This was such a wonderful thriller! I was completely gripped throughout and I didn’t see any of the twists and turns coming.
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In Strangers we follow three main characters: Alice, Ursula and Gareth. Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective and we follow their lives and journeys throughout many interesting, intense and sinister events...
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The whole story is very character driven and I loved how thoroughly they were developed. The reader is given detailed and intriguing backstories for each character and this really helps to build suspense for the events happening in the present!
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Strangers was perfectly plotted and the writing was brilliant - this made for such an engaging read with so many dark secrets and twists throughout!

I have loved every book by Cally so far and this did not disappoint. What a page turner of a read, I devoured 200 pages of it in just one day. I love the multiple point of view the story is told in. Parts are very tense throughout. Edge of your seat, gasping moments are a plenty.

Brilliantly written. The ending really heats up bringing them all together with an explosive outcome. New friends are made, people are forgiven and changed but over what? Strangers is a gripping read and we get a great look into each characters life and circumstances. Each character had something difficult and different to tackel so there was always something to keep you flicking those pages.

A well deserved four stars from me. Highly recommend. Loved it. I already cannot wait to read her next book. She writes brilliant books.

Another great read from an excellent author. Twists and turns throughout and you’ll be up late reading it. Well written - another hit

This is my first book by C. L. Taylor and all I can say is WOW!
What a fun and captivating read, I loved it.
Ursula, Gareth and Alice are strangers. They are all loosely connected to the Meads shopping mall in Bristol.
Each of them are having problems, we follow as they muddle along.
Their lives begin to link and then converge in a violent way.
I went into this one not knowing much about it and I think that's the best way.
This was a suspenseful, crazy and exciting thriller. Great characters kept it interesting and what an ending!
A pleasure to read.
Thank you Avon Books UK for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Book UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

WOW - it's hard to know where to start with this book!

The story starts at the scene of the incident, but then goes back in time to follow three of the characters lives. Each character had their own mini story, so there was a lot of information to take in. I found after reading a chapter following one of them, that I was engrossed and wanted to carry on reading about them. That said, it wasn't difficult to keep switching between the characters, which I have found in other books sometimes.

The ending was brilliant, not just the way all the stories came together, but the way there was a last page, then a last page, and then one more last page. I completely forgot all the mini stories.

Good book, comes together nice at the end. It follows the point of view of three different people leading three different lives and somehow they all get intertwined. The in-between stories were ok but when the ending was good. I wish the suspense was more thru the book then just at the end. I like that it had closure.

Thanks NetGalley, author and Avon Books UK for this ARC.

This is a good fun thriller. It starts with a dead body and a group of people, then goes back in time so you have to work out multiple elements: who is dead, who is the baddie, and how are all the characters connected? Each main character has their own set of chapters so you follow their seemingly distinct lives, watching as they come together. I gobbled it up in one go!

You're always guaranteed a good read with a C.L. Taylor book and her new novel Strangers does not disappoint. With a massive hook in Chapter 1 that drew me in immediately, I absolutely raced through the book and read it cover to cover over a 24 hour period, begrudgingly putting it down so I could go to sleep.

Strangers is well named as it is a bit strange; reading the backstories of three unrelated characters and wondering how they all end up being in the position where we are introduced to them in Chapter 1. The three characters are all very different but hover around the periphery of Alice's life: Alice manages a clothes shop in Bristol Meads Shopping Centre, Gareth keeps a watchful eye over the centre as a security guard and Ursula is a shoplifter.

With three separate stories there's a lot going on, but not so much that it ever gets confusing. Alice ends up with a stalker when she starts online dating, Gareth has his hands full looking after his elderly mum and Ursula is so desperate for somewhere to live that she moves in with creepy Ed. Ed really made my skin crawl and if I was Ursula I'd rather sleep in my car than spend another night under his roof. As well as what's happening in the characters' lives there is also a story of young men going missing in Bristol and I loved how C.L. Taylor adds social media posts of people chatting about this to bring the story to life and to keep it in our mind.

Rather surprisingly, I don't think I had a preferred character; I loved reading about all of them and how they each cope with their own loneliness. I felt for Alice suddenly finding herself single, Gareth putting his life on hold to look after his mum and Ursula who is punishing herself for something that happened in her past. While I was reading, I was wondering how these three separate stories could ever intertwine but of course C.L. Taylor does this magnificently.

Fast-paced, gripping, intriguing and completely addictive Strangers is another outstanding novel from C.L. Taylor, the queen of psychological thrillers. Strangers is a top of the charts guaranteed bestseller and a recommended read.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Book Review: Strangers
Author: C.L. Taylor
Rating: 2/5

'The body lying motionless at her feet looks nothing like the soothing mental image she's been carrying around with her'

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Review:

Ursula, Gareth and Alice. These three strangers have never met before. But each character is facing their own problems, Ursula has been kicked out of her home, Gareth has been receiving strange postcards and someone just might be stalking Alice.

