The Enemy Next Door and Other Misunderstandings

My Rating: ★★★★

Release Date: October 23, 2018

Genre: Clean Romance Mystery

Jocelyn Kross always imagined her life differently—more loft in Upper Eastside Manhattan, less burned down house in small town Montana. Her temporary digs aren’t much better, a tiny apartment off the side of someone’s house. When the owner turns out to be her sworn enemy, Cade Warner, it’s just the rotten cherry on her terrible day.

Strange things are happening in Strawberry Lake Estates. Cade cannot afford to be distracted by his new neighbor, someone he’s known his whole life, and yet doesn’t really know at all. When Cade’s employee turns up dead, solving the sudden crime wave in their town turns a lot more personal.

As Jocelyn and Cade work together to solve the murder and help their town, they look pasts old grudges and see each other in a new light. When the investigation puts their lives in jeopardy, they find love sometimes comes in the most inconvenient ways.

My Review

I read The Glamorous Life of a Mediocre Housewife earlier this year and couldn't wait for the second book in the series to be released. Since I had recently read the first book, I was already familiar with the characters, so it was easy for me to delve right in, but if you haven't read the first book that is fine, as this can be read as a standalone. The author does a great job of explaining what happens in the first book, including giving away a few spoilers, which is unavoidable since this is a continuation of the first.

Cade and Jocelyn had grown up together and have been friends (and enemies) pretty much their entire lives, so to see their relationship blossom is beautiful. I fell in love with sweet Katie, Jocelyn's eight year old daughter, and I loved getting to know the history of the town and why the land that the Strawberry Lake Estates sits on is so important that it's worth killing for to keep its secrets.

The book was a speedy read for me, as I turned each page, hoping that the secrets of the past, and who was behind the killing, would be revealed. My heart went out to Jocelyn, who is a single working mom, and who is having to deal with being out of her home, raising an eight year old by herself, dealing with her horrible stalker ex-husband, all while exploring her feelings for a man that she has detested for so long.

Cade's character is sweet, lovable, and fiercely loyal. He fights the entire book to avenge his friend, protect the woman and child that he's falling in love with, and finding the truth.

I really enjoyed The Enemy Next Door and Other Misunderstandings and I hope to see another book in this series soon.

Other Books in the Strawberry Lake Estates Series

Book One