Gripping, intricate, and relentlessly surprising!

Alice, Ursula, and Gareth. They're vaguely familiar with each other from the Meads shopping centre in Bristol, but for all intents and purposes they're strangers.

Until one fateful night when their lives collide in violence.

Strangers opened to the three aforementioned people standing over a body. It then rewound one week, covering the seven days leading up to ‘the incident’, with each day alternating between Alice, Ursula, and Gareth. I can honestly say I had no idea where this one was going, all the theories I came up with were full of holes, and I was absolutely stumped over what connected these three strangers. Their lives appeared pretty much completely separate… until they weren't. And that final chapter – wowser!

Each story arc was engrossing and fascinating, with multiple twists, red herrings, and shocks in store. Some secrets generated sympathy, others were bizarre in nature, and the rest were very dangerous indeed. The novel was fast-paced, exciting, and non-taxing. Themes of loneliness, grief, loss and displacement were prominent throughout – It wasn't solely a thriller. I loved the idea of a psychologically suspenseful novel centered around a shopping mall – a place we not only frequent regularly, but one in which most of us feel safe and comfortable, surrounded by people. But, for these characters the Meads turned from a home away from home to a threatening place.

CL Taylor knocked this one out of the park. Nail-biting and subtlety clever, while still managing to tug at my heartstrings. I've only read one other of her books, The Fear, and as much as I enjoyed it, Strangers is my clear-cut favourite. I buddy read this one with Paulette and we both found it unputdownable.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Avon Books UK, and CL Taylor for the e-ARC.

Publication Date: 2nd April, 2020.

A really quirky, enjoyable thriller which found me downloading it to my phone in order to pick it back up again during breaks.
Highly engaging and an easy read, it's also identifiable, with very likable characters (or at least those we can empathise with)
I didn't suss the killer but then I somehow didn't want to try.
The twists throughout were also subtle and plenty.
Would make a great holiday read.

Flew through this book in a couple of days! Completely gripping & surprising.

I enjoyed how the characters were all very, very subtly linked throughout the book, until the very end and then we saw their worlds colliding.

I didn’t see the end coming at all, it really surprised me!

This is a stonking read, a real roller coaster with great characters and plenty of twists and turns. I read this very quickly, it pulls you in from the beginning.

I really enjoyed this book from CL Taylor. Yet again I was not disappointed by this author. The book follows a chance meeting between Alice and Simon after a disastrous blind date. As Alice and Simon start to get closer she starts to worry that someone is after her and Simons behaviour is not helping. Throw in a security guard caring for his mum with dementia and a shoplifter and you have an exciting thriller of a story. I could not put this down.

Absolutely a 5 star book for me!
I've read & enjoyed other books by C.L.Taylor, but this one is definitely the best one yet. After I finished I turned to my husband immediately to say how brilliant it was, and I carried on thinking about it for some time afterwards.

There are lots of characters through the story, but they are all very different, and all with their own, clear story lines. I really liked the different people, and I was kept guessing throughout as to what was happening, and where the story was going to go. The suspense was great, rising and falling in different places, and not being able to figure it out was a definite plus point.

I also liked that the characters are quite complicated, not entirely perfect, and that the different storylines meant there could well be multiple baddies, and multiple situations going on, that may or may not be interlinked.

I don't really want to say anything more as I'd hate to spoil it. Fabulous characters. A definite page turner, and a great book to be reading over Christmas when staying up late to read just a little bit more is not a problem!

AUTHOR – C.L Taylor
PUBLISHER – Harper Collins UK
PAGES – 400
SUBJECTS – #thriller #suspense #mystery

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.

Three strangers. Two secrets. One terrifying evening.

Wow … this is one hell of a book!!! It is jam packed with a rollercoaster of emotions and you will not be able to get off.

The story follows three main characters along their separate daily lives when something freaky happens to all of them… and you find you can not put the book down because you need to know what happens next each of the characters stories.

Each of the characters were all extremely likeable from the offset but my favourite was Ursula. There was just something about her that made her stand out from the rest, and the more I read her story the more I felt sorry for her.

The further and further you read the weirder and weirder each of their stories get … and just when you think you know what’s happening you find out your wrong … until BAM … they are all in the same place at the same time and you just know shit is going to go down….

The story keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to very near the end … then a turn of events happen that you did not see coming (well maybe some might but I definitely did not) and then I find I am welling up and the story has turned to so very sad I thought I was going to start sobbing my heart out.

The ending of the story was by far the best for me, I absolutely LOVE the way cally can have me on the edge of my seat to beating tears within a matter of a few sentences. This book was pretty amazing and definitely one of my top reads.

