This book follows the first book written by Megan Miranda “All The Missing Girls”.

It’s an easy reading thriller, that is a slow burn with lots of hints and twists as you read through the book. Those hints slowly start to fall into place and make for an interesting story and read. It’s almost a book of two halves. The first half is quite slow reading, but the second half picks up the pace and becomes a page turner. It’s in this half that the main character springs into action - omitting facts from the police, hiding key information, interfering in things. A kind of busy body, with intention. All of which makes for an interesting and enjoyable read.

Thank you for the arc.

A nail-bitingly gripping thriller that I simply could not bear to put down, Megan Miranda’s The Perfect Stranger is a chilling and heart-pounding read fans of Gone Girls and The Girl on The Train have been clamouring for!

Leah Stevens has reached a dead end and is desperately in need of a change. Her career as a journalist has hit the skids, her personal life is a complete and utter shambles and she seems to keep on hitting her head on brick wall after brick wall. A fresh start and a new beginning is what she needs more than anything and when she runs into Emmy, an old friend of hers, and hears about her move to rural Pennsylvania, Leah decides to bite the bullet, leave her dismal life in Boston behind and join her friend. But little does she realise that her new life is going to lead her down a dangerous and terrifying path that could threaten everything which she holds dear to her heart…including her life!

Leah’s fresh start is immediately threatened when a woman who bears a striking resemblance to her is cruelly assaulted by a lake. As if that wasn’t enough, Emmy goes missing days later leaving Leah wondering whether these two incidents are connected – and whether she will be the next victim! But just who is targeting these women? What did Leah do to incur this criminal’s wrath? And why is she on this hit list?

Leah will leave no stone unturned until she finds Emmy and offers her help to Detective Kyle Donovan. However, Emmy has no other friends but Leah, no family and no digital footprint and the police begin to wonder whether Emmy is a real person…or whether she is a figment of Leah’s tortured imagination. With her sanity being questioned and her life in danger, Leah must save herself for the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

Leah must uncover the truth – but is she prepared for the dark and twisted reality which is about hit her? Or are some things better off dead and buried?

The Perfect Stranger is one of those books that grabs your attention from the very first chapter and keeps you on tenterhooks until the final shocking twist. A wonderfully plotted, exquisitely tense and tightly woven thriller that I simply couldn’t stop reading, The Perfect Stranger is a superb read that will keep you glued to its pages.

Megan Miranda knows how to tell a nail-biting read that will keep you on the edge of your seat and if you are looking for the next best thing in grip lit, then look no further than The Perfect Stranger!

Leah Stevens had to leave Boston after an expose she wrote for her paper went horribly wrong. Now she is a teacher and living with an old friend when a girl is found in a coma near her home. The same day she realises her roommate is missing, and as she starts investigating the two realises they are connected, and somehow she may be involved as well.

This was pretty interesting, and definitely kept me gripped until the end. At first I felt like the story seemed to jump all over the place from Lena in Pennsylvania to Leah in Boston, and then Leah as a teacher to Leah as a young journalist living with Paige and Aaron. It made my head spin a bit but this jumping around definitely settled down after a while.

I liked how everything was revealed so there was definitely a part of me that could’t figure out what it was about Leah that seemed to attract trouble. I also would have liked more of an explanation as to why her (other)stalker decided to act like that, like what was it that made him decide to do those things - was he just being a creep or was he a bit obsessed with her in a sexual way? We never got answers about that.

Some of Leah’s actions around Emmy annoyed me, specifically that she just went barrelling into what could become crime scenes with little thought about fingerprints (Bethany’s apartment, the bit with the padlock under the house etc). I don’t know why she wouldn’t just tell Kyle and the police about everything, or give them full disclosure. It also became very apparent how little she knew about Emmy and it was just really weird that she would never wonder about these things before or become suspicious.

I did like the relationship with Kyle. I felt the chemistry between them from the get go but was surprised that Kyle was happy to go along with it in the middle of the investigation.

Overall, I did like this book and it kept me intrigued so I’ll definitely read mote of this author.

Thank you to Corvus, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,
This is my most recently read book but I'm sorry to say it is last on the list of books I have read from an enjoyment point of view. I did stay with it and read to the end, hoping that everything would become clear but it didn't really! I found this book so confusing, with quite a lot of characters that just seemed to add to the confusion. Possibly the fact that I just read a few chapters each night, didn't help with my ability to follow the plot, maybe if I was a "one sitting" type reader it might be different. There was quite a bit of history to absorb which was necessary to understand how the immediate plot was developing. By the end of the book I had pretty much grabbed the concept, but I can't say I enjoyed it.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.

