The New Neighbor is Karen Cleveland’s latest spy thriller and it was released last month! It did a good job keeping my mind working trying to figure out the twist through most of the book. Beth is a CIA analyst who has been working on identifying and Iranian spy for 15 years when she is suddenly pulled from the case and basically sent out to the CIA pasture. She thinks she was getting too close to finding the truth and vows not to give up. There were times I thought her actions were way too reckless, but she stubbornly keeps investigating off the record and she starts suspecting things were happening right in her own cul de sac. Can she figure out who is behind the spying and recruiting of new spies or is she blinded by loyalty to her friends?

This was a solid fast paced thriller that kept me engaged until the end even though I thought several things were too far-fetched. My favorite Karen Cleveland book is still Need to Know but this one is worth reading too!

"The New Neighbor" is Karen Cleveland's latest CIA thriller with just as many twists and turns as her previous novels. A group of neighbors, living in an idyllic neighborhood, think they know everything about each other. They think everyone is trustworthy, and things are safe. But just when you think you have an idea what is going on, something happens to take you in a different direction.

I am loving this series and am really curious if all of the books will somehow tie together down the line, if all the storylines will converge. I can't wait for the next novel!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Nothing is worse than new neighbors, right?! Enjoyed this book, really loved Beth’s character as well. I always love an original storyline and this one really delivered.

I had a hard time getting through this one. It moved very slowly. Wouldn’t recommend to friends or family.

I enjoyed this book a lot, got me invested right from the start. Beth has devoted her life to her family and her mission at the CIA of finding The Neighbor. She loses access to the case and does her own investigation, in particular of her friends in her old neighborhood. People whose lives seem together, people she has known for years and trusts. But can she trust anyone? Esp with our national security on the line against Iran.

The New Neighbor is a cleverly written suspense novel by Karen Cleveland, a new author to me. I chose the book based on the NetGalley description and general theme, and I very much enjoyed reading it. Focused on a bunch of FBI and CIA operatives, the protagonist is in search of a spy gone rogue... and it just so happens she and her husband have sold their house, leaving a new neighbor to move into the cul de sac with all their former friends. Which one of these people knows something about the rogue spy? The novel held my attention, but it has a slow first half. The suspense is in the neurotic obsession of the main character who is entirely too focused on being removed from her top case. There are reasons tho, and she may not figure them all out. Right down to the last ten pages, we're unsure who the bad person is, and when it's finally revealed, a definite surprise... I kinda guessed but wasn't emphatic about it, so it still felt shocking. Good writing, and I'll read her next book too.

The New Neighbor is the most recent installment in the Beth Bradford series. Beth is an analyst for the CIA. She is tenacious in her work. The story opens with her child headed off to college, although she has no time to enjoy the life of an empty nester because her husband moves out the same day and is seeking a divorce. As her world is crumbling around her, Beth is also removed from a case she has been tied into for decades, tracking a network of Quds Force operators, most notably they are still hunting a recruiter, codenamed The Neighbor, who seeks out people willing to be moles in their country's intelligence service and sell secrets. Beth believes she has discovered the identity of The Neighbor, but she has to convince the top brass after they have removed her from the case,

Cleveland is a talented story teller. Beth is not one of my more favorite female protagonists in the genre, but I keep returning because I really enjoy the writing style.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for my thoughts and opinions.

I found this book to be a bit slow but it did improve as the book progressed. Strong characters and a great story line. I recommend it! Thanks for the ARC.

This was definitely a must read! It was captured from the first pages and there was no way I was putting this book down! I was very interested to find out what happened at the end. The characters made it all the better and the developments were nothing shy of thrilling. Would recommend!!

The Neighbor by Karen Cleveland was a mixed bag for me. Parts of it were well written and made for a good story line. Other parts just seemed so out of place to me.

Beth works for the CIA and is spending most of her time working a tough case trying to chase down someone called "The Neighbor" who she knows is a Terrorist and probably planning another incident. Along with her job, she is also trying to balance her home life, and her group of friends in her cul-de-sac. But when her son goes away to college, Beth and her husband have made plans to sell their home and move into something smaller for just the 2 of them. But her husband has other plans, and they don't include Beth!

when she goes back to work, she finds she has been moved off her case of chasing "The Neighbor", in fact she has been removed from the department she's been working in and transferred to a very boring job. Sadly she can't let go of her old case, and she starts wondering if someone in her Cul-de-sac is the terrorist. Maybe the woman who bought her old house? Is she going off the deep-end? Is she seeing things that just aren't there?
Or is she being set up?

Even though the book was a bit confusing to me, it was an okay read by Karen Cleveland. And I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for letting me read the ARC,.

This is review is my own honest opinion from my viewpoint.

Good book with plenty of suspense! Well developed characters and pretty relatable. Once I started the book I had to just keep reading to find out what was going to happen next and how everything tied into each other. Hard to put this one down! Thoroughly enjoyed this book from an author I hadn’t know about before! Will definitely read her others!

This was a pretty good spy story, but honestly was difficult to get through. I’m not sure why as nothing stood out to me as being bad/poorly written/onerous, but it was hard to stay engaged in this story. It was a pretty good book, but just felt like every other spy story I’ve read. The twist was underwhelming, but the writing was good.

Beth Bradford seems to have the picture perfect life. She lives on a peaceful cul-de-sac in a wonderful neighborhood with her husband in a home where she raised three kids, having just sent the youngest off to college. Beth also has a successful career with the CIA as an analyst. Her life has taken a wrong turn though; she is moving from the house she loves, her marriage is ending, and she is dealing with an overwhelming sense of an empty nest, but the biggest blow comes when she is removed from her case. Beth has been attempting to track down The Neighbor, a member of Iranian intelligence. When the new people move into her former house, Beth begins to think Madeline, the new owner, isn’t exactly who she says she is, wondering if she is connected to The Neighbor case, a case she can’t seem to let go of.

I liked how the story presented things in a way meant to keep the reader guessing; it made a case for each neighbor being “The Neighbor” in a logical way, not revealing the truth until the end. I really liked that the end tied up loose ends while not ending things entirely; the imagination is left wondering what will happen next. The New Neighbor shows how strong people can be while still being vulnerable, which, in a way, is its own strength. It is fast-paced and flows quite well, although at times it seemed like there were a few too many characters to keep track of, especially because they all have so much in common.

Wow... keeps you guessing and guessing and guessing. Another winner from Karen Cleveland who weaves the reader back and forth through numerous possibilities before unveiling the ultimate "choice".

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Ballentine Books for my honest review.*

Beth is facing some big life changes - empty nester, dumped by husband, forced into a job change in the CIA. Turns out that she isn't adjusting well and is very suspicious of almost everyone in her life. Just because she's paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get her.

I enjoyed the novel and the pacing of the story. Everyone is a suspect eventually and Beth will not rest until she identifies the subject. At times, I wondered if she was really on the right track. It was hard not to feel sorry for her, but there were some things that she brought onto herself with being sloppy in her pursuits. But man!! The payoff! And a good set up in case she wants to make it a series.

I believe this is my first novel buy Cleveland, but I am adding her to my list of must reads!

I think this book would be a good book club read, because there are many interesting angles to the story:….privileged high school kids, a couple having marital problems and a town that ends up taking sides after a high school party goes way off course. It was a quick read.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this title for my honest review.
This book was just okay. Definitely not bad, just a slow read. Not much excitement. Missing some action having characters being CIA.

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⭐