I must admit I do LOVE Fiona Cummins and this book didn't let me down.
Wow!
From the haunting opening to the emotional hit of an ending, The Neighbour is a brilliantly creepy, so so beautifully written and totally absorbing crime drama, that will have you looking at your own neighbours with side glancing suspicion.
All the characters have something to hide, silently within, from the innocuous to the horrific. Fiona Cummins takes this reality and runs with it – The Neighbour takes us on a twisty, often very disturbing, always fascinating path through the Avenue and the community within.
There are surprises along the way, each new revelation leading us ever closer to the finale and exploring many levels of human nature as we go.
The Neighbour is everything crime writing should be in my opinion. Fantastic and genuinely talented writing with depth and beauty. Thought provoking, darkly entertaining, character driven – and with a healthy dose of realism about life, love, loss, dark hearts and the hidden side of all of us.
Loved it.

I liked this book, but struggled with the heavily descriptive writing. I often go for books where I can invest time into the characters rather than the plot so this was very different for me. I found the start of the book a bit slow and confusing but it certainly picked up towards the end and I adored Wildeve!
The short chapters made it easier to want to pick up because I knew I could read a chapter or two and then put it down.
I will definitely read more of Fiona's writing but would need to more interested in the plot so that I could deal with the descriptive writing a little better.

Firstly I would like to say thank you to Netgalley, for providing me with an e-copy of this book.

This isn't the first book of Cummins that I have read; I have also read Rattle - although I don't remember it too much, but I do remember I enjoyed it.

I am a big fan of a good thriller book; a good thriller to me is made up of interesting characters, complex motivations, fast-paced plot, and unpredictable outcomes. I would say that this book for me, had two of the four aspects. What this book did have was interesting characters and a fast-paced plot; I was utterly gripped by this book, and read it in one sitting in a couple of hours. I couldn't stop myself from turning the page, and did want to know what was going to happen next, and how Cummins was going to draw it out. I also thought that this book had some interesting characters; don't get me wrong they weren't all interesting, but I did find some of the main characters quite interesting. My only issue with the characters is that there were so many of them, I honestly found myself losing track a bit of who was who, and what each character was doing because we just have so many people thrown at us in one go with no real distinctions between them all. I also didn't feel that we got a lot of character development for most of the characters; the main ones yes we got a bit more development with, but everyone else was just plonked in almost.

Although I got used to it after a while, the changing perspectives of the book did initially make it hard to follow. I think it's because it wasn't really clear who we were reading about at what point in the first few chapters, it just made it confusing and a couple of times I had to go back and check who was who. That said I did get used to it after a while, and it did help to make the book better paced.

In terms of the outcome of the plot; I did actually guess this one pretty soon into the book as it just seemed obvious to me. There was too much focus placed on the old man, so it clearly wasn't going to be him, and as soon as Wildeve went to interview the old couple and the lady got weepy, I was like, oh it's them. I think Cummins tried to throw a lot of red herrings at you to throw you off the scent, but for me it seemed pretty obvious that it was them - i'm not sure if it's because i've read too many thriller books in one go or I've just got used to how they're written, but I wasn't shocked by the ending. I also predicted that it was the woman herself that was who we had seen in flashbacks, and it was her that had killed the child. Again they seemed to try and make us think it was a male character, so I was quite sure it was the female character. And again the whole plot about why these people were being murdered; the fact that we were shown over and over again the puppet show years ago it was clearly relevant to the killings today.

Overall I do think this was a good book, but I just found it a bit obvious in terms of what was going to happen.

Fiona Cummins is back with her third novel, a dark, gripping, and twisty story that kept me on the edge of my seat from the first to the last page.

In THE NEIGHBOUR, Fiona Cummins takes us to The Avenue, a residential street on “the outskirts of a nondescript Essex town”. The Avenue is the home of an elderly couple, a doll maker, a young couple in love, and a family of four who is looking for a fresh start. People jogging in the nearby woods, children on the street with their bikes, friendly neighbours. This seems like a fantastic idyllic place where to live, except that there is a killer on the loose. The media has renamed him The Doll Maker and he has already killed five people. The murders are gruesome and since there is no connection between the victims, everyone is wondering: who is next?

