The New Neighbors, Claire Douglas (Review by Rachel Taran)

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

While this story starts out kind of slow with a recently single mom in suburban England, it picks up speed very quickly by planting the initial seed of the mystery- Lena meets her new neighbors, older couple Henry and Marielle, and then briefly overhears them having an argument that ignites a curiosity in Lena about what’s going on with the couple. It sounds as if they are involved in something illegal and dangerous. What could it possibly be?

From the planting of that single seed onward and along with Lena’s detective skills, many more seeds are planted as the chapters wind through perspectives from both Lena and Henry in the present and the past, as well as the introduction of an additional character we don’t fully understand yet. Each chapter seems to end with a new seed of the mystery, almost acting as strategically placed mini-cliffhangers. As a reader, this was a successful tactic that propelled me forward, hungry for more. The chapters were also all very short, which made them a breeze to fly through!

With each passing chapter, as the reader I began to make sense of what was happening, but nothing was as obvious as it seemed! In my opinion, the best thrillers lead you in one direction, all while making you doubt that this direction is too obvious, only to shock you with the final reveal. In that regard, this book delivered! My only small disappointment was that the whole story wrapped up too quickly and perfectly, which didn’t seem to match the tone of the rest of the book. Regardless of that, I still loved the book!