I read this book in one day it was that good. Such a different and imaginative thriller that I literally couldn't put down. I loved how this book unfolded it seemed at the end of each chapter I was left hanging with some sort of new twist or motive. I really liked how this book jumped straight into it, there wasn't any unnecessary detail that I didn't need to know it just cracked straight on with the main plot line. Seriously if you like a thriller read this book!

Ugh, so creepy! I loved this book but it did freak me out a bit! Lots of gory details and kept a fast past throughout. I was less than thrilled with the end which is the only reason I gave it 4 stars as I felt like the main character was making such stupid decisions which didn't seem plausible...Guess that is why it is fiction though!

WOW the Good Neighbour was such a great read! The plot was so different than most thrillers and I loved all the twists!

It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Leah knocks on a door after hitting a deer she gets more than she bargains for. She has stumbled on a crime scene and now she is involved. This book is an intense book with Leah carrying out questionable things. How will it end? It felt like Leah was on a hamster wheel that she couldn't escape. It will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.

Leah is driving home alone at night and gets into a crash on a lonely stretch of road. She sees a light on, and knocks on the door looking for help. She finds a charming man, friendly, polite, willing to welcome her in and offer her help, even though she interrupted his evening meal, is babbling and is covered in blood. His name is Martin Tate, and he is a perfect gentleman. He invites her in, tells her to get herself cleaned up, calls the police for her, catches her when she faints from shock, and calls roadside recovery for her. The perfect charmer, right? A building sense of unease and tension starts to urge Leah from the house, willing to wait in the rain for the recovery truck.

Despite this, she finds herself drawn back the next day, gift in hand, to say thank you. Unsure of quite what she was feeling the previous night, but wanting to find out more. However, when she arrives at the house she finds a crime scene and police swarming the area. Someone has been horrifically murdered. Mutilated. Graphically, brutally. The homeowner. But Martin Tate is not the homeowner….

This discovery sends Leah spiraling into a frantic race, with horror after horror unfolding, and a scramble against the clock to save all she loves. Or thinks she loves.

A fast paced read, the story doesn’t let up, with momentum continually gathering, and the story gripping you from the start. Highly recommend you read - and then think twice about EVER knocking on a stranger's door!!

The book started off strong and I had high hopes, which were quickly dashed once implausible events were introduced. It was a bit of a problematic read for me because of that, and despite it being a relatively fast-paced read, is not one I can recommend.

I found this book to be very enjoyable, if little bit creepy, no not a little bit, a lot creepy.
Great atmosphere and really I had to keep reading and reading to get to the end.
I loved it.

What an absolutely insane ride.

The good neighbour by R.J Parker is a fast paced crime thriller and follows the story of Leah. Leah was driving home on a dark country road when she collides with an animal. She has no charge on her mobile phone and spots a house not far away from the crash and knocks on the door. She is greeted by a gentleman named Martin Tate. Martin lets Leah in to use the phone to call her husband Elliot. Martin calls the tow people for Leah’s car and the police. He also charges up her mobile phone.

The next morning Leah turns up to Martin’s house to thank him for his hospitality and help to find the place surrounded my police cars, she speaks to the police and finds out that the owner has been murdered – Not Martin Tate. Nothing is at it seems. The story gets interesting on the turn of every chapter – Who is Martin Tate and what does he want with Leah?

The Good Neighbour is released on the 18th March 2021. If you are looking for a faced paced crime thriller this one is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for this ARCC in exchange for an honest review.

On Valentines night Leah is making her way home to the village of Forley when her car hits a deer and is forced off the road. Although not being far from home, she seeks assistance at a nearby house and despite the late hour Martin Tate thankfully comes to her rescue, a kind and helpful stranger with whom she senses an immediate and mutual attraction. The next morning she mulls over the events of the previous night, one that could so easily have ended in tragedy and unable to seek comfort in the arms of her husband Elliot decides to return to Martin Tate’s house under the pretence of saying thank you. What she doesn’t expect to find outside his home is a number of police vehicles, the house now part of a crime scene in which a brutal murder has taken place. Martin Tate is nowhere to be seen so has Leah had a lucky escape or is her nightmare just beginning??

With such a brilliant and chilling start I was excited to begin this journey into the unknown, unsure what the author had in mind for these two characters. My first thoughts were that Leah would become a prime suspect in this murder investigation but instead events take a far more sinister turn. The police believe she could be in danger herself, her husband too so the chase is on to capture the killer before he can strike again. However, the killer has other plans for Leah which she must comply with in order to stay safe. What will she decide to do? Make the sensible decision to let the police do their job or enter into a game in which there are no rules and the consequences of losing don’t bear thinking about?

