The Neighbour

By: Gemma Rogers

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Love thy neighbour or fear thy neighbour?

For myself and Lauren, my 10-year-old daughter No 3 Beech Close was to be our refuge after two years of hell nursing my sick mother.

In need of a fresh start and wanting to distance ourselves from the bad memories of my mother’s house we moved to Beech Close, a small cul-de-sac of six houses situated around a picture-perfect green.

It seemed perfect but I had underestimated the secrets that this tightknit community shared.

Within hours of moving in my next-door neighbour Valerie made it abundantly clear we were not welcome.

I soon discovered that Valerie hadn’t welcomed the previous occupant either and she’d since disappeared without a trace.

Had I put myself and my daughter in danger moving to Beech Close?

Which neighbours, if any could I trust?

And how far would they go to keep their secret?

Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell

©2023 Gemma Rogers (P)2023 Boldwood Books

Slower than usual

Slow to start but great narration and good story/ending. Imogen was wonderful as usual!!! 😁

love the narration

great story, keeps you interested and wanting to keep listening. lots of twists and turns.

Awesome

What a twister. This book will keep you riveted. The narrator’s voice is so annoying. If the book wasn’t so amazingly put together I wouldn’t have been able to keep listening.

Conflicting thoughts.

I’d recommend this because it’s free, and because my sister listened to it as well, and loved it. I thought the book was too slow paced, and the neighbors were abundant! Sometimes I’d forget who they even were. That only happens when the story doesn’t keep my attention. I thought the reason for what happened to the previous neighbor was ridiculous. So I felt like it was a 1 star book, with a 5 star performance. Imogen Church is an amazing narrator.

My sister, on the other hand, loved the book and ALL the characters… and she didn’t get any of them confused at all. She was riveted from the beginning to the end. Her favorite character was Teddy, the dog. She likes animals more than most people, even in fiction, so of course she was much more concerned for the missing dog than the missing person.

I also want to add that no dogs were harmed in this book.

The Narrator

I’m sorry, but Imogen Church is not a great narrator. The inflections and emphases on the random syllables is distracting. Drives me insane.

Loved It!!!

I enjoyed this from beginning to end. The plot and characters were fairly easy to follow (but not boring). The narrator did an excellent job of keeping this reader engaged. I didn't want the book to end. I appreciated the way all the loose ends were explained near the end. (At one point, I wondered whether some of the earlier details would be left unexplained, which would have left me feeling disappointed.) I certainly did not see that last surprise at the very end!! Could be a cliffhanger...

This is at least the third book by Gemma Rogers I've listened to, and I want to listen to all of her books eventually. I also find Imogen Church very easy to listen to, and I would gladly choose more titles with her doing the narration.

The narration was terrible

Honestly, the voice of the narrator was so exaggerated - enunciation was over the top. I can't stand the voice!!

Did not see the ending coming

Love Imogene Church’s narration. She can bring any story to life! Great build up of characters.

very good

I really loved the story but the narration was a bit off. I still would recommend this book.

Good but not quite a mystery

Enjoyable way to pass the time however more of a drama rather than a thriller. Good narrator which made it more enjoyable