A truely outstanding psychological thriller - a veritable whodunit which, in my opinion, deserves to stand right up there with the masters of the genre. Loved every twist and turn, which sent me off track so many times, the one right at the end being an absolute gem, rounding a fabulous read off with a resounding bang!

A brilliant read that had me gripped from the very start. The story was excellent and I would highly recommend this book.

Looking for something to take your mind off Lockdown and the current situation? Then The Neighbour might be a perfect solution for you, providing you don’t live in a house that backs onto a wooded area and a serial killer is at large and possibly could be one of your neighbours!

This is a very dark and creepy story about a family who have upped and left their previous home hundreds of miles away for a fresh start and have bought 25 The Avenue for a bargain! The reason it’s a bargain is because there is a serial killer on the loose and body #5 has just been found on the day they move in! The Lockwood’s aren’t overly worried, they have enough on their plate with a moody teenage daughter and a home-sick little boy, not to mention their marriage is currently very rocky.

Meanwhile, we are slowly introduced to the other neighbours in this quiet little road and boy, oh boy, they are probably NOT the kind of neighbours you want living next door. Every single house hides a dark secret and every single resident is lying about something.

The Neighbour kept me guessing throughout, trying to work out each secret and who the serial killer was and I didn’t have a clue until the reveal who the killer was.

Another creepy, disturbing and clever book by Fiona Cummins and highly recommended by me.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me gripped throughout. I did get a bit confused at times with the changing narrative and flicking between characters but that's only a minor point. I didn't guess the perpetrator and changed my mind a few times about how was responsible — great twist!

You know you're onto a good thing when you see a map of a cul-de-sac at the beginning. And this thriller was just up my street... well-drawn characters, plenty of intrigue, hidden secrets and some captivating voices in the writing. It's clichéd to say it, but it really did keep me guessing until the end, plenty of twists even for the seasoned thriller reader. I'll definitely be looking out for more books from this author.

Well, I've been experiencing a major reading slump, and this was the best cure for that! I can't wait to read some more by Ms Cummins, recommended!

I really tried with this book but unfortunately I just couldn't finish it, I found it jumped around too much and I just couldn't keep up with the characters. This is really unfortunate as I really enjoyed her last two books , I will still try this author again and hopefully enjoy her next book.

I’ve read and very much enjoyed one of Fiona Cummins’ previous novels so was very keen to read her latest. The Neighbours is a novel that follows the resident in a street where a series of murders have happened and a new family are just moving in. We also follow the killer and see the unravelling of their story. This is such a gripping and well-written crime thriller and I was hooked all the way through. It was fascinating to read the different character perspectives and to build up a picture of who each of the residents were. The reveal of the killer was shocking and I didn’t work out who it was, so that was brilliant for me as it’s rare that I don’t see an ending coming! I highly recommend this book!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, which I enjoyed reading.
I read this book totalling engrossed in the storyline, The Neighbour was about an avenue of people, some of whom had secrets to hide and any of them could be the killer. The storyline kept the reader guessing until near the end and it kept the reader reading until the early hours of the morning.
Highly recommended.

Absolutely unputdownable!!! A brilliant thrilling read, that will have you guessing until the very end! Cannot recommend highly enough!

i had to really concentrate at times as the dual narrator and time lines confused me a bit. Nonetheless this a stellar story with a solid narrative and written very well. I would defintely recommend.

thank you for allowing me to read this book. it was very easy to read. i enjoyed the story line and the characters. look forward to reading more from this author.

Fiona Cummins is a new author to me but I will definitely look out for more of her work. The Neighbour has lots of twists before the murderer is identified. Well worth a read

I've loved Fiona's dark, creepy, slightly supernatural books, The Collector and Rattle, so I was really keen to try this standalone thriller. It didn't disappoint.

The Neighbour plays around with two different time streams, one narrated by the killer waiting for the police to arrive and telling stories about the past, the other set around a fateful few days in the neighbourhood. I felt this technique worked really well, establishing a strong foreshadowing element that added to the tension.

One thing I loved about the Neighbour is that it starts towards the end of the action. Most of the murders have already happened, and it is much more focused on the detective work and the chase, as well as the possibility of another murder, rather than us chasing the action from crime scene to crime scene. This really made it different to most of the crime novels out there. Also, while there is a strong police procedural element, it is not exclusive, and lots of the action is seen from the points of view of the inhabitants of the Avenue.

At times it feels like there are too many different points of view. It makes the story fragment at times, so many different threads to be following that I wasn't sure if they'd ever all be tied up. However the ending was a satisfying one, and everything did feel like it more or less came together. One or two threads felt like they'd been cut off a bit too sharply, dealt with in a less satisfying way, but the main plot really came together well.