I was looking forward to reading The Perfect Stranger having enjoying reading All The Missing Girls.
After Leah is forced to leave the career that she loves she is encouraged by an old university friend, Emmy, to accompany her to Pennsylvania. She becomes a teacher and is adapting to her new life when the attack on the woman who looks like her followed immediately by the disappearance of Emmy puts her on edge.
It is a novel that has you questioning everything. Does Emmy exist? How much do the students know? Can Kyle be trusted? And most importantly, how reliable a narrator is Leah?
At first I struggled to answer any of these questions. It was only in the second half of the book when I started to have any faith in my judgement. As more is revealed you realise how desperate Leah must have been to live with a woman who she knew nothing about. She was putting her faith in somebody who was a salvation when life reached critical point when they were at university. But was she relying on the wrong person? Why is Emmy so insistent on nobody being able to find her?
It is a novel where no characters stood out as being ones to like or dislike, even though I did like Leah more as I got to know and understand her. There is one, however, who I had anticipated disliking from the moment I met them. That is, until I realised I had been wrong footed. I am sure I won’t be the only one who had this character as a troublemaker only to see their true personality later in the novel.
A good follow-up novel with a fantastic ending. I will definitely read more books by this author.

Packed full of twists and turns this book has an original storyline that keeps you guessing.
The writing is easy to understand and flows along at a good pace, the characters, are likeable, realistic and interesting and the plot is very edge of your seat, crime driven and tense.
Anyone that likes unexpected twists, a bit of crime, suspicion and a good story will like this book, I will read more by this author.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Old friends Leah and Emmy are both at turning points in their lives. Leah had a bit of a run in at the paper she was working at and Emmy is escaping a bad relationship. A chance meeting has them meeting up again and, after a bit of a catch up, the two decide to move to rural Pennsylvania for a fresh start. Leah finds work in a school and Emmy does whatever she can to make ends meet. But then tragedy strikes their adopted small town; a woman bearing a striking resemblance to Leah is assaulted and then, not a few days later, Emmy goes missing. Leah is a bit concerned to say the least but cooperates with the police best she can. But then, seeing their investigation falter, she goes it alone, determined to find out what is happening. But she soon starts to realise that maybe she didn't know Emmy as well as she thought she did. When there's a murder, the finger starts to point to her. Can Leah get to the bottom of things and work out what is going on and why? Before it's too late...
Well this was rather convoluted and interconnected; just how I like my thrillers to be! There are also quite a few side-stories going on, both in the present day and also told in flashback. To be honest, it does get a bit busy along the way, but it does all come good at the end. But, whilst I was blown away by the other book I have read by this author, this one didn't quite do it for me completely. If I had to call it, I would say that maybe the author was trying a little too hard with this one. I appreciate how hard it can be to follow up something so special and maybe that has jaded my view of this book overall but, there you go, I have to say it as I see it.
One thing that was good in this book was the characterisation and that's quite important to me. Good characters can carry a weaker storyline but a story is nothing if the characters don't work. Here they work well and that fact enabled me to connect better with what I was reading.
The main plot was well executed but, at time, not as easy to follow as I would have liked due to the noise of all the rest of what was going on. It was suspenseful so that box was ticked satisfactorily and I did follow it well. It just felt, at times, a little diluted with all else going on.
All in all a decent solid read that did keep me interested throughout as I really wanted to know the ending. but didn't quite leave me wholly satisfied. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is the first book by Megan Miranda that I have read and I am excited to see that I have so many others to catch up on as I really enjoyed The Perfect Stranger.

Leah Stevens is a journalist from Boston; she has run away from a scandal of her own creation and started a new life as a teacher in rural Pennsylvania with old friend Emmy Grey. Both of them go to Pennsylvania looking for a fresh start and are both hiding secrets but Leah’s life starts to unravel as she is the victim of a stalker, a woman who looks like her is assaulted and Emmy goes missing. From then on events take a chilling turn as it becomes apparent that there is no evidence that Emmy Grey ever existed, everything is in Leah’s name and there is nothing but Leah’s word to say they shared a house together. On further questioning it seems that Leah didn’t really know Emmy at all….in fact there is the feeling that Emmy is a figment of her imagination.

