I'd never read any of C.L. Taylor's work before, so I was unsure what to expect beyond what the blurb told me. Here's what I found: suspense. Lots of it. 

Oh, and questions. Lots of those, too, most of which aren't answered until the end. From page one, the book grabbed my attention. 

C.L. Taylor excelled at keeping the reader off-balance as the multiple moving parts come together. I pictured the people and events as gears fitted together, one turning another, which turned another, and another. But I didn't know how or what or (most importantly) why these things were happening. Just when I thought I knew something definite, Taylor threw a monkey wrench into the works and I saw that I'd fallen for a red herring. Even when I was on the lookout for red herrings (as I usually am), I still didn't guess the truth. 

I almost always read the last few pages of a book first. Even knowing the ending, though, didn't help me guess the full truth, nor did it diminish the story's suspense. C.L. Taylor skillfully created a creepy vibe that reverberated even beyond the last pages. 

Twitter conversations are interspersed throughout the book. The dialogue felt authentically Twitter-ish and gave me a bit of background about events beyond the characters' immediate world. Plus it related the urban legend/rumor of a serial killer called the Harbourside Murderer, who might or might not exist.  

The main characters were mostly well-developed. I enjoyed watching Alice, Ursula, and Gareth grow as people as the book goes along. But somehow I felt a lack of depth to them. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong, though.

There were a lot of other characters. Whenever I put the book down--realistically, most readers have to do this!--I had to refresh my memory of what had happened in the previous few pages and who the minor characters were. Somehow the plot didn't stick in my mind quite as well as usual. This tends to be a problem for me in the psychological suspense category, though. 

The other issue was the number of flashbacks. Sometimes a chapter would open from one character's point of view in present tense. Then it would immediately switch to past tense and recount what had happened recently. For example, one character was in a pub. As he/she sat drinking, she/he remembered the events that led her/him to make the decision to go to the pub. Most of it was significant. But the switch from present to past to present again confused the order of events and felt unnecessary. Why not simply tell the story as the events unfold? 

There were multiple places where the location and time jumped to a different place and time. But other than a blank line, I didn't know that the location/time had changed. I didn't grasp the change until a few sentences into that section. Again, unnecessarily confusing.

Sometimes the author used an asterisk to signal the change, which I appreciated. But other times, there was only a blank line. My Kindle app sometimes throws in blank lines randomly; if these blank lines are intentional, the intention is lost in the reading. I hope that makes sense! I also hope that this issue is only a quirk in the ARC and will be corrected in the final version.  

Overall, Strangers is a good book. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological suspense. 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4.

(This review will appear on my personal blog on April 8, 2020.)

Probably 4.5 stars but I rounded down. A very good read, a good mix of puzzlement and uncertainty. There are 3 separate character story threads and you know that before the last chapters they will all be linked. The author does the linking is a very satisfying manner and by the end everything has been closed off and is understood. Perhaps the reason I rounded down and not up is that how it all comes together seems to me to be a bit contrived. Still, a really good book and definitely worth a read.

This was my first book by this author and i'm happy to say, will not be my last.

Strangers had my head spinning and I’ll be honest, I had zero idea where this was heading. Loved how the plot was so different from many other thrillers I have recently read.
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Ursula is struggling with some emotional baggage which she tries to keep under control by stealing, which has caused her to get kicked out.
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Gareth works security at the mall and takes care of his elderly mother who has dementia. He has also noticed strange post cards being delivered to the house.
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Alice is a divorcee who hasn’t had much luck with her latest date and now it seems she has a stalker after her.
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Although these three strangers do not know each other, their lives are on a collision course where one of them might die.

I loved this twisty thriller which managed to confuse me, creep me out and second guess myself. Each character was unique and interesting in their own way and I enjoyed all of their stories. Definitely will be checking out her previous books.

Rating edit: 4.5 stars.

It's about three people, strangers to each other, struggling with their own problems, longings and agony. Then one day, they finally meet in a very dangerous situation, and now they have to be together, help each other or else any of them could die.

The book starts with a murder.

‘The police are coming. What do we tell them when they get here?’

‘We say it was self-defence.’

And then it takes you a week back: you follow the different lives of these three characters. Alice works in a mall, Gareth is a security officer in the very same mall and Ursula is a courier.

The story is, obviously, told from 3 different points of view and it's so skillfully done. Their problems, their agonies, their longings, their eccentricities are very convincing and well expressed. Every chapter delivers something significant. I mean you can't skip the pages. And every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that keeps you intrigued.

Even the secondary characters are intriguing and mysterious.

If I have to nitpick: I felt the second last chapter seemed unnecessarily stretched.

