This was a quirky, creepy little psychological thriller that, although I raced through it, didn't quite hit the spot for me. I felt there was a little too much suspension of belief required. I'm a fan of unreliable narrators and narcissistic/damaged women telling their stories, but this had too many POVs and meant I didn't engage with any one character enough.

Given Perry's skill with unusual plots though, I would be interested to see what she does next.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I am a fan of books in this genre, so I was very much looking forward to reading this one. I was not dissapointed and both the plot and characters gripped me from the start. I will definitley aim to read another by this author. Highly reccomended!

A menacing psychological thriller
This is a great book
Plenty of twists
Will have you hooked
Thanks NetGalley

Beth has a French exchange student to stay. There are already tensions in the house. Corinne seems to add to these. Plenty of twists that lead you wondering where this will lead. Totley recommend things are not always as they seem.

A dark emotional twisty read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book,

Abi Holland is pleased when foreign exchange student Corinne comes to stay with her family. Her daughter Beth has had a tough time and rarely socialises and so Abi is relieved to see her making a new friend. However Corinne is a confident and manipulative presence, and very different to what the family was expecting. She is always listening and learning new things about the family, waiting to use them to her own advantage. And as a family with a lot of secrets, The Hollands may find out she is more trouble than they thought.

This book is undeniably well written and I could appreciate it as a psychological thriller. It’s intense and dramatic and I did want to keep reading to find out what happened. However in all honesty, I can’t say I actually enjoyed it. I found the themes throughout the novel too troubling to actually enjoy the story. I’m probably in the minority but I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me.

You can read my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/stranger-by-karen-perry-book-review/

Another gripping, chilling read from my favourite writing partnership, Karen Perry.

The book follows the Holland family, about to welcome their daughter Beth's French exchange student, Corinne, to come and stay with them. We quickly learn that something awful has happened, but we're not sure what exactly, and we then go back in time to the 'beginning' as they first meet Corinne...

The book is a skilful domestic thriller and though a lot focuses on the characters, I never felt impatient for more 'action'. I found myself completely gripped as we discovered more about Corinne's weird ways and the way she interacts with others, and as her and Beth's relationship grows. Beth's sister Eva, seemingly on the sidelines of the plot to start with, becomes more and more important, and parents Abi and Mark's struggling marriage creates a perfect storm of tension which I enjoyed (if 'enjoyed' is the right word...) every minute of!

There are some dramatic moments that perhaps require a small amount of suspending your disbelief, but to me, it didn't feel too over the top or ridiculous, just entertaining and gripping.

This is a book with an underlying dark storyline and somewhat harrowing as the seemingly unconnected strands of the plot meld together to reveal a terrible family secret.

Although I found it slow to begin with, once I managed to get past that, the book had me hooked! The character are well written and their development through the book is good. The characters on the pages create the atmosphere for what you are reading and you can really get a good sense of the emotions of the characters, especially Beth.

Ms Perry presents this reviewer with quite a challenge in ‘Stranger’. It is hard to fault - actually impossible to fault - the exceptionally well crafted prose; the relentless building of tension as the plot unfolds; and the clever use of an occasionally disjointed timeline to tease the reader with snippets of information that might - or might not - be clues to the emerging tragedy.
And yet…….. For this reader, at least, there were, perhaps, rather too many dark, even bleak, themes woven through the narrative for a comfortable read. I recognise that this is always going to be a matter of personal taste, but the nagging thought persisted that the book could have retained all the amazing positives if these jarring themes had been dialled down or simply omitted.
Having relieved myself of those less positive comments I have to confess that I could not easily put the book down and completed it in an impressively short time, given its size.
Recommended, with these modest reservations..

This book jumped about a bit much for me, but admit it got better towards the end.
Beth has a French exchange student come to stay and it seems that Corinne is the keys to her family unravelling.
Things start to go wrong when Corinne arrives at Beths' home and then they have a family holiday to France to stay with Corinnes' family.
Two troubled families seem to collide in this book and the ending I was a little surprised with - wasn't expecting the outcome that it delivered.

When the Holland family take on an exchange student from France their lives fall apart. What starts off as a happy exchange and new experience for their younger daughter Beth soon turns into tragedy and ends in two deaths.

