Neighborhood thrillers are usually good ones. People don’t know their neighbors as well as they should. Who did it? Who is responsible for the death? Typically, there is a twist at the end, and it is someone you didn’t expect. This story followed that formula; however, it didn’t wow me. It was fast-paced, and character driven. The main character, Isobel, was naïve and her thoughts seemed to drag on. She was a stay-at-home mother in a neighborhood where not much happened. That is until a hit and run occurred and things go in a downward spiral from there. I listened to the audiobook of this. The narrator did a good job. Everything just felt OK. Nothing was great, nothing amazed or surprised me.

Isobel and her family live in The Close, a neighborhood on the outskirts of London. Linette moves into a vacant house next door. The previous occupants’ son died in a tragic hit and run, and the driver was never discovered. Isobel tries to befriend Linette but gets a strange vibe, and Linette is full of gossip that Isobel doesn't know whether or not to believe. Suddenly, strange occurrences start happening in the neighborhood, and Isobel investigates to see if her hunches are correct.

Overall, The New Neighbour was a solid thriller with plenty of good twists. I enjoyed Isobel’s amateur detective work but wished she had more expressions than “whaaat?!?” Although I do appreciate the British-accented version of it on the audiobook. As a first-person narration, some of Isobel’s internal dialogue felt a bit repetitive. Still, Miranda Rijks moved the plot at a suspenseful, quick pace that my curiosity remained piqued as I tried to guess the whodunit, which I didn't figure out until the end - always a sign of a good thriller!

A good thriller, but nothing standout. I never felt a sense of fear or an urgency. It was good and I enjoyed it, and loved the twist (even if I was able to figure it out), but there wasn’t the punch I hoped for. The motivations of the new neighbor and their actions felt very forced and the reasoning didn’t seem to fit what they said they were doing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Fast paced and full of suspense!
The story starts out in a small neighbor where a new neighbor Linette has just moved in to a house where the previous owners lost their son to a hit and run accident that was never solved. Isobel tries to befriend Linette but soon finds out that she may have more of a motive than just trying to start over. And before we know it there is another death in this little community! This is filled with a lot of suspicious and unlikable characters and is not your average neighborhood mystery. Just when you think you know another twist comes into play! Fun, quick read filled with drama and suspense!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to listen to an ARC for my honest review!

Fast, easy to read, simple story. There are a lot of people that seamlessly work together.

As stated in the synopsis, there was an accident. An event followed that I could feel in real life (no spoiling) I was mad at the behavior of neighbors.

How far would you go if you suspected an accident was more? That is the premise.

I enjoyed the narrator. The book didn't lull. This is a gated community. Secrets, lies, and feelings are maxed out in the story through a chat at the mailbox, waiting in the car pool line, etc.

This was a great rainy day, mug of coffee, AC, and sorting a jigsaw puzzle listen audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to read and review The New Neighbor.

3.5-3.75 stars

Interesting. The story itself is fairly typical of the genre, but the premise (someone moves into a small, close-knot neighbourhood, and all of a sudden *bad things* keep happening) always gets me. It was a fairly intriguing mix of setting, plot, characters, and somehow, I actually totally didn’t see the ending coming. It was a fun, suspenseful little journey; based on that and on other reviews, I’ll have to eventually check out what else the writer has published.

At least 4 times I said “I know who done it!” And I was right the first time but the author spun this in such a way I didn’t think I was right.

Definitely recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book wasn't too bad. It wasn't the best thriller I've ever read, but it was a fun read. The twist at the end was pretty surprising. It's rare when I don't guess the ending of a book like this, but this one had me shocked.

There is a lot going on The Close, a small knit subdivision in the English countryside. Isobel has a strange new neighbor and things get turned upside down for this small community really quickly.

Overall, 3.5 stars. This was a good story, but I wasn't a fan of the narrator. She kind of brought the rating down for me.

