📚 Book Review: The Neighbor by Tanisha Stewart
🌟 4/5 – Unhinged Auntie Vibes, Gaslight Galore, and a Side of Cinnamon Spice 🌟
💭 My Thoughts:
Babyyyyy, listen. This book right here? Gave exactly what it was supposed to give. The Neighbor had me side-eyeing the sweet old ladies on my block like what you got going on behind those sheer curtains, ma’am?
Trey just got his first house—a fresh start, mortgage in his name, and nothing but dreams of peaceful suburban vibes. But peace? That’s cute. Too bad he moved in next to Mrs. Pearl: the neighborhood’s unofficial welcome committee with a banging pie recipe and a dangerously unhinged attachment style.
It starts off innocent enough. A little “welcome to the block” moment. But bestie, the way she slowly tightens her grip on Trey’s life? Chile. The secondhand tension had me screaming at the pages.
“If you need anything—anything at all—you just let me know.”
—Mrs. Pearl, giving thriller villain in pearls realness
⸻
🍰 What Worked:
✨ Black Boy Joy Meets Black Boy Terror
Trey is such a refreshing lead. Smart, grounded, got his finances in order, and emotionally mature? We love that for him. And the friendship between him and Dante? Chef’s kiss. Black male vulnerability and brotherhood done RIGHT.
✨ Mrs. Pearl Is Giving Lifetime Movie + Fatal Attraction
She’s elegant, spiritual, sultry, and manipulative as hell. A soft-voiced menace. At first you think she’s just lonely. But baby, when I tell you she is COOKED? She takes “nosy neighbor” to a whole new genre.
“She’s fast, that one. Loose. Nothing like the women in my day.”
—Mrs. Pearl, talking spicy about Trey’s girlfriend 👀
✨ Suburban Sundown Town Energy
Trey’s first interaction in his new neighborhood is with a white woman who assumes he’s lost or renting—because surely a young Black man couldn’t afford to own a home on her block. The racial tension is quiet but persistent, adding an extra layer of unease throughout.
⸻
⚠️ Trigger Warnings:
• Obsession / Stalking
• Psychological manipulation + gaslighting
• Age-gap predatory behavior
• Racial microaggressions
• Drugging (implied, through food)
• Violence and murder (toward the end)
“Something about her stillness makes Trey’s skin prickle… her smile never wavers.”
⸻
👀 Final Take:
This one is for my girlies (and guys) who love:
• Creepy neighbor chaos
• Messy older women with secrets and stilettos
• That slow-burn-to-what-the-hell-just-happened energy
It starts off quiet and cozy, then flips the switch real quick. If Verity, Get Out, and a 90s urban suspense flick had a baby, The Neighbor would be it.
Would I recommend?
YES ma’am. Read it. Then call your mama and tell her to be careful who she shares her peach cobbler recipe with. 😭