The New Neighbor

The New Neighbor is the eighth novel by American author, Carter Wilson and crosses over with his previous novel, The Dead Husband. On the worst day of his life, the day he buries his wife Holly, Aidan Marlowe learns that he has won Powerball. Two months later, he and his seven-year-old twins, Maggie and Bo, have moved from Baltimore to a mansion, sight unseen, in Bury, New Hampshire.

The move seems to have been made on impulse rather than logic: Aidan admits to being inexplicably drawn to this town and this house. When they arrive, Aidan feels an energy on entering; Bo, his eerily perceptive son, tells him the house is creepy.

Mere hours later, there's a hand-delivered letter, not junk mail, but something addressed directly to Aidan, knowing much more about him and his family than any stranger should, mildly threatening and signed by "We Who Watch".

As Aidan sets about furnishing the house and managing his enormous windfall, he does indeed get the feeling of being watched. After a second letter, he involves the police, who recommend updated security, but get no trace or other clues from the letters. Aidan finds himself seeking advice and reassurance from his very expensive (and attractive) lawyer quite often.

Aidan enlists his father to help keep his family safe, but what happens at a gathering of his neighbours seems to emphasise that someone has malicious intent. Timothy Marlowe agrees with his grandson about the house: "Like a thousand secrets trapped under the floorboards, radiating." His father's presence here recalls a long-buried guilt for Aidan, in addition to all the strange goings-on.

Wilson gives the reader (what turns out to be) an unreliable narrator, a strange house with a very unusual basement and a bizarre history attached, a hint of paranormal, and enough intrigue to keep the pages turning right up to the nail-biting climax. This one is hard to put down. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.