The New Neighbor hooks you in and keeps you guessing. Beth and Mike both work for the CIA and have what appears to be the perfect life. They have lived and raised their three children in a beautiful home set on a cul-de-sac in an upscale neighborhood where their neighbors, most of whom are also CIA employees, become their best friends. When they drop their youngest child at college and their home is sold, life for Beth takes an unexpected turn. Mike tells Beth he’s leaving her and she’s demoted from her job because the case she’s been working on for fifteen years hasn’t produced results in identifying the person that is recruiting people to spy against the US and is referred to the CIA only as “The Neighbor”. Beth knows she was close to finally solving the case but her security access and all her files have been denied. She’s determined to find the answers and her instincts lead her to become suspicious of everyone in her close knit neighborhood including her best friends. Do we ever really know our friends and neighbors? Everyone has secrets but who’s keeping the biggest secret of all?

Beth is a CIA agent that has her world turned upside down. On the way home from dropping the youngest at college, Beth and her husband talk about getting a smaller place. Then everything turns upside down, but the one thing Beth is determined to do is find “the neighbor” and Iranian spy. This book took so many turns I was dizzy and thought everyone was the spy.

This one started off so strong for me - I LOVE a CIA/FBI story, gave my quantico energy from the start. There was a good mystery to this one throughout the entire book, with a lot of turns, and an ending that I (pretty much) didn’t see coming. Even once I cought on, it was still a good reveal! A lot of layers to unfold, which is always fun.

The main character, Beth, frustrated me and definitely had me rolling my eyes a bit. A lot of gaslighting and not great decisions on her part. I didn’t find anyone overly like-able, but maybe that was by design to keep you guessing?

Thank you Netgally and Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

So full of twists, turns, and conspiracy theories. The main character Beth works as an analyst for the CIA. Her son left for college and her husband leaves her, which forces her to move out of their home. She has also been on a case involving an Iranian intelligence officer nicknamed The Neighbor, but is removed from it. With not much to do, she starts spying on the family that moves into her previous home. She starts to believe that Madeline, one of the new home owners, might have something to do with the officer she has been tracking. Overall it was a quick but great read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Was there anyone Beth DIDN'T accuse of being The Neighbor? I'm just glad she didn't end up in a psych ward or worse at the end. I didn't mind the twist ending but some people are not going to like it.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the description of this book it seemed like it was going to be this mystery of someone wanting someone else’s life. I started reading and it took a turn to a book about people that work for the government. Reading that type of stuff never appeals to me. Read the first 1-2 chapters and kept thinking nope I don’t think this is going to grab my attention but boy was I wrong. After a few chapters I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. This book is full of twists and turns and if don’t don’t pay attention you will get confused but definitely worth hanging on until the super huge twist at the end!

I LOVE Karen Cleveland's books. I was so excited to read this one. This one kept me guessing and was a quick read. It made me think more about how much I share with my neighbors! Just like her last book, this one ended with a cliffhanger ending so I’m hoping we will get to read more about Beth and the CIA. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed the CIA/FBI aspects of the book. I thought the questioning of Beth's mental health throughout the book did not read well. The ending finished with a lead in to a possible second book. I thought the relationships developed throughout the story flowed pretty well, but there was some parts that were over explained and some that weren't explained enough.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland is a thriller about a neighborhood with ties to Langley. CIA analyst Beth Bradford has been tracking an Iranian intelligence agent known as The Neighbor for years. But now, she's off the case. She refuses to let that deter her, and she continues investigating even though her friends and family are sure that she's just paranoid. This story was so fast-paced, and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

A neighborhood based (the Cul-de-Sac) spy-thriller with a female protagonist! I was all in! it’s a slow burn that ultimately took too much time to get to the point. I found the main character annoying, the hysterical and indecisive woman, perhaps that was the author’s intention. It was an ok read.

**I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

I enjoyed this book. Any book that keeps my interest and also has enough twists and turns to keep me guessing is a winner as far as I'm concerned. I had a hard time putting this one down. I felt that the main character Beth was relatable on many levels. There were several times I was sure I had this mystery solved and then more information came to light. I will say after finishing the book that I felt there were some items provided that didn't really have any bearing on the story, but they weren't too much of a distraction., All in all a good book and I think I will check out other selections from this author.

4 stars for an intriguing espionage thriller!

Do you really ever truly know your neighbors? Even the most unsuspecting peaceful neighborhoods may harbor sinister secrets...

This was a refreshing thriller that really caught my attention and kept it throughout the entirety of the novel. I really was invested! And my favorite part was that the ending was totally left-field and had me guessing till the very last word.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for this ARC!

I just LOVED "The New Neighbor" by Karen Cleveland! Amazing suspense, guessing, worrying for the main character, and was completely surprised by the ending. This book was great, relatable and interesting. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I was surprised by how much I loved this book! A solid mystery, a little CIA counterterrorism, family drama and an unreliable narrator combine to give us a solid read.

📕 Book: The New Neighbor
✍️ Author: Karen Cleveland
📚 Genre: Mystery Thriller
🗓 Pub Day: 8/30/2022
Stars : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

📖 My Review: What a compelling read well crafted characters making this one hard to put down! This was my first Karen Cleveland book & I must say the writing is fantastic.

The role reversal of the female being the bodyguard was a fun twist not to mention the superstar falling for the average girl! If romantic comedies are your genre then I highly recommend The Bodyguard.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Karen Cleveland & Ballantine Books for this ARC to read & review. This is my voluntary review.

I enjoyed reading this suspenseful story. This is a new author for me which I enjoyed and I look forwrd to seeing what is next for this author. This is a well written story that will show you want happens when jealosy, secrets and paranoia collide. You don't want to miss what happens. This is a great story that I found to be fast paced and engaging. The characters are relateable and had me coming back for more. They pulled me into the story from the beginning. The twists and turns had me sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen next. There is great character and plot growth throughout the story. I really enjoyed this story and what the characters brought to it. I highly recommend this book.

Wow. Just wow. Every time you think you have the mystery solved, there's a new twist. The book carries you along with so many layers that I had to finish it all in one reading. And you WILL NOT see the end coming.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland


Excellent spy thriller. Well-written, great plot, and Antarctic characters. Keeps you guessing right up to the last page. I. Recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Change is never easy—just ask any kid who’s starting a new school year after a summer of sleeping in and playing video games. And when a woman is hit with one big change after another in The New Neighbor by author Karen Cleveland, it changes the way she sees everything in her life.

Full review posted on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

Karen Cleveland is a new to me author. I requested this book because the title and the cover looked appealing and I'm a thriller girl at heart! I thought the premise sounded interesting! I felt this had a bit of a slow start but the more I stuck with it the more invested I became. All in all I did like this one.