The police are far from identifying the killer and pressure from the media and office politics make things even more complicated. However, for DC Wildeve Stanton the case has suddenly become very personal and she is ready to do anything to find and stop the killer.

The author uses short chapters and multiple perspectives to keep the tension high and to make it very difficult for me to put the book down. Thanks to the different points of view we know that the residents of The Avenue are all hiding something, but what? Each of them seems a suspect, but, thanks to the author well-crafted plot, I didn’t figure out who the killer is until it is revealed at the end.

The characters are multi-layered, some likable, some sinister, some irritating, all realistic and intriguing. They all seem guilty and they are all watching each other. Add a creepy and dark atmosphere and a slow-building tension and you have the addictive and thrilling new novel by Fiona Cummins!

I was thoroughly engrossed in this page turner of a detective mystery. The characters were diverse and believable; the plot was involved and quite intricate with the reader being taken through it step by step via a time line. I found it to be suspenseful and creepy with just the right amount of gory details. There were a few red herrings which just added to the tension. I’d didn’t guess the culprit until very near the end and even then there was a twist! I’ll look out for more by Fiona Cummins.

Certainly a book I was looking forward to reading but certainly not one for my favourite list either. Very confusing and much more event lead with not a lot of character development
I know it was the style the author was going for the short chapters and lots of different perspectives but just too much swapping around. If I’m honest I would have given up about a quarter way through if I had bought the book & not needed to give a review.

I have chills down my spine. This is a gritty dark thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. It is spine chilling and scary in places. The rhymes in it make it feel sinister and evil. Very well written and very well thought out. A really good nail biting thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Anybody could have done it.. Everybody has secrets. Who do you trust? Powerful use of short chapters, which introduce the different characters. The narrative from the killer also adds to the suspense. Overall, I would describe this as a dark and disturbing story with plenty of twists and turns which keep you guessing right up until the very end. I think I did slightly prefer her previous novels but overall another success from Fiona.

I always think the reason novels that reminds us of the possibility that we are living in close proximity to a criminal or a potential criminal are so successful is no-one wants to think about that in too much detail. It's a scary thought and one you can do little about. Ms Cummins plays on those fears perfectly creating her best thriller to date, but it is also so much more than that. It breaks murder down to look at its impact on the community and its people, and the author expertly crafts a cast of enigmatic characters who we know little about but who grip and intrigue us all the same. From page one you are quickly immersed in the scenic Essex setting and from then on it's a case of reading it in a single suspenseful sitting.

This has to be one of the most cleverly plotted thrillers I've read in years with its twisty reveals, red herrings and ample misdirection, which throws you off the scent many times. The Avenue is perceived by outsiders as a haven but most of those living on the street have secrets and hide behind a facade. I can usually determine the culprit quite early on or at least before it is made obvious, but not here; I admit I was clueless and I loved that. It has everything you could ever want in a crime thriller, so I'm positive it will become another bestseller. Simply superb and a must-read for crime aficionados.

Many thanks to Macmillan for an ARC.

This is not just a murder mystery it is so much more
With plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing,
The Avenue is full of secrets nothing is what you think it is
There is a murder at large but who is it!

Thank you netgalley, Fiona Cummins and Pan MacMillan for allowing me to read and review this book.

I have read both of Fiona Cummins previous titles and eagerly opened this one up to settle in for a good read. I'm not really sure that I found it here though. The writing is as good as ever but I spent the first 60 pages struggling to keep up with the continually changing POV and place in time. I have read plenty of books with this sort of thing but there was just something so unsatisfactory about it all. There seems very little character development here and it is purely driven by the events. Did I see what was coming in the end - NO, but I can't honestly give this book more than 3 stars and much of that comes from the writing which is good and my love of her previous novels.

#TheNeighbour #NetGalley

This book is great as it has so many people who could be the killer, you’re spoilt for choice!
“Garrick and Olivia Lockwood and their two children move into 25 The Avenue looking for a fresh start. They arrive in the midst of a media frenzy: they’d heard about the local murders in the press, but Garrick was certain the killer would be caught and it would all be over in no time.”
The murder investigation is very much under way when they move in and a Police officer has now been murdered so tensions are high.
We also get the perspective of the Police and realise they are struggling to identify the killer.
The Avenue has its fair share of potential criminals and as the book progresses, it’s harder and harder to work out who it is.
Olivia and her family have barely moved in when something else happens and The Avenue is once again thrown into turmoil.
This is a gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is everything I want in a crime novel!

