As a girl Mabel loses her mother and baby sister in an air raid.Her father is abroad in the army so she is sent to live with her aunty Clarissa, who lives in a large house near the sea. Clarissa is friends with a near neighbour known as the Colonel ,who Clarissa calls Jonty .There are rumours that these 2 are linked to a fascist group whilst the war is ongoing. Mabel is not happy living with her aunt but tries to ingratiate herself with her and Jonty , putting notes in letters etc. Jonty is eventually arrested for being a member of an illegal organisation.
On a separate timeline Belinda finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman called Karen ,Belinda sees them together in town and pushes her husband who falls , hits his head and dies, She is arrested for murder and ends up in prison for 15 years which causes difficulties with her daughters. Her one wish is that when she is freed she can track down Karen.
Belinda tracks down Karen to the Old Rectory Care Home where she has been placed because she has Dementia . This is where Mabel was brought up and she is now the owner and at 94 is also a patient there.Belinda gets a job there as a carer and an unlikely friendship ensues between them, Mabel telling stories from the war years and Belinda admitting being in prison and tells Mabel tales from her time there.
However Belinda;s past comes back to haunt her and threats are made to her family if she does not find information from Mabel about her aunt and Jonty to help discredit Mabel;s younger half brother who is trying to enter Parliament.
Various family truths come out as the story unfolds., A compelling read.

What a page turner! Fabulous read.

Two timelines, two main characters. How could their paths possibly cross?

Mabel, as a young girl, loses her mother and sister in a London air-raid. She is sent to live in a large house with her wealthy aunt on the south. coast. As a naive young girl, she is embroiled in activities she doesn't understand, but which later she knows she must keep secret

Fast forward many years and Belinda, an ex-convicted murderer, is working in a retirement home where she befriends Mabel. They both have secrets, but can they trust each other to tell their stories? What would the consequences be?

I absolutely loved the writing and felt so connected with the characters. It had me engrossed from the beginning.

I've not read anything by this author, but I'll definitely be looking to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy for my honest review.

This is essentially the story of two very different women. Mabel is 98 and has a story and dark secrets going back to the war. She was placed in care and her path crosses with Belinda, a care home worker. She’s had a chequered past after a troubled marriage. She too has secrets and the narrative is complex, full of surprises and although occasionally I had to check back to see how the two plot lines were pulling together, it cleverly drew to a surprising conclusion.

I like Jane Corry stories. Her characters are complicated but feel real. She takes an ordinary situation and places real people within that situation making everything feel so plausible. They’re domestic noir with tension, human interest and tight plotting. I enjoyed the dual timelines and the slow reveal of two very different individuals. I was lost the tale and enjoyed it so another 5* winner for me.

This was a very unusual read for me and at times I found the story quite hard to follow as it jumped from the two main characters and also dealt with the past and present. I found it a bit slow in parts but at least it came to a steady conclusion.

Mabel and Belinda both have a story to tell. We meet Mabel at the beginning of the Second World War when she loses her family. Sent to live with her aunt she gets caught up in secrets and crimes. Fast forward to the present day Mabel is now 98 years old and wanting to share her past secrets.

There is a woman who is trying to uncover those secrets for another gain however.

Belinda is in a stagnant marriage when she finds out her husband has been having an affair and has another child. She pushes him and he dies. Belinda serves her time in prison and now she has a job as a carer in the nursing home where Mabel is.

Their lives intertwine and we learn about the past and the present as the ladies share their stories.

I enjoyed this book and it had a nice little twist at the end

Absolutely loved this book it was a master class in weaving time history and the complicated lives of very deep people. I really loved Mabel and Belinda wow what a life thankyou

I really enjoyed the novel but at around the 95% mark it lost me a little bit. It came to a bit of an abrupt halt, we had this long story and a very quick ending. I don't feel that the over explanation of what happened after" brought much to the story. In fact I feel like more attention could've been given to the story of Belinda, her children and Imran.

3.5 rounded down

Sunnyside Home is for the young at heart, some are there for respite, others for long-term care, some work there but one person is there for an entirely different motive. Who is the stranger in room six?

This is the home that 98 year-old Mabel Marchmont owns, lives in and is cared for especially by Belinda. Mabel goes to live in the seaside house with her aunt Clarissa during the war, when tragedy strikes her family and she has lived there ever since. As for Belinda, fifteen years ago she’s bored in her marriage to dull Gerald, who it transpires, isn’t quite as dull as he seems. Belinda pays a high price for her astonishing discovery and the subsequent fury she inevitably feels. Now, as Belinda chats to elderly Mabel, the pair decide to tell each other their stories and as trust builds it appears that both have quite the tale to tell.

I like the premise of the novel very much and it’s worth reading the authors afterword about the wartime narrative. Mabel is fantastic, her story for me is the standout of the book as she has some very difficult waters to navigate especially via her aunt Clarissa. Belinda is harder to get a handle on which is probably understandable as life throws a lot at her. I like that both main characters are strong women who have coped admirably with difficult obstacles and tragedy. The mystery of the stranger is good up to a point, giving a tantalising air of mystery, until the identity is revealed!

However, although I can genuinely say that I enjoy a lot of it, the two narratives do not always meld together smoothly and there’s a disjointed feel to the storytelling. I can understand why the author does this but I think Mabel story would probably have been enough as it is packed full of drama, danger as well as much unhappiness. It’s poignant and emotional in places.

