The Neighbour

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

FOR SALE: A lovely family home with good-sized garden and treehouse occupying a plot close to woodland. Perfect for kids, fitness enthusiasts, dog walkers . . . And, it seems, the perfect hunting ground for a serial killer. On a hot July day, 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. Besides, they'd got the house at a steal and he was convinced he could flip it for a fortune. The neighbours seemed to be the very picture of community spirit. But everyone has secrets, and the residents in The Avenue are no exception. After six months on the case with no real leads, the most recent murder has turned DC Wildeve Stanton's life upside down, and now she has her own motive for hunting down the killer - quickly. The Neighbour is a thrilling standalone novel by the author of Rattle, Fiona Cummins.

Reviews

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 *
The Neighbour is masterfully written and intricately plotted to keep the reader captivated until a hugely enjoyable finale. -- Jon Coates * Daily Express *
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
Its 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! -- CJ 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 story tellers -- 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 didnt see coming -- Jenny Quintana
Tension that creep 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

Author Bio

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course. She lives in Essex with her family. The Neighbour is her third novel, following Rattle and The Collector.