It’s my opinion that this thriller is very much a mixed bag of good and not so very good elements. This storyline begins so strongly with a surprising twist that augurs well for the rest of the novel and I thought the ending was inspired and clever but everything in between didn’t match up to my initial expectations. It’s frustrating when this happens but I think there are a number of reasons why I was left feeling disappointed. To a certain degree the author has created a wonderfully wicked and monstrous character in the shape of the ‘good neighbour’ Martin Tate, so that there is an undercurrent of creepiness throughout, keeping your senses on high alert for signs of danger which lurks around every corner .Coupled with some pretty gruesome scenarios you are kept in a heightened state of anxiety at what may befall some of these characters so in that sense this makes for a gripping and nail biting read. You can never quite prepare yourself for what’s coming next, knowing you’re in the presence of evil yet Leah’s frankly insane,foolhardy behaviour tips this storyline into the realms of the unbelievable. There were too many occasions when I had to question her actions, wondering whether she’s incredibly brave or incredibly stupid! I think the easiest way to sum up events that transpire following her ill timed car accident is that they represent a high risk, dangerous game of ‘ catch me if you can’ which Leah willingly entertains, her vulnerability targeted so that she becomes a plaything for her puppet master. The stakes are high and collateral damage is inevitable so you can expect this game to amass a few innocent casualties as it winds its way to a terrifying conclusion.

The weakness of this thriller lies in the lack of backstories for the two main characters which would add much needed flesh to their bones. Instead the author skims over their past histories, offering the barest of insights into their backgrounds so I never felt I truly understood what had led them all to this moment in time. I couldn’t imagine Leah beyond a woman stuck in a loveless marriage intent on behaving in the most foolhardy, frankly ridiculous of ways, nor visualise Elliot other than a coldhearted man who may or may not also be unfaithful or contemplate Martin Tate as anything beyond the monster he’s allowed himself to become. I was desperate to know the reasons WHY these three characters have reached their current state of being, exasperated by writing that only scratches the surface and offers no satisfying answers.

Although I preferred The Good Neighbour to R J Parker’s previous novel While I Slept I still have reservations about the plausibility of Leah’s behaviour and whether she happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or if she’s being deliberately targeted. If it’s the latter which I assume it is, then I’ve failed to fathom out how, even though I can grasp the reasons why. Perhaps you’ll have better luck! This is a quick read so if you have a few hours to spare and can overlook the improbable behaviour of the lead female character then I promise you too will be held to ransom by this storyline that delivers in terms of the fear factor. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy.

After crashing her car on a dark country road Leah doesn't know what to do until she spots the light on in a nearby house. Martin Tate opens up his home to Leah phoning the emergency services and letting her charge her phone. The next morning Leah goes back to thank Martin but finds the house swarming with police and a dead body in the bedroom. The deceased is the homeowner and is not Martin Tate. Just who was Martin Tate and what does he want from Leah? The cat and mouse game soon begins.

The action in this book is fast paced and twisted. I did mark it down as I felt no connection at all to the main characters. I found Leah and Elliot madly infuriating. The story line also got a bit far fetched at some points which put me off.

What a rollercoaster of a book, the story starts off as Leah was driving home on a dark night and ends up hitting a deer and needs a tow truck but of course her cell phone is dead. Leah sees a house in the distance and decides to see if she can use their phone, a man named Tate answers the door and is very kind to help her but Leah is feeling weird about the situation and has passed out twice now from shock but how long had she been passed out? and what were the intentions of this nice neighbor? the next day she goes back to the house to give the neighbor a bottle of wine for helping her and the house is swarmed with cops, there was a tragic accident. The generous man she met last night was not the owner of the house in fact the owner of the house was upstairs and Tate had killed her.

I read this book in 24 hours it was definitely one you cant put down!

I found this to be a fast paced gripping read which kept me interested from the beginning. All the characters were excellent and it was well written.

I can definitely recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins One more Chapter for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the arc of The Good Neighbour by R.J Parker.

4 stars- This follows Leah Talbot whom is driving home alone on Valentine's Day when she accidnetally hits a deer.. and ends up wrecking her car,... Sadly her phone battery is all out, she see's a house nearby so she goes to knock for help to ask if she can use the phone to call the recovery team to collect her car as well as her husband too. When she gets to this house there is a man whom is named Martin Tate, there is some sort of connection between the two to the fact Martin actually calls his own recovery team to Leah's Aide. Leah goes back to Martin's the next day to give him a present of some wine to say thank you for what he did... but when she got there to find out that the house is cordoned off by police and that in fact the man who answered the door Martin doesn't actually live there but in fact is the murderer of the woman who ACTUALLY lives there!!! (This was a shock for me!!)

This was such a fast paced, gripping and very interesting and crazy book, with lots of unexpected twists and turns and definitely some shocks! Loved this very much!