I am definitely in the minority in disliking this book. In all fairness I liked the characters, and enjoyed reading each of the POV's however the plot of this book just seemed to drag out where nothing really happed till like 85% through this book.
The subplot of this book where these murders known as 'Harbourside murders' added nothing to the story and just added unnecessary pages to the book.

Really a shame I didn't enjoy this as much as everyone else seemed to .

Dark and twisty. Three strangers each damaged in different ways. Some big secrets also. The characters have nothing in common but come together beautifully at the end. A really gripping read and a unique story. I loved it.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review.

C.L. Taylor has proven herself capable of crafting very neat, well-executed thrillers and Strangers is no exception to this. There is a slight trend to have thrillers where you appear to be focused on separate characters only to have their lives collide when it comes to the climax. I can honestly say that this is probably the best example of that kind that I've ever read. It is both extremely hard to predict just how and when the characters' lives will intersect, and also satisfying when they do. I was impressed by how tightly plotted this book was.

The only real flaw of this thriller is that it feels like it has too many characters. The blurb mentions three POV characters and I was actually surprised when I checked this after reading it because it felt like far more. I think because each character has several people they interact with, and the way that the stories all intersect at the end means that you have to keep track of pretty much all of them, this resulted in there feeling like there are about twelve main characters. This was actually executed about as well as it could be since for once, I remembered pretty much all of the characters which I am notoriously bad with for thrillers. Even so though, it is a little intense.

In terms of the plot, this book falls squarely into domestic thriller. There really aren't tons of thriller elements or lots of mysteries going on but each character has a solid enough storyline and it kept me engaged throughout. Overall, this is a really enjoyable read and a great example of Taylor's writing skills. I look forward to seeing what else she can write next.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

An easy read with each main character taking more or less a chapter at a time which is a writing style I often enjoy. This book had tv drama or film written all over it. It would make a really good series on tv. The plot had a few too many red herrings though but that said I did get the ending completely wrong.

I’m a huge fan of C. L. Taylor’s writing and have loved all of her novels so far but I can honestly say that Strangers is her best yet! It’s brilliant!

It follows three characters: Ursula who seems to be a bit of a loner and is clearly struggling with something; Gareth who works as a security guard in the local shopping centre but also looks after his mum who has dementia; Alice who’s recently divorced and has started dating again. A man she ends up seeing has a secret and this leads Alice to be in danger!

I loved how this novel is told from the three different perspectives. It opens with a scene where something terrible has happened but we don’t know exactly what, or who to, and then we got back in time and find out what led to the incident. I had no idea how the lives of these three disparate characters would eventually intersect but I was so keen to find out.

I find it’s rare in a book with three points of view to be equally invested in all of them but C. L. Taylor has written such brilliant characters that I cared about all of them and I wanted to know what was going to happen in each of their lives.

It’s rare for me not to work out how a thriller will turn out but Strangers kept me guessing all the way to the end. It was such a rollercoaster novel and when the denouement happens I was literally on the edge of my seat! I adored this book and I highly recommend it!

"Strangers" is the type of book that could easily be a movie. It's a mystery right up to the end. You try to make the connections and figure out who's behind all the chaos going on in the lives of all these people. "Is it all related? am I reading too much into it?" This book truly kept me guessing and it was an easy and pleasurable read.

I appreciated the author's ability to create completely distinct characters, which is something I have struggled with in other books. In "Strangers" I had no doubts about each character's personality and quirks.

I felt it lost strength reaching the end and it didn't have the wow factor I was expecting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you, Avon Books UK for sending me this digital copy in exchange for my review.

