The New Neighbor: A Novel - Tapa dura

"Intellectual intrigue . . . Stewart also offers the thrill of sharp realism that has characterized her previous novels. She's skilled at creating characters who are all too recognizable in their foibles and desires; she dissects the way ordinary, flawed people think of one another and their social spheres - the silent preferences and judgments that accompany any interaction."-Knoxville News Sentinel "A truly fine absorbing novel; the finest new novel this reader has discovered so far this season. Highly, highly recommended."-Hudson Valley News "Two women-a snoopy old lady and a young mom with a mysterious past who moves in nearby-discover each other's dark secrets." -Good Housekeeping ("Thrills and Chills") "Keenly engrossing and multilayered, this mystery and literary-fiction hybrid will elicit rich book-group discussions." * Booklist * "Stewart's prose is remarkable for its well-shaped sentences and nonshowy but sharp observations. Quietly incisive." * Kirkus Reviews * "A promising exploration of the secrets we all carry and our refusal to forgive ourselves." * Publishers Weekly * "A quiet standout...[Stewart] choreographs a near-perfect perfect psychological dance here, her Jennifer and Margaret pulsing with life and her storyline, a la `Rear Window,' keeps us guessing to the end."--Buffalo News "The writing is beautiful, and [Leah Stewart] does an impressive job of giving the reader a sense of place."--Mystery Scene "Stewart deftly writes about the nuances of friendship and motherhood, as well as the past's unpleasant ability to take over the present."--BookPage "Readers who like an unhurried pace, an element of mystery, and plenty of symbolism will be satisfied as Stewart brings her tale to a surprising conclusion."-Library Journal "Leah Stewart skillfully captures conversational nuance and family alienation."-The Charlotte Observer "One of the protagonists of Leah Stewart's new novel, The New Neighbor, reads mystery novels, and only mystery novels, but she is a snob about them: she only wants to read the best. Well, she would love, love, love The New Neighbor, which is as tense and as tough-minded and as ingeniously structured as our best mystery novels, and our best literary novels, too. A major new book by one of our most psychologically astute writers." -- Brock Clarke, author of The Happiest People in the World "After only a few pages into Leah Stewart's The New Neighbor, the shrewd sharp voice of one of its main characters kept me reading." * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel * "A chilling page-turner."-People (People Picks) "In simple, elegant language, Leah Stewart draws us to a little pond hidden away in the mountains of Tennessee...[and] never relaxes her tight focus on these complex characters."-New York Times Book Review

Ninety-year-old Margaret Riley is content hiding from the world. Stoic and independent, she rarely leaves the Tennessee mountaintop where she lives, finding comfort in the mystery novels that keep her company, that is, until she spots a woman who's moved into the long-empty house across the pond. Jennifer Young is also looking to hide. On the run from her old life, she and her four-year-old son Milo have moved to a quiet town where no one from her past can find her. In Jennifer, Margaret sees both a potential companion in her loneliness and a mystery to be solved. But Jennifer refuses to talk about herself, her son, his missing father, or her past. Frustrated, Margaret crosses more and more boundaries in pursuit of the truth, threatening to unravel the new life Jennifer has so painstakingly created-and reveal some secrets of her own.