Great book. Kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next twist or turn. You will keep turning the pages until you are finished.

When Alison’s 18 year old son Ben is murdered on his way home from a night out she is convinced it is linked to two other deaths in their small community. The person she believes is responsible for all of the deaths is Mia, Ben’s ex-girlfriend.
Alison becomes increasingly frustrated with the Police’s investigation and the lack of progress, even when she points them in Mia’s direction. As well as the tension between Alison and the detectives investigating Ben’s death, there is also tension between Allison and her family.

The majority of the story is told from Alison’s POV in first person which helps to let the reader understand how she is feeling and the impact Ben’s death has had on her, whilst the other POV’s add to the plot and help keep up the intrigue and tension.

The reveal at the end came as a surprise and I enjoyed how the plot points all fitted into place.

Overall, a good psychological thriller with a lot of emotion.

I have eagerly awaited this book, having read Luca Veste's previous offerings. It was definitely worth the wait! I struggled to put it down, and wanted to snatch moments of reading it whenever I could.

I highly recommend this gripping novel.

The Stranger In The Room is a psychological thriller that intertwines the lives two families in dark and tragic circumstances, but not in a way of unity. In fact, the exact opposite. When Alison's son, Ben, is murdered, far from sharing her grief with his former girlfriend, Mia, she vehemently believes that Mia is responsible, both for his murder and for two other deaths that had previously rocked the small town in which they live. There is a very clear reason for her belief, something which becomes all the more apparent as Luca Veste slowly reveals the characters' and by extension, the towns' backstory, but surely nothing is quite as clear as it first appears. Alison is driven by grief - Mia is tortured by guilt, bit as to what drives that guilt ... well, that is what we need to find out. From the very beginning Luca Veste sets up the tension and that pulsing sense of threat - no good can ever come of someone walking down an alleyway late at night, no matter how close to home - and what follows is a tale of obsession, deception, and far more twists than you might at first expect.

The story is told from varying points of view. There is the first person narrative of Alison, whose determination to uncover what really happened to Ben drives much of the pace in the story. Then you have the third person perspective that provides us with insight not only into Mia's point of view, but also that of the Detective, Natalie, and her partner, Carter, who are tasked with finding out what happened. There are other characters who inform and redirect the narrative, but by focusing on these three main perspectives the author keeps the suspense and mystery alive. There is the conflict between what characters think they know, and what they simply suspect, and then the lies of omission that come from Mia unwittingly as she tried hard not to think about her potential role in all that has happened. The more we learn, the more the suspicion does fall upon Mia, but then again it is easy for Alison's first person voice to taint how we feel, a trick Luca Veste uses to excellent effect.

There are many twists in this story, and certain events and comments had me wondering about any number of suspects, including Mia's overprotective friend, Anna. There is a lot of contradiction and misdirection, and the pacing on the story waxes and wanes as the investigation progresses and then stalls. There is a vein of emotion driven by grief and anger that really comes through in the story, particularly when witnessing the way in which Alison reacts to events. Whilst perhaps a rather extreme reaction to her loss, the way in which the author has directed it maintains an air of authenticity as she understandably seeks to find an outlet for her anger and to be able to blame someone for her loss. I'm not sure how I would react in similar circumstances but her emotions are relatable, especially the guilt that builds in not being able to protect her child.

This is perhaps not as pacy as some of the author's previous novels, nor as laced with tension or threat. I found it to be more thoughtful and emotional, whilst still fed by an undercurrent of mystery. There are darker moments in the story, and the ultimate reveal of the killer is both surprising and not. It is a modern tragedy though, and the circumstances leading to Ben's murder, the escalation of online hatred for Mia, and the assumption of her guilt without anything but circumstantial evidence, are all too true to life.

Absolutely brilliant book!
I am a big fan of this author and love the writing style!
I cant wait to read more!

