3.5 Stars

I thought this book was an absolute page turner - could not go to sleep without an extra chapter, and the chapters are not too lengthy , so it was easy to get carried away...beautifully crafted and gripping right up until the finale.

R.J. Parker captivates with a provocative story and he does a brilliant job of making the characters and their relationships flawed, but still believable. The story has an interesting concept and interweaving characters that keep the reader enthralled throughout, a well structured and well written tale with an excellent plot- well done. I don't want to put any spoilers but if you love a fast paced psychological thriller this one has a lot going for it - Intense.

Leah knocks on a neighbors door after hitting a deer. He helps out by calling a tow truck. The next day she brings him a bottle of wine as a thank you, only to discover he is not the homeowner and has murdered the woman who is. Soon Martin will come looking for Leah and she will make multiple unwise decisions. A good book even though it is farfetched at times. A little surprise thrown in at the end too.

An interesting premise to say the least. Leah hits a deer and when she knocks on the door of the nearest house she meets Martin. Thing go ok with him but when she returns the next day to thank him she finds out that he doesn't live in the house but is a killer and has just murdered the homeowner.

The rest of the book centers around the dynamic between Leah and Martin. I hate to say it but even though the book started strong it fizzled out and reminded me of a made for tv movie. Leah was foolish in many of the things she did and how the author wrote her character. This one just wasn't for me.

This book was addictive, it was so hard to stop as I read chapter after chapter. Full of action, thrills and chills, you will love this book!

Imagine knocking onto a strangers door to ask for help. All you want to do is use their phone. Are you safe? Who will be on the other side of the door if they do in fact answer? Can you handle what you might encounter? What if the person who answers the door isn’t all they appear to be? What if, in fact, they are a cold-blooded killer? Would you know? Or want to know?

I really enjoyed the guessing game of this novel and trying to figure our what happened and what was going to happen. I also enjoyed how part of the story unfolded from 9 hours earlier from the POV of Martin Tate. There were a lot of oh-my-gosh moments for me and I loved the twists and turns that kept you guessing. With a killer of an ending (see what I did there?) that you will think about long after you’ve finished reading this novel, I definitely recommend you add this book to your TBR. You will love it!

It started really good but was disappointed it could have been so much better but having said that I did enjoy it I certainly wouldn’t want to call on Martin Tate at night or any other time come to that, not really sure why he was so evil it was exciting at times and a real page turner and thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy .

I thought this was going to be a quick DNF, but a nice little turn grabbed my interest. Although a little over halfway through it devolved into repetitive WTFness.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This started really well and I thought I was in for a belter, but quite soon it descended into a totally unbelievable story, with the lead character (whose name I can't remember just a few hours after finishing the book) making terrible decisions that I just couldn't see happening. What a shame, I was looking forward to a brilliant psychological thriller and it wasn't. I enjoyed the cat and mouse element of the story, but that was about it.

DNF at 30%, main character way too annoying and her and Elliotts relationship even more so
Great premise but lacking in believability

The beginning of this book and the end are amazing.
That ending!!! Oh my God!!! I can´t predict that and I finish the book with my mouth open, just thinking what I had just read. This is for sure one of the best endings that I already read.
With that said, I have to point out that the last few chapters before we reached that epic ending, became quite boring and could have been reduced, for that I can't give 5 stars and have to give 4 stars.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC*

I did not expect this book to be so creepy and unsettling with only 250 pages. I gave this book 3.5 stars and I really enjoyed it, well as enjoyable as being anxious and creeped out might be. The book is extremely fast-paced which is great for a thriller, however, it was predictable in some places except for the end, I did not predict that and it was done very well! There was one aspect of the story that was repeated and the effect that it's supposed to have on the reader was non-existent by the end as we know what to expect now. It kind of desensitises you to the trauma that's happening. Overall, I really enjoyed this so, if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller that actually thrills you, pick this up!

How creepy would it be to get into an accident and stumble to your nearest neighbor's house (whom you've never met) to get help only to find out the next day that the person you met was in fact the person who killed your neighbor? I honestly couldn't imagine the horror felt finding that out. That's exactly what Leah deals with in this new psychological thriller that's meant to make you think about how far you'd be willing to go to save an unfaithful husband and a father who's dementia makes him replace you with your dead sister.