1. At certain times of the book, we see the response to events on social media in the form of twitter posts. What do you think this adds to the novel? Do you like it?

I really enjoyed reading the twitter posts, it’s definitely something you see a lot of when certain events happen and I thought they broke up the chapters well.

2. Strangers focuses on three main characters – Alice, Ursula and Gareth. Who did you feel most connected to and why?

I felt most connected to Ursula, she was in a pretty rough patch in her life and nothing was going well for her at all. I felt sorry for her, for her past and all the crap she was going through when all she wanted to do was get on with her life and help people who needed it. I’ve never really gone through that much all at once but she just shouted out more to me than the rest.

3. Towards the start of the book, Alice has an unpleasant date with Michael. Do you think she handles this interaction in the best way? How did the scene make you feel?

Absolutely … being in a similar situation myself once I did exactly the same. I think things like that is always a knee jerk reaction you can’t really plan for it. The scene made me feel really sorry for Alice, finally starting to date and this happens .. it’s enough to put you off for life.

4. Whereas many crime books focus on the idea that a crime is al aye committed by someone you know, this novel focuses on the notion that strangers are the one to watch out for. Do you agree with this? Which idea is most frightening to you – the idea of being hurt by a stranger, or by someone close you?

Wow … this is a hard one … I’d rather not be hurt but I’d probably go with a stranger, you never know when they will strike but someone close to you, you can usually see it coming.

5. What did you think of the way things ended for Joan? Are you glad her story ended where it did?

No, I was heartbroken … I honestly thought Joan was going to come home safe and sound.

6. How important do you think the shopping centre setting is as a pivotal place in the novel? Why do you think the author picked a shopping centre for the key scene.

I think it was fairly important and it was chosen as it is a place where we all cross paths daily and not exactly a place where you will expect something bad is going to happen, so she could place them all there and still keep the mystery of what was about to unfold.

7. Ed behaves badly in this book – but how far does what happened in the past go towards excusing what he does?

It doesn’t excuse what he did at all. The guy was just creepy. That was my first impression. He lost his job, because of a prank .. we’ve all lost jobs over something stupid. Move on. You don’t try and kill someone because of it

8. The central theme of the book is loneliness. How successfully do you think the author explores this theme?

Very successful I would say. I could feel it within the words especially with Gareth and Ursula.

9. Do you think Ursula was right to get involved in Nikki’s situation? Why do you think she responded the way she did?

Yes I think she was right to get involved. She seen a red flag and she did what she thought was best. If she had not have got involved who knows what might have happened.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a big fan of thrillers. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

I cannot stress how good this book was, I read it in one day and stayed up late because I couldn’t put it down until I had finished! I especially loved Ursula...what a brilliant character. The book was well written, fast paced and a literary rollercoaster ride. I recommended it to everyone and cannot wait for the next book!

I saw people raving about this book on twitter and I have a few other C.L. Taylor books on my TBR list so I was excited to give this book a go. Thank you to Avon Books UK and C.L. Taylor for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Book due for release on 2nd April, 2020.

Description 🔖

Three strangers live in the same city, all have their own troubles; all of them different. Ursula’s life has been on a downwards spiral since the love of her life died and she’s struggling to keep her life in control. Alice is a single parent, trying to get back into dating and is being stalked by who knows who. Gareth lives with his ageing mother who is suffering from dementia and suspects that his father who died years ago, is actually alive. All of these individuals will be somehow thrown together and become more reliant on each other than strangers ordinarily are.

General Thoughts 🤔

This book kept me guessing and questioning more than any book has for me in quite a while. I honestly had absolutely no idea where the story was going to go and how these strangers were going to eventually collide with one another. Once everything started to unravel I couldn’t stop, I had to keep on reading to wrap everything up in my mind.

I love the theme of strangers in this book. The age old classic is that it’s those closest to us that we need to watch out for but the frightening thing about this book is that strangers are probably more frightening. You have absolutely no idea what people are capable of; especially people you don’t know.

Characters 👫👭👬

There are a lot of characters in this book, but not too many that you can’t keep track of them all. The story is told through the voices of the three main characters; Ursula, Alice and Gareth. One of the underlying tones I took away from the story was that all three of them shared a common sense of loneliness which I’m sure resonates with a lot of real life strangers.

Another thing they all shared was standing in their own way. Alice refused to listen to the advice of her friends and family who were trying to help her. Ursula was living in the past instead of focusing on getting her life back together. Gareth was too afraid to go for what he really wanted. Frustrating to read when I just wanted these characters to pull it together and get their happy endings.

Writing Style ✍🏽

I adored the way this book just kept me guessing. I genuinely couldn’t even string together a theory on how the strangers were going to end up coming together. There were so many curve balls thrown in and so many red herrings I gave up on trying to work it out and just let it all unravel in front of me. Fabulous plot development I say.

