If you need a book that you can totally lose yourself in, then I can't recommend this enough. I've been struggling to get into books since we have entered lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic and this really has gotten me back into reading.

In Strangers we have 3 protagonists (their stories are in alternating chapters); Gareth - a security guard at a shopping mall called The Meads. Gareth is living with and caring for his mother in her advancing dementia. Whilst desperately unhappy his loyalty and sense of family prevails over everything he longs to change.

Ursula - a widow who has fallen from grace. Once a primary school teacher she is now a delivery driver with a habit of shoplifting in The Meads in order to make herself feel alive.

Alice - a single mother to an adult daughter who still lives with her. Manager at a clothes store in The Meads. Unlucky in love but still full of hope.

What I love about Taylor's writing is that she makes her characters flawed (and some of them pretty big). Yet you learn enough of their back story to connect with them and root for them.

I have to admit that I wondered how the heck these strangers would come together to be stood over a dead body. Apart from the fact that The Meads shopping mall was all that linked them, I really didn't know how 3 people who couldn't be more different ended up together. The opening chapter is absolutely gripping, if you want a book to immediately grab you then please treat yourself to this one!

CL Taylor has smashed it out of the park again with this book. The plot, the cliffhangers and the characters make this the perfect escapism that's much needed right now.

Strangers by C L Taylor

Synopsis
Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before.
Ursula thinks she killed the love of her life.
Gareth’s been receiving strange postcards.
And Alice is being stalked.
None of them are used to relying on others – but when the three strangers’ lives unexpectedly collide, there’s only one thing for it: they have to stick together. Otherwise, one of them will die.

Review
This book is split into chapters from the point of view of Ursula, Gareth and Alice. Ursula was my fav character. The book started well, but in the second half the tension mounted to nothing. I thought the ending was rushed. I did like the final chapter twist though. It was a good steady read but didnt wow me.

Rated 3/5
Thanks to net galley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Strangers is the latest standalone psychological thriller by CL Taylor and boy does it capture you from the very beginning. The plot intertwines the lives of three totally different individuals and does so in an unexpected and riveting manner. The tension is palpable and builds as the story progresses making it hard to put down. I love that this turned all of the tropes of the genre on their heads and created a totally original and unique thrillerin which it was high on impossible to see the direction it was heading and the cast of characters was interesting, engaging and developed well. This is the type of book you pick up and stay up all night to devour as Cally Taylor ensures you care about the characters and their outcomes. It is no easy feat to craft a thriller that keeps a reader off balance the entirety of the story and is so well written that even the most seasoned thriller readers will find it impossible to guess where it's going. Finally, the conclusion; wow, it was surprising, well thought out and explosive. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Many thanks to Avon for an ARC.

What a great book!!! CL Taylor has taken three people with whom readers build a definite relationship and thrown them together during a crisis. Each character has a three dimensional life, you see their stories as if you knew them. The story is a good one and then circumstances kick it up to great. An original tale told by an accomplished writer. You will want to tell all your reading friends to read this now!!!

Phew, what an incredible journey. A winner through and through and I really, really wanna see this as a movie.

“But anyone who takes the trouble to follow its route, whether by boat or on foot, cannot help being aware that, furlong by furlong, singleness of direction is not its most obvious feature. En route the river does not seem particularly intent on reaching its destination. Instead it winds its way”

Words from Diane Setterfield’s Once Upon A River that reverberated in my mind as I was reading The Strangers. Like a river that takes its own trajectory, 3 stranger’s lives follows the myriad complexities of life but brilliantly collide in an unexpected fashion. There is also the interesting fact that amongst all the psychological thrillers out there that has a known antagonist, this riveting and compelling thriller focuses on an unseen stalker.

Alice, Ursula and Gareth are unaware of the impending collision that is gonna change the course of their life. Each of them has problems to be faced and the general mish mash of life that needs to sorted. C L Taylor succeeds magnificently in making each of these characters interesting and giving each part of the story an element of mystery that makes the reader sit up and grip the book, in my case the kindle, with white-knuckled hands.

But it was just not the intrigue that kept me glued to the Strangers, it was also the variety of topics that the author manages to convey; love, loss of a loved one, what grief can do to you, Kleptomania, domestic abuse, the repercussion of senseless jokes at another’s expense, and specifically loneliness.

Along with these 3 main protagonists, the shopping centre Meads becomes another central point in the story and if you are not already goggle eyed by the convergence of the tributaries, then there’s a small thrilling sub plot about the Harborside Murderer which is revealed thru twitter chats that left me with WHAT, WHAT??? Where did that come from??

Can’t recommend it enough! Definite favorite of this year!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and C L Taylor for a chance to review this book.