Overall, 'Strangers' is a very good, gripping and intelligently crafted psychological thriller. A fantastic read! I would love to read other books by this author.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC.

Great story. I was wondering how the 3 storylines would converge and its really only at the very end that it does.
Lots going on in this book. Excellent read.

Thanks for the ARC

I've not read anything by C.L. Taylor previously so I didn't know what to expect. The style of weaving three stories around each other for them all to merge at the climax was done well. It never felt confusing to me. It was gripping in that I had an idea what and who was behind things but I didn't know how it would all play out. But was I invested in any of the 3 characters? Not really. I liked Gareth the most; he really had a heart of gold. Alice and Ursula were challenging for me to care for, though. Their behaviours were just a drag for me. I want a thriller to make my heart race and whilst there was an element of guessing all the way to the end, because I didn't particularly like any of the characters at risk, it just fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an opportunity to review this book.

I absolutely loved this book! It's cleverly written, has plenty of shocking surprises and kept me up at night because I did not wish to put it down.
This is a story about 3 strangers Ursula, Gareth, and Alice. CL Taylor has created believable and flawed characters and draws you in to the mystery that will ultimately bring all of the strangers together.with terrifying consequences. Highly recommended, well done C.L Taylor.

Top class suspense novel! Masterly written. Kept me guessing and wanting for more all the way though! Interesting characters who feels real, and with a story that is beautifully thought through. Can be recommended to anyone who wants to read a really GOOD book.

A very clever story about 3 strangers, or rather stories.

As you read through this, you wonder what on earth all these people have in common. It doesn’t really become properly clear though until very near the end of the story.

This also has a really satisfying ending.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book and the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

What a very clever book this was! Strangers by C. L. Taylor starts off quite average with the stories of three main characters. Then about half way through some dramatic twists and turns start to happy,

A very enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley, Author C. L. Taylor and Avon Books UK. for my advanced copy to review

Three strangers all brought together in this fantastic book, so many twists and turns you won't know if you are coming or going.
I loved this book, C.L Taylor is never a let down.

A good story with not only an amount of suspense but a believable plot. Strangers is an apt title because there is no way you can guess from the outset how these characters are linked. A satisfying ending as all the plot lines are tied up nicely.

Really well constructed thriller, with a satisfying ending that ties up all the loose ends. I especially liked the last chapter. Random strangers with very good back stories, collide with a completely unexpected finale. This is a book where you trust no one. Excellent read.

Three strangers, a soon to be homeless shoplifter, a divorced mother looking for love and a shopping centre security guard each with different worries are drawn together in a gripping story culminating in death. Another cleverly written thriller from C L Taylor.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! WHAT THE…… Yeap, another book punched me in the guts and turned me into moron speaking Gibberish (nope, actually I’m speechless and during my reading I screamed a lot so I might have hurt my vocal cords badly!)

What the hell was that? My heart is pounding so heart, I’m breathing heavy, hands clutched too tight, no nails, little hairs on my arm are still up! If you cannot handle too much pressure and high tension, please think again to read the last 35 pages of the book because I read it on my couch, gripping my kindle as if my life depended on it, barely breathed (I haven’t thrilled so much since I watched “Quiet Place” which made me stop talking for a week!) squirming, agitated, mumbling myself I hope my favorite characters would be safe!

No need to think more, I’m giving my estranged, puzzled, complex, exhilarating, action-packed, exciting five gazillion stars! This is truly nerve bending, heart throbbing, crazy train ride!

Three strangers:

Alice: Divorced, cheated and controlled by narcissistic husband, store manager at a shopping mall, living with her daughter who has an unhealthy, volatile relationship with her boyfriend. She decides to take a chance at Tinder dates but man assaults her at their meeting place.

When she knees him from his jewels and runs from him, dropping her purse, a knight in shining armor Simon runs behind her back and delivers her purse and later he stops by her work place with flowers. So is this a great start of a new romantic relationship? Nope, think again because as soon as she starts seeing Simon, she starts getting warnings from an account at the facebook telling her Simon isn’t the man who thinks she is. And now she thinks she has a stalker. Who the hell is she or he? One of the crazy-ex’s of Simon or the suspicious shoplifter she didn’t catch in action, recently starts showing at the places she hangs out.

Ursula: The very same shoplifter Alice is afraid of. But she is not bad person. She changed. Grief ruins a normal people’s mind! Once upon a time she was a brilliant teacher, married with her love of life till she lost him forever and now she blames herself, turning into kleptomaniac, working as courier, kicking out of her best friend’s house because she also stole her belongings, too. Then she rents a place in a good price at the very same day. She thinks she is lucky even though her landlord Ed seems like a little creepy, suspicious, irritating guy who likes to get her room in the night time and check her drawers!

