even a bit unrealistic. This fast paced drama is a quick but confusing read. It ends on a cliffhanger/set up for a sequel, so I am excited to learn whether that comes to fruition!

I am pretty proud of myself for finishing this one because I was <—-> this close to DNF. It was a huge disappointment after the premise gave me high hopes. It was redundant, slow-moving and dull. Beth was the only character that you really got to know and there was zero character building or push for emotional attachment. I enjoyed the feeling of you don’t know who your enemy is or Beth is alone in a race against time but I’m sorry but I do not recommend this story at all.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This is one of the most compelling and suspenseful stories I have read in a while. I think it is even better than Need to Know also by Karen Cleveland. Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst, is going through a personal crisis—her youngest has left for college and her husband has left now that the nest is empty. As if that isn’t enough to deal with, she is removed from the project she has been working on for years—trying to track down an Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor. She can’t let go of the project and continues to investigate on her own, confronting friends and neighbors. Most of the neighbors in her former neighborhood have ties to the CIA, Beth also believes Madeline Sterling, who has moved into Beth’s old house, may have ties to Iranian intelligence. Is Beth losing it due to the stress she is under, or is she getting close to discovering who The Neighbor really is. I can’t say more or it would spoil the story, but the ending really surprised me.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. The publish date for The New Neighbor is July 26, 2022. I highly recommend it.
#TheNewNeighbor, #KarenCleveland, #NetGalley

What a wild ride! This book was very interesting from the start. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day! Lots of twists and turns and the ending surely shocked me.