Fiona Cummins strikes the perfect balance between suspense, creepiness and realism as we're taken into the world of residents on The Avenue, where a spate of killings has taken place. Each character seems to have their own secrets, and I felt that they were all surprisingly realistic too - many are people I can imagine running into in any town, and their intertwining stories kept me completely gripped.

Every so often we get a chapter told from the perspective of who we assume to be the killer, and throughout the novel there are hints and details which make us think that must be the person behind each crime, but everyone down that street seems to have something to hide so, let's face it, there’s lots of people it could be! For me, this really keeps the mystery alive as the shadow of suspension continues to fall on different people.

The book had such a strong sense of foreboding... I felt like there was constantly something bad about to happen and the atmosphere in the book reflected this. There's some truly dark occurences and some creepy people lurking around the town in Essex  where the book is set. I also loved DS Wildeve and her her boss Mac, and would love to read further books featuring their detective skills.

Fiona Cummis does such a great job of keeping the reader on their toes, with twists and surprises that left me finishing the book with a satisfied smile on my face - I loved it! Now, to read everything else she's ever published and lose even more sleep as I stay up late, not wanting to put them down!

As I am writing this, listening to the radio, Alicia Keyes’ This Girl Is On Fire comes on and in one song perfectly sums up the way I feel about Fiona Cummins and The Neighbour.

This is writing that zings; prose that from the opening takes you in a vice like grip and doesn’t let go until the end.

The opener is classic Cummins. Striking, pictorial, haunting, a tableau of horror that you won’t forget as you read onwards into the chapter.

The Neighbour is a stand-alone thriller, though, frankly, DS Wildeve Stanton is a character who I will welcome in any book Ms Cummins chooses to write. We are in Essex and a serial killer known as ‘The Dollmaker’ has just claimed a fifth victim in the woods next to a road in a small housing estate called The Avenue. All the victims share the same distinct hallmarks; they are dressed just like dolls with painted faces and glass eyes. Coincidentally (?) there is a dollmaker living on The Avenue.

But that’s what makes The Neighbour so creepy. On The Avenue, we learn that everyone has secrets; everyone is telling their version of the truth, or is lying. Cummins lets us peer through windows, catch glimpses of dark deeds as we become the peeping Toms peering through the darkness of these lives in the hope of seeing some action or finding the truth.

Police are making little progress and the pressure is tightening. The team of officers are sniping amongs themselves and DS Wildeve Stanton is struggling with her own deeply personal grief which is fuelling her determination to catch this killer- whatever it takes.

Each chapter features a a different character and viewpoint and just when you think you are getting to know and understand these people another revelatory aspect of their characters opens up. These are neighbours who you really don’t want to be living beside.

The menace is palpable and the characterisation has depth. Cummins is adept at seeing the darkness in everyone and conveying it effortlessly onto the page. The killer’s thoughts are peppered throughout the book offering a dark and merciless insight into a black heart.

The Neighbour is tense, dramatic, creepy and tinged with real horror. Cummins writing also conveys moments of serious emotion, pathos and sadness.

This is writing of the first order that takes the reader on a twisted journey to look into the lives of these neighbours and discover their deepest, darkest secrets. You’ll never see ‘her next door’ in the same way again.

Verdict: Beautifully written with depth and insight, this is a killer read that shoots straight onto to the must read list.

The Neighbour is the first book I’ve read by Fiona Cummins and it won’t be the last as crickey is this a book that will have you thinking about your neighbours!
Garrick and Olivia Lockwood and their two children move into number 25 The Avenue, they are trying to rebuild their marriage and as they managed to get this house at a bargain price, Garrick is going to extend and renovate it and sell to make a quick buck. When they move in a murder has just happened, it is one of a few that have happened recently and DC Wildeve Stanton is on the case and will do anything to catch the killer.
I loved this tightly woven, at times scary thriller. At the beginnning it was a lot of characters to get my head round but because of the way it was written this happened easily, I loved how different neighbours were doing different things at different times and the insight you got into this. It did make me think maybe I should close the blinds every night!!
A very well written thriller that had me galloping through and I never guessed the ending, not by a long shot.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! Once I started reading I was gripped by the story and I just couldn't put it down.