This was an awesome psychological thriller. My first that I have read by C.L. Taylor and it won’t be my last. Three strangers which each have different personalities ,so what event could possibly bring these strangers together? I couldn’t see where this was heading . The characters were great and told from different points of views. They were brought together in a surprising event in which the author weaved a story so well with many twists & turns til the ending exploded and it all came together. Brilliant!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author C.L. Taylor and Avon Books for my digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

During about the first third of this book, I was thinking it would probably be a 3 star rating for me. Three unusual characters, each with their own stories - sort of interesting but not especially captivating; and I couldn't see how they related to each other. As I kept reading, though, I became more invested in each of them - but I was still wondering how they had anything to do with each other.

The pacing of the book started slow then built with intensity. The characters were all unique and there were plenty of red herrings thrown in to confuse the reader as to what was going to happen next.

And then the ending. Wow!! Everything became clear - at breakneck speed. And just when I thought it was all over, the author gave us another unexpected and totally perfect ending.

Not a 3 star rating after all. I give it 5 stars!

I wasn't familiar with the author when I requested this book, but I sure am glad I gave it a chance. I've not been sucked in to a thriller so deeply in a very long time. In fact, I've gotten a bit tired of the genre as its tropes are so often repeated. That's not the case with Strangers.

C.L. Taylor deftly weaves the stories of three strangers together in a compelling and unexpected way. Each person's life is separate and yet interconnected. The suspense built with each chapter, and I had trouble putting it down each night to sleep. I may have lost a few hours of sleep this week!

I recommend Strangers to anyone that might feel jaded by all the similar thrillers and suspense novels that have been released in recent years. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Have to admit that I am a fan of CL Taylor’s books and was not disappointed by this latest one !!

The book follows the lives of three strangers - Ursula, Alice and Gareth until one day their separate lives collide.

Ursula’s life is falling apart. She is forced to move out of her flat after her flat mate finds out Ursula has been stealing things from her. The loss of her boyfriend is weighing heavily on her, she feels responsible, and she has no friends or family to tune to.

Alice is the manager of a clothes shop and lives with her daughter. She has a bad experience on a date which leads to her meeting Simon, but something is not right and she knows Simon is hiding something.

Gareth is a security guard at a shopping complex. He lives at home with his mother, who is suffering from dementia. After returning from work one evening he finds a postcard addressed to his mother from his dad but his dad has been missing, presumed dead, for years.

This is an absolutely brilliant book. I love how we gradually learn about each of the main characters and you slowly find yourself becoming completely immersed in their lives. I wasn’t entirely sure how their lives were going to finally meet but you just know it’s going to happen at some point. This is, I’m sure, going to be a bestseller so read it now before everyone else tells you all about it.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This kept me guessing all the way through. Numerous times I thought I'd figured things out but I was way off course.
My only real complaint is that the ending seemed to wrap up really quickly and I would have liked a bit more from it.
But other than that, it was entertaining and kept me engaged the entire time.

This was a great read - in fact I couldn't put it down! The various stories were all layered together so well and came together in a gripping conclusion. Tense and engaging - I recommend!

This is another brilliant book by Cally Taylor, which ends in such a nail biting climax that I had to keep reading until far too late at night! As soon as I started the book, I engaged with the characters and got straight into it, meaning it only took 2 days to read. I was very satisfied with the ending and can’t wait until Cally’s next book is out.

This is my review of Strangers by C L Taylor. It is set in Bristol and brings three total strangers who have never met before together for a terrifying ordeal.

Ursula works as a courier but her current housemates are unhappy with her. When she pops home one day, they have packed her stuff up and told her to get out that day! She manages to find another room to look at that evening and moves in with Edward. He seems a bit weird but she thinks she can handle that. She just has to stop taking her housemates stuff for herself and stop her shoplifting at the clothes shop in The Meads. This all started after she lost the love of her life as she is convinced she killed him. She hasn’t been happy since then.

Gareth works as a security guard at The Meads shopping centre and looks after his mum as she has dementia. She has two carers that go in daily. Everything is fine until the postcards start arriving addressed to his mum and appear to be from his dad who disappeared twenty years ago. Gareth goes in search of some family to clarify some details. His next door neighbour Kath sometimes pops in as well for a cup of tea and a chat so that brightens his mum’s day too. He likes Kath and her daughter, he would like to ask her out but is a bit too shy to do so, maybe in the future.

Alice is the manager of a clothes shop in The Meads shopping centre and her close friend Lynne works there too. Her daughter encouraged her to start dating so she signed up online and actually went on a date. Unfortunately it didn’t go too well and ended badly but she did meet Simon! They got on really well but then he started acting funny. The one feeling Alice couldn’t shake off was : that she was being followed!