I thought that the beginning of the story went very well. I liked hearing about Leah's failing marriage and hearing her inner thoughts during and after the accident which led her to do some of the things throughout the rest of the book. Seeing her encounter the would be murderer and then actually discovering that he was the killer and watching her go through all of those emotions was a wild ride which only ramped up as she's sent on an adventure by the murderer in order to discover just how much of a scumbag her husband is. The ending was also quite well done in my opinion. I liked the confrontation between her and Martin Tate before he actually takes her to her loved ones, and while his methodology about getting her to find out about her husband is absolutely horrific it was very well written. The last couple pages however has me not quite sure how I feel. I liked the sense of 'justice' but I'm also fond of her and her husband having to deal with his actions and her choices during this ordeal.

While the beginning and the end were by far my favorite the middle definitely left much to be desired. I thought the idea of this crazy search and find was great but I kind of feel like the execution was done poorly. There wasn't enough suspense to hold my attention and because of that it took me far longer to read this than I feel like it should have. I feel like I should have been a little more invested in our main character while she's having this crisis and I just felt like she didn't have much going for her.

I am very thankful to both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for letting me read and review this book early! I look forward to working with them in the future.

Wow what a roller coaster of a read. From the first chapter it had me gripped and I never knew what was coming next. A great twist at the end. I highly recommend this book it had me reading well into the night.

I could not put this book down! When Leah Talbot goes back to thank the kind male stranger who helped her the night before, she's stunned to find a crime scene and the victim has been murdered. The female victim. Edge of your set, pulse pounding fun! Thank you so much!

This is a fast-paced thriller that takes place entirely within a 24 hour period.Leah Talbot is driving home alone on Valentines night when she hits a deer on the road and wrecks her car. As her phone battery has died, she goes to the nearest house to ask them if she can use their phone to call for a recovery team to collect her car and her husband. She meets Martin Tate and then the story really gets interesting. My first book by this author, will look forward to more. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a honest review.

Remember the first time you saw "Saw"? Remember how you were somewhat interested in the movie and then....the thing happened at the end?

That's what happened here. The Good Neighbor starts out innocently enough - well, as innocent as hitting a deer with your car. Leah hits a deer and then goes to the nearest house for help. The handsome Martin Tate answers and helps Leah get back home. The next day, Leah decides to take Martin a bottle of wine as a thank you. What she finds is a ton of police....telling her that the owner was murdered. The female owner.

This book is a RIDDDEEEE. All of this takes place...in two days time. It's fast paced - beyond belief and ends with a BANG. I can not stress that enough.

It's an excellent thriller to read on a rainy day. Just....look out for deer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The first half of this book was very promising. The overall idea was engaging and interesting, but then I became frustrated with Leah, the main character. The way her thought processes were described made her sound overly anxious, annoying and a little bit neurotic. Some of her actions, such as leaving bodies as she discovered them without reporting, would be explainable and understandable - but Leah made these situations all about her and had no consideration for anyone else, leaning into her narcissism. There was also not much exploration of Tate's character and no understanding was given as to why he had, in effect, become a serial killer. A glimpse into his past would have solved this. He always did not follow a typical behavioural pattern of a serial killer - he was methodical, but this would have carried over into his physical behaviours. Anyone else who is an avid watcher of behavioural crime shows would also think this.

The twist at the end recovered some of the narrative of the second half, but this was not enough really. While generally this was a nice read, delving into the story itself lends much to be desired.

You know what makes this story REALLY creepy.. Somewhere in this twisted world there has probably been a man at some point of time that has actually done this to some poor individuals! And that's what makes this book truly terrifying.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter Publishing, and the author R.J. Parker for this enticing read!

The good neighbour is about a young woman, Leah, who while driving at night gets into an accident after she hits a deer with her car. With her cellphone dead and her car not starting after the accident she decides to walk to the nearest home and call for help. The man living there let’s her into the home to use the phone and clean up while waiting for help to arrive. After arriving home safely that night, Leah returns the next day to thank the man for his help. When she arrives at the house, it’s surrounded by police, under investigation of murder. Leah finds out that the owner of the house, a woman, was murdered and comes to find that the man who helped her the night before was the murderer.

