Description

For fans of The Family Across the Street by Nicole Trope and The Cottage by Lisa Stone, The Neighbour by Fiona Cummins is a twisting thriller about a quiet neighbourhood that’s hiding a deadly secret.

‘Creepy as hell and kept me guessing to the very end’ – Ian Rankin

A new home. A new start.

It’s all the Lockwoods want.
And on The Avenue, a leafy street in an Essex town near the sea, it seems possible.
But what if what they want isn’t what they get?

On their moving-in day they arrive to a media frenzy.
A serial killer has struck in the woods behind The Avenue.
The police are investigating.
And the neighbours quite clearly have secrets.

With their dream quickly turning into a nightmare, the Lockwoods are watching everyone.
But who’s watching them?

Praise for Fiona Cummins:

‘Trust me – Cummins is a keeper’ – Lee Child

‘Head and shoulders above the rest’ – Val McDermid

‘A crime novel of the very first order’ – David Baldacci

Dark, intriguing and gripping’ – Laura Marshall

‘What a storyteller’ – Caz Frear

‘A nightmarishly addictive read’ – CJ Tudor

‘Enthralled from beginning to end as each page drips with threat and menace’ – Liz Nugent

Publisher Review

This thriller explores typically dark territory for this author, who has a gift for tapping a rich seam of evil that underpins the surface of the every day. Superbly sinister * Sunday Mirror * She is the master of depicting the way the most terrifyingly grotesque and evil psychopaths inveigle their way into the lives of ordinary people . . . when writing from the perspective of ordinary people caught up in horrific events, Fiona Cummins is unbeatable -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express * Creepy as hell, and kept me guessing to the very end -- Ian Rankin A crime novel of the very first order -- David Baldacci on The Collector Trust me - Cummins is a keeper -- Lee Child on The Collector An excellent read -- Martina Cole on Rattle It's a rare debut that has this much polish. Harrowing and horrifying, head and shoulders above most of the competition -- Val McDermid on Rattle An extraordinarily good writer. What a storyteller -- Caz Frear The Neighbour is nerve-janglingly creepy, beautifully written and full of surprises -- Holly Seddon [A] brilliant book. What a dark, creepy and twisted (in all senses of the word) tale -- C. J. Tudor Fiona is the mistress of tension building and the way she weaved that tangled web of suspects and motives left me breathless. Truly magnificent -- Jo Spain I could not stop reading, every turned page revealing secrets, increasingly strange and fascinating . . . I loved The Neighbour, a feat of masterful plotting from one of my favourite storytellers -- Amanda Reynolds Fiona Cummins drew me in from the very first page with her original and compelling prose. Dark, creepy and intense with brilliant characters and a clever plot with an ending I didn't see coming -- Jenny Quintana Tension that creeps all the way through, but a pace and language so precise and right that it felt like I was watching a movie . . . This book will linger -- Hayley Webster Fiona's books are so masterfully crafted and beautifully written . . . A disturbing observation of a community and the secrets hidden within it, a dark and compelling read -- Debbie Howells Original, compelling and oh-so creepy. Stock up on the sugar because you might never dare pop next door again -- Tammy Cohen An original plot, brilliantly crafted with the wonderfully atmospheric storytelling that readers have come to expect from Fiona Cummins -- Olivia Kiernan Fiona Cummins is the queen of all things dark and wonderful, and she writes so beautifully. It creeped me the hell out and I absolutely LOVED it -- Joanna Cannon I was enthralled from beginning to end as every page drips with threat and menace . . . Totally gripping with a cast of ghastly characters, one worse than the next -- Liz Nugent Kept me guessing and second-guessing the whole way through. Storytelling at its best -- Patricia Gibney You'll be curtain twitching after reading this - a deeply unsettling and brilliantly claustrophobic novel that will have you questioning how well you know your neighbours -- Michelle Frances Fiona Cummins has concocted a frightening tale that's compulsive reading. I couldn't put it down, despite the fact that I started each new chapter with a creeping sense of dread and the hairs standing up on the back of my neck -- Alison Belsham Incredibly creepy, intense and compelling. Excellent -- Will Dean Creepy, menacing genius -- C. L. Taylor