I really enjoyed this gently paced book. I don’t usually read books with a supernatural element but I loved the way folklore and witch stories were woven into the story. The descriptions of island life are excellent, it certainly makes Sark sound like a great place for a peaceful holiday. The fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the more fascinating.

Thank you as always to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

What peaked my interest when I first read the description was it was inspired by a true story. The authors note at the end went into a bit more of how they wrote the book and what aspects of the true events the book was based on.

The story itself starts on the Island of Sark where two piles of clothes, a womans and a mans, which were folded neatly and no sign of their owners. Nobody seems to know who these two people are as the residents of the island are accounted for and no one has been reported missing. This is the beginnings of what will become a very interesting read. We are introduced to a wealth of characters from the island itself. Paper clippings about the crime are interspersed throughout the book and notable entries describing the island itself. You get a real feel of what it must of been like to live on an island such as this and all the possible outcomes of what happened to the two missing people. The real crime itself was never solved so the writer has come up with their own interpretation.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable and dark mysterious read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical crimes and mystery set in a small setting. There are elements of the spiritual or paranormal also. All in all a very interesting read.

Thank you to #netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This was a book out of my favoured genres so I struggled a little to engage, however, if you like the old Enid Blyton Famous Five books then you will adore this!

A gentle tale set on the small island of Sark where the clothes of two adults are found on the beach but no bodies.

Very gentle easy-reading.

A really lovely read based on a true crime on the island of Sark. The crime starts with two sets of neatly folded clothes, of a man and a woman found at a coastal beauty spot then Sark becomes headline news.
Phyllis Carey returns to Sark from England and sets about trying to solve the mystery of the two people and the clothes they left behind, during this time she crosses paths with Everard Hyde somebody from her past, and secrets start to emerge.

A recommended read with five stars from me

I enjoyed the descriptions of Sark but struggled with the novel. It never seemed to gain traction for me, and I was unable to get alongside any of the characters. The two main elements of the plot never quite came together. Phyll and Everard's dual-timeline story jarred with the mystery of the missing strangers. This was certainly not a book for me.

A slow-burn, coming-of-age island mystery full of twists and turns

Filled with a profusion of voices and narrative styles, The Stranger's Companion reveals its secrets and those of its lively cast of characters in surprising and unexpected order, never taking the straight path to a denouement or an action.

At the heart of the book are Phyll and Everard, in twin timelines when they are both twelve and twenty-two. As parallel mysteries of the human kind develop around their innocent but magic-filled relationship, the mythology and folklore of the island of Sark provides a further deepening of all the stories in this complex novel. Based on a real incident, the novel resolves almost al of the plot lines, leaving only one major thread dangling: are there ghosts on Sark?

I must admit that I liked each strand of story, even though the actual omniscient narrator remains anonymous even after finishing the whole thing. But colourful characters and a delightful interest in the lives of pre-tweens in the so-called innocent inter-war years can only take you so far, and thankfully the book picks up pace, as well as all of the threads, around the halfway point, like a gentle uphill slope that takes you to a seaside cliff, as Sark appears to have in droves.

A great summer read, I give it four stars.

An historical mystery based on true events that took place in 1933 on the Island of Sark in the Channel Islands. Told in dual timelines, 10 years apart, and from multiple POV’s, unusually the voice of the narrator is written in the second person plural, present tense in the present and past tense in 1923, interspersed with guidebook descriptions of points of interest on the island and newspaper headlines. Confused? I did find it a bit strange at first but I soon found the narrative incredibly compelling.

Briefly, in the past, Sark is a safe placed and children wander around freely, but it’s also not very exciting so two young children Phyllis ‘Phyll’ Carey and Everard Hyde start playing practical jokes, often rooted in local superstitions, until they go too far... In the present, the clothes of two unknown people are found on the beach and no sign of the man and woman. Phyll has returned to live on the island and is determined to work out the mystery. However, she is surprised to bump into Everard who she hasn’t seen for 10 years and their close proximity causes old memories to surface.

This is quite a complex story and for such a small community there are a plethora of secrets and shocking events being revealed! The characters are all well drawn and the descriptions of the island authentic. I liked the asides to the reader and the hints of the supernatural and there is a good feeling of suspense running through it. An intense and captivating read. 3.5⭐️

3.5 stars
Thanks to #NetGalley and publishers for an #ARC of #TheStrangersCompanion.

This book had several gripping storyline, from 1933 (present) and 1923. It was an enjoyable read with excellent undertones about women/witches/ghosts.
Highly recommend

I review a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
This book is beautifully written, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. When I read the blurb, I thought this was going to be straightforward murder mystery set on an unique island with interesting characters. But The Stranger’s companion is your typical cosy mystery but more literary and will appeal to those reader who enjoys a more challenging read.
The story is told by the third person omniscient narrator and while the author’s voice is interesting with a touch of humour, it did mean I didn’t really connect with the characters or care about their stories.
This is a book has a few threads including a coming-of-age story, romances. Death ,ghost stories, the aftermath of war, witchcraft, abuse and of course the underlying mystery of the missing couple. But they do all come to together in the end on a positive note.

I thought this was a fun and engrossing mystery that takes a real-life case as its inspiration. The narrative voice is playful and inviting so that you want to keep reading. The narrative voice makes the novel feel very Green for Dangeresque (isolated setting with a cast of quirky characters). The characters are so well-drawn and introduced that you don't spend time worrying about who is who (the book has a cast of characters list which can be helpful if needed). In a way, the novel is more about how the mystery impacts these characters and how isolation also plays a role. I have never read Mary Horlock before, but this novel make me want to check out her other work.

