Sharon Bolton never disappoints. This book had me hooked from the start. I highly recommend this book to my fellow thriller lovers. The pages are simply unputdownable.

I absolutely LOVE Sharon Bolton's books and was really excited to get a copy of The Neighbour's Secret from Netgalley.

Anna has just moved to St Alban's Chapel, a relatively quiet and remote village in the Lake District to open up a bakery and escape her past.
However, it soon becomes apparent that not all is what it seems, when strange things start happening during the annual festival run by church. Known as The Gathering, families from all over the UK, descend on this little village for a strange and extremely secretive ceremony which centres around the teenager churchgoers.

When a young girl and her mother visit Anna's bakery it becomes clear the girl is in distress and potentially danger too and Anna starts to look into The Gathering in more detail and becomes alarmed to learn that 3 girls have gone missing over the last 3 years during the ceremonies

The story is mainly narrated by Anna's neighbour who lives in the middle of the 3 terraced house and has an indepth knowledge of the villagers and their strange traditions. Throughout the book, it's obvious the main narrator doesn't like Anna very much but quickly finds themselves getting involved in the investigation and trying to help the young girl,

There is also a dual time frame story featuring a rather disturbed young man who is undergoing therapy having had a violent and frenzied attack on a school teacher.

Slowly and cleverly the two stories begin to merge together and the reader is led on a twisty and twisted tale of secrets, murder and obsession.

I absolutely loved this book. There is one particular OMG twist which I absolutely did not see coming and turned the entire story on it's head for me personally.

Sharon Bolton is an expert at stand-alone thrillers that will leave you second- guessing yourself. The Neighbour's Secret is a dual plot thriller, firstly focussing on the sinister goings on of a closed off church group at their annual Ungathering Festival; and secondly following teenager Jago Moore as he goes through therapy sessions following a series of violent incidents at school and home.

Both plot-lines are brilliantly developed and I quickly became invested in what was going on, desperate to find out how the stories were going to be resolved. There are some great characters and devious plots that twist and turn in ways I was not anticipating.

The narrator of Sharon Bolton’s new novel is the very definition of a nosy neighbour. Living in the middle of three adjoining cottages with very thin walls makes it easy to hear the people on either side: the narrator knows what music they listen to and what they watch on television, who they speak to on the telephone and what time they get out of bed in the morning. In the evening, as it gets dark and people turn on their lights, it’s time to take a walk through the streets of the small Cumbrian village specifically to pry through illuminated windows to see the residents going about their daily lives. This is why the narrator becomes frustrated when Anna Brown moves in next door and stubbornly remains a woman of mystery, giving away very few clues to her past.

Yet the narrator is also a mystery, reluctant to share personal information with either the reader or the other characters. For a long time we don’t even know their name, which is why I’m being equally secretive in this review! Let’s focus on the plot instead. There are two separate storylines that alternate throughout the book, starting to come together towards the end. In the first, the narrator and Anna, who have formed a tense friendship, investigate the disappearances of several teenage girls at the InGathering, a yearly event held by the local church. The details of this event are – like everything else in this book – shrouded in mystery, but the church seems to resemble a cult with rituals and traditions that they prefer to keep hidden.

The other narrative is set a year earlier and describes the meetings between a psychiatrist and her patient, seventeen-year-old Jago Moore. Jago stabbed one of his teachers at school and the authorities want an assessment of his medical condition before deciding what action to take. This storyline seems quite unrelated to the other, until we start to suspect who the psychiatrist is. Again, though, not everything is as it seems and there are multiple twists and turns as we head towards the conclusion of the book!

I was able to guess some of the plot twists before they happened, but not all of them and not always very far in advance. It’s easy to make certain assumptions about some of the characters and situations in the book, but these assumptions aren’t necessarily correct and Bolton very cleverly creates confusion and misdirection from beginning to end.

The central mystery surrounding the disappearing girls at the InGathering was actually the part of the novel that interested me the least and I found the revelations about what was really going on at the church quite far-fetched. The Jago Moore sections, however, were chilling – Jago is clever and manipulative and I found his behaviour terrifyingly believable. The whole book has a dark, creepy atmosphere; the village of St Abel’s Chapel in the Lake District should have been an idyllic setting, but with so much secrecy and with most of the action taking place in the middle of the night, it feels like a sinister place rather than a picturesque one.

