I’m definitely in the minority with my 2 star rating but this story fell flat for me and I could not connect with any of the characters. DNF at 45%. The whole story about the CIA just had me totally confused. I’m sure it’s just me! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.

I really liked the plot/storyline. What I didn't care for was all the CIA lingo. I spent too much time trying to understand it all. I felt like I was being tested on CIA terminology. This book would have been much better for me without all that. Intriguing book if you left some of that out though. Lots of twists when trying to find out who was actually the neighbor.

This was great! I loved the authors first book, the second was good but didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. Fortunately this one did and j flew through it! It was a great thriller!

This book was interesting. It had a good idea for a plot and builds up well as you try to figure out who the neighbor is and whether the lead character is loosing her mind. It has a lot of twist and turns but the ending feels rushed and like it was all tied up in a pretty package. Overall, a pretty good read but the ending is just ok.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

This is my first Karen Cleveland book and it won't be my last! What a page turner, full of twist and turns!
Beth works for the CIA and lives in the 'perfect' neighborhood on the 'perfect' cul de sac. She and her neighbors share a love of country, as they all work for the CIA or other departments of the government.
The story begins when Beth and her husband, Mike, drop off their youngest for college. They begin to sell their house, rent a temporary home and begin their new life as empty nesters- and this is when the excitement begins!

Beth had been working on an old cold case and is taken off of it. She is given a new position, but can't stop investigating her cold case. This leads her to suspecting her neighbors, breaking into their homes, using burner phones and spying from her car. Her friends begin to think that Beth has been drinking too much, her kids are gone, her husband left her...... what is really happening on this quiet street?

I thought I figured this out three different times, but I was wrong each time! The ending left me wanting more, I wonder if there will be a sequel? I sure hope so!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House for the digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

The New Neighbor is the story of Beth Bradford who is working for the CIA. Beth’s main mission is to find a foreign spy who is called The Neighbor. At some point, everything seems to be turning against her when her life changes on both personal and professional levels. Her marriage is failing and the CIA decides to take her case from her and hand it to someone else. Just when she was getting close to finding out about the spy’s identity the case is taken from her. However, Beth decides to continue to do her own work to find the spy but in the process, she will suspect many people. She cannot trust anybody. She has to be on her own until she finds the neighbor.

I’m usually not a fan of stories that involve the CIA and espionage. When I decided to pick up this thriller I just read the first line from the synopsis “Secrets, jealousy, and paranoia collide when a seemingly perfect new family moves into a neighborhood”. I do this with all the thrillers because sometimes the synopsis contains spoilers that might spoil the story for me. I prefer to get into the book blindly. I had no idea this story was about espionage or the CIA. I thought it involved a new neighbor in a small town who would cause problems for the residents or something like that. Despite not being what I thought it was, I still think this was a decent thriller.

The author kept the plot moving by making the main character suspect many different characters. So the pace was consistent throughout the book. I can’t say there is much character development because this is a story in which the main focus is the plot itself. There are many twists and turns that will keep the fans of the genre interested. I think readers who enjoy reading about espionage will enjoy it a lot.

Many thanks to the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

My first Karen Cleveland book and it will definitely not be my last! I really enjoyed this one! Read this, you’ll love it!!

A new family moves in with connections to the CIA, Beth, a CIA analyst who had it all, thinks her new neighbor is part of Iranian intelligence. Who are these neighbors, does she know anything about them. Great new thriller by Karen Cleveland.

📖 The New Neighbor
✍️ Karen Cleveland
🔪 Thriller
#️⃣ 320 pages
🗓️ 07/26/22

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley + Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Beth once had the perfect life; a beautiful family, an idyllic neighborhood and a career she loved: tracking an Iranian intelligence operative known as The Neighbor. All of a sudden, Beth finds the life she once loved completely upended… her husband has left, the kids are grown and out of the nest, she’s being taken off her CIA assignment and there’s a new family moving into her beautiful house. Only… there’s something suspicious about the cul-de-sac’s new neighbor…could the target Beth has been searching for for years really be right under her nose?

When I tell you this story was fast-paced, I mean it flew by lightning quick!! I was on the edge of my seat for the entire ride. I loved the writing style - every chapter ended in a bit of a cliffhanger that kept you desperate to read more. It read like an episode of 24 which is really the highest praise I can give. I love storylines that have to deal with CIA/FBI… takes you right back to the days of prime time political/investigation dramas. My gut instinct is that this is *not* how foreign intelligence agents actually operate (lol) but I couldn’t tell ya for sure! Overall, I just really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend!

🏘️ Single POV
🏘️ Multiple timelines
🏘️ Fast-paced
🏘️ Short chapters
🏘️ CIA/FBI investigation storyline
🏘️ Explores what you’d do to protect your family
🏘️ Epilogue

#caitsquietplacereviews #caitsquietplace #cqpthrillers #thenewneighbor #ballantinebooks #netgalley

The New Neighbor is a fast paced, thrilling read. I cannot wait to use this one for a book club event. And that ending...*chef's kiss*!

I have been on a roll with books that I have loved reading lately, and this one is no exception. Did I think I was going to like it as much as I did? Nope - because I can be narrow-minded and judge-y when it comes to certain genres. I generally love thrillers, but think of spy thrillers as "boy stuff" and too brainy for me. I usually have a hard time following and understanding the complexities. But, I need to stop making assumptions and doing that, because this really was a fantastic read. Very twisty and turny and riveting, and I had no problems following right where the author wanted me to go. The reason it's not 5 stars then? Well.....for a seasoned counterintelligence agent, she sure did suspect everybody. When that person didn't pan out, she'd move on to the next. I suppose maybe that's a good thing and the correct way to do things so you follow the clues and evidence, but she just didn't seem to have great instincts. It's my neighbor, no her husband, no the other neighbor's husband, eek nope I mean the OTHER other neighbor, well that wasn't it, so maybe the neighbor's dog. Other than that, this was a thrilling little thriller.

