Title: The Quiet Neighbor
Author: J.D. Barker
Publisher: Hampton Creek Press
Release Date: January 27, 2026
A heart-stopping tale of family secrets, buried trauma, and the lengths a mother will go to save her child, even when that child might not want to be saved.
Cynthia Burrows thought she’d built the perfect life—successful law career, loving husband, beautiful daughter. But when eighteen-year-old Tori vanishes without a trace, Cynthia’s carefully constructed world begins to crumble.
The school says Tori was excused by family. Security footage shows her leaving with an older man. And the boy she was supposed to date? His name sends chills down Cynthia’s spine—Alexander Beaufort.
That’s impossible. Alexander Beaufort is the serial killer who destroyed Cynthia’s childhood, murdered her best friend, and forced her into witness protection twenty years ago. He’s supposed to be locked away forever.
But someone is playing a deadly game, leaving clues that drag Cynthia back to her darkest memories. With only three days to find her daughter, she must confront the monster from her past and the shocking secrets Tori has been hiding.
In this quiet suburban neighborhood, everyone has something to conceal. And some neighbors are more dangerous than others.
Don’t read the blurb!
I’m so happy I didn’t—otherwise I would have known too much going into this novel.
We get two timelines and the mysterious voice of a “Journal.”
In “Then,” there are Samantha and Vicky—two teenage girls from different sides of the tracks. We know something terrible happens to one of them, but we don’t know what or by whom.
In “Now,” there is Cynthia Burrows, happily married to David, with an eighteen-year-old daughter, Tori. Everything seems fine until Cynthia discovers that Tori never went to school and no one has seen her. Cynthia starts freaking out. She knows horrible things can happen to young women. Her fear is confirmed when she receives a phone call from the person holding Tori: she has three days to figure out where her daughter is before Tori is killed.
As a fan of J.D. Barker, I couldn’t pass this one up. From the beginning of The Quiet Neighbor, I was hooked. Cynthia was desperate to find her daughter and wouldn’t stop at anything. She was in full mama-bear mode, which I can appreciate. I guessed most of the plot, but I was still entertained. A few things bothered me—like Cynthia not discussing things with David from the moment she knew Tori was missing, or the way she disregards the police and their investigation. She went wherever she wanted, which in real life wouldn’t have happened. Despite this, I was all in until the last page.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Hampton Creek Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