Small thing I loved about this book is the last few chapters when all the tiny loose ends were tied off. As I got closer and closer to the end I kept thinking “but what about….and…but” yet everything came together.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I’ve obviously been living on another planet as this was my first C.L. Taylor book. whilst everyone else has been enjoying this authors fabulous writing, I’ve been living under a rock. This definitely won’t be my last. Every bit of questioning and uncertainty I went through whilst reading this book was worth it!. Loved it.

Sorry I really didn’t reckon much to this one , obviously it was a group of people who were going to be linked at the end but it wasn’t enough to keep me excited I’m afraid . A bit disappointed as I love this author but this wasn’t for me

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for a free ARC of this book.

I first came across this author late last year when a supermarket had a twofer deal on a couple of her paperbacks. I grabbed them and quickly devoured them. I loved C L Taylor's writing so much that I put her other books on my Christmas list and now have a further five to read when I get the chance. So, when I saw this title available on NetGalley, I jumped at the opportunity to review it. Strangers did not disappoint.

As the description tells us, we meet and follow three very different people, who are strangers to one another. The writer weaves these three separate and disparate threads together nicely. I connected with each of the main characters, but my favourite was Ursula. To me, she seems to have the most character of them all and makes for a strong female lead.

The plot, pacing, characterisation, and scene setting are all done well, and I found this to be a quick and fun read, perfect for a dark winter's night. The identity of both the Harbourside Murderer and the Stalker kept me guessing right up until the end. I give this book a solid five stars and am looking forward to reading more of C L Taylor's books.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Alice decides she is ready to date after her divorce. She checks into tinder and meets a creep at the bar. Thankfully Simon comes to her aid. But then Simon, is full of unanswered questions and things start happening, notes sent to Alice, her car marked,
Who is stalking Simon and why?

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really enjoyed it, I love all Taylors book and this one will not disappoint you. Love how it is laid out with the characters and keep you guessing all the time. Fab read fully recommended

This was an enjoyable read. I'd recommend but the actions of the main character were a bit far fetched. Basically stalking someone you've just met didn't seem like a believable way to act.

I seem to be in the minority with this one but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I have read quite a few books from this author but I found this a toil to read and was glad when I had got to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Strangers by C L Taylor is the kind of book you recommend to your friends, a fast paced, action packed read full of twists and turns, it keeps you second guessing and gripped throughout.

This book connects three strangers, Single mum Alice, Gareth a security guard at the local shopping centre, and carer to his mother, and Ursula, a heartbroken lonely courier who shoplifts
The characters are likeable, and relatable.
You find yourself racing through the pages to find out what’s happening next... I couldn’t put this book down and thoroughly enjoyed every page of it.

5 stars


Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

Love all this sign a books and this was no different. Love the suspense in the book. Couldn't put it down. I really do recommend you check out this book and the others by this author

I absolutely love C.L. Taylor's books, I've read all her thrillers and was so happy when I was approved to read Strangers.

This story was a bit of a slow burner for me. It follows the three main characters throughout alternating chapters. Ursula is in mourning, and has a shoplifting habit, Alice is a single mother, working as a shop manager and trying her hand at internet dating, and Gareth is a security guard at a shopping centre who cares for his mother who has dementia.

Each of their lives are unraveling, and while the reader learns fairly early on how they are all connected, I was curious to see how they would all come together, and who was behind it all. I really liked Ursula and Gareth, but found Alice so irritating, particularly the way she was with Simon. I felt like her storyline took over a bit, and I wish there could have been a bit more to Gareth's storyline.

There is a kind of subplot about a possible killer in Bristol which is told primarily through tweets. I found myself getting a little confused with this and couldn't work out how it all fitted in.

There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story, and as usual, C.L. Taylor manages to tie everything together nicely at the end. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't read all her other stories, which set the bar very high! The final twist in the story was great, and I absolutely didn't see it coming.

What an absolute Corker of a book, it was phenomenal.
I read this in 2 days (unfortunately life got in the way) but I couldn't put it down, I just had to know what happened next and everytime I've had a spare minute I've squeezed in a couple more pages.
I'm up for the school run in the morning, but I've stayed up til 130am to find out how it ended.
I found it a complete roller coaster, have been on the edge of my seat, and the way the story built up in the beginning it was so sinister and creepy and had me holding my breath and shutting my eyes.
This was my first C.L. Taylor book after I'd seen some posts on social media but it definitely won't be my last

Thanks for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Another solid read from this author. Devoured this in no time. The plot was great all the way through. Loved the ending. Will be keeping my eyes open for more from this author.