This is my first read by Luca Veste. The story started with a bang but somewhere I felt lost. It had multiple PoVs . The real focus was on Alison ,her grief and resentment is well detailed I actually felt for that character. On other hand Mia was a confusing character , didn't have much depth. I was hooked till the end of the story , it moved fast even with the drawbacks. Overall it was a decent read. I thank netgalley for the eARC copy.

I do love . Luca Bestie books and I loved this one. Great story great characters and a thoroughly great book

Thanks for the opportunity to review

I loved this book at the start , no messing about and the action soon started but in the middle somewhere I got a bit bored and got sick of the mother interfering and I just wanted to know who had done it . However I didn’t expect the ending and that was a surprise. I love the mention of Crewe and Nantwich where I live , didn’t expect that lol . All in all it was a good book and I think it will appeal to a lot of people. 4 stars from me and I would recommend it to my friends

I requested this book because I hoped for an intriguing storyline with characters with depth, or at least characters I could relate to. Sadly, I was a bit underwhelmed. The story is being told from different POV’s and sometimes I just couldn't remember who was telling what. There were also a lot of pages filled with just thoughts and no developments or actions.
I understand why three deaths in just eighteen months in a small community must be very unsettling, to say the least, but as soon as it’s clear that Ben was the third victim, there was a lot of talk about the first two murdered people. Only, in all that time the police haven’t been able to find useful clues and thus nobody was caught for these deaths. And this goes on and on.
The plot is not as straightforward as it seems and when new secrets come to light, there is a little more action and I enjoyed it better. Overall, I cannot rate it more than three stars but it is in fact two and a half upgraded to three.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this review copy.

Superior plotting, an intense storyline and a multitude of genuinely unpleasant characters from a very clever writer indeed. Of course there's just a bit more to it than that but those are my immediate thoughts now I've given this, my first book from Luca Veste, time to settle in my subconscious. I have to admit to feeling some uneasiness when I was reading The Stranger in the Room and I found it hard to put my finger on the reason why; now, with hindsight, it really was because I couldn't feel empathy even with the family members of the murder victim and as I read on I realised - wow. This is so clever.. I had to justify the whole way I was reading this thriller in a way I probably hadn't done in a while. The subtleties are there but some of them crept up on me, and this made for a more unconventional approach than maybe I was expecting. Yes, I would have liked a sympathetic character to linger, come the denouement and for many readers one will, I'm sure, but I'm rather glad that I still felt rather unsettled.

Gripping, Suspenseful..
When a catalogue of murders occur there appears to be one common link - Mia Johnstone. Linked to all of the victims and only just eighteen, Mia should be preparing for her life ahead but, instead, she is thinking about the most recent killing- Ben, her own boyfriend and the third person close to her that is now dead. With a deftly drawn cast of characters, multiple perspectives and a pacy, unrelenting plot this is both a gripping and suspenseful read which will leave the reader questioning everything.

'The Stranger in the Room' is another excellent thriller from Luca Veste. When Alison's teenage son Ben is murdered she points the finger at his girlfriend Mia. It's told from different points of view and as each chapter enfolds we meet more twists and turns. No spoilers from me, just a 5 star recommendation to give it a read. Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an arc.

At times this book was sad from my perspective as a mum. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to leave the investigation to the police, especially given how they had treated Becky's murder previously. I had my thoughts of who had done everything. I was partially right. What I wasn't expecting was the ending. A good read

I received this book from netgalley for an honest review.This is a weird one for me, although I enjoyed the story, if a little slow at parts, I struggled with the ending, I didn't find it believable, I've read plenty books that I've been surprised by the ending, but it's made sense once you've thought about it, this just didn't sit right with me.
The story itself is still worth a read, starts with a young lad being killed and the police start to investigate, over the past 18 months there were also 2 other killings that were not solved, is there a connection? The locals and mother of the latest killing seem to think so.
This is a story of a mother determined to find out who killed her son, no matter the danger involved

Mia and Ben are teenagers finishing school and preparing for university. They had been dating for several months but have broken up. One night walking home Ben is brutally assaulted and killed. Only 18 months earlier two other deaths occurred when a teacher at Mia’s school, Will Fulton, was assumed to have been killed in a burglary gone wrong and Becky, another pupil at the school, died in an apparent suicide. Written in multiple POV’s this is a well paced and quite dark thriller, a compelling read.