Beth Bradford and her husband Mike have just dropped their last child off at college. They have a buyer for the large home they raised their children in and are downsizing. The cul-de-sac they have lived in will be getting a new neighbor and Beth is feeling sad.

But wait, things can always get worse! Turns out Mike is not moving in with Beth. He has a place of his own and wants a divorce. PIle on top of that her demotion as she calls it at the CIA. For fifteen years she has been chasing a terrorist who is known as The Neighbor. Recruiting in the states now. But she is nowhere close to solving this case and when she goes to work she is told she is being transferred to a teaching facility.

But Beth has had way too much piled on her this week. She begins spying on the couple that bought their house after she sees a message from The neighbor saying they have moved to a new cul-de-sac. There is something suspicious about the woman. Her story doesn’t check out. And the more she digs the more secrets she finds among the neighbors she once called friends.

Madeline has moved into Beth’s old house. She knows way too much about Beth and the neighbors. Beth thinks she may be the link to the neighbor.

Is she being paranoid? Almost all of the neighbors work for Langley, so secrets are the norm.

Beth isn’t a quitter and she isn’t giving up on this case. Even after she’s told to let it go and people are hinting she is unstable. But she isn’t letting it go. And neither is Madeline.

The ending was shocking and unexpected. I will be looking at my neighbors in a new light now.

NetGalley/July 26th, 2022 by Ballantine Books

Two things are downright terrifying about The New Neighbor. The first is how easy Karen Cleveland makes it seem for a foreign spy or terrorist to infiltrate an ordinary American community and bribe (usually by offering to pay off substantial debt) or blackmail (with evidence of an affair or illegal activity) people into turning against their own country. The second is...if Beth Bradford is a typical CIA intelligence officer, well, it explains how simple it is to find these traitors. Beth has been working in Iranian intelligence for decades, and much of that time has been in pursuit of The Neighbor, an especially adapt terrorist preying on US citizens with a secret. Just when Beth appears close to uncovering the identity of The Neighbor she is pulled off the case and sent to teach new CIA analysts. But Beth can't let go that quickly (especially when evidence suggests there's a New Neighbor in town) and her dogged determination to find The Neighbor goes from dangerous to deranged. You want to feel sorry for Beth-her husband has just left her and she is facing an empty nest with their youngest child heading off to college-but you also wonder how in the world she got so far ahead in her career. Beth bungles basic investigative tactics like a stakeout. But underneath these inadequacies is a tantalizing plot with terrific writing and twists galore. The New Neighbor is fast paced and engaging, and in the end, scarily plausible. It will have you looking at your neighbors with very suspicious eyes.

The beginning of the book was definitely a slow start and it took me a while to get into it. I picked it up and put it down several times before I was hooked enough to finish it. Overall it was very well written and I liked the main character Beth.

I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone but I wouldn't stop someone from reading it either.

I enjoyed this book. It was engaging, kept me interested, and kept me reading. My only complaint would be that the main character made some decisions that, given her profession, were pretty unlikely. Regardless, I was entertained by the story and recommend it.

I was given a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this book 2 months ago but it made so little of an impact that I'm just getting around to reviewing it now. As a story, it was "fine" - but my biggest pet peeve in mystery thrillers are the "stupid" characters, and I'm sorry to say the main character was one. Suspecting everyone of everything, when dozens of other reasonable explanations exist. Not a bad summer read, but not one that's particularly memorable.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland. All
thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an ARC to review.


Secrets, jealousy, and paranoia collide when a seemingly perfect new family moves into a neighborhood with ties to the CIA.

While this book started a bit slow, it soon had me hooked and suspecting everyone. Beth, as a character, was very engaging. And I loved the unreliable narrative that the author gave us. Often I wasn't sure if Beth was as intelligent as was indicated or if she was having a mental breakdown because of all the recent changes in her life. I won't go into spoiler details, but I did love the way everything played out. And I did not at all guess the final twist, and it left me contemplating the story's events for days after I finished. I give The New Neighbor 4./5 stars.

After reading this book you may not want to buy the house in a quiet neighborhood on the end of the cul de sac. It might look ideal but you truly never know what goes on behind closed doors. Although you think you know your neighbors really well they might turn out to surprise you.

I loved Beth in this book and how she believed the good in everyone. She kept following her gut even though no one would believe her. She finally solved the case.

I was shocked at the end by who the new neighbor was!

Great fast paced, engaging read.

DNF I stopped reading at 40 percent because I was bored out of my mind. I liked the character of Beth and the writing, I just didn’t care if the woman who bought Beth’s house was a bad guy.

Beth works for the CIA, but she’s taken off a case that she’s long been working on and has essentially been demoted to a teacher. All of her children are out of the house, and now, the marriage that hasn’t been working for a while is over, too.

Unfortunately, reading about Beth staking out her old neighborhood and doing reconnaissance online about her new neighbor Madeline is extremely dull to read about. She thinks Madeline might have ties to Iranian intelligence. Since I didn’t finish it I don’t know, but I also don’t care.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JULY 26, 2022.