BOOK REVIEW: The New Neighbour is a psychological thriller by Miranda Rijks. It is a good thriller with a lot of twists and turns throughout, and when you think you know the killer, she throws in another twist which totally throws you off!
The story focuses on a small group of neighbours who live on The Close, and someone (or everyone!) is hiding a secret. There are the Floyds: Isobel Floyd (whose eyes the story is told through), a stay at home mom to two littles, a boy (Harry) and a girl (Harper). Like her husband Mike, Isobel was an architect as well, in fact, she was the one that hired him at her firm. Their marriage has lost it’s luster over the last few years, and Mike is working longer and longer hours at the office, and doesn’t seem interested in his family like he should be. Then Thomas Adler, who works from home (and is rather successful at what he does) and likes to show off his flashy new gadgets and cars. Next are the Quinn’s, Mr. and Mrs. Mrs. Quinn seems to be suffering from dementia and Mr. Quinn refuses help from Isobel (and is rather rude), but randomly accepts the help of the new neighbour in the The Close. Finally, there are the Abbots, which include Jack and Josie and their three little children. Jack is a farmer, whose land is around the close and has been in his family for generations, however, recently, they have started to struggle to make ends meet. And Josie, well, up until recently, she was a very close friend of Isobel’s, and cannot provide an answer when asked why they no longer are close.
Six months prior, Wilson Walker, nineteen, was killed in an apparent hit and run accident in the Close, but no one was ever charged in his death. Not long after, his family moved away, and the house remained empty since then. Enter Linette. She has rented out the Walker house after a nasty divorce, and is determined to get to know everyone in The Close, so she holds a few gatherings with all the neighbours.
With the arrival of Linette, Isobel hopes that the addition of a new neighbour will help to bring those in The Close closer together. Things seem to be all well and good, until Linette starts to offer differing opinions then she originally stated/offered. At the same time, strange things start to happen in The Close and everyone is blaming one another for them: random partygoers arrive for a party that isn’t happening at the Floyds, demonstrators arrive to oppose a new business venture the Abbots are proposing, leaf burning (with the issue being the way the wind was or was not blowing), an addition of a pet pig (Linette), and rumors and accusations being made.
When another death occurs in The Close, the death of Wilson comes up again, and Isobel believes that it is all related. She puts on her “detective hat”, secrets come to light about her marriage, her new neighbor and her old neighbors, and they will all come out in the open.
My thoughts: This was an audiobook for me, the first in a long time. It took me a while to get into it, I thought it was a tad slow at first. Once I did get into it, I found it more interested and wanted to know what happened next. At times, I did find Isobel irritating and a little bored – some chapters seemed a little to drawn out. Then the last few chapters seemed to throw in a whole lot of story in a short amount of time. If I read the book, I am not sure I would have finished it, so I would recommend the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was twisted and left me guessing throughout. It was a very gripping thriller that was a great experience to listen to.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed both the female and male that read this audiobook. They were very pleasant to listen to and helped to differentiate between characters. The story had me guessing until the end and I love when I don’t know what’s going to happen next or who’s telling the truth! It was the perfect small town, quiet neighborhood mystery with lying, cheating, and deception all thrown into the mix. I would definitely recommend to anyone into this genre. I loved the whole “keep your friends close, but your neighbors closer” vibe!

3 ⭐️. I listened to the audio of this book. It was a neighborhood type drama. It was fast paced but I just didn't love it. I kinda guessed what was going on early in the story so I was just waiting to see most of the time. I did enjoy the narration of the book. I'll check out more books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

What a wonderful audio book! Probably one of my top 5 narration’s. I enjoyed this fast paced thriller, I felt it was unique and kept me guessing until the end. I will definitely be reading more books by Miranda Rijks
Thank you NetGalley and dreamscape media

Unfortunately, The New Neighbour fell flat for me. The story has a compelling pitch. Several months ago, one of the neighborhood children was run over in the neighborhood known as the Close, in which the main character, Isobel, lives. The family of the dead child moved away after the incident, and now someone new lives in the house. And the new neighbor doesn't seem quite right.