As the conclusion of the story arrives, it gets a bit melodramatic for my taste and also a far-fetched stretch.

Overall, it’s well worth a read and although I’m a fan of the author, I sadly don’t think this is her best book.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated EPUB in return for an honest review.

Mabel was fifteen when she lost her parents and sister in the war. She was sent to live with her aunt Clarissa and her friend Jonty in Devon. But things weren’t all as they seemed. Mabel’s innocence is tested.
Years later the house is a home for the elderly and Mabel who still lives there, has her secrets. Who is the person in room 6.

Short, punchy chapters mixing history with current day really pays off in this well planned out mystery. It felt a bit different to what Jane would normally pull out the bag with her books, but I liked it. Some of the characters were quite punchable but luckily the two leading characters, I did reason with. I’m sure this will be another hit.

Below is the blurb
"You may not know the stranger in room six. But they know everything about you.
It's been fifteen years since Belinda was convicted of her husband's murder. Now, she's ready for her life to begin again, and she's set on that happening at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart.
The owner, Mabel, has spent her life here. First as an evacuee during the Blitz and now as the care home's oldest resident, Mabel has held the secrets of this house for as long as she can remember. Secrets that could kill if in the wrong hands.
But history won't stay hidden forever and someone is onto them both. Watching and listening from room number six, they'll stop at nothing to find out the truth."

I just love this author. Every time a new book comes out I get nervous that I will be disappointed but so far it hasn't happened. This is so not my type of book (usually mystery/horror) but I just love everything she writes. Usually a story with a strong female lead or two flitting between stories and time periods that are somehow connected. I liked Beth's story more than Belinda's story but couldn't explain why! Yes, some of the twists or connections are a bit convenient but who cares! Another great read and can't wait for her next book.

OMG!! WOW!!... OH YES!!!. BOY. OH. BOY...
Incredible read!!... Will suck you in like never before!... Mind-blowing... LOVED this book!

This book kept me turning the pages into the early hours. Heart-pounding and very tense... Nail-biting.


A massive 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars from me!

Mabel tells her war story to Belinda who is now working in the care home. Belinda has been in prison and Mabel has her own secrets from the war. Full of emotion and its good how their stories interweave, connecting these women across the decades. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

The Stranger in Room Six is a suspense-filled story of two women of different generations, who meet at Sunnyside care home in Devon and begin to share their secrets from their past.

Belinda has recently been released from prison, where she spent 15 years for the murder of her husband. Now in her 60s, she has a reason for choosing Sunnyside as her new place of employment.

In her late 90s, Mabel not only lives at Sunnyside but she owns it - having moved here as a teenager during the war, to live with her aunt.

Now, someone has moved into room six who knows them both, and is determined to bring secrets to light!

I loved the way this story was told, through Belinda and Mabel looking back on their past lives and telling each other their stories. Their reflections were told as if it was the present day, so it was easy to get lost in them - and then we would be brought back into their actual present day conversation and be reminded of what is going on now. Their friendship was really lovely!

I don’t want to give anything away about their stories, but both the prison and World War 2 stories were brilliant and gripping, as well as very emotional! It was a gripping read and my favourite from Jane Corry so far.

Belinda has finally been released after being in jail for murdering her husband. She is at the Sunny Side care home in search of a life after her prison term. Mabel has been living in the house that is now a care home, where she is the oldest resident, for decades.

They both have secrets but someone is determined to advantage of the truth that they have each protected for so many years. Can the two women possibly find a way through the danger that they are unknowingly facing?

While this story does require some suspension of disbelief, woven around the lives of two very different women who are equally strong characters, it delivers a compelling read. This one gets 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this story of two srong women, each with a different burden to carry.
The story flowed well and kept me wanting to read on throughout, I especially enjoyed Mables's story. I learnt a few things I had no idea about.
A poignant tale filled with murder,friendship, and forgiveness.
A recommended read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the Arc.

A highly bizarre storyline that really shouldn't have worked but turned out to be an utterly compulsive read! Not at all what I expected and in hindsight quite surreal but quite enjoyable nevertheless.

An enjoyable dual perspective book about Mabel,99 year old owner of Sunnybank home for the young at heart, and Brenda, recently released murderer. The book documents the two recounting their trials and tribulations, each with their own agenda.

The story is about two strong women from different generations - Mabel and Belinda whose lives overlap in unexpected ways. They each have their own tragedies and traumas to deal with, Mabel's during World War 2.

Belinda's life is turned upside down overnight when she receives an anonymous call from a woman telling her that her husband has been having an affair. The fallout is severe with unexpected and tragic consequences. Excellent book with loads of twists and turns. Highly recommended.

Another fantastic book from Jane Corry which I couldn’t put down.
This book tells the stories of Belinda and Mabel and the trauma they both went through before meeting, sharing their stories and becoming unlikely friends. Mabel and Belinda are both excellent characters and such strong women. Both of the characters stories were so different but absolutely fascinating and I was hooked.
I loved reading about Mabel’s time during the war and her chapters were so descriptive.
The ending was excellent and not what I was expecting at all.
Thanks to NetGalley, Jane Corry and Penguin general UK for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.