This was such an easy to read, engrossing novel, as I have found with several other of Claire Douglas' books. I finished it in days and never got bored or uninterested in what was going on. Her characters and plots feel effortless, and from the first page the reader is catapulted straight into the middle of the character's lives, able to empathise with them easily because they are so well drawn.

The main character here, Lena, is a woman living with her teenage son Rufus and still getting over the recent breakdown of her marriage to musician Charlie. She has the usual stresses and strains that many people will be able to identify with - worries over whether it was right to end her relationship, fears over how life will be when Rufus leaves for university, wondering what happened to her own hopes and dreams while she was busy supporting others to achieve theirs.

An early scene sees her spill a bag of shopping in front of new neighbours and her horror at them seeing the 'junk' food she's bought is something that will probably echo with lots of people.

Lena as a character is really interesting and likeable, and the plot that quickly develops is engrossing. Lena accidentally overhears her new neighbours, Marielle and Henry, seemingly discussing possibly doing something sinister and illegal. She quickly gets suspicious of them, encouraged by other bits of odd behaviour, and decides to try and investigate further.

The host of characters brought into the story - her friend Jo, her husband, Rufus' guitar teacher Kit, Drew - a customer at the Citizens' Advice centre where she works - all help add to a sense of unease for the reader. Who can Lena trust?

The plot is pretty fast paced and there is plenty going on in the various interwoven threads of Lena's life and subplots. I thought the characters were also very well rounded and realistic - for instance, Lena's relationship with Charlie isn't one of antagonism and hatred, but simply one of people who love each other but don't quite fit together anymore.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to hunker down with a good mystery and great characters, and have already collected a couple more Claire Douglas novels to read in the future.

I enjoyed this book. Lena has new next door neighbours. They do seem friendly when she meets them briefly. They are a retired professional couple and Lena feels that she will be happy to befriend them. Her son, Rufus, is doing a film course at college and brings home a microphone to record sounds of the suburbs as part of his course. Lena overhears something which disturbs her and she is determined to find out what is happening as she is slightly freaked out by the conversation. She gets far to involved in the drama and this leads to all sorts of problems for her. Lena is convinced that Henry is the one to watch. As she has a key to the property from the original owner, she decides to investigate the house when they are away. What she finds disturbs her. Lena confides in a friend who tries to persuade to leave this alone but she feels she must continue to investigate. This leads to her getting into all sorts of trouble. She starts to investigate on line and comes up with all sorts of questions. Eventually her fears come home to roost, things become serious and the truth comes out. The book twists and turns into different eras and I liked this especially as it flows freely without losing momentum. Great read

Whilst The New Neighbours isn't as good as some of Claire's previous work, it is still a satisfying thriller and Claire will continue to be an author I'll pick up time and time again.
4 stars.

An absolute classic Claire Douglas in my mind.

This was thrilling and mysterious. Obviously, there were aspects that i guessed, but when you read enough it is hard to come across a book where you cannot see the tropes.

That being said, I loved the ending and it always tinkers on morally grey- which i eat up

This is her best book yet! I loved it.

I’ve read all of Claire Douglas’s other books and really enjoyed them, so was really looking forward to reading this new one. It certainly didn’t disappoint. I was engrossed from page 1 and raced through this book.

It’s more than worthy of 5 stars.

Enjoyed this though felt the pace dropped a bit in the middle and it could have been tighter - found myself skipping forwards to find out how it was going to resolve. Having said that I liked the central character Lena, her fallibility, and the messy domestic situation she finds herself in.

Lena lives in a quiet neighbourhood with her 17 year old son Rufus. She has new neighbours move in next door and initially they seem lovely but then she overhears a conversation, one where they sounded like they were planning a crime. Surely she misheard. The Morgans are a retired couple but she just can't stop thinking about it. As small things start to occur, Lena begins to wonder what the Morgans are up to.

This was another intriguing novel by the author, where she leaves tiny clues throughout and intertwines some very clever twists. While I did guess one small part, there were lots of surprises and as always, the writing was brilliant!

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this gifted review copy.

Claire Douglas is one of my favourite thriller authors, and in this taut, chilling story, she takes the reader back and forth with suspicions, complications and multiple points of view, in a way that really does a number on your head.

When an older couple moves in next door, Lena initially finds the Morgans charming. But then, elements begin to emerge that throw suspicion on their behaviour.

With Lena herself being someone who struggles to maintain boundaries, and is driven by the experience of a dark secret from her past, the combination of characters that Douglas sets up here is an explosive one. And the result does not disappoint!

This intelligent, atmospheric, creepy thriller is definitely worth a read.

