I had high hopes for this book with its great cover but I feel the book is a bit misguided with its format. The four differing viewpoints are a neat trick but starting with such an unhappy individual as Deloris is is not a good start. The policeman and vicar strands are stronger while the fourth part is helped by the reveal of the Fox itself. And the identity of the Fox is somewhat an afterthought when it should be front and centre, and the story of how they became the Fox would have been more interesting.
A shame as the chance to utilise the social context of 1984 has been missed

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting with 'We All Begin As Strangers' so I went in with a totally open mind which I find is always best for reading any book. The cover is lovely and draws you in - I like the font and how the images are based around the title. The book itself is really well written, I did like her style and it only took me a day to read it. Whilst reading this however I felt very uneasy and on edge the whole time due to the nature of the story - someone creeping in your house and not really doing anything is weird, so although I didn't enjoy how I felt reading it I recognise that it was the author doing her job well! I didn't particularly like the story though. I felt like it took a long time to get started and there were quite a few bits added in that I'm not sure were relevant. I didn't feel at all satisfied with the ending but that may just be because I didn't feel involved in the story at all. I wasn't too keen on many of the characters and it's difficult to put emotion in to a book if you don't care too much what happens to them. However I would definitely read Harriet's next book as I did enjoy her writing, this story just wasn't for me. Thank you for the opportunity to review this and I will put a blog post up closer to the release date.

I was thrilled to be approved for this book after I’d seen it described as similar to The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, which I absolutely loved.

This story takes place one hot summer in the 1980s in a quiet English village. It revolves around an unknown person, nicknamed ‘The Fox’ who sneaks around, breaking into people’s homes and, touching things, moving things, taking things or leaving something behind. Everybody feels unsettled, on their guard and as if they are being watched… sometimes they are.

The story begins with Deloris, recently married to Harvey and new to village life, having moved to from Croydon. Deloris seems out of place in the village and out of place married to Harvey, and shortly after visiting a neighbour, Anna, in an effort to start making friends, Anna disappears.

When the villagers start looking for Anna, at the same time trying to discover the identity of ‘The Fox’, neighbours are becoming suspicious of and turning on each other, causing more unrest in the village.

Each chapter focusses on a particular clue and is told from a different character’s perspective, so we get to know a number of different inhabitants of the village. Each person has their own secrets, some more shocking than others.

I didn’t dislike this book, but it just didn’t grab me and keep me engrossed. Harriet Cummings is clearly a good writer and although the story has all the elements of a good mystery and the details pertaining to the 1980s were spot on, something was lacking for me. By the time the story was nearing its unexpected climax I’d lost interest.

We All Begin As Strangers is a startling debut by author Harriet Cummings and tells the story of an English village pushed to extremes, with a character known as 'The Fox' given to a mysterious figure who is breaking and entering people's homes and possibly watching them while they sleep, moving things around or just doing it for the fun of it. When a young girl goes missing and investigations start can everyone protect their secrets they've hidden for so long?
I really enjoyed the in-depth look at small community life and who things aren't always what they seem. Telling the story from different viewpoints worked well too, as the reader grasps a richer and more layered version of events and the individual character's psychology.
Great debut and look forward to reading more of Cummings work.

Based loosely on events in the summer of 1984, We All Begin As Strangers is a novel about the hidden truth of what goes on behind the doors of a picturesque village.

There are quite a few characters to get to grips with, but on the whole it's relatively easy, especially once the story really gets underway. Set as it is in the 1980s there are several popular references, in particular of Deloris's favourite TV programme Dallas. I mention these not only because they brought a smile to my face, but also because this does feel like a story set firmly in the past bearing in mind the attitudes of some of the characters.

Central to all of these people and events is Anna Blake who mysteriously vanishes from her home. This sets in place a series of events which break open the secrets of the villagers, unravelling the persona they present to the wider world and echoing the adage, "You never know what goes on behind closed doors".

Running alongside this are the repeated break-ins by the character dubbed The Fox, who obviously adds a further element of distrust. Making neighbours suspect other neighbours and friends of destroying their otherwise seemingly idyllic existence.

I liked the way the characters were slowly dissected, but did find it at heart quite a sad story not only for Anna, but for those forced to hide who they truly were, and those trapped in a lie. I did feel it was quite dense in places and struggled to keep a handle on what was being revealed. But it was an enjoyable, and for me, a different story than what I usually read, so for that a thumbs up.

I had to just throw this book aside at about 40%. The writing is so terribly bad that I'm not sure how a publisher agreed to publish this.

Very good story and I really enjoyed the author's style, use of dialogue, and characters. Thumbs up!!

With no expectations at all this book hooked me right from the start. A story of a village with it's own secrets this is what happens in the long hot summer when the village suffers an outbreak of house intrusion. At first it seems harmless just upsetting but then a young woman disappears. No one will emerge from this unscathed and over the summer lives are changed and destroyed as what has been hidden rises to the top.
I could not put it down and thought the mix of characters intriguing with no one truly lovable it created instead many points of empathy. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to more by the author Harriet Cummings.

Small community, hot summer, strange goings on. There seem to be several of these at the moment, including Joanna Cannon's excellent Goats and Sheep. This, sadly, is not in the same class.

The theme of the book is to examine how well we really know each other. A village, one hot summer in the early 1980s, is thrown into confusion and fear over The Fox - someone who slips into their houses at night, moving or taking odd things, and standing over them while they sleep. Who is it? A pervert? Or someone they know?

The novel is divided into four parts, each told from the point of view of someone different in the village, very often an outsider to the area, and the book reveals their secrets to the reader, while the police try to solve the mystery. The early part of the novel is told from the POV of Deloris who is one of the least sympathetic of the characters and it makes for a difficult opening. However the main problem is that The Fox's identity, when revealed, has a story that was more interesting than the others' and I wonder if the story wouldn't be better focussing on more of this than the others.

This isn't a bad novel, but it could be better. It's a light enough read trying to be more.