Strangers is a wonderful mix of interesting characters connected only by the location this novel is set in, The Meads shopping centre. Or that’s what the author wants us to believe.
With a central theme of loneliness, the three strangers and main characters are Gareth Alice and Ursula. Gareth is a security guard at the centre,often hidden away in the CCTV control room , whose only interaction is via the screens he has to watch vigilantly or through radio contact with the other guards. Single and still living at home, caring for his mother who has been diagnosed with dementia, he leads a lonely life trying to juggle the demands of his job whilst enabling his mother to remain in her own home. Added to his burden is the fact his father went missing years ago, presumed dead. With no social life, I felt much sympathy for a man simply trying to keep his head above water.
Alice is the manager of Mirage Fashions at the centre and cuts an equally lonely figure. Still coming to terms with a failed marriage, the author introduces us to her via a disastrous first date that tests her strength of character and kickstarts events that form the basis of the storyline. She’s a rather insipid character, easily flattered by a man’s charm but maybe that’s because she’s lonely and desperate for love, living with her grown up daughter who doesn’t come across as particularly likeable.
Last but not least is my favourite character of the three,Ursula whose connection to the shopping centre is her addiction to shoplifting. I think she’s the most complex individual, formerly a primary school teacher but now struggling to make ends meet as a courier, her shoplifting is a coping mechanism against the grief of losing her beloved Nathan. It’s not until much later on that we understand exactly what has happened to him and her current living arrangements bring another important character Ed (her incredibly strange and suspicious landlord) into the mix. In fact there are a few additions to the cast that become integral to the lives of Gareth, Ursula and Alice and make for an intriguing storyline.
The author constantly switches between these characters, gradually divulging each person’s backstory amongst events taking place in the present. I enjoy this style as it keeps your attention, eager to discover the next nugget of information that may prove crucial to joining up all the dots. At times I did think maybe there were too many threads to keep hold of, a deliberate way of confusing the reader and diverting attention from how these strangers lives were connected. For probably about three quarters of the storyline I felt completely engrossed, thoroughly entertained and expected to review as a 5 star read but like a well risen soufflé that suddenly collapses I was slightly disappointed with the revelations linking these people together. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of red herrings throughout so it’s hard to distinguish what is relevant and what is maybe superfluous and what is way too obvious and I couldn’t have predicted how events would unfold. I suppose I was left with a feeling that the balance of scales in terms of believability were tipping in the wrong direction hence the 4 stars. HOWEVER this being my first CL Taylor read I am encouraged to seek out other titles on the strength of this one and those who are already fans of this author may entirely disagree with my points of view!!
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Interesting story. I wasn't too connected to the characters but it was a quick read and perfect until I pick up my next thriller.

This is the story of Gareth, Ursula and Alice who are strangers to each other until an event brings them together.

It is a slow burner that lacks intensity and the ending was a bit too circumstantial for my liking.

It was ok, not the authors best book in my opinion.

‘Alice Fletcher has never seen a dead body before.’

Tense and twisty, this is the second novel I’ve read by Ms Taylor. It opens with Alice Fletcher standing over a body. She is not alone: Gareth and Ursula are with her:

‘We say it was self-defence.’

But who are these three people? They do not know each other. And who is dead and why?

The novel is set in Bristol, UK. The story moves between Ursula, Gareth and Alice with occasional social media responses to missing men and a ‘Harbourside murderer’. We learn of Ursula’s past, of the challenges Gareth is facing as his mother’s dementia becomes more severe, and of Alice’s dating attempts.

I’m not going to write more about the story because to describe it in more detail will provide (albeit inadvertently) some of the twists that kept me turning the pages and trying to work out ‘who’ and ‘why’. It’s cleverly done: chapters ending with cliff-hangers (and there were a few) kept me reading, trying to work out what would happen next.

The storylines connect, in mostly satisfying ways, by the end. Each of the main characters is well-drawn as are most of the secondary characters. And, while I don’t need all the loose ends to be drawn together and tied off, this is one novel where I was quietly grateful that they were.

Recommended. A great way to spend a couple of hours!

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Strangers tells the story of three people - each of them completely different personalities - but what happenstance could possibly bring them all together? If you choose to read Strangers, you're in for a stupendous read!

Alice, Ursula and Gareth’s lives are laid bare in this sublime account, when their respective worlds collide. Alice, the manager of a fashion shop, Mirage Fashions, in the Meads shopping centre in Bristol, is separated from her husband but is actively dating again. As head of security, Gareth, 47, is responsible for monitoring the CCTV cameras in Meads, though he and Alice haven’t yet met. He lives with his mother, Joan, who is suffering from dementia. Ursula, a parcel delivery driver and kleptomaniac is banned from the fashion store.

Told told from the perspectives of these three main characters, the story opens with a dramatic incident that immediately hooked and absorbed me into the ingenious storyline. Whilst enjoying all three of the distinct narratives, I had absolutely no idea how they might gel, but could certainly sense that the collision would be dramatic! With its fabulous pacing, and concise chapters many of which ended in mini cliff hangers, I found Strangers highly addictive as I suffered from 'just one more chapter' syndrome. Common themes in this tense, taut and twisty tale were family, loneliness and violence.

In essence, I adored Strangers by C.L. Taylor and I would recommend it, and the author, with confidence.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my request from Avon Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Strangers By CL Taylor
I flew through this book, and enjoyed every bit of it!"
I liked the characters and felt they were well developed and I enjoyed the storyline. The book had me from the beginning and held my attention the whole way through to the brilliant ending.
I had lost my reading mojo during this pandemic, so the fact I read this book in two days speaks for itself.