Author Karen Cleveland has a solid background for writing thrillers that revolve around intelligence agencies and personnel: she was a Fulbright Scholar, earned a master’s degree from Trinity College in Dublin and Harvard, and  was a CIA analyst for eight years, focused on counterterrorism – and she also worked with the FBI. So, bottom line: she knows her stuff. Back in 2017, I gave four stars to her Need To Know, a thriller featuring a strong female protagonist who happened to be a CIA counterintelligence agent. Then, in 2019, I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of Ms. Cleveland’s next book, Keep You Close, again featuring a strong female protagonist, this time an FBI agent. Now we have The New Neighbor, the story of a long-time CIA agent named Beth Bradford. Beth has worked for fifteen years trying to figure out the true identity of “The Neighbor.” This US-based Iranian spy has been recruiting others from within the CIA and FBI, in order to…??? Not sure, but it is definitely a plot against the U.S. Thanks to Random House – Ballantine and NetGalley, I received a copy of The New Neighbor in exchange for this honest review. 

At the same time that Beth’s youngest child has just left for college, her husband leaves her for another woman, and then the CIA yanks her off The Neighbor project and essentially demotes her when they ship her off to a job teaching new agents the ropes. She is devastated, partly because she is sure she is THIS CLOSE to identifying The Neighbor, and she is desperate to solve the case.  Her suspects include a  woman named Madeleine, who has bought Beth’s house on a quiet cul-de-sac in a Northern Virginia suburb where many of the neighbors work for various intelligence agencies. Then there are Alice and Mike, and others, and Beth becomes consumed with the puzzle, going to great lengths including stalking her “friends” and former neighbors, several of whom seem to have the perfect reason or background or just might be THE NEIGHBOR. The story kept me guessing, and while admittedly I am someone who pretty much NEVER guesses or figures out the end, I did have a suspicion very near the end as to who was truly The Neighbor. And the unveiling was awesome!

This book was a perfect antidote to a pandemic-induced laziness, and totally took my mind off the looming end of our democracy for a couple of days. I hope there is a sequel. Beth is a solid character – really, all the female protagonists in the Cleveland books I have read have been well done. I could use more character development around both Beth and her daughter Aubrey…and I will definitely grab anything this author writes. Five stars, great for thriller fans, political junkies, mystery lovers, and people who enjoy stories with strong female characters.