Set in Bristol and based around the Meads shopping centre, CL Taylor’s latest book follows three characters whose separate lives become interwoven in a life threatening climax involving them all. The story lines around each of the three are compelling - this is a fast paced and addictive read. If you have read her previous books you will know what to expect and this does not disappoint. Four stars from me - it’s all just a little too neat and contrived to secure top marks but enjoyable none the less. Thanks to NetGalley for a pre publication copy in exchange for a fair review.

Wow. Just. Wow. Sometimes the voice of British author's is a bit too unemotional and blah for me but this one is amazing.
For the most part written in the perspective of each character I didn't like any of the people. Instead of flawed interesting people I saw only flawed people. Then things change and I came to understand why this backstory was necessary to create this enjoyable, suprising, deep, involved novel
The story made me so tense I am writing this at 1am after finishing it since I couldn't sleep.
Throughout there's an evil undercurrent I couldn't put my finger on. And the last chapter--talk about a total surprise involving a peripheral character. This truly is a must read
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for sharing this arc

Annnnnnnnnd, circle gets the square!

This book was SUCH a head game; three separate stories that collide spectacularly, originally, and surprisingly!

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was happening until, you know, everything happened.

I loved it....loved it.

Thank you to C.L. Taylor, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I like a twisty thriller but often they sacrifice good characterisation for a good plot.
This one ticks the boxes on both.
Three stories - Alice, Ursula and Gareth - are told. We get to know the characters and their foibles: shy Alice internet dating, larger than life Ursula who is a shoplifter with a conscience, and security guard Gareth who cares for his mum but is being blackmailed.
There’s also a number of sub-plots and a potential murderer of young men in town.
It’s a decent way into the novel before their lives intersect. There’s then some fairly complicated plotting leading to an exciting denouement.
I’d recommend if you like a thriller that takes on some social issues and is well-paced and easy to read.

I do usually love C L Taylor books, and although I did enjoy this it didn’t keep me as gripped as I thought it would. I found myself a little bit confused in parts and even at the end did not feel like it all came together smoothly.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for a copy of Strangers for an honest review.

Another well written suspenseful novel by C L Taylor that keeps you guessing to the end. I must admit it wasn’t my favourite book by her, as I did struggle a little , at first ,with so many characters ,but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to others and to encourage them to read her other books.

Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met, but we follow each of them through their own point-of-view chapters. Ursula believes she's responsible for the death of the love of her life, Alice is being stalked, and Gareth's receiving postcards that shouldn't be possible. Alice, Ursula and Gareth's stories seem unrelated plot-wise as the book begins (though there are clearly related themes), but keep reading and the author ties the story threads together.

I like the title - are strangers friends or enemies? How well do you know anyone? Who should you trust?

The climax ties things together in a satisfying way. The ultimate resolution of their stories is spot-on. Then what follows in the last chapter is great, wrapping up the last issues in a spooky way.

Strangers is complex and well-plotted, with interesting characters. The three points-of-view threaded together well, with the three divergent story lines melding together in a way that made sense yet I couldn't fully see coming. I recommend Strangers to fans of suspense.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #Strangers #suspense #mystery

What a clever book. At first it seemed I was reading a different book with every new chapter but as the story of each character slowly developed with more being revealed about each one, their lives gradually intertwined. With seemingly fairly normal lives and problems, mainly connected with family, relationships and jobs the culmination of revealed secrets and lies delivered a crescendo of a finale. I warmed to some of the characters, was frustrated by others and had sympathy with some too. As more was understood about each one, my opinion shifted and finally their true characters were revealed and the full story was made clear. Another great book by Cally Taylor, I can’t wait for the next one.

A gripping psychological thriller with twists galore!

Have you ever read a book that has you hooked on the first page? A story so addictive, it draws you in and you can’t stop thinking about it. Even when you’re not reading it!!
In fact, daily tasks in life become a real inconvenience as you just want to hide away with your book!
Well, this is one of those for sure!!