And Gareth, 27, security guard at the mall Alice is working and Ursula is playing Winona Ryder. He lives with his mom who slowly loses her memories and losing the battle against the amnesia. Gareth finds out somebody sends postcard to his mom acting like his lost father who might be 80 if he is alive. As he is obsessed to solve this matter, he starts to make mistakes, neglecting his job and getting threatened by one of his coworkers who wants hush money not to inform their superior. His life is getting complicated at any second.

So you might be questioning how three strangers’ lives can be intertwined at one point to help both of them to solve the mysteries and complications at their lives. But the author achieved the impossible and brought a smart, nail-hand-arm biter, thrilling whirlwind story that you cannot put it down! I enjoyed the building of characterization, their back stories and of course Ursula is my favorite, easily to relate and ache for.

Overall: Great, captivating writing, moving, fast paced story telling with likeable characters and the ending was memorably remarkable. Last pages of book literally gave me panic attacks so I used the method of Ursula to relax which helped me a lot!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this fantastic ARC with me in exchange my honest review. And I enjoyed C. L. Taylor’s writing so much, planning to read more works of her.

This is excellent. I really can't say much more. I loved it. CL Taylor gets better with ever book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Strangers has 3 interesting storylines about the goings-on in Alice, Ursula and Gareth's lives. At first it really feels as if these three have nothing in common but then slowly I saw them in the periphery of each other with the mall as the one big link between them. Alice works as a manager in a clothes shop in a mall, Ursula is a renowned shoplifter, a habit she can't seem to give up, and Gareth is a security officer in the same mall. They are all circling around each other, and at times they even cross each other fleetingly but they never seem to come closer. I loved how hungry the author made me for their stories to overlap and to have these strangers finally meet. It's a game of wait and see but if you're patient, the reward is big!

It is such a masterly woven novel with appealing characters. Each one also has an interesting backstory to follow, so when the chapters alternate, you just can't stop reading. Alice met a guy who might just have something to hide, Gareth has trouble with his mother who suffers dementia and receives strange postcards, and Ursula oww, I felt for her, she had the toughest life and the biggest heart. There's a reason she can't stop the shoplifting, why she doesn't teach anymore, and her new lodging doesn't turn out to be all that great either. There is a lot of chill factor in this novel and it's not only the people, the house she lives in felt properly creepy and I don't think I'd take the same actions as Ursula, she's a lot braver than I am. Don't you scream at the tv normally too when someone is going to investigate all alone? Well I was pretty much yelling at my book and at her not to go looking for trouble. Nobody ever listens to me though...

There are many MANY strange events and happenings in this novel and danger signs were constantly flashing before my eyes. I didn't trust anyone and I could feel the net closing in as we were nearing the end. The hardest thing was to explain why though. It all came together quite brilliantly, as I had expected from this wonderful author who I only discovered 2 novels ago. She's an outstanding author who invests in her character development and that investment certainly pays off as I was so into it, I could hardly tear myself away from reading. A very absorbing and compelling novel!

This is not my usual genre of book however I was originally sent a couple of chapters via the newsletter and found myself wanting to read more and I wasn't disappointed. The book was easy to follow and was told via the different main characters of the book who were all connected via their workplace in one way or another. I found myself having different feelings for the characters and despite not being very keen on Ursula really warmed to her by the end of the book. Gareth I felt sorry for as he was holding down a job and looking after his Mum who has dementia and I found the way dementia was written about was marvellous and gave an excellent insight into this awful condition. Alice I found a bit needy and seemed a bit stalker like in parts! I really found myself reaching for my phone to read a few more chapters every chance I had as I wanted to see what happened next and I loved the fact that I just didn't see what was coming each time and that I actually found myself gasping as the ending as it took my by surprise. There are twists and turns but I don't really want to say anymore so as not to run others enjoyment other than to say even if this is not your usual genre give it a read, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

This book was reasonably well done. The characters were well thought out. I wasn’t crazy about the daughters drama running alongside the main story but it flowed ok. This story kept you guessing until the very end with lots of twists and turns. I would recommend picking up this book.

This page turning book follows three unrelated characters whom we know from the start are present at a gruesome death. Alice is a forty something retail manager who is looking for love after her divorce, she’s met someone she’s interested in but it’s very complicated. Gareth is a store detective and career for his elderly mum who has dementia and Ursula is desperately grieving and her coping mechanism has resulted in her being thrown out of her friends flat and in urgent need of affordable accommodation. Each of the three has an interesting story and they ultimately end up bound in a terrifying situation. This captured me through every page and I thought Ursula was an amazing character, very thoughtfully written although each character was well depicted.