Although this isn’t one of my absolute favourite books by Sharon Bolton, I did enjoy it and liked it better than last year’s The Fake Wife. It seems that her next book, coming in 2025, will be another standalone; I’m looking forward to it but would also like a return to the Lacey Flint series, which I love!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion for my ARC copy!

The neighbours secrets by Sharon Bolton is an absolute belter of a book and i LOVED it.

I honestly didn't have a clue where the story was going to take me at all. I didn't know where all the characters were going to fit in and It kept me guessing and trying to figure the book out the whole way through.

The twists and turns in this book were AMAZING.

One of the best books I've read this year

I really enjoyed the fast paced storyline and the dual timeline, I did struggle with the switch between 1st and 3rd person and at times got confused, but overall this was a good book and the twists throughout kept me on my toes!

I love Sharon Bolton’s books and this was no exception.
A creepy tale revolving around a psychiatrist and her young patient and its violent outcome.
The action moves between this situation and the present day in a rural village and the strange goings on at the annual church meet.
I won’t say more as there are some beautiful twists and misdirections that need to stay unseen. Great book.

The Neighbours Secret is a book that had no idea where it was going to take me!
Anna has just moved into the village, St Alban's Chapel a remote village in the Lake District, she is having a new start and is the villages new baker. Every year the church have a huge week long festival type event that the locals are not allowed near called “ the gathering”. In the ,ast four years three sixteen year old girls have lost their lives. Anna gets close to one of the girls there and tries to help her but who does she trust and is her last going to catch up with her?
This was a really good storyline that didn’t end anywhere near what I thought it would do. The characters are all very different and I didn’t get confused. The two main characters were different which made it interesting to read. A thriller I enjoyed.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great thriller that will certainly keep you on your toes.
Anna moves to a new place and sets up her own bakery. Her neighbour takes a keen interest in her and at first I thought he didn’t like her.
But as I soon found out, there’s so many layers to each character, that none of them are quite what they seem.
Anna is keen to find out why lots of people flock to this village once a year and is shocked to find out that teenage girls have gone missing in the past.
A girl asks Anna for help and her and her neighbour try to do what they can for her.
There’s some great twists in this book and as I’ve mentioned, not everything is quite what it seems.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for this eCopy to review

The Neighbour’s Secret is full of secrets, lies, and red herrings. From the very first page, I was drawn into Anna’s world as she navigates her new life in a seemingly idyllic rural community in Cumbria. The atmosphere Bolton creates is both eerie and captivating, making it impossible to put the book down.

Anna’s determination to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances of teenage girls at the annual Gathering was both inspiring and nerve-wracking. I felt her fear and frustration as she realized that the community’s secrets ran deeper than she could have ever imagined. The tension built up masterfully, with each twist and turn keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The characters were richly developed, and I found myself deeply invested in their fates. The way Bolton weaves together the various threads of the story, leading to a shocking and satisfying conclusion, was nothing short of brilliant. The final twist left me reeling, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it long after I had finished the book.

Overall, The Neighbour’s Secret is a gripping, atmospheric thriller that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery with plenty of surprises

Anna moves to a new village for a fresh start. Only once there does she learn about the disappearance of multiple teenage girls and the strange local traditions. Another girl begs Anna to help her, fearing she will be next. Anna knows she needs to step in and work out what is happening, however does she have her own secrets?

This was an entertaining thriller with lots of different threads that come together by the end, offering a clever, complex read. I enjoyed the short, snappy chapters, although the story did start slow and it wasn’t until the half way mark that I became more invested in the story. I had in my head early on what I believed certain truths to be and I was surprised to find out that I had been correct. There were a few other interesting twists though that I did not expect.

The characters were written well and I enjoyed some of their inner thoughts. There were parts that I also found amusing. This was a good, well constructed thriller overall, which has you questioning yourself and is perfect for those looking for a dark, twisty read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion publishers for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for a free and honest review.

This was my first Sharon Bolton book and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style and the placement of twists were perfect. I definitely didn't know exactly where everything was going to go.