There are subtle clues dropped throughout out the story that click into place as you go along. Why was Leah under threat of a restraining order and lawsuit in Boston? Why is she so intent on keeping under the radar in her new role as a teacher? I was a massive fan of Gone Girl and there was a similar vibe in The Perfect Stranger.

Five stars from me. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The Perfect Stranger is an unsettling multi-layered mystery.

It took me on a journey alongside its protagonist Leah, who realises she knows very little about her housemate and friend Emmy who has disappeared. The local police aren't convinced that Emmy actually existed and even Leah begins to question her own sanity. Leah gradually reveals information about her own past as she sets out to discover more about her friend.

The book is set in rural Pennsylvania, in a house backing onto dark woods, near a small town. Megan Miranda is a great writer, and her vivid descriptions certainly created a dark and claustrophobic atmosphere. The two main characters - Leah and Emmy - both have intriguing pasts (Emmy in particular has spun a web of lies) though neither was particularly likeable.

I found The Perfect Stranger to be a quick read that kept me engaged from beginning to end. I did guess a few of the 'twists and turns' though not all of them. The book raised many questions about how well we know our friends, particularly those we see only every-so-often or keep in touch with via social media. It also shows how easy it can be to create a new identity when those around you don't know you at all.

Difficult book to get into - I didn’t really connect with any of the charectors, and this is a prime example of why you should read the first book first!
Slow paced and vague in parts I am really struggling to find positives to write. I will be more careful in ensuring my requests are not sequels to books I haven’t read.

This is the second book I've read by this author, and I thought it was an improvement on All the Missing Girls. It starts off slow and it until I was about 40% of the way through before it really grabbed my attention. The final 60% of the book is very good: well-written, pacy, and conveys a sense of growing unease as the main character begins to realise that nobody is quite what they seem. The main character makes the usual mistakes - can't leave things well alone, omits things when talking to the police, and jumps to conclusions whilst ignoring other things which are plain as day - but it works well enough here. Overall an entertaining, pacy thriller that I enjoyed reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers, Atlantic Books/Corvus, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Whilst I enjoyed this book would not recommend but would not put people off reading it hence only 3 stars

This book was a big let down for me I did not enjoy it at all.

It felt like the story had no plot to it and the author did not explain who or what the characters were.

It got very annoying, and boring in places it needed more time put into the book it all just seemed rushed.

Although this is the second book I think the author just assumed that you will have read the first book. She has not thought that you are reading this, you might like a recap on who the characters are and what their roles are.

It doesn't have to be long, so you can follow the book straight away. Other series of books I have read have done this so that you can remember what happened if you read the book a while ago.

This book did not grip me from the start I read half of it and gave up not a good book sorry.

A difficult story with unusual characters. Full of twists that keep you guessing.

It's hard to write a review for The Perfect Stranger without giving away some of the excellent twists. This is one of those mysteries where the clues come thick and fast. At first I wasn't sure about the flipping between timelines during the opening chapters, revealing what happened in the character's past and how she got to where she is now. I felt as though I couldn't connect with what was happening in the present. But then everything slotted into place and by 30% I had really got into the story. By 50% I was completely gripped!

Leah Stevens has to leave Boston in a hurry - resigning from the newspaper where she works before she's fired, and with a restraining order snapping at her heels. Why? What did she do? Uh uh, no spoilers!

Leah's old friend Emmy offers her a place to stay at her lake house in rural Pennsylvania, while she takes a job at the local school and attempts to blend in. Then a girl resembling Leah is found with head injuries and Emmy goes missing, leaving only a broken locket behind. Have the demons from Leah's past finally caught up with her? And why won't the police take Emmy's disappearance seriously? It's almost as though they think Emmy never existed...

I am a huge fan of Megan's writing style. I love that Leah is a flawed heroine who has made mistakes - and looks likely to make the same ones all over again. I love that there are so many twists and turns, that even when the denouement was right there in front of me I could hardly believe it. And I love that there was a bit of romance in there too - Hello, Detective Kyle Donovan!

Recommended if you love your psychological suspense extremely twisty, with a bit of a romance, and if you enjoy reading books such as Lisa Jewell's I Found You.

One of my favourite books this year!


Thank you to Megan Miranda, Corvus, and Netgalley for a copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review - although I loved it so much I've since bought my own copy too!

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent storyline and great main characters. I would recommend this book.