You know what they say - if it seems too good....

When Shelley's mom dies after a long bout with dementia, Shelley is so happy to find a 6 month lease on a decent house on Beech Close in a great school catchment area. But when she gets a chance to meet the neighbors at a party thrown in her honor, she starts to get those "creepy" vibes. These are not her people! But one of the neighbors, Amber, has established a good rapport with her daughter, and another neighbor, Niamh has made it her job to introduce Shelley around the Close. She also gets sparks every time to she talks to Remy, whose mom lives next door, but Valerie (his mom) is quite nasty toward her (and her dog).

What I liked:
Shelley - she is kind, taking care of her mom for years, and now helping out anyone on her cul-de-sac who needs it. I loved the relationship between her and her daughter.
Josh - her best friend, who offers great advice and is always there for her.
The last 20% of the book - where the pace really picked up.

What I wasn't crazy about:
Remy - although he took care of his mom, he didn't seem like a nice guy.
Constant references to dog duties - taking Teddy out for a "wee", taking Teddy to the park, walking Teddy around the beech tree, feeding Teddy. Every. Single. Day.

This book builds the mystery slowly but surely, and leaves you some breadcrumbs along the way. It was a quick, enjoyable read, and you might know the author from some of her previous books: The Feud, The Secret, The Teacher, etc.

Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to participate in this #blogtour!

Having cared for her mother over the last couple of years, Shelley is keen to move away from her childhood home. It holds unpleasant childhood memories, and Shelley is determined that her young daughter gets to live as normal a life as possible. When she secures a 6-month tenancy in a quiet could-de-sac she is convinced things are looking up.
Unfortunately, the new neighbours are not what she expected.
From the moment she arrives, Shelley feels there is something odd about the place. She tries to put a brave face on, but when she starts asking questions about the young girl who used to live there it becomes all too apparent that something happened.
While the reality of the story was highly improbable, the execution of it plays out well enough. We suspect our narrator of unearthing something big…and it is.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.

The Neighbour by Gemma Rogers was a compulsive contemporary psychological suspense that gripped me from the start.
A cul de sac of six houses should be the ideal place to live – but no one expected the neighbour. Fresh from one nightmare situation and dropped into another. Can you guess what goes on behind closed doors?
We see the protective love of a mother for her daughter. They share a beautiful bond which extends to their little dog.
Other daughters, in contrast, have a more warped relationship with their mother.
Obsessions and a desire for love, all succeed in motivating a character for wrong. Secrets threatening to come to light, must be silenced at all costs.
The cul de sac is rather cliché and reminiscent of the stepford wives, where everything must be perfect on the surface.
We see the cruel disease that is Alzheimer’s and the way it robs personalities.
I enjoyed The Neighbour. It was a gripping read that consumed me from the start.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun read, centered on Shelly, who moves to a new neighborhood along with her 10-year-old daughter. They are looking for a fresh start after the death of Shelly's mother, for whom she cared while suffering from dementia. Lo and behold, the new next door neighbor also suffers from dementia and Shelly feels like she hasn't gotten further enough away from the trauma she suffered. Add to that some questions about the previous tenant, some spooky goings-on, and neighbors who might not be able to be trusted, and you get one fast-paced book!

This is one of those books where there are many different characters acting suspiciously- I enjoyed the red herrings and trying to figure out who, if anybody, really had it out for Shelly. The author did a good job of giving me reasons to suspect everyone. I liked Shelly OK as a character- she was clearly a great mom and I liked that dynamic, but I thought she was a bit unfriendly to new neighbors who were just trying to welcome her to the neighborhood, and perhaps overly concerned about the fate of the woman who lived in the house before her. However, all of these odd interactions did add to the mystery and I felt like there were a couple good surprises. I found the ending to be satisfying and that all the loose ends were tied up well.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and am a sucker for the "bad neighbor" genre. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for letting me review this book. I loved it...... shelley and lauren move after caring full-time for shelleys mother who has dementia .shelley rents a property in a cul de sac where the neighbours are very welcoming. Valerie is a lady in the cul de sac who also has dementia and is prone to violent outbursts, this brings memories back of her own mother,.and lauren not being able to be with her friends.
A lady named danielle lived at the same address as shelley, and according to a neighbour just upped and left....... surely not? Why would she just disappear???? There were posters put up of danielles dog barney going missing aswell???? What is going on???? What are the neighbours hiding in the cul de sac and will shelley and lauren find out the truth, had me guessing till the end, highley recommend.
It gives an insight into what loved ones and carers go through on a daily basis caring for someone with dementia