I read this book in two days and had a very hard time putting it down, it was a fast paced thriller, with well developed characters, and wasted no time getting to the point. The book was well written and left me needing to know what was going to happen.

The only thing that bothered me a bit was Leah’s decision making throughout the book, at times I found her frustrating, but I think this was just the nature of her character. Had she have made different decisions I don’t know that there would be much of a story, so I understand the reasoning behind this.

I will definitely try other books by this author, and suggest this book to anyone who likes a psychological thriller, and a fast paced read.

Whenever I am struggling to read, or even pick up a book, I turn to thrillers to bring me back into the habit and re-engage me. 2021's route back into reading was R.J Parker's - The Good Neighbour (out on 18th March 2021).

When Leah Talbot crashes her car one night, she spots a light on in a nearby house and approaches, hoping that someone is home. He is. Charming, handsome, Martin Tate answers the door to the bedraggled and traumatised Leah, inviting her in. Though she’s not there for long, they share a brief kiss, and Leah feels an indescribable pull to the man who has helped in her hour of need. But when she returns the next morning to say thank you, and with the hope of something more, it isn’t Martin who answers the door this time. It’s the police, and there's the dead body of the home owner Alice Booth upstairs.

The set up to this book is terrific. Man helps woman in trouble, immediate sexual chemistry; only problem is man is a murderer.

What follows is typical genre game of cat and mouse with 'Martin' leaving a trial of bodies as he 'woos' his kindred spirit Leah. Meanwhile Leah plays her own game of cat and mouse with the police, in an attempt to save the ones she loves. It is all good murdering fun. If the book has a problem, it is that the start is just so good that the rest of the book struggles to compete with that initial set up. That said, the book is well paced and I rattled through it in a few sittings. The bodies and the tension build nicely to the eventual show-down between the two protagonists.

Right, where's my next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this ARC.

Picture the scene. It’s Wednesday, football night. I’m in my chair, headphones on, angle poise lamp on so I can do some notes, and I am really engrossed in this book. I was conscious of my increased pulse rate and the sense of dread was growing every page I turned. I wanted to know what happened next, but , I also didn’t want to turn the page, as the horrors awaiting, were generally worse than the previous atrocities!
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, screamed, jumped up and hit my head on the lamp, took off the headphones and saw the bemused face of the hubster! It’s half time, would you like a drink?
After we had pacified the dog, who was charging around the house, barking madly, and I had a glass of Vodka by my side, I felt confident enough to return to the book.
Leah Talbot is driving home at night , when she hits a deer and sustains damage to her car. Deer are capable of causing such damage to cars when they land on the car bonnet, and if the antlers are facing towards you, you run the very real risk of being impaled , or worse. She walks to the nearest house for help, and the door is opened by Martin Tate, who is concerned and friendly, calls the Police and the AA recovery, and lets Leah borrow his phone to call her estranged husband, Elliot. She gives Martin her address so he can pass on this information to the Police when they arrive, and she returns home.
That is just the start of an ever worsening nightmare for Leah and all those she holds dear to her. When she returns to the house the next day to thank Martin, she finds Police cars about , and is informed that the real owner of the house, is Alice Booth and she has been murdered. Leah is in grave danger, Martin begins to show his true colours, and the body count grows. The dangers of modern technology are revealed, as he has access to her contacts and their addresses, can send threatening text messages and basically use every detail of Leah's life to put his twisted plans into action.
This is a truly scary and horrific read. I let my imagination run riot, I found it to be nerve jangling, sick and twisted, a real page turner. It asks the question, whom is most important to you, and what would you sacrifice in order to protect the ones you love.
The ending is brilliant, devious and so clever, a real tour de force, revenge from beyond. This has to be made into a film, it would be fantastic.
This is without question one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reviewing. A genuine five star read. I have already recommended it to my daughter and her Zoom book club, after the husband had told her of my ‘ over reaction’, she is looking forward to reading it for herself, and then, no doubt, we will plan who we would like to see in the film version of this book.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Netgalley and R.J. Parker, for the chance to read this marvellous book. This review is my honest opinion. I have rated this as a five star read, I will post reviews to Goodreads and Amazon upon publication.