4 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lies We Tell by RJ Parker

Some days are just filled to the brim! For Leah Talbot driving late at night returning home to an empty house, she hits a deer, kills it, then has to move the corpse off the road so as to avoid other drivers crashing into it. Then her phone is dead. Never mind, she will walk to the next lot of houses; ah, there is one with lights on. I will try there. The whole of the action takes place in 24 hours.

During her encounter with the home-owner (Martin Tate) who assists her by letting her use the phone, the bathroom and even calls the police for her – she is utterly charmed by him, hesitant but interested: oh and of course they kiss. Naturally?

Interestingly enough, the following day, as goes to see Martin Tate once more, she is met by the police, Martin was not the homeowner. She has been murdered – the previous night.
Clearly, you have to suspend belief in reading this novel, but suspend, suspend. This is really fast paced thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed even though it is a stretch – but then again I also believe in fairies.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book centres around Leah. Leah is married to Elliot, but their marriage is pretty much dead in the water. They sleep in separate rooms and have separate lives, and only communicate the practicalities of living together. Leah thinks Elliot may be seeing someone else, but can’t be so sure. She works from home, and helps care for her father, who has Alzheimer’s. On Valentine’s Day, she is driving home, after being at a work thing, and hits a deer, which also pretty much ruins the front wheel of her car. Her phone is dead and so can’t ring for help, and she is on a lane which is deserted. Then she remembers a house down the road, and heads for there. When she arrives, she meets Martin Tate, who helps her inside and calls the AA, as well as helping her after she becomes unwell from shock at the car accident. The AA arrive and pick her and her car up and drops her back home. Elliot arrives after her, and she explains about the accident. The next morning, she takes a bottle of wine to drop back to Martin as a thank you for his help, but she’s alarmed when she is faced by a heavy police presence at the house and a dead body inside. Soon after this, she receives a text, and must play along if she wants everything to work out.

This was a really great book, and a really easy read. The writing flows nicely, and the characters were ok, I didn’t really relate to any of them, but I think it’s because I found Leah quite irritating, and I spent a lot of time berating her for her actions, but that made the book better. I’ve read all of this authors works and the books get better and better. Can’t wait for the next one. Would happily recommend to all.

I was so intrigued by the title and blurb that this jumped to the top of my read folder and I did not regret it. This is a very disturbing and also poignant novel about chance encounters and the choices people are forced to make. It had me double checking that our doors and windows were locked on more than one occasion! Threaded through the plot are key issues such as who can a person really trust, what would someone do for love, what does parental love mean and what the impact of aged parents forgetting things that are important to their children has on the choices the (adult) children have to make. I think a lot of energy went into writing this novel and it was worth every moment I spent reading (and being terrified by) it.

Ahhh...conflicted. So freaking conflicted over The Good Neighbour. #struggleisreal

On one hand, I really loved how fast paced the story moved, and I was really intrigued at the beginning. Unfortunately, things just started to get a bit unbelievable about halfway thru, and I just couldn't get my excitement back up as I had been at the start of the book.

3 stars, maybe 3.5 stars overall.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Good Neighbour by R. J. Parker is a fast paced, cat and mouse style page turner. It started off great and was an easy read however, I feel that it began to get quite far fetched and unrealistic as it went on, especially Leah’s decisions and reactions and I don’t really think the ending gave any real rhyme nor reason for anything that happened.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks NetGalley, author R.J. Parker, and One More Chapter for giving me an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
One night, Leah is driving home and hits a deer. With her car left in a ditch and her phone not charged, she knocks on the door of a nearby house. A charming and helpful man named Martin answers the door and allows her to call AA in order to help her get her car. In order to thank Martin for his help, Leah drives to Martin's house the next day with a bottle of wine, but when she gets there, the police inform her that a terrible crime had taken place.
This book read a lot like a Lifetime movie! This book was fast paced, entertaining, and full of action! I was able to read this book in one sitting. The characters were not overly developed, but the author gave just enough information about them to create the suspense/mystery around them. Overall, this was a book I would recommend those that enjoy a quick paced thriller during a cozy weekend!

In the title, the word ‘good’ should be in inverted commas! There is nothing good about neighbours in it. The story starts dramatically as Leah runs her car off the toad when she hits a deer. She looks for help at the only house nearby. Martin Tate answers the door and helps her. However, it emerges quickly that he is not the pleasant householder he seems to be. From that exciting start, the book moves on at a good pace with unexpected revelations coming every few chapters. Another of the catastrophes that hit Leah comes because of the neighbours at her home. They are not ‘good’ either! Leah then becomes trapped by Tate in a situation where if she involves the police she puts at risk two people close to her. At that point, the book does stretch credulity but is still readable. The whole story is certainly a roller coaster ride.