The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

The New Neighbor

August 7, 2015

The New Neighbor by Leah Stewart
Published by Touchstone
Publication date: July 7th 2015
three-stars

new neighbor

 

At 91 Margaret Riley lives a life of isolation on the shore of a small lake in the mountains of Tennessee. Across the lake is another house that has stood empty for years since its owner died but suddenly fills with life again as Jennifer and her 4-year-old son move in. The New Neighbor is Leah Stewart’s novel about Margaret and her sudden fascination with her new neighbor. A fascination that starts from loneliness and builds into something more.

Stewart splits The New Neighbor between Margaret’s point-of-view and chapters about Jennifer’s life. It is clear early on that Jennifer does indeed have something to hide but what she is running from seems to be exposure not a person. As her backstory fills in it becomes clear that her marriage to her high school sweetheart was not a happy one but instead of the more expected abuse story we learn that her husband, Tommy, was a drunk. Not a mean one, just a falling-down, sloppy one who couldn’t really take care of or protect his family. As Jennifer’s story is shared with the reader it is kept from Margaret, despite her using every weapon in her ‘fragile old woman’ manipulative arsenal to get it out of her. Stewart teases out the tension between Margaret, in her determination to get Jennifer’s secrets, and Jennifer, to keep them. She goes so far as to hire Jennifer to give her massages but even as she begins to open up, Jennifer does not. It is only when Margaret crosses the final boundary and enters Jennifer’s house when she’s not at home that she discovers information to force Jennifer’s hand.

Given that there are a lot of suspense thrillers out there, there needs to be a reason to read The New Neighbor and Stewart creates one in Margaret. A 91-year-old woman does not sound tension-inducing but add the proper backstory and a misanthropic streak combined with a need for attention and you’ve got a character who won’t let go. That Stewart also infuses Jennifer’s story with the perfect amount of ambiguity and emotional conflict is just one more reason The New Neighbor hits the spot as a satisfying summer read.

three-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3 Star Books
nora
Nora Goes Off Script
lookaway lookaway
Lookaway, Lookaway
beauty
The Beauty of Your Face
30 Authors in 30 Days: Lisa O’Donnell on Crooked River by Valerie Geary
I Saw a Man: A Novel
quichotte
Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
maame
Maame by Jessica George
ed
Ed King
nothing
The Nothing Man: A Novel
behaved
A Well-Behaved Woman
midnight
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
arrangement
The Arrangement: A Novel by Sarah Dunn
chef's secret
The Chef’s Secret by Crystal King
banker's
The Banker’s Wife by Cristina Alger
planes trains
Planes, Trains, and Auto-Rickshaws

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, mystery, Touchstone

Comments

  1. Ann @ Books on the Table says

    August 7, 2015 at 6:39 am

    Just brought this one home because I thought it looked like a fun page-turner — I don’t like books that are too creepy, so this sounds perfect!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      August 7, 2015 at 11:17 am

      It’s just creepy enough- more psychological than anything.

      Reply
  2. Lauren says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:20 am

    So glad I caught this review, Catherine. I’d had this title on my list before it came out, then it came up on my hold list at the library at a really inconvenient time book-wise (those hold list gods can be so fickle) and I didn’t get to it before I had to return it. I was unsure I would check it out again, but now I think I will. You’ve made it sound more up my alley than I originally thought it might be. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      August 7, 2015 at 11:16 am

      It’s a relatively quick read- perfect for the weekend. A bit like Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal!

      Reply
      • Lauren says

        August 7, 2015 at 1:47 pm

        Now I’m really sold!

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Indiebound and Amazon. If you click on a link that takes you to any of these sites and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in