The story begins when the Lockwood family move into their new house 25 The Avenue, in suburban Essex. They move the same day as a dead body is being taken away from the woods near to their house. This is the 5th murder to have taken place. Detective Wildeve Stanton has lost her husband to the killer and she is determined to find the person responsible for the murders.

Everybody on the Avenue has a secret and nothing is as it seems. The story is told in short chapters written about the owners of each house and also narrative from the killer. This is a powerful, dark and disturbing story with plenty of twists and turns which keep you guessing right up until the very end.

Highly recommended and deserving of a 5 star rating.

Thank you to the author, Pan Macmillan, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of The Neighbour, a stand alone novel set in Essex.

The day the Lockwoods move into their new house on The Avenue, a fifth victim of the serial killer nicknamed The Doll Maker is found in the woods behind their house.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Neighbour which takes a close look at the way murder impacts the life of people in its vicinity. It is a bit outside my usual fare of police procedurals which tend to take a fairly linear route from murder to apprehension, but no less good for taking a more circuitous route. The narrative is initially rather detached with several characters being introduced with hints of what the future holds for them, not that the future always pans out as the reader assumes. It’s extremely clever as it hooks the reader immediately but confusing as the characters are ill defined and only really identifiable by the chapter headings giving their address. This confusion clears quickly and the reader is left trying to guess at their secrets and how they fit in. There are even chapters by the unnamed killer, simply called “now”. I don’t normally like this approach but, as with the rest of the novel, it’s intriguing. Did I say it’s clever? It’s worth repeating as the novel is a tour de force of misdirection and concealment.

It is a story of everyday lives. To be really pernickety the reader could wonder at so many strange characters in the one street, but maybe not, as many of the secrets turn out to be fairly mundane. Until they are revealed, however, they provide much food for suspicion. It’s delicious trying to work it all out and no, I failed miserably. Ms Cummins has a keen eye for small, telling details about her characters so I was mightily impressed by her depictions.

The Neighbour is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I am sorry but I didn't enjoy this book. If I hadn't been committed to review it I would have given up after the first 10%. For me it lacked structure and the characters weren't developed enough. Just my opinion and I seem to be in the minority as there are a lot of good reviews for it.

So initially I felt that the cover imitated exactly what I was expecting from this book. This feeling of being part of a wider community, but still remaining suspicious as to who it really is walking down the street! We soon come to find out that Garrick and Olivia's new home resides on a street whereby people are being murdered and they are yet to catch the killer!

You certainly begin to feel how disconnected the neighbours feel from each other as each chapter is written about the homeowners of each numbered house on the street. However, due to the writing style, there is very little dialogue and the reader is somewhat limited in getting to know the characters on a personal level.

The heavily descriptive nature of the writing certainly creates a vivid setting, in a way that the reader can clear imagine how it might feel to live there, yet not in a way that made me feel invested in following the characters individual events. In this sense I felt more as an observer in the storyline rather than trying to piece together what has happened, or indeed what I would do.

However, the short, fast paced chapters make this read extremely consumable and I pretty much read the whole book in a day! The nature of the murders holds the suspense throughout and I was left wondering why this was all happening in this street.

Towards the end of the book there is much more intimacy with and emphasis on a select few characters. The volume of dialogue increases and that's when I was able to picture myself in the room, dealing with the situation. This then allowed the reader to gain a greater understanding of character motives and inter-relationships compared to at the start.

I would certainly not be shy to read more of Fiona Cummins' titles, although usually I would prefer to feel more invested in the characters rather than the events. Yet I still found this an enjoyable read!



This book was certainly a great read, but just didn't hit me on a personal level. There was a great use of varied descriptive language which was certainly interesting, and I settled on a four star review on Goodreads.

Fiona Cummins' fans won't be disappointed - here she is again at her gruesome best. Everyone on The Avenue is keeping secrets, but just who is 'the doll maker, a murderer who leaves dolls' eyes in the skulls of victims? Detective Wildeve who has lost her husband Adam to the killer is determined to find out. What unfolds will keep you on the edge of your seat. What draws me to Cummins' books again and again is her first-class writing - such beautiful phraseology and strong characterisation.