The New Neighbour by Miranda Rijks

4 Stars from me

Books like this are just so clever and Miranda Rijks is simply the queen of this genre. The more pages you read, the more you question everyone around you in real life… ‘where was he that day, why didn’t she reply straight away, is so and so ignoring me or didn’t they see me…’

At first glance, The Close sounds idyllic. However, since one of the neighbours was killed in a hit and run things haven’t been quite the same and people have been keeping themselves to themselves.

And yet, when a brand new neighbour arrives she seems to effortlessly infiltrate closed community and soon is having little rendezvous with everyone and seemingly wants to bring the close together.

Isobel appears a bit lonely, her relationship with her husband is strained from years of marriage, working long hours and a lack of closeness. Her relationship with her best friend seems to have been soured by something and I felt for her as the sense of isolation grew.

This is classic Rijks, if you enjoyed her previous books it is fair to say you will enjoy this one too! There are little ‘reveals’ throughout which help you to confirm your thinking, or do they lead you up the garden path? I raced through the pages as I had to know what happened.

Blurb: A small community. A deadly secret.

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?