‘The New Neighbour’ by Miranda Rijks

Synopsis

They don’t know her. But she knows them.

Until recently, Isobel has always loved The Close. A quiet road of large houses tucked away in the beautiful English countryside, it seemed like the perfect place to live.

Then, six months ago, a young man was killed in a mysterious hit-and-run incident. The police investigated but no one was charged.

It’s left a bad feeling in this little community, a feeling that someone knows more than they are saying.

So when new neighbour Linette arrives, Isobel thinks it’s the perfect chance to make a fresh start, to repair relationships and rebuild her community.

But someone else has a very different plan, and bad things start to happen.

When there’s another death, Isobel realises her home, her marriage, and her family are all in terrible danger. She is certain that what’s happening is connected to the hit-and-run. But how? What really happened on the night of the fatal accident? And above all, who is Linette and what does she really want?

My Review

I have been a fan of Miranda’s work for a little while now.  I haven’t quite caught up with everything that she has written but I am getting there.  I read the synopsis for ‘The New Neighbour’ and it certainly sounded like just my kind of read.  So without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for what proved to be one hell of a read and then some.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The New Neighbour’ but more about that in a bit.

As is often the case with Miranda’s books, I was drawn into the story from the very first word on the very first page.  From then on the book seemed to develop a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break.  I became addicted to ‘The New Neighbour’ and the story got under my skin somewhat.  If I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about it.  If I had to put the book down for any reason in particular then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book back up again.  I would pick the book up only intending to read a chapter or two to fill in the odd half hour but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there reading over half a dozen chapters later.  I had my own theories as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down the wrong path entirely. I soon got to the end of ‘The New Neighbour’.  I found ‘The New Neighbour’ to be a gripping and tense read, which kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

‘The New Neighbour’ is extremely well written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Miranda Rijks.  She has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  Miranda certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and entice them into the story.  Reading ‘The New Neighbour’ felt like being on one heck of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.  I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Miranda’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.

In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘The New Neighbour’ and I would recommend it to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Miranda’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.