The Good Neighbour by Alison James
9/12/25; 321 pages
Bookouture
The Good Neighbour by Alison James is a highly recommended psychological thriller. Rounded up from 3.5
After living in Australia for five years, Bryony, a radiographer, returns to London and buys an apartment near the hospital and her friend Claire. A near accident on move-in day introduces her to Kyle, a strange young man who subsequently continues to insert himself into her life. As Bryony begins work and attempts to start dating, she also recalls her previous relationship with Robbie, a young man she dated briefly before moving to Australia and a past she would like to keep hidden. Soon it becomes clear that keeping the secret is no longer up to her.
The first half of the novel is glacially slow moving but the second half makes up for it and actually raised my rating. Just read through the first part of the novel as quickly as you can and try to overlook all of Bryony's bad decisions. The sense that something is wrong does begin to very slowly grow. Then, when the big secret is exposed, things finally do begin to happen. As the action takes off, the tension also rises.
The plot does require you to set a large dose of disbelief aside while reading as Bryony is the queen of bad choices and poor decisions. Really, she annoyed me throughout the whole novel, mainly because she never made a logical, intelligent decision. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