One evening, fate brought them together for the most terrifying night of their lives and they had to rely on each other to get out of there. If they don’t, one of them could die.

Three strangers, two secrets, one terrifying night.

This was a terrific read, so intriguing I found it hard to put the book down. It was cleverly written and well thought out. I like that the chapters have titles so you know whose account you will be reading, it’s very helpful.

I’ve read a few books by this author so the opportunity to read an advanced copy was a no brainer!
Strangers explores the seemingly mundane lives of 3 characters: Ursula, Gareth and Alice. As the above blurb explains, Ursula is punishing herself because she believes that she is the reason that her fiancé died. Gareth gets no respect at work and his personal life is complicated by the arrival of mysterious postcards. Alice falls foul of a Tinder date which goes horribly wrong and now she thinks that she’s being stalked.
These three, seemingly unconnected, tales become intertwined in a way that will become life changing for them all.
There is no doubt that I felt the pull of this page-turner; I finished this book in 3 sittings and loved the way the story unfolded. Each character developed as the story pushed to the exciting conclusion.
In particular, I felt my opinion of Ursula change as more of her story came to light and, I found, that this previously unsympathetic character became the one that I wanted to see survive.
C.L. Taylor certainly knows how to pile on the tension and Strangers doesn’t disappoint.

This an excellent multiple character view point novel which pulls all the threads together at the end to leave a seamless and most satisfying story.

I really enjoyed the way this book told the stories of different characters and the loneliness in their lives for completely different reasons. The way the characters lives actually linked up in the end too was good. I liked how you gradually learned the reasons behind the characters behaviour. If you like psychological thrillers then I highly recommend this book. You won’t want to put it down once you start reading.

Strangers is my first book from C.L. Taylor

"Three people with no apparent intersection each struggle through life with different issues. Ursula thinks she got her partner killed and can't forgive herself. And she can't stop herself from stealing. Alice has a stalker after an assault on a date. And Gareth is having a difficult time balancing his job and caring for his mother, who is slipping into dementia. Things come to a a head at a shop and they all must stick together to survive."

Taylor has an excellent writing style but I had a hard time connecting with the characters. They were mostly unlikeable. I did not guess the bad guy (or girl). Taylor does a great job disguising the villian. Great ending and twist and some great action to close. This is not a police procedural - the story revolves around the three main characters and how their lives eventually intersect.

Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this book.

Rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5 twisty stars

The course of this well plotted psychological thriller took me down many unexpected paths. Several times the paths veered so wildly, from where I thought we were going that I actually gasped while reading the book. This is a twisty work that had an ending I didn’t see coming. This is the first book from author, C.L. Taylor that I have read, but it won’t be the last one.

Based on the scene in the short prologue, it’s clear the book is not going to end well for at least one person. How we ultimately end up at that snapshot of a scene mystified me as I read the book. Alice, Gareth, and Ursula alternately narrate their stories. They all live in Bristol but are strangers to one another and have seemingly unconnected storylines. Alice works as a clothing store manager, Gareth is a security guard, and Ursula is a package courier. Each are facing daunting situations in their own lives, as the story chugs along their three parallel paths. How and when will the paths intersect?

All three storylines are well written. The characters and situations are fully fleshed out and believable. All three protagonists are battling some sort of trauma or harrowing situation. The author has provided a brilliant red herring or two, and some unexpected outcomes. Did I mention that this has a twisty, twisty plot? Pick up this mystery, and prepared to be surprised. I recommend this book to readers who love a good mystery, and are willing to be taken on a surprising journey.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Avon Books UK; and the author, C L Taylor, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so exciting. I was biting my nails and shouting: "No, don't do it!"
It's a story of Alice, Gareth and Ursula. In the beginning they don't know each other. They all have their own issues to deal with. They are all lonely in one way or another. It's heartbreaking. The secrets were kept till the very end. I did not see any of the twists coming.
I enjoyed the writing style. It kept me guessing and reading.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon for a copy of this book.

Alice, Ursula and Gareth are all Strangers. Their connection is through a shopping mall. Alice is the manager of a clothes shop. She's lonely and looking for love. Ursula is a van driver but she is also a kleptomaniac. Gareth is a security guard who also cares for his elderly mum. Between the chapters there is an online conversation about murders. How do they fit in?

Three different and seemingly disconnected stories with a good plotline. It's a tense and addictive read. Each character has a long list of issues. The pace is slow in the first half of the book, but then it starts to pick up. The three main characters tell their story from their point of view. Each of their stories was well developed. With a more than satisfying conclusion. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author C.L. Taylor for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.