The Balkans have been so troubled by violence and misunderstanding that we have the verb “balkanize,” meaning to break up into smaller, warring components. While some of the region’s artists and thinkers have invariably fallen into nationalistic tendencies, the twenty-two prominent authors represented here, from the erstwhile Yugoslavia and its neighbors Albania and Bulgaria, have chosen to attempt to bridge these divides. The essays, biographical sketches, and stories in The Stranger Next Door form a project of understanding that picks up where politics fail. The English-language translation joins editions of the book that appeared concurrently in all of the participating countries.

When fires are set and street signs get knocked down in the community, newcomer Rocky thinks that it may have something to do with him and his family while another newcomer, Alex, wonders why Rocky and his family would ever generate such acts of violence. Reprint.

When Emile and Juliette Hazel move into their new, secluded home to enjoy retirement, their peace is interrupted by the daily visits of the bizarre man who is their only neighbor

Winner of the Ruth Benedict Prize The story of a small town’s fight over LGBTQ+ rights that reveals how the far right weaponizes social issues to declare whose lives are valuable—and whose are expendable A new preface bridges the past and the present in Arlene Stein’s award-winning work of narrative sociology, The Stranger Next Door, contextualizing the so-called “culture wars” as they have evolved since the post-Reagan years. With deep on-the-ground research and vivid storytelling, Stein explores how the right mobilizes fear and uncertainty to shift blame onto “strangers” and how these symbolic struggles undermine democracy. Faced with globalization and automation, the working-class citizens of the Pacific Northwest’s “Timbertown” felt left behind, fearing job loss and the hollowing out of their small town. Religious conservatives convinced many local citizens that queer people were to blame. A bitter battle to deny the civil liberties of sexual minorities ensued. Though set in the 1990s, The Stranger Next Door is a story that echoes loudly today. Stein looks at how local conflicts over LGTBQ+ rights and other social issues paved the way for the contemporary right-wing populist resurgence. The Stranger Next Door positions today’s battles over transgender rights and critical race theory in a long-running struggle to define America, offering a razor-sharp examination of how the right manufactures local culture wars to divide and conquer.

SHE WAS THE PERFECT NEIGHBOUR. UNTIL SHE WASN'T. 'A brilliant, twisty, read, that kept me reading late into the night' SUE WATSON 'All the very best ingredients for a perfect thriller! I thoroughly recommend it' SAMANTHA HAYES 'A fascinating and unputdownable thriller with a devious twist' JOHN MARRS 'So many twists and turns. I never saw the ending coming' RACHEL ABBOTT 'I read it over two nights' PATRICIA GIBNEY _________________ When Matt and Imogen move out of the city, they're hoping for a much-needed fresh start. Matt throws himself into his new job, but Imogen struggles to adjust to life in the suburbs. She's grateful for the kind welcome from new neighbour Nancy, and they soon become close friends. So when Nancy makes a shocking accusation, Imogen doesn't know who to trust. This isn't the first time Matt has found himself on the wrong end of a false accusation. . . but is Nancy hiding secrets of her own? As simmering tensions threaten to boil over, Imogen is in more danger than she realises. Can she uncover the truth before she loses everything? A completely gripping and nail-biting thriller with a jaw-dropping twist, perfect for anyone who loved The Couple at No. 9, The Family Upstairs, Here to Stay or An Unwanted Guest. _________________ READERS LOVE THE STRANGER NEXT DOOR: 'So sinister and so much simmering tension - and that final twist! I'm usually good at foreseeing a twist but not this time...' JACKIE KABLER 'Twisty, compelling and incredibly pacy, The Stranger Next Door will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last' PHOEBE MORGAN 'I tore through this perfectly plotted tale of secrets and lies' VICTORIA SELMAN 'A superb domestic drama that smolders the whole way through' JAMES DELARGY 'It was completely addictive! . . . the twist at the end was genuinely (and I don't get to say this all that often) unexpected' ELLE CROFT

A new neighbor…or a stranger next door? Under-the-radar FBI agent Deacon Ross is on a mission of vengeance. He is in Winchester, Tennessee, to get it. After years away from home, Cecelia Winters is back to find her father’s killer. She’s faced with a hostile town fraught with danger—then she meets her new neighbor, Deacon. With two cases colliding and desire blindsiding them, will the search for the truth cost Cece and Deacon more than a future together?

Branson, Langley and Ryder: Randolph brothers, family men, larger-than-life Texans. Flesh and blood bind them to each other—and to a myster baby girl. One is her father…all are her protectors. A beautiful woman with dangerous secrets was about to become the Randolphs' neighbour. She was a vulnerable stranger who'd make any red-blooded male take notice…and Langley Randolph was no exception. Dependable, solid and timeless, like the family ranch that had been passed down through generations, Langley couldn't bear to see a desperate woman fighting tears. Danielle needed the strength of the stalwart rancher next door to unlock the mystery of her memories…before a killer caught up with her first.