THE NEW NEIGHBOR takes a readers on a relentless series of Beth Bradford's hunches and paranoia. There are constant doubts about her reliability as the narrator with this first person perspective. Everyone—absolutely everyone—in Beth's life thinks she's mentally degrading when her marriage breaks up and she has to face an empty nest at a new "home" for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Early on in The New Neighbor, Beth and her husband Mike face the shift in their family composition as the last child is dropped off at college. One daughter is already overseas; the other married and about to settle into her own idyllic house. Beth constantly flashes back to the happier times when she and Mike were inseparable and when the children were small and excited about living on the cul-de-sac.

As the publisher's summary states, all of these neighbors on the cul-de-sac in the D.C. suburbs have connections to the CIA specifically or other government ties. The case that Beth has run for fifteen years is a target working for terrorist Reza Karimi and this target, believed to be an American turned traitor, is Beth's white whale. She's unceremoniously booted from her own case and sent to the academy to teach, a sign of the CIA not thinking she's fit for field work or analysis.

Beth and Mike are supposed to be going their separate ways into new smaller living accommodations. However, Beth cannot let go of the love and memories of their old house on the cul-de-sac and how close all the neighbors were. She obsessively monitors the wife of the new couple who bought her house. As anyone can see coming, this irrational obsession blows up in her face at the midpoint of the story. Karen Cleveland never ever gives Beth down time. Her idea of down time is repeatedly watching the few minutes of home security footage she has of Madeline and her husband looking at the house before they move in. If it's not that footage, Beth finds ways of stealing classified information she can no longer access. This pace is continuous within Beth's mind as she questions every decision she ever made and whether or not any of her friends are traitors.

Karen Cleveland has Beth (and readers) suspicious of every single character in every chapter. Not only will readers also doubt Beth's mental health, but as with life and government ties, no one is ever completely honest.

By the second half of the book, poor Beth faces reversal after reversal. There are new prime suspects as to The Neighbor's identity every few chapters. From seventy percent through to ninety-seven percent, it's still anyone's guess as to who The Neighbor is, their location, and the people who have been recruited to give up information for Karimi.

After the climax, the ending moments are brilliantly twisted. The new woman living in Beth's old house, Madeline, gets a chapter from her perspective. This is the first time readers are in someone else's head. It has a huge impact.

Likewise, the Epilogue is a shocker. No spoilers.

Other than extremely minor nitpicking about how well-trained people would or wouldn't put loaded pistols down their waistbands rather than in holsters that fit inside waistbands, there's nothing to criticize.

CIA Analyst Beth Bradford has spent her career hunting a terrorist known as The Neighbor while living an idyllic life with her family on a cul-de-sac with all her best friends. But in one day that all falls apart after she drops her youngest child off at college for his freshman year and heads into work to find that she's been removed from not just the case but denied all access into the counter-terrorism unit. She heads home to her husband to spend their last 2 days in the house they sold after living there for years to downsize as empty nesters to find out that her husband is leaving her. Worst. Day. Ever. The only thing she can try and hold onto is her search for The Neighbor and that's when things go from bad to worse.

The words psychological thriller and unreliable narrator came to me as reading this book because Beth is just spinning out of control - or is she? This book will keep you guessing as to the identity of The Neighbor and what's left of Beth's sanity. It's an enjoyable quick read that will make your head spin.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Beth Bradford has had one case for most of her career at the CIA: The Neighbor. A recruiting asset for a foreign national with terrorist ties. Until she gets relegated to teaching new analysts. Beth, however, had a hard time getting go of her case. She continues to search on her own- causing more than one complication.

I really enjoyed this book. It slows down in the middle, but the twist at the end is worth the wait. I was kept guessing and guessing and guessing as the who the "Neighbor" was. Though I was sure I had figured out who it was (and thinking it was painfully obvious) I'm happy to report that not only was I wrong but I was way off. I love when that happens and I literally gasp at the ending.

My one hang up is that slow down in the middle. Beth gets painted as crazy and she gets very manic and unsettled. It's good writing as it caused me to be unsettled and frustrated for her, but for me it lasted longer than necessary.

