'THE NEW NEIGHBOR'........A SPYNEST WITHIN THE SUBURBS......

 The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland (2022)

            We really truly wanted to love this one to pieces. Nothing moves our reading blood faster than a domestic espionage thriller......just mention 'spies in suburbia!' and we're first in line. Tell us it's about traitorous, deep cover agents running loose amongst the soccer moms and backyard barbecues of the USA and we're salivating. And we're in a state of delirious joy if the whole thing's heavily coated with an atmosphere of dread, paranoia and "Whoa!" twists.

           "The New Neighbor" does duly include all the above elements but as the revelations and twists pile up, the cumulative effect renders the book more than little far fetched and tough to find believable.

              Having said that, we can't deny still thoroughly enjoying "The New Neighbor"......in the same way we enjoy a summertime multiplex movie that shows actors performing stunts that you know would kill you in real life and plot turns that defy all common sense.

            The premise grabs you by the throat right away...... an Iranian spy mastermind has blackmailed and compromised some American among the suburban communities surrounding CIA headquarters. 'The mission of "The Neighbor",' as this turncoat is designated in intercepted messages - to recruit and enlist other local CIA employees in a plot to attack the agency's power grid and swipe all its counterintelligence.

               But Beth Bradford, the agency analyst dedicated to hunting down the 'Neighbor' is stunned to find herself suddenly relieved of her mission and farmed out to a useless training position. And this comes on top of the last of her three grown children leaving the nest for college and her husband leaving her altogether, declaring their marriage over and done.

             Not to be thwarted, Beth single-mindedly continues her hunt even as she's patronized and gaslighted by her colleagues and the CIA neighbors she lived next to for decades. In this regard, she's more like Nancy Drew than Jason Bourne as she fearlessly plunges on with this rogue investigation........under threat of losing her job and ultimately, under threats from her quarry as she moves closer to the Neighbor's reveal.

            Overall, we would have given this book a 2.5 rating, since, as we mentioned earlier, we found Beth's rapid fire revelations(and the slam-bang finale) a little obvious, convenient and increasingly not credible. But we'll admit to racing through the pages, still enthralled, entertained and dying to see what happens next. So regardless of how unbelievable it all seems, for spy fiction fans, it's a fast, fun read.

             And as for that ultimate whammy of a final twist uncorked in the last chapter, you'll either gasp out an impressed "Whoa!" or roll your eyes and mutter, "Oh come on, gimme a break, will ya?" We think we did a little bit of both, so we'll bump 'The New Neighbor' up to 3 stars. (***).