What a great read this book is couldn't wait to see what happened at the end. I would highly recommend this book it is a great read . Well done Gemma Rogers .

What an ending!!!! This book was fast paced. Pulled me right in to all the drama and mystery going on. Well written with great chapter lengths. Characters that you loved, and love to hate or maybe just feel a little sorry for.
Be sure to pick this one up!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Omg how did I never come across Gemma Rogers before?! This book was fab!!! A super quick and easy read. It's a bit slow paced but she spends a lot of time really ramping uk the tension and building such an eerie creepy atmosphere that it works perfectly! Some good teists and turns and I am now off to find the backcatalouge to indulge in. Such a good book!!!

A quick and easy-to-read domestic thriller that will keep you on your toes while trying to figure out whodunnit! My first from this author but certainly not the last!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC!

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Neighbour’ written by Gemma Rogers in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

After caring for her ailing mother, Shelly finally moves into No. 3 Beech Grove, a quiet cul-de-sac of six houses, with her ten-year-old daughter Lauren. It isn’t long before their next-door neighbour Valerie makes them feel unwelcome and when Shelly finds a message etched on a wall in her airing cupboard saying ‘leave now’ she discovers that the previous tenant of her house, Danielle Stobart, unexpectedly disappeared. She starts thinking that Beech Close may not be the quiet and friendly neighbourhood she was expecting.

‘The Neighbour’ is a tense and well-written mystery and although it isn’t my favourite of Gemma Rogers’ thrillers it’s kept me enthralled as the atmosphere in Beech Close feels as if something is bubbling under the surface waiting to burst out. It’s a slow-paced but steady novel about a single mother who wants to make a new start for herself and her daughter Lauren and her neighbours who aren’t quite what they appear to be. The story ends with an exciting conclusion as Shelly finally learns the truth and hopes she can she put the past behind her.

In need of a fresh start and wanting to distance ourselves from the bad memories of my mother's house, we move to Beech Close, a small cul-de-sac of six houses situated around a picture-perfect green. It seemed perfect but I had underestimated the secrets that this tightknit community shared. Within hours of moving in, my next-door neighbour, Valerie, made it abundantly clear we were not welcome. I soon discovered that Valerie hadn't welcomed the previous occupant either and she'd since disappeared without a trace.

After the death of Shelly's mother, she wants a fresh start so Shelly, her daughter Lauren and their dog Teddy move to Beech Close. But her new neighbour, Valerie, seems to have taken an instant dislike to them. The characters are a mixed bunch, some likeable, others not so much. There's a creepy vibe surrounding house number three. The pace is steady. Shelly starts looking into the previous tenant's disappearance, but has she got herself too involved? This is a well written and gripping read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #GemmaRogers for my ARC of #TheNeighbiur in exchange for an honest review.