I found this to have a fairly dark storyline, with a couple of clearly trouble young teenagers who have their own problems. From the very beginning you understand that some type of tragedy has occurred, however not until the end do you finally understand what has unfolded.

Abi and Mark have two daughters but the story mainly focuses on the youngest, Beth. a troubled teenager who has no friends following an "incident" at school the year before which is hinted at throughout the book. When Beth takes part in the foreign exchange programme and French student Corinne comes to stay - her parents are relieved that she seems to have made a good friend. Corinne is not the innocent young girl they first believe and its not long that before it becomes clear she is manipulating and controlling Beth, causing her to start misbehaving at school..
The family are invited to stay with Corinnes family in France for a holiday when tragedy strikes. The consequences are devastating and the truth starts to reveal itself.

A great read that keeps you gripped right to the end.

wow this book had me hooked form page one, opened my eyes to what could happen on exchange trips. Im glad my kids never dd them. Great read nice pace on the story love the characters

Absolutely fantastic read. I have loved this and been completely unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This is a great read which I will be highly recommending.

I have read many of Karen Perry's books and I am a lover of them all, so when this came up from NetGalley to read it first in exchange for an honest review I had to request it.

Wow if you love a really good, read with elements of thrills, surprise and lots of twists then this is the perfect novel for you.

We meet Abi who has two daughters and husband Mark. They live a seemingly sublime life when we meet foreign exchange student Corinne. Corinne and Abi's daughter Beth hit it off and Abi is so pleased that her troublesome daughter has a friend. We learn a lot about Beth's struggles at school and cant help but feel slightly pleased that she now has a pal. Much to the disappointment of Abi and Mark, Beth starts to misbehave and it does not end well. The main part of this story is around the Holland family's many different secrets that they keep and we learn that Corinne is listening intently to them all. I do not want to give too much away but not all is at it seems.

A great read, maybe not the best book they have wrote but still enjoyable.

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and Karen Perry for the advance review copy of Stranger.

Stranger is a disturbing and believable tale of the dangerous impact that bullies and relationships can have on a teenagers life and well-being.

Beth is a insular teenager, she rarely socialises and keeps herself to herself, especially after 'the incident' at school last year. This is alluded to at the beginning, but we don't know what happened or why. When the school offers the ability to take part in a French exchange where a student comes to stay - her Mum feels it would be good for Beth. The chance to make a new friend and feel less alone at school.

When Corinne arrives however, she is not quite the character they were expecting. Confident and overbearing, she begins to manipulate and control Beth, telling her what to wear and what to do.

With a number of sub plots occurring simultaneously, Corrinne begins to worm her way into the family life - soon there are no secrets, and the danger of the truth coming out is huge - for all of them,

With a shocking ending that takes the story full circle - this is an intense and dark psychological thriller,

I am sad to say that I couldn't get into this at all and found my mind wandering to other things. I have read Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry and enjoyed it but this one just didn't do it for me unfortunately, however it won't put me off reading more from these authors. Not sure why it didn't grab me but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Abi's daughter Beth is quiet and reserved. Her behaviour is worrying for her parents who are unsure how to help. When a foreign exchange student, Corinne, comes to stay, she seems to bring out a new confidence in Beth but the worries about her behaviour just get worse instead of better.. A well written book. The characters are well defined and come to life on the page. A good story with an explosive final twist.

This was a dark suburban psychological thriller which I really enjoyed. I loved the writing, it was so easy to read and keep reading. The characters were so real and story evolved brilliantly. Once you get into to it it is really hard to put it down!

Kept me absolutely gripped. A stay at home dad, a workaholic mother, two daughters, Eva and Beth both at school and both hiding secrets. Good friends with the couple next door and their little boy Jo. Beth is dealing with bullies from an incident that happened at school previously and is taking part in a foriegn exchange programme. When the French student, Corrine, arrives their lives will be affected. Corrine is a listener, very good at manipulation and control.. As Beth becomes more and more obsessed and influenced with Corrine, Abi her mother becomes very concerned.
This book has everything, from bullying, abuse, heartache, despair. It is cleverly written and has great twists you don't see coming.
I will definetly be reading more by Karen Perry.