All in all an excellent read! 4⭐

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

This one was way out there. It has a good pace but got kind of silly as thrillers get. It was a bit over the top but I could not put it down because I needed to know what happened next.

Karen Cleveland books are always a treat and I was really excited to read this one. It was a really solid read. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this one. Can't wait to read her next one!

This was my first book from this author & it won't be my last! It did start of a little slow at first but it still kept my interested & couldn't put it down, I just needed to know what was going to happen next. The ending was also so good!

This is the first book I read by Karen Cleveland. I didn't love it. I found a lot of it mundane. The ending did not help redeem the book.
I received this galley from Netgalley.

Idyllic neighborhood, perfect family, meaningful career. CIA analyst Beth Bradford has it all— Until she doesn’t.

I fell that there were too many twists and turns in this book. Just as we were getting over something a new thing slams right into us.
About half way through the book I was able to guess who the agent known as The Neighbor was, and at one point I had an idea on who the next one was going to be and it was confirmed later on.

With being able to guess this it took me out of the story for the most part.


Thank you NG and Ballantine Books for the review copy.

This is my first book by this author, it started out a little slow and confusing but somewhere along the way it totally grabbed my attention. There were so many angles to this story and all the characters were intertwined since they all lived on the same cul-de-sac.

After Beth dropped off her last child at college, her life basically fell apart but she ended up getting mad and was one very determined lady-it did seem like she was a little crazy at times and kept me guessing the entire story, but this ended up being one really great story with lots of twists and turns and a totally unexpected ending. i definetly will read more by this author! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The New Neighbor is not your typical domestic thriller. It's a domestic spy thriller! We follow Beth Bradford, a CIA agent, who is experiencing life changes in her home life and at work. Quick paced with characters you love to hate. Good plot twists and red herrings. Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4 Stars

If you're looking for a read full of twists and turns, I recommend checking out The New Neighbor. It's incredibly fast-paced and will leave you on the edge of your seat. The story follows Beth Bradford, a CIA analyst who has been working on trying to find out who The Neighbor is. She arrives at work after a vacation to learn that she is being moved to the school where they train new analysts and taken off the case.

I'm not saying anymore because it seemed like every chapter featured another plot twist. And that ending... OOF! Did not see that coming.

Highly recommend checking out this suspenseful novel!

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars!

When I tell you that this book needs to be rushed to be able to get through it... I'm not lying. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the story is bad, the complete opposite. It's the story of a CIA agent that becomes unreliable in everyone's eyes and she takes it upon herself to prove everyone wrong and solve the case. It's completely cringeworthy reading the things she is doing and reading how paranoid she is but it makes the story even juicier. I loved it. Even more, because it left me with a “WTF?” look on my face when I was done reading. Give it a try. So worth it.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland. Pub Date: July 26, 2022. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟. I’ve read two of this author’s other books and find her stories to be intriguing, fresh and love the espionage aspects as well. Unfortunately, this one was just ok for me. Beth is a CIA Analyst who is in the midst of losing everything, her house, marriage and her spot tracking an Iranian intelligence agent. When she moves out of her house, she starts to wonder about the woman who moves into her old home. She begins to question everything and starts to wonder if she has connections to Iranian intelligence. The books borders on paranoia, second guesses and espionage. Thanks to #netgalley and #ballantinebooks for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #thenewneighbor #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads

First and foremost, I appreciate receiving an advanced copy from NetGalley, Karen Cleveland , and Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.

I have ambivalence about The New Neighbor. I have found the writing of Cleveland’s previous three novels to be uneven. Her debut was a five star rating, the second was a low 2 star, and the third received a 3 star. Now this one: liked it but didn't love it. I like a story that grabs me from the start, but It has a frustratingly SLOW start; it did pick up steam after 80 pages. However, the pacing is still problematic due to ALL the scenarios when Beth jumped heater skeleton from one accusation to another. It becomes tedious and her character does as well. She is almost manic as she flits from person to person in her attempt to find the spy. It’s better for the protagonist to be a likable character , but I didn't feel connected with her or the characters. She loses credibility and likability! In addition to Beth’s jumping around, so did the events. I disliked the transitioning from past to present without any notice - hard to differentiate the setting at times.

