Love in the Time of Serial Killers meets The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window in this delightful romp about a recently broke divorcee who moves in with her house-bound mother only to spend their days spying on her grumpy, mysterious, and sexy new neighbor.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts, which releases on October 14th 2025.
Zona never thought her life was headed this way, but here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. After her gambling addicted ex-husband lost all of their savings, including their daughter’s college fund, she doesn’t really have a choice. She’s cutting every coupon she can and she’s going to help put her daughter through nursing school, even if it kills her.
This wasn’t Louise’s plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on the senior singles cruise she’d been looking forward to for months. But if she’s going to spend all her time at home, at least she’s got her daughter there with her. And there’s some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona’s age. Could his arrival be the universe making amends for everything it’s put her through?
Maybe the universe isn’t feeling as generous as Louise hoped. There’s something lurking under that mans surface charm, something…dangerous? And who’s the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it’s just her mother’s imagination…
Excerpted from The Man Next Door, by Sheila Roberts. MIRA, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
Luck had not been a lady to Zona Hartman’s ex and now luck was really out to get Zona.
And here was her friend and real estate agent, Gracie, using the nasty L word. “It was a real stroke of luck that your buyer waived the inspection and came through with such a high bid. And cash. It really sped up the process,” she enthused as they sampled the champagne she’d ordered for them.
Luck. A certain word that rhymed with it came to mind.
Don’t say it.
Zona didn’t. She may have lost everything she owned, but she still had her dignity. Instead, she set down her glass and scowled. “Let’s not use that word.”
June was brand-new and it was a beautiful sunny day, like most days in Southern California. Gracie was treating Zona to lunch at Luca Bella, a high-end restaurant in Glendora, not far from Azusa where Zona lived.
Correction: had lived. Someone else would be living in Zona’s four-bedroom Spanish revival home in Rosedale with its view of the mountains and the city lights, the outdoor barbecue and the orange tree in the backyard, and the large kitchen she’d planned on updating with new appliances but now never would.
Someone else was also driving the Tesla Gary had bought for her. That had been replaced with a fifteen-year-old Toyota.
Gracie blushed.
Way to go. Make your friend who sold your house feel bad. What had happened to Zona wasn’t Gracie’s fault.
“I sound like a bitter ingrate. Sorry,” Zona said.
“No, I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
“But you’re right. I’m glad I got such a good offer and that the deal went through so fast. I need to be grateful for that. I just wish I was able to keep some of the money.”
“Gary is an overflowing septic tank of a human,” Gracie said, frowning.
“Yes, he is.”
He didn’t look like one. Gary looked like the quintessential nice guy, complete with a broad smile that reached all the way to those baby blue eyes that he hid behind glasses with trendy frames. Those glasses gave the illusion that he was smart. It turned out he wasn’t as smart as she’d once thought.
“And he didn’t deserve you.”
“No, he didn’t.”
He had started out as a wonderful husband. So encouraging, so fun, so sweet, so good at handling their money. He was a solid businessman, dedicated husband and father. In those early years there was money growing in the bank accounts. They discussed what they wanted to spend that money on and they enjoyed spending it. Those dollars were always where they were supposed to be.
Until he’d taken a sledgehammer to both their finances and her trust.
“At least you’re out of debt now,” said Gracie.
Thanks to the sky-high value of California real estate. Although when you had a second mortgage on your house and debt coming out of your ears, you didn’t exactly walk away from a sale with a profit. Zona may have been out of debt technically speaking, but she owed her daughter big-time thanks to the mess Gary had created. And Zona was completely broke.
“I appreciate you helping me get through this,” she said.
Gracie had been a good friend, providing a listening ear and therapeutic doses of chocolate on a regular basis as Zona processed her husband’s financial infidelity, cried through their divorce, and tried to be strong as the house she’d pretty much raised her daughter in went up for sale. Gracie’s life was like a Jane Austen novel, with everything turning out as it should. Good husband, two great kids, successful real estate career. Jane would have approved.
Zona’s life, on the other hand, had been more Dickens than Austen. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. One of the best being when she’d met her first husband, Luke. When she’d had her daughter Bree. Then came the worst when she found out Luke had been cheating on her while she was pregnant. Then came divorce number one and the struggles of being a single parent. More worst times when her gift shop went under. But then came . . . the best: Gary, the solid businessman who wined and dined her, who loved her daughter. They bought their dream house, Zona got a secure job with the department of licensing, issuing drivers licenses— boring but steady work. Double income, dinners out. Yep, best of times. Then halfway down the yellow brick road, Gary developed this problem. Which eventually turned into epic disaster. And now it was the worst of times again.