However, I found myself struggling against my dislike of multiple characters in the book, and I felt completely unable to understand motivations at certain points in the book. Isobel is the main character, and, as a reader, I was cheering for her to get a life that she deserved. Her marriage is unloving. Her neighbors are mean to her. She is generally unhappy. However, her concern with her children and others means that she puts herself and her happiness second, which is frustrating to watch time and time again. The character of Isobel also comes off as rather unintelligent, since she makes illogical decisions. However, because the book reminds you often that she used to be an architect, you are told that she is smart. It felt like a conflict between what the reader is being told and what they were seeing. Additionally, the majority of the book isn't really a mystery. Instead, it is focusing on this unhappy life that she leads, including unhappy trips with her husband and Halloween difficulties with the neighbors. This story is more of a domestic suspense, as a result.

My biggest problem with the story was in regards to pacing and its set up. The first chapter was from the POV of the teenager whose death lead to his family moving away. The story then switches to Isobel's POV, which is where the majority of the book stays. However, out of nowhere and only on a few occasions, the story will switch to the POV of Linette, the titular new neighbor. These chapters, and there are only a few, are jarring and essentially are information dumps about things the main character does not know. Had the book been dual-POV, this could have been interesting, but it wasn't. The chapters from Linette's POV could have been excluded and the story would have progressed in a more natural way, with Isobel making discoveries, rather than that information being spoon-fed to the audience.

The ending fell flat for me in a way that I didn't suspect. (view spoiler) In all honesty, I think that a bit of editing to tighten up the ending would have been useful.

I do have to say, I did get through this book rather quickly. It is a breezy read. Not much happens for a lot of the story. It has typical neighborly squabbles in it that do not really go anywhere or affect the finale. There are lots of descriptions of the nature around the neighborhood. It was a good read for me while I was on a walk or doing chores.

I had the audiobook of this, and the narrator did an excellent job. Her voice was clear and compelling. The narrator's voice made it easy to sink into the setting of the story and imagine oneself in the atmosphere.

Thank you to Netgalley, Miranda Rijks, and Dreamscape Media for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you #netgalley and #dreamscapemedia for my gifted audio book.

Isobel is a married woman who lives in a small neighborhood in the English countryside. There was a tragic hit and run accident that left a neighbor boy dead and left more questions than answers. Why was he out so late? What was he doing? And most importantly who is responsible for it? The family of the deceased boy up and leaves and the house ends up vacant. Soon, Linette moves into the vacant house and at first her actions seem innocent bit soon she is being questioned by Isobel as to what her motives really are. But alas, all of the neighbors have drama and you are left trying to figure out who is doing what and why? There is a drone flying neighbor, an affair, a neighbor who buys a pig, a neighbor who wants to put a cemetery on their property and one that is found digging holes.

I enjoyed the twists in this book but overall felt it lacked suspense and thrill. I felt like some of the detail like the pig and cemetery seemed odd and although I understand why it was a part of the book it still seemed like a stretch to be included in the story.

Read this if:
🏠 You like neighborhood drama
🏠 Many characters to keep you guessing
🏠 A quick twisty read

I had never read this author until now and she may become a new favorite! This thriller was a fast-read, and hard to put down once I got started. Good character development and setting. I could just see the neighborhood in my mind's eye as I continued to read and get to know the characters. Entertaining and a page turner!

This is my the first book/audible from Miranda Rijks and I would definitely recommend this one.! This family neighborhood drama is full of suspense with several twist to keep you guessing. Loved the characters and how their lives intertwine with the murders through out the book.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media 🎧 for this ARC

I am pretty new to the audio book world but this had great narration. The characters were brought to life. The story line was well done. It held my interest. There was suspense and plot twists and turns. My only critique is that there was a pethora of relevant characters to keep straight.
The ending was explosive and unforseen .
Well done

I enjoyed The New Neighbor. I liked the twisty storyline and the scheming characters. You never knew who you could trust throughout this book! I don’t want to give anything away, so I will say the writing was good and so was the storyline. I would definitely recommend it!

4/5 ⭐️
I love murder with nosy neighbors and lots of drama with the neighborhood. There’s plenty of that in this book. I never really knew what to expect while reading this.