This book is about three different people with three different stories. Strangers to each other.

Alice is single, lives with her grown-up daughter and works as a manager of a women’s fashion shop. She meets Simon after a nasty incident and hopes a relationship is on the horizon, but who is stalking her and why? Initially, I felt Alice came across as weak and needy but I think that stems from her being lonely and just wanting some company. She’s a likeable character and shows her brave side at times too.

Ursula is grieving for the man she loved and thinks she killed! She works each day as a delivery driver but has no home to call her own and no family or friends. She does seem to have an eye for things that don’t belong to her though! Ursula comes across as quite lonely and desperate but she has a terribly sad past and actually has a really caring side. With a questionable landlord, she also shows she has a ballsy side to her. She’s definitely my favourite character.

Gareth seems to be that sad, lonely; middle-aged man who still lives with his mum. No partner or friends, just an ever-expanding waistline! His days are monotonous, working as a security guard in a shopping centre and visiting McDonald’s for tea. Never judge a book by its cover though. Gareth is actually a really sweet guy who loves his mum and just wants to protect and care for her. So when he finds strange postcards in the house addressed to his mum, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

The three stories are really quite separate from each other, so I couldn’t imagine how the characters lives would collide. My mind was definitely working in overdrive trying to guess what was going to happen.

The way the chapters change between characters and their stories is genius as it leaves so many cliffhangers. Other characters also pop up throughout the book causing constant suspicions and plenty of OMG moments 😮.

So if you’re a ‘stranger’ to C. L Taylor’s books, then don’t be! I was and can’t believe this was my first book by this amazing author! It certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you to C. L Taylor, Avon Books and Net Galley for my ARC of this book 📖

The blurb and other reviews give the premise of this book so I won't do that here.

Three main characters and each paragraph written from each one's perspective. A very easy read as I found the characters likeable (although Alice DID come across as a bit clingy and needy especially as in such early days in a potential new relationship but this served the plot).

Even though Ursula is a shoplifter, as her story progresses, and her history unfolds, she becomes more likeable and relateable.

Gareth is a very decent, sweet, normal guy.

Their link is a shopping mall where Gareth in a security officer, Alice a ladies clothing store manager and Ursula shoplifts there.

Their lives are lived independently but their paths cross; not in any great depth until near the end and they all experience something together (with supporting characters too).

I enjoyed each of their three stories, especially Alice's new relationship and stalker aspect, which didn't pan out as I expected it to (but better). And Ursula's landlord also added some tension with his very offputting characteristics. Even Gareth's story didn't work out quite as I expected. AND, the very end character's ending ... surprise, surprise?!

This author is one of my favourites and I feel this book is slightly different to her previous ones ... I thought less of a psychological thriller but maybe that was because characters and their stories WERE so normal and relateable.

I did find it surprising that I was at almost 75% of the way through the book but still, the characters hadn't really become that intertwined yet so that might be my only criticism ... as in I was a bit disappointed that they were all only together for one evening. That said, this is my favourite book of the author's so far and maybe it's because it DID take that long to bring them all together. With most psychological thrillers I can see well in advance where it's headed and solved the mystery and the motive before the big reveal. So it was nice that this one didn't really follow that sort of format (in my opinion anyway). There were quite a few red herrings placed throughout though!

An easy read with interesting characters and enough twists to keep you going ... and I'm still thinking about it even now.

Really enjoyed this book which kept me guessing all along! I've read other CL Taylor books and this does not disappoint!

