One of the year’s most anticipated thrillers finally has a cover, and it’s stunning.
Though he is best known for his hard-hitting, fan-favorite Logan West series, back in 2020, author Matthew Betley signed a deal with Blackstone Publishing to release his first-ever standalone thriller, The Neighborhood, and Book Spy followers are getting an exclusive first look at the incredible cover art.
After breaking onto the scene in 2016 with his hit debut, Overwatch, which first introduced readers to West (a former Marine officer turned special “consultant” to assist the FBI as part of a special task force) and his ass-kicking, one-line-dropping buddy John Quick, Betley went on to release three more high-octane thrillers in that series. Now, he’s stepping away from Logan temporarily to deliver a novel that’s best described as a cross between Harlan Coben and Joseph Finder—which is set for publication on August 9th.
“While the Logan West books have done well and received critical acclaim, as well as a Barry award nomination,” Betley told The Real Book Spy back in 2020, “I really wanted to bring in new readers to the Betley Experience, readers who might not normally enjoy geopolitical action thrillers but still want to read an intense, visceral, wild ride that I’m known for delivering. As a result, I decided to write a standalone thriller.”
“It’s about a gated community,” continued Betley, “40 miles west of Washington DC that comes under siege in the middle of the night from an assault force looking for something they believe one of the residents stole. It has atypical protagonists, including a suburban dad and a 17-year-old female high school track star, who have to figure out how to survive this attack. While the entire story takes place in a contained environment, it’s still a very intense, emotional, and action-packed experience. I’m thrilled with how it turned out.”
Check out the official cover art and plot details below.
It’s not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood …
From the critically acclaimed author of the Logan West thrillers comes a can’t-miss, brand-new novel that proves Matthew Betley is the modern master of the unputdownable page-turner.
For most of the citizens of Hidden Refuge, it’s an ordinary Friday night in an ordinary American town. But when men claiming to be police officers show up at their doorsteps in the middle of the night, ordering them to evacuate for their own safety, it’s only the beginning of a long, dark night that will prove to be anything but ordinary. Because unbeknownst to most of its residents, Hidden Refuge contains something that very dangerous men want very, very badly. And those men are more than willing to kill to get what they want.
But Hidden Refuge contains another secret–Zack Chambers, a seemingly unassuming programmer and suburbanite family man who is far more than meets the eye. And while Zack dearly hoped that he’d never again need to use the deadly skills he’d acquired in his former life, when push comes to shove, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect himself and his neighbors. Even if it means taking on a small army of trained killers with only his wits and a ragtag group of allies.
Before the night is over, the blood of the innocent and the guilty alike will be shed, old scores will be settled, and shocking twists will finally be revealed. Propulsive, brilliantly plotted, and packed with Matthew Betley’s trademark blend of gritty realism and edge-of-your-seat action, The Neighborhood is a can’t-miss thriller.
Matthew Betley is the author of the Logan West Thrillers and a former Marine Officer of ten years. Trained as a scout sniper platoon commander, an infantry officer, and a ground intelligence officer, his experiences include deployments to Djibouti after September 11, and Fallujah and Iraq prior to the Surge. A New Jersey native who considers Cincinnati home but now resides on the East Coast, he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a BA in psychology and minors in political science and sociology.
Readers excited to get their hands on The Neighborhood can now pre-order Matthew Betley’s exciting new thriller ahead of its August 9th release wherever books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. Additionally, he co-hosts ThrillerTalk, a new podcast with K.J. Howe. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, comes out on August 2, 2022. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.