My only slight complaint was that I was invested in one of the dual timelines much more than the other. I think im finding though that is due to a trope that I don't particularly like but is very popular in the thriller world. So I wouldnt dissuade anyone from reading this book - I thought it was very well done. 3.5 🌟

‘The Neighbour’s Secret’ by Sharon Bolton is a layered, engrossing and unpredictable thriller set in a small village. It’s hard to describe the story too much without spoilers, as each time the reader gets a grasp on the tale, another rug is pulled out from underneath them due to an unexpected revelation.

Exploring themes of religion, psychiatry, morality and sin, the novel is told across dual timelines to build up the suspense.
There were a few twists in the story that really shocked me, but as I reflected on them, I realised the author had skilfully planted the seeds.

This gets four stars from me, and I raced through it eagerly to the satisfying and revealing conclusion!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Orion Publishing via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love reading books by Sharon Bolton, like this one they always have me hooked and keep me guessing all the way through!

A definition of a page turner.
A different and original story for me which is always a bonus. I don't know how writers keep finding new plots. But I'm very glad they do, ha.
All the characters have their own agendas or things to hide in this book. As you sometime read things like this and think " how or why are they getting away with this. Or "why isn't this being shouted about. Girls are missing. Girls are dead!"
Anna turns up to this close community wanting her own fresh start. Sadly things take a turn and she become right in the middle of a mess. Someone bags for her help. But how does she do so when she has her own secrets to hide?

Buckle up and enjoy the ride because the queen of the twist has a new book out.

The Neighbour's Secret is the definition of a page turner, and had me gripped. Just when I thought I had worked everything out, the novel moved in a new direction to completely throw me off balance and I loved it!

Anna has recently moved to the small village of St Abel Chapel in a remote part of the Lake District, hoping to make a fresh start with her new business running a bakery, but she quickly learns that everything is not as it seems in this village. Every year there is an event called the InGathering, held by a church group at a local hall, but their traditions leave a lot to be desired and in the last four years three young girls have lost their lives and one is missing, they were all about to become sixteen. A young girl approaches Anna asking for her help, convinced she will be next and Anna is determined to help her, but Anna has secrets of her own and someone is keeping a watchful eye on her too.

The Neighbours Secret is the latest thriller from Bolton, told across a dual timeline of the present day and one year earlier. It's an intricately weaved tale which draws the reader in from the beginning and doesn't let go till the end, with short chapters full of twists and turns, leaving you wondering what on earth is going to happen next at the turn of every page. The yearly event held by the church is bordering on that of a cult with all the mysterious goings on that they are desperate to keep hidden, and then we have Anna and her neighbours who seem to all have their own agendas going on with each other which, at times, makes it hard to know where this story is actually heading, but definitely leaves you wanting more. Another intriguing read from this author.

I'd like to thank Orion Publishing and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Unfortunately and unusually for Sharon Bolton novels I found the neighbours secret really hard going, I just couldn't find anyhing that I liked about it, The characters are all flawed with no redeaming features and even the twists in the plot failed to change my mind and its so disappointing to write this, as normally I enjoy Boltons writing but this one wasn't for me.

This was one of the most fascinating reads. Full of twists and turns which kept me captivated. Just when you think you know who the culprit is everything changes. It kept me guessing right to the end. Brilliant.

I’ve read a few of Sharon Bolton’s books and was delighted to receive a copy of her latest novel, The Neighbour’s Secret, publishing on 7th November. Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my copy.

Anna is new to the village and looking for a fresh start. The annual Ingathering takes place, and with it come rumours of abuse and murder. Three teenage girls have gone missing over the years, with another seeming in fear of her life turning to Anna for help. Anna and her neighbour are thrown together as they to find out what’s going on at the gathering. Meanwhile, someone from Anna’s old life threatens to sabotage the new life she’s built for herself. Who can you trust?

This book is easy to read with nice short chapters and is definitely a page turner. It’s full of twists and red herrings and nothing is quite as it seems. Just when I thought I’d worked something out i was proved totally wrong. The story alternates between the present day and the previous year.

The characters are alright, but I didn’t overly warm to any of them. I was quite confused by Anna’s neighbour and what the fuss was about the surgery he’d had?

At times I did wonder if there was a bit too much going on as it wasn’t always easy to keep on top of everything. Nonetheless, this was a good enough read and a bit different.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.