I love espionage spy thrillers, but this one isn’t a favorite. Too many characters, too many twists and too many events that were unrealistic including the over-the-top, incredulous ending.

Fun read, although the slow burn isn’t enjoyable. Three stars is good ranking from me! I will read Karen Cleveland again. I enthusiastically look forward to her book publications awaiting one that will thrill me as her debut did!

This one had some good points but it had some bad ones too. Beth Bradford has the perfect family, house, job and neighbors until secrets on her cul-de-sac come to light. A strong point about this book is that Beth is a CIA agent which I thought was a different twist on the main character. I think some weaknesses of the book include how quickly she suspects her neighbors of terrorism. That seemed like a big leap but perhaps it is because I am just an ordinary person? I felt like her behavior turned creepy and stalkerish quickly so I couldn't really like her character. There were so many flashbacks and I almost felt like the author was trying too hard to add twists and build suspense. It was a cat and mouse book with twists and turns but not in a good way. It was stressful. I kind of felt like, "Alright already, just tell me who did it!!" It did keep me interested but it was not one of my favorites. Thank you for the ARC!

DNF @ 18%

Sadly The New Neighbor did not work for me. I could tell by just reading the first few pages on the digital copy that this writing style may not be up my alley so I decided to wait for the audiobook from my library. The audiobook has not increased my enjoyment of the writing style and tone one bit.

Somehow this seems both overwritten and lacking detail as the same details have been repeated in just the first few chapters. Also, this unreliable narrator is already grinding my gears. Perhaps women going through a midlife crisis (divorce, last kid off to college, job change, house selling) while being obsessed with a case and the new owners of her house is not for me as I just kept wanting to say, 'get over yourself'.

Even the small amount of CIA aspects introduced within the first few chapters are not enough to keep me going.

I hope this works for you, but it didn't work for me.

Beth is a CIA agent who lives in a neighborhood with a few other CIA employees near Langley.
They all raised their families together and became a tight knit group. As it does for us all, like is changing for Beth as she and her husband drop their youngest child off at college and head home empty nesters. That summer they had decided to put their house on the market and downsize, and it sold quickly so a move is coming up. Another big life change hits when Beth's husband tells her he feels things haven't been good with them for a while (Beth does not disagree) and wants a divorce.

She plans to focus all her energies on the case at work that has consumed her life for years, finding "The Neighbor". However, she returns to work to find she had been removed from the case and will no longer be taking part in any investigation and will have no access regarding the case.

Beth can’t let go of the case. She starts to investigate the case. She becomes obsessed with the people who bought her house, thinking the wife might be "The Neighbor". She starts to drink a bit, and starts to suspect almost everyone from her old neighborhood. She starts to think someone is watching her every move. You aren't sure if her suspicions are realistic or if she's imaging things.

This one had a lot of twistsand kept me guessing somewhat. I did figure out one part, only to be blindsided by that ending. It also was a bit of a cliffhanger so I'm hoping there's another book to come that carries on with this storyline.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book. It wasn't perfect, but it did keep me turning pages and wondering what would happen next. I did feel as though the plot was a bit much--it didn't take much for Beth to fall off the deep end, and she just couldn't seem to reel herself in and act less suspicious or stop jumping to wild conclusions. I know that she has a stressful. and important job, but Beth really needed to take a step back and think about her actions. I got a bit fed up with her. If Beth had acted smarter and more focused, this book would have been much better.

I really enjoyed this novel, personally I would highly recommend it. It was interesting and entertaining. It kept me wanting more throughout the entire book!

Beth has the perfect life. A loving husband, three grown children, the perfect neighborhood and neighbors, and the perfect job. That is until it all comes crashing down. Her youngest is off to college and so the house is on the market and is picked up instantly. Her neighborhood is gone and her husband wants a divorce. Better yet her job as a CIA agent has just derailed as well. The case she has worked forever is taken away. But Beth can’t let it go. She will do whatever she can to get to the bottom of the case. What a ride. And to say I didn’t see the end coming is an understatement. 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.