The poet William Wordsworth coined the phrase “The child is father to the man”. On the Channel Island of Sark, in 1922, Phyll, Everard and Miranda are children aged about ten. The girls are native to the island but the boy is only there for the summer, staying with his divorced father. The island is small, population about 500, and very safe so the children, particularly Phyll and Everard, roam freely. However, there isn’t much to do so they start playing practical jokes, riffing on the local legends about ghosts, particularly the Stranger a woman dressed in white who appears as a portent of tragedy. Things get out of hand, Everard’s father takes him away, Phyll is bereft.
In 1933, a couple are reported missing. The report is based on the discovery of two sets of clothing on an isolated beach, but otherwise there is no information. At least initially no one seems to be missing, nor are there any visitors unaccounted for. Phyll has been working in Southampton, but has recently returned to the island, where she intends to become a writer. She is surprised when Everard reappears, having heard nothing from him in the eleven-year interval. They rapidly reestablish their friendship, but the islanders still remember the chaos they caused as children. Are the repercussions from that time going to open up old wounds, old secrets? Is there a connection to the couple who went missing? Are there really ghosts on the island? Do the adult characters echo their childish personalities?
This is a complicated plot, not just because of the dual timelines but also because of the interrelationships of the various people on the island, including the past and present events surrounding Phyll and Everard. In addition, the construction of the story is a major factor in keeping the reader overloaded with Information. There are extracts from reports in the press, Local and National, concerning the mystery of the missing couple, which outline the days and quaint extracts from a tourist guide to Sark add details which are not always evidently useful. The Omniscient Narrator is not just a viewpoint for the story, for she uses authorial intrusion liberally (I say ‘she’ because the voice I heard in my head was that of Lady Whistledown from “Bridgerton”). Overall it’s an entertaining story.

I enjoyed this mystery with its reference to a real life case, the historical aspects were well written and the excerpts from period literature added to the narrative.

Would gladly read another novel form this writer who writes characters which felt well rounded and believable.

I was attracted to this book by the setting…on the island of Sark, as I had visited the island before. This story is set in 1933 and also ten years earlier. Phyllis and Everard are the main characters and are in their 20s in 1933. The story revolves around two strangers who disappeared in 1933. There is also a narrator and newspaper clippings relating to the mystery. There was also a ghostly element to the story. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and I found that the way the story flitted back to 1923, when Phyll and Everard were children, wasn’t always clear. I did like the way justice was dealt with by the women of the island. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press for this eCopy to review

The Stranger's Companion is an intriguing historical mystery, even more so as it's actually based on a true story. Set in October 1933 and 1943 on the small Channel Island of Sark, it was a fascinating glimpse of life there. A slow burn classic mystery story full of colourful characters.

The fact this book was inspired by true events that are still unsolved to this day is want made me want to read it.

It moves between two timelines, 10 years apart, on the small island of Sark. Where neatly folded clothes of an unknown man and woman are discovered abandoned at a coastal beauty spot. Phyllis makes it her mission to find out what happened.

I really enjoyed this book. 5*

It took some time for me to really get into this book - probably half way however once I did, I somewhat enjoyed it. It flips between two timelines, 10 years apart and on the small island of Sark. There are lots of characters and although the author details them and their relationships to each other, it wasn't too helpful when reading on a kindle! Some interesting facts about Sark are given throughout which certainly added to the story. If you like mysteries with a twist, then this may be the book for you. Overall 3.75*

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

This was a fascinating and spooky story and apparently from the ending it says the premise of the story was really based on a true case..
In October of 1933 on the Island of Sark that is known for the reputation of "Nothing ever happens" a pile of folded clothes of a man and woman are found on the ground of a local beauty spot.
At first it's assumed they have just drowned and it's a tragic accident but the story soon escalates and captures the imagination of the locals.
When Phyllis Carey arrives back on Sark after working away she is determined to get to the heart of the mystery.
But the appearance of Everard, someone from Phyll' s past, the secrets of long ago and their shared, intertwined history unravels.
A really slow burn, classic style mystery.
I really enjoyed this and loved the supernatural aspect and this was my first novel by this author.
Would definitely read again.

I have to admit to struggling a bit with this one - perhaps because I wasn't acquainted with the location?

Based on a true story of a missing couple on the island of Sark, this is a fictional telling of what happens next. Returning to the island from England, Phyllis Carey is determined to discover what happened - after all, people do not just disappear into thin air, do they? Working her way through rumours, ghost stories, and dark rumours she meets again a friend from her youth on the island. With press coverage of the case increasing, the history between them rises to the surface once more.

By the end of this novel, I understood more than I did all the way through when it struggled to hold my attention. Perhaps if it was a bit shorter and more concise I would have felt different but I definitely had to force myself to pick it up more than once. While I'm sure that it will appeal to other readers, it just didn't do it for me. 3*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

A wondrous book that is beautifully written which I felt completely immersed in. The isolated island of Sark finds itself in the midst of a mysterious disappearance when a couple's clothes are found neatly folded on a rock by the sea. Seasons shift, tides turn and the local women are a power to be reckoned with when one of their own is crossed. It reminded me of Sarah Winman's beautiful 'A Year of Marvellous Ways' in atmospheric, period story telling and healing after a war.

When I saw this on NetGalley I thought it sounds really good, and whilst it was enjoyable it was definitely too slow for my personal liking. The character were well written and I liked the coming of age aspect to it alongside the historical / mystery / ghosty. I did struggle with the anonymous narrator though, I prefer the characters to tell the story.