How well can you really know those closest to you when everyone in this rural Pennsylvania town seems to have a secret and can we trust our own memories of past events. That is what Megan Miranda has us pondering throughout The Perfect Stranger where not everyone is who they appear to be. A suspenseful read filled with twists right up until the last page that kept me guessing throughout the book.

When Leah left Boston for Pennsylvania she felt she could put her past behind her, but when her roommate/friend go missing everything changes. In her quest to find Emma she must look into her own past and question everything she thought she knew.

ARC provided by Netgalley for my honest review.

I found this book to be very fast paced. The main character, Leah Stevens, was complicated. There were many things going on in her life. This book asks the question, how well do you know the people in your life?. Loved it, would highly recommend.

See link to Goodreads review

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the privilege of an advanced retail copy. I was so excited to read this book because I loved the author's previous adult thriller novel, All The Missing Girls. However, the Perfect Stranger wasn't as creative or enthralling as All The Missing Girls, in my opinion. I still appreciated Miranda's unique writing style and she successfully created a tense and interesting atmosphere in this novel. That being said, I felt that the plot was extremely slow-moving. While I felt the suspense and the moody tension building up throughout the book, it never quite took off for me. It felt like when you have to sneeze but the feeling goes away and you are denied the pleasure of the sneeze, haha. Nothing major occurred, it seemed like most of the mystery was clear very early on. Ultimately I have to admit this was a bit of a disappointment for me.

What a great book with lots of unexpected turns. I was able to finish this book in 2 nights, once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.

Just who is/was Emmy Grey? This convoluted mystery is solved only with a determined effort by Leah Stevens to find out the truth before the police do.

When Emmy disappears from their shared house, Leah sets off on a personal quest to find her friend and to figure out what happened. Is Emmy somehow connected to the severe beating of Bethany down by the lake? Does this have anything to do with Leah's stalker, a coach at the school where she now teaches. Leah had to leave Boston ahead of a journalism scandal. The girls ended up in rural Pennsylvania. Why there?

As Leah finds more about the woman who called herself Emmy, she becomes involved with one of the police officers on the case -- Kyle is somewhat perplexed by Leah's claims about Emmy and the events and relationships between other characters. There's a lot to keep track of and the elements aren't completely connected and explained by the end. I like my mysteries all clearly and neatly tied up without loose ends. This is a psychological thriller and not particularly suspenseful but kept me turning the pages.

An interesting second book by this author, and I'll continue to read her novels.

Burrowing Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole

Journalist Leah Stevens has left her home and thriving career in Boston after taking the fall for a secret scandal. Her only friend Emmy, convinces her to move with her to Pennsylvania for a fresh start. Leah agrees and she does start over, this time as a high school teacher.

On one fateful day, a young woman is found by the lake in front of Leah and Emmy’s home. She bears a striking resemblance to Leah. A fellow teacher at Leah’s school is the primary suspect. Then, Emmy suddenly goes missing as Leah starts receiving disturbing email messages and calls.

Leah enters into a romantic relationship with the lead detective on the case. As the case becomes more complex, he begins to doubt Leah’s word. Against judgment, she uses her investigative skills to piece together a mystery so deep that it takes her back to her first encounter with Emmy years ago.

Leah races to piece together a puzzle, one she was blind to due to her intense emotional need for human connection. As she commits to the process, other unresolved pictures begin to take form.

What I loved about Leah is her willingness to keep burrowing deeper down the rabbit hole. She is a woman used to being abandoned and though it has become her Achilles heel, especially in terms of trusting others, she is willing to face the truth at all costs.

Full of all the things we love best in a suspense thriller, a mystery to be solved, a protagonist you won’t stop rooting for, and all the spine tingling twists and turns we come to expect from this genre.

Highly recommended, fast paced, and satisfying.

BRB Rating: Read It.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley for review.

The Perfect Stranger was hard to put down. I don't want to give anything away, but I liked it even more than All The Missing Girls. The author sucked me into the mystery right away. I needed to know if Emmy was real or not and I loved how the different mysteries kept weaving together.

Wow! This book has me hooked from the very beginning. Lots of twists and turns, that I didn't see coming, made the book really hard to put down.