Shelley and her daughter Lauren have finally moved away from her mother's cottage after a crazy last couple of years. They are hoping that this small community will be their new fresh start as for the past couple of years Shelley was the caretaker for her mother who had dementia. The thing though is that she gets off with her next-door neighbour on the wrong foot as it turns out she isn't exactly warm to her dog Teddy and soon crazy things start happening to cause both PTSD reactions for Shelley and especially her daughter Lauren. When cleaning out the attic, Shelley's friend Josh finds a box of belongings from the previous tenant. Why would she leave this here? To return them, Shelley starts digging and soon finds out that the previous tenant Danielle is missing and it looks like someone is trying to be clever to cover it up and make it look like she went travelling. This perfect neighbourhood isn't quite perfect as strange things are happening behind closed doors, from next-door neighbour Valerie who has dementia herself, and her son Remy - who likes it rough and then Dennis who is a pervy old man and if Shelley isn't careful and keeps digging around trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Danielle, she might just end up like her and her daughter be raised without a mother. Can Shelley and Lauren escape the close-knit community of Beech Close alive or will they be forever living in the neighbourhood from hell, having to watch their every move as they discover they can't trust anyone if they want to survive.

Thank you to #Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Gemma Rogers for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE NEIGHBOUR, to be published January 5, 2023. This was a slow paced domestic mystery in which the protagonist had suspicions about the neighborhood she moved into in England, but the case wasn’t made until the last chapter. Shelly is a single mother who works out of her home and whose mother recently died having had dementia, which is a powerful force throughout the novel. Shelly has one friend who is a homosexual man that she confides in. There was a small amount of sexual activity, but it was marred with some extremism. Followers of Gemma Rogers will likely enjoy this book.

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

A real page Turner couldn't put the book down,with a twist at the end there were a few red herrings thro n in the plot which kept the reader on their toes,will recommend this book to family and friends.

I really liked this book. I’m a huge fan of Gemma Rogers. Her books never disappoint. I was hooked all the way through. I never lost interest

Before reading 'The Neighbour' I was already 100% sold on Gemma Rogers as a fantastic author of psychological fiction. Her books are different with highly varied and original plots, but all equally, and fantastically, entertaining.

'The Neighbour' sees single mum, Shelley, move into a small gated type community with her daughter, Lauren, and their dog, Teddy. They have had a horrible few years caring for her mother who had dementia, and are embracing this as their fresh start.

No sooner have they moved in than, Shelley, in an unfortunate dog-pooping-in-neighbours garden incident, makes an enemy out of her next door neighbour. Her neighbour turns out to have a hot son who Shelley finds herself developing a mutual attraction. This is a very sociable neighbourhood, and as Shelley gets to know people, she finds out more and more about the mysterious past of her rental - cue much suspicion and intrigue!

This is one of those books that just has that undefinable quality that's makes it SO gripping and impossible to put down!! I loved it!!

This is undoubtedly a 5* read from me! My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I enjoyed this thriller. Some surprises at the end too. It was an easy read but it kept me interested.

The Neighbour by Gemma Rogers was a slow burn but a good story. I really liked Derek and Lauren was a cutie.

In need of a fresh start and wanting to distance herself from the bad memories of her mother’s house (who had dementia), Shelley moved to Beech Close, a small cul-de-sac of six houses situated around a picture-perfect green. It seemed perfect, but she may have underestimated the secrets that this tight-knit community shared.

The story was creepy, and you never knew who to trust or what was going to happen. So many good twists and red herrings to keep you on your toes.

And, the ending–WHAT?! Oh my goodness, so good.

I would recommend this book and this author. I will read more from this author as I like the writing style and the way the author unfolds the story. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

#TheNeighbour #NetGalley @BoldwoodBooks

The Neighbour - Gemma Rogers

The first book I've read by this author, I've been eager to read one of her books having seen a lot of praise for her titles.

Shelly is a single mum, moving into a new neighbourhood, a close knit street where everyone knows everyone. Throw in an antagonistic neighbour, Shelly's anxiety and troubled childhood and you should have the ingredients for something interesting.

I quite liked the main character of Shelly, there's a character with dementia (no spoilers) who adds some unpredictable moments. I found it a little slow through the middle and the supporting cast didn't really come to life for me.

It's well setup, it kept me interested but didn't quite ignite for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books.