Overall, The Neighbour was an exciting crime thriller with an interesting twist to the timelines.

The Neighbour is one creepy novel that even though it confused, and I'll be honest frustrated me at first, kept me gripped so that I had to keep on reading until I was able to put all the pieces of the puzzle in their place.
The Lockwood family move into their new house 25 The Avenue in Essex in the woodland behind the house a body has been discovered, the fifth in recent times. Not the best omen for a new house I think we can all agree? Garrick and Olivia and their two children have moved into the house due to some difficulties of their own so they have no option but to stick it out through the media interest and local speculation. Garrick's conviction that the murderer will soon be found soon seems to feel a bit optimistic to say the least.
The bodies themselves have been found with painted faces and the media have named the killer the dollmaker, something that the police are keen to discourage, especially as there is a toymaker living in the area. With everyone under suspicion and the killer close at hand the links between the victims has to be made in order to work out who it is.
I have to hand it to Fiona Cummins because she won me over. The initial total confusion I felt at the different time lines and multiple voices soon evened out into a more cohesive plot, but I did need to stick with it.
Fortunately for the reader, the police presence is led by DCI Clive Mackie, and the team includes the likeable detective, Wildeve Stanton. She is the one who I bonded with as she worked tirelessly hunting the murderer even though she is grieving after a very recent loss. For once the detective's personal problems isn't code for any flaky activity, Wildeve is a sensible woman not given to flights of fancy or bending the rules out of shape. With the DCI facing being pulled from the investigation the tension in the police joins that of the inhabitants of the Avenue.
The setting is very atmospheric, the story did give me the creeps which is fairly unusual for me - it takes a lot to scare me but the thought of Olivia living in amongst all of this suspicion not only about the murderer but within her own house too. With different secrets hiding behind all the doors within the Avenue it seems like everyone has something to hide, something to lose and lies to tell. This just served to make the book feel all the more claustrophobic.
I have to admire Fiona Cummins skill in both plotting such a complex thriller. That combined with the skilful writing made the reading of the book a fairly edgy experience.
I'd like to say a huge thank you to the publishers Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read an ARC of The Neighbour which was published on 4 April 2019.
First Published UK: 4 April 2019
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
No of Pages: 416
Genre: Crime Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US

This is the first book I have ever read by Fiona Cummins and all I have to say is wow!! It had me hooked from the very start and as a result I had it finished within 24 hours. There were so many twists I had no idea how it was going to pan out. It kept me guessing right to the very end. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

I loved The Neighbour and struggled to put it down. A great psychological thriller that kept me hooked. My first book by this author but certainly not my last.

With thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

This is the second book I have read from Fiona Cummins after her excellent debut Rattle.

A serial killer called The Doll maker was on the loose who had murdered 5 people and dumped then in a wood on The Avenue.. The killer had been nicknamed The Doll Collector because they removed the victims eyes and replaced them with glass ones.

The story began with Carrick Lockwood. Olivia, and their 2 children Evan and Aster moving into number 25. The family decided to start again in another part of the country after Olivia had an affair. On the day the family moved in a DS who was investigating the murders was found murdered in the woods.

With the media looking on Detective Sergeant Wildeve Stanton had to find out who the Detective was questioning on the day he died. The main suspect was Trefor Lovell who lived at number 18 and owned the Doll and Fancy dress Emporium.

Then 9 year old Evan Lockwood finds a old cassette tape in his new tree house. Aster and Evan listen to it and hear sounds of someone being murdered!!

The Neighbour was beautifully written with a menacing undertone. However I found the plot was slow burner and the story didn't get going for me until the last 40%.

The plot was carefully woven with plenty of red herrings. The book had a great cast of characters especially the mysterious postman and cloud watcher Fletcher Parnell.

I enjoyed the Now chapters which were from the POV of the killer. The POV completely led me astray and I didn't guess the killer until the last minute.

The final twist was very clever, and very unexpected. I liked DS Wildeve Stanton and I hope she appears in Fiona's next book. Four stars from me

The first book I’ve read by Fiona Cummins and won’t be the last. Well written, great descriptive prose which built the storyline up for me. A recommended buy.

This was the first book I’ve read by Fiona Cummins and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the setting - The Avenue - with all the neighbours appearing to be just your run-of-the-mill residents, but each hiding their own secrets whilst the ongoing hunt for a local serial killer threatens to expose them.

The narrative changes and the changes between past and present were initially confusing, however I soon got to grips with it and of course it all made sense at the end. The twists and turns throughout kept me from knowing who the culprit was which I always hope for when reading a thriller.

A great read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.