Briefly, Mia is linked to all three dead people and people are now questioning if she is a killer. Both Becky’s mother and Alison, Bens mother, believe she is and that the police are not doing their job. Should they take matters into their own hands? As Alison quickly spirals out of control in pursuit of the truth, her truth, to prove Mia is the killer, Mia herself struggles to cope. She is clearly hiding something but does it mean she is a killer!

Mia is a difficult character to understand, she professes her innocence but in a rather halfhearted manner and seems a bit confused at times, there is clearly something troubling her. The identity of the killer is perplexing and I was on the edge of my seat at times. A genuine shocker of a book right through to the last page! Brilliant

Three murders in a short space of time in a small town and the police have no idea who is responsible. The rest of the town are pretty sure they know who the murderer is, eighteen-year-old Mia had issues with each victim just before they were murdered. Why can't the police see what everyone else sees?

The Stranger In The Room by Luca Veste is more of a why dunnit than a who dunnit. From the very beginning, Mia Johnstone is the main suspect in the murder of Ben Lennon. The police don't seem interested but social media is abuzz. All the clues point to Mia after her acrimonious break-up with Ben because he cheated on her. There are also the two unsolved murders of a teacher and another student, both of who had run-ins with Mia. Mia doesn't help herself either, she's vague at times, economical with the truth and can't explain the blood-like stain on her clothing.

The real focus of the story is the obsession of Alison Lennon, Ben's mother. In such a small town everyone knows everyone else's business and it's impossible to avoid gossip. She is frustrated that the police refuse to accept what everyone else clearly knows so sets out to find the proof she needs. Consumed by grief and resentment at the perceived inaction of the police, it is easy to see how logic and reason are replaced by helplessness, pain and irrationality. There is a distinct lack of support from her family; an already fragile marriage is on the brink. The only person who truly understands is the mother of the teenage girl who was murdered a year ago.

Despite a huge guilty sign hanging over the head of Mia, you get this strange feeling that there must be more to the story. She keeps denying any involvement with any of the murders but it feels half-hearted. I felt very unsettled by the ambiguity the story offered, unable to know with any certainty who the murderer actually was. The revelations in the conclusion were shocking and chilling.

This is the first book I have read by Luca Veste. I really enjoyed it. Three people have been murdered and their deaths all seem to be related to Mia. Is Mia the murderer or is someone killing on her behalf. This book had lots of twists and turns. It was edge of your seat in places. The character of Alison could be annoying in places but she has just lost her child. I will be recommending to this book.

An exceptional and chilling tale that is guaranteed to make you check the locks!
Shockingly addictive and twistier than a mountain road this is a book you won’t put down no matter what needs doing!
Terrifying, shocking and very, very good.
Highly recommended and definitely worth 5 Stars.

Another cracking thriller from the excellent Luca Veste! A series of murders seems to be linked to Mia, and the latest to die is her boyfriend Ben. Ben's mum Alison is not impressed by the police and takes matters into her own hands. But is everything as it seems? Gripping from the start, well written and with an interesting array of characters, this is a super read.

Underwhelming overall. I didn't take to the style of writing at all—the short, staccato sentences going into the heads of characters, and sometimes a page of more of thoughts before a question was answered.

I also found the changing perspectives jarring and inconsistent. A couple of sections had the names of the PoV character, but most didn't; one of the PoVs was in first person, but there were a few sentences here and there that slipped into third person (possibly this was changed in a later revision, and will get ironed out in the final version).

I also wasn't at all convinced about the story, and why everyone though Mia was a killer. The ending was supposed to be twisty, I guess, but needed some suspension of disbelief.