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which is really 3 stories about 3 strangers living different lives, I enjoyed reading their individual stories and how the 3 strangers finally crossed paths and why.
We meet Alice, the Manager of a ladies clothes shop who is lonely and mistrustful and hoping to find love.
There is 6 foot odd Ursula, a van driver with a little habit she can't break - her kleptomania leaves her without a roof over her head and takes the first offer of a rented room, despite her landlord turning out to be ahemm - slightly strange!!
and there is Gareth, a Security guard, doing the job of a failed policeman who never even made it into the police, caring for his elderly and increasingly confused Mum.
All 3 have trials and tribulations and lots of mysteries so there is tons going on to keep you turning the pages and between the chapters is an online conversation about some murders which have been going on, how do they fit in?
I liked Gareths story best I was convinced his late Dad wasn't really dead, but to fin dout if I was right you'll need to read Strangers.
It isn't until the clever ending that everything merges together into one story.
It's a great page turner, exciting and gripping with lots of human interest and great characters with loads of quirks and flaws to make them human.

Overall I did enjoy this one as I have enjoyed all of the other books by this author that I’ve read. I was going to give it a four stars as I was gripped throughout and enjoyed how each of the characters interlinked however, for me the last few chapters didn’t match up to the standard of the first part of the book. That being said it was still enjoyable and a refreshing storyline. I did like the twist at the end involving the older security guard and I did like the majority of the characters and the way that everything connected. I do have a couple of niggles regarding some of the side storylines e.g the mother’s disappearance however all in all it was a good book and I’d recommend it.

Who knew a shopping centre was so interesting, The Meads in Bristol for Ursula, Gareth and Alice it becomes somewhere they unexpectedly come together and for all the wrong reasons.

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.

Three strangers, two secrets, one terrifying evening.

Another great read from CL Taylor and not a storyline I anticipated with the ending I got. Switching between the three characters we learn a lot about each of their lives but how the three of them come together is equally as terrifying as it is fascinating!

This book was not at all what I was expecting and I didn’t enjoy it that much. While the writing was above average I just didn’t enjoy the overall story,

Strangers by C L Taylor is a suspense-filled psychological thriller that stays riveting until the last page! Three separate stories (strangers) converge to create an enthralling ending – it’s like a mosaic of colours, each beautiful on its own, but glorious when seen as a whole.

The three central characters are all flawed, lonely and trying to make sense of their days. The theme centers around the loneliness brought on by their responsibilities, and the regretful decisions they have made in trying to cope. Each character is slowly but superbly developed, and I felt at a loss for all of them.

For various reasons, they all frequent the mall, and this is where the finale takes place. Unknown to each of them, they are being drawn into a web of betrayal, lies, deceit and ultimately a fight for survival.

The little twists and turns are engrossing. The shocker is unexpected.

I’ve read other books by Ms. Taylor, and it’s plots and pace like this that keep me coming back for more.

#netgalley #strangers #cltaylor #avonbooks

spoiler alert ** An easy enjoyable read that never quite gripped me.
I think it took too long to connect the characters to the body they were standing over at start of book.
The whole Simon storyline went on for too long and too far fetched.
Pulled itself back with a neat ending and last fe pages that raised a smile.
It was a fun read.

A story that reminds us of the danger of strangers.

Appropriately named! Three people who are in close proximity via a nearby shopping centre, but are essentially strangers to each other. And their lives interact with strangers who are quite strange, to say the least. Loneliness is an underlying theme in these three lives. A clever plot brings their lives together, and it is a totally addictive read.

I enjoyed this book. The story was told by different characters and the relationships between them become more obvious as the story unfolds. The story kept me interested and the characters were well portrayed. I liked that hey all seemed to have another backstory aside from the main plot and that the situations seemed believable. I will keep an eye out for other books by this author
I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review,. Thankyou

Yet another excellent book by Ms. Taylor. I love the way she hooks you from the beginning and reels you in until you are fully invested in the story.

The story centres around three main characters (Gareth, Alice, Ursula) and begins with all of them, in a room together after what seems to be a traumatic incident.

The chapters then alternate between each of the main characters revealing a bit more of their ‘story’ each time. I love the way that everything just slots together.

As with all her previous books, this book is fast paced and grabs your attention so that you can’t help but keep reading (rather than sleep!). There was more than one occasion (especially laterally) where my heart was in my mouth!

Highly recommend this book! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.