I wish I could give this three and a half stars. I enjoyed it. This is a very twisty mystery, with a slow reveal. At times, I felt the reveal got a little muddled/unbelievable, which is why it's not a 4 star book for me. That said, I really liked the story. The plot revolves around Leah, our main character, who is on the run from...something. She flees big city life and is hiding out in a small Pennsylvania town, working as a teacher. Then a woman is found murdered. And Leah's roommate disappears. And as the story progresses and the past and present are slowly pieced together, a pattern and picture emerge. Some moments were a little forced and all too convenient, but that did not detract from the enjoyable twist and turns of the story. I dislike comparing books usually, but I did feel there were certain plot points that reminded me of Girl on a Train. Very fun read!

Gripping and a real,page turner. Will definitely look for this author in future.

Amazing, amazing book-- just when I thought i knew what was going on….BAM something happened that threw me for a loop!! Outstanding!

First off, I have to give a big thank you to Simon & Shuster and of course the fabulous Megan Miranda for my copy of The Perfect Stranger. This book is not released until May and I cannot contain my excitement for it to hit bookshelves.

I was nervous starting this book because of the very high expectations that her last book “All the Missing Girls” set. After reading The Perfect Stranger, I am not sure why I was worried in the first place. The last book the story was told in reverse and in this book we are told multiple story lines which all come together when you least expect it. I must admit this book had me thinking and trying to uncover what was fact and what was fiction.

I love Megan Miranda’s style of writing, not only is it easy to read, it really captivates the reader. I could honestly go on and on about this book, however, that would include spoilers. Let’s just say this is a book you don’t want to miss out reading in 2017!

I enjoyed this book. Cleverly written and exciting it kept me hooked from start to finish.

I would recommend this. An easy 5 stars.

This was much different than her first novel but still just as entertaining. I loved how the clues dribbled out and the truth was revealed.. The ending kept me guessing and I loved how justice was served..

This author has definite skills for crafting a tense, complex mystery. I look forward to future books by her.

I stayed up until 5am to finish this book. It was that good. Which is really no surprise since I loved Megan Miranda's first adult thriller, All the Missing Girls.

I would have to say that The Perfect Stranger was even better!

Leah Stevens is running from her past. Yet, part of her past is with her now. Or was. Her friend and former/current roommate, Emmy, has gone missing. Not only that, a woman that highly resembles Leah has been found nearly dead less than a mile from their home. Did Emmy suffer the same fate?

So, I really didn't know what to make of this story in the beginning. Which I have to add is a GOOD thing! I had several theories about the mysterious Emmy—my main working one being nothing more than a split personality of Leah—but none were even close. Plus, there were so many other facets to this story, putting the puzzle together completely was just impossible. At least for me. Even as things slowly were unveiled, piece by piece, I still found myself grasping at straws. I even debated reading the ending to see if there was any clue about who and where Emmy was. (Don't worry, I didn't!)

I should also add there is mild romance between Leah and the lead detective on the case. Kyle Donovan was hotness. But, I won't lie, often I didn't trust him. I've read too many of these types of books and I trust no one! I hoped his theories weren't correct, too. I didn't want Leah to be the bad guy. But really, it was almost hard to believe that all of these events taking place since she came to town were merely coincidence. Of course they weren't. And as things played out, my jaw dropped.

Megan Miranda is a plotting genius. This book is filled with so many twists and turns, I think even the most well-read thriller fan won't be able to guess EVERYTHING. She has not only solidified herself as one of my go-to names in the genre, but she also (IMO) surpassed the genius of Lianne Moriarty.

Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?

I was already reading The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda when I received this ARC from netgalley. I read the Perfect stranger in less than two days and enjoyed it quite a lot. The story kept me in suspense and constantly guessing what was going to happen next.I would definitely recommended for lovers of mystery/suspense novels.

Definitely a book to keep readers on their toes trying to figure out who is guilty, who is innocent, even who is real. Main character Leah is abandoning her previous life to start over, far from her old career and acquaintances with a former roommate from her college years. The murder of a look-a-like local woman puts her barely started new life in jeopardy. Her roommate disappears, leaving Leah trying to prove Emmy's existence, and her own innocence. Megan Miranda does a superb job leaving clues without giving up the identity of the guilty party in The Perfect Stranger.

An excellent, suspenseful thriller! I enjoyed Megan's first book and was SO excited when I got approved for this one. I just love her writing style. The characters in this one kept me guessing and I wasn't sure who to trust. I felt I was right alongside Leah on her quest to locate Emmy. I had my usual prediction, which was wrong, but man was this one addictive. A very fast paced page-turner!!