Immersive, Compelling..
An overheard conversation is the catalyst for a spiralling sequence of events in this suspenseful mystery where not everything is as it seems. When Lena overhears her new neighbours seemingly plotting a crime she tries to convince herself that she must have misheard, indeed friends and family tell her as much - but Lena just cannot let it drop… Immersive and compelling with a well crafted plot brimming with twists and a credible cast of characters.

Best book this year. New neighbours move in, an accidental recording, a crying baby. What is going on next door? The list of people I found not to trust got longer. Lena is sure there is something amiss with her neighbours, a long lost colleague has gone missing, the neighbours have clippings from newspapers on their wall. The baby is a fake. This story twists back to the 1990’s when Lena was training to be a midwife and ends dramatically. I couldn’t put it down.

I've loved reading Claire Douglas since she published 'The Couple at No 9' and once again she's pulled a rabbit out of the hat. 'The New Neighbours' is deeply tense and delightfully ambiguous, carefully and cleverly misdirecting the reader to think one thing, when actually something else is going on. A number of parallel threads - plots and subplots - weave together beautifully, and the main characters truly inhabited the space. In fact, 'the neighbours' were very creepy and, occasionally, made me feel a tiny bit paranoid. It's a good job my neighbours are lovely. At least, I think they are...

Another gripping and fast paced book from Claire Douglas with various characters that build a complex and compelling story. Lena lives with her teenage son Rufus and is intrigued when a seemingly well off retired couple move in next door. They seem friendly enough but when Lena overhears an odd conversation between them she wonders if they are doing something illegal. Curiosity gets the better of her and she embarks on a dangerous mission to discover just what they’re up to. They seem to be evasive at times and are caught out in their lies. A large amount of coincidental circumstances frighten Lena so much that she doesn’t know who to trust and they lead her down a path of no return. A complex story that has some unexpected twists but a final explanation makes sense of all the bizarre happenings. Another brilliant story from Claire Douglas.

Lena suspects the retired couple who have just moved in next door may not be who they seem when she accidentally overhears their conversation. Parts of this thriller were quite predictable but others kept me guessing until the end.

I enjoyed it but it's not the best of her books hence the 4 star rating rather than 5 star. Still a good read though.

A good story which is totally messed up and has a great twist towards the end which I personally didn't see coming.

Lena lives with her teenage son Rufus after recently separated from her husband Charlie. Rufus is about to set off to Uni and Lena feels a bit lonely. But she is happy when she sees she has new neighbours retired Doctor Henry and his wife Marella. But she soon finds out that the couple are not as they appear to be when Lena whilst in the garden overhears her neighbours plotting a crime. She tells her nearest and dearest what she overheard, and they warn her to be careful. But Lena can’t get it out of her head the conversation she heard and sets off to investigate.
Thank you, the publisher, for a copy of Claire Douglas latest novel. I have read most of the authors work and like her others this does not disappoint. This is a tense, gripping thriller. The storyline is well thought out and has lots of twists and turns that keeps to guessing and wanting more. I was just a bit disappointed at the ending. It wasn’t so much a big reveal at the end but a satisfying one nevertheless. 4 stars from me

This is my first book that I’ve read by Claire Douglas and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it.

What a read this is!!!!
I absolutely loved it, I loved the characters, I loved the tone, the setting and the pace of the book. The chapters were at the perfect length too (I’m not a fan of long chapters).

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Lena, Henry Marielle. The twists and turns had me hooked and I thought I knew what was going to happen but nope I was wrong again.

Thank you to Claire and the publishing team for accepting my request to read The New Neighbours. I look forward to reading more from Claire.

An enjoyable page turner.
The plot and pace made for a quick read, I enjoyed the movie references that came up!
I enjoy books by this author, not a 5 star as I do feel that a few of the things that come to light deserve a little more explanation.
With thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

A great mystery thriller read that I enjoyed. There are various twists and turns to kept you guessing. I liked Lena and enjoyed the variety of characters, although I was worried about her involvement with the neighbours.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

An enjoyable read from Claire Douglas with varied characters, each with their own POVs.
Even though not a lot really happens until quite away into the story it was still a good page turner and kept my attention.I must say I disliked Lena very much and quite a few others which for me showcases the authors great storytelling skills.
A few unexpected twists and a satisfying ending made for a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Books for the Arc.

✨4.5 stars ✨

I’ve enjoyed every book that I have read by this author so when I saw this book on NetGalley I was so excited!!

Thankfully this book didn’t disappoint! The writing was engaging, the use of the past and present chapters had me engaged throughout so much so that I had hooked… and the twists had me guessing until the end!

I would 100% recommend this book!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!