Cover Image: The Stranger Inside

The Stranger Inside

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Member Reviews

What an amazing thriller this had so many twists and turns I felt like I was on a rollercoaster and I love a good plot twist fantastic

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The Stranger inside is the 4th book in the series and does not disappoint.
It’s obvious who is the most likely to have committed the crimes isn’t the one.
But how about two more possibilities?
I was not prepared for the ending of this story and I don’t think you will be either.

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A very good psychological suspense thriller that had me hooked from the very beginning. This was such a well written book that I highly recommend to readers of this genre.

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This was a thrilling roller coaster ride! I have never read anything by Jennifer Jaynes, but I will be looking for her other books now. This book was wonderfully written with strong, bold characters. It's a page turner and I simply could not put it down! I loved how the story unfolded with some twists I was not expecting. Great book!

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I am a big fan of Jennifer Jaynes books. Always waiting for the next release. This book was a great page turner.
This is a great psychological thriller!! I couldn’t put this book down, like many of her other books.. It will keep you guessing until the end. And just when you think it’s over it’s not. Great read. Looking forward to her next book. Hopefully another exciting psychological thriller.

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Diane Christie is a mystery writer and a crisis center hotline volunteer. She has 2 teenagers, a son with medical issues and a college-age daughter who is difficult to say the least. The 3 have relocated to Fog Harbor from New Jersey after Diane's husband commits suicide.

The murder of a college girl and a call Diane takes while volunteering at the crisis center puts her in the middle of the investigation. The caller, with a computer disguised voice, seems to know too much about the recent murder than what has been released. Subsequent calls from the same individual state that she is the only one who can stop the killings.

This was a well-plotted suspense thriller which had me guessing about the suspects and the possible motives, I was hooked from the very start and the surprise ending was awesome as well. A quick, satisfying psychological thriller, I loved the coastal setting, characterizations and the way the story played out. I would definitely read more books by this author.

This book is actually book #4 of a series, but, I didn't realized that until after the fact and, it can clearly be read as a stand-alone.

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I really enjoyed this book, the characters were really well done and I loved how practically everyone in the story was a possible suspect. Very entertaining and suspenseful. Didn't suspect the ending at all! Highly recommend!

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Jennifer Jaynes' The Stranger Inside is a great addition to her Stranger Series.
Very fast read and a page-turner.
I would highly recommend this book to all psychological thriller fans.

Novel: The Stranger Inside (Strangers #4)
Author: Jennifer Jaynes
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Review Rating: 4 Stars
Cover: 8/10
Characters, interaction, and plot layout: 4/5
Publication Date: 9 May 2017
Do I recommend this: Yes
Would I buy this book for myself or a friend: Yes

Thank you Netgalley & Jennifer Jaynes for my advance reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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The Stranger Inside by Jennifer Jaynes (Thomas & Mercer)

I have recently received an ebook ARC of The Stranger Inside thanks to NetGalley and publisher Thomas & Mercer.
This book is about a mystery author Diane Christie. She is a widowed mother whom her husband has committed suicide.
Diane and her son, Josh move to a small town, Fog Harbor, Massachusetts.
Her daughter Alexa is attending college in the nearby town of New Cambridge. Alexa is depressed and Josh is beginning to act out.
Then a girl from Alexa’s college has been found murdered.
Diane also works at a crisis hotline, and then the murdered begins calling Diane and telling her she is the only one who can stop the murders…
This book was an quick and easy read, I found it very intriguing and it kept me wanting to read more. It was very suspenseful and the book had me guessing all the way to the end.
This is the first novel i have read by Jennifer Jaynes, and i am definitely going to read more of her novels! I would recommend this book and i give it 5 stars.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ brilliant book. I've read the author's previous books and loved them (Ugly Young Thing in particular) and this one keeps up the brilliant writing and story telling.

I read this in 24 hours, despite having a full time job and an 8 year old to look after!

I started reading this and thought I had it sussed really early on however the twists and turns kept me guessing and I loved how it ended.

Really recommend if you like fast paced who dunnit serial killer type books.

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This is the first book I have read by Jennifer Jaynes and quite clearly I have been missing out.

The book had a fair few red herrings, throwing the reader off the ultimate reveal at the end.

Great book, very well-written and full of supsense.

Highly recommended and 4 stars from me.

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Wow, what a total roller coaster ride!
Diane is an author of thrillers (irony much....) and has to deal with the suicide death of her husband.
She decides to move to a coastal town, to try and reconnect with her estranged daughter and has to cope with her son's endless medical problems as well. On top of this she has to deal with a serial killer that is suddenly loose in their town.
It was really an entertaining read. Recommended.

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Packed full of suspense!

Diana is a mystery writer who has moved to Fog Harbor for a new start after the death of her husband. Her daughter, eighteen-year-old Alexa, is at the University and her adopted son of sixteen, Josh, is at high school. Josh suffers from an autoimmune disease which attacks his lungs but remains a cheerful and affectionate teenager. In contrast, Diane's relationship with Alexa is not good; Alexa seems troubled and to be full of hate for her mother.

The novel opens with a violent murder of a young college student which understandably causes Diane worry as she hasn't heard from Alexa for a while. Messaging and calling her draws a blank as Alexa doesn't respond. When Diane goes in for her volunteer shift at the Crisis Centre it seems the murderer is targeting her as she receives a sinister call from someone disguising his voice.

The characters in this novel are well developed and the reader can see a villain in each of the men who Diane knows; Wayne at the supermarket is overly solicitous; Lance, a police officer and fellow counsellor, seems to be keeping secrets of his own, and a couple of 'accidental' encounters with the mysterious Rick, have Diane wondering if he is what he seems.

The relationship between Diane and Alexa goes from bad to worse with Josh frequently acting as mediator. All in all, far from finding a relaxed life in a coastal town, Diane's stress levels go up and up! And then there are more murders...........

I enjoyed this fast-paced novel very much with its twists and turns, misdirection, and a totally unexpected and shocking conclusion.

Jaynes has written other in her 'stranger' series and I will definitely be searching them out!

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

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An ok thriller with a surprising twist at the end.

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Jennifer Jaynes has knocked her debut thriller out of the park.

With her rich characters and settings, this thriller a definite page turner that deeply involves the reader to its very satisfying climax. The characters are very well drawn out and composed in a very realistic way and never seem artificial. Ms Jaynes has accomplished something that very few first time writers do and that is to let her characters act realistically. There is not one instance where the characters act to help push the plot forward. This is an outstanding achievement that very few writers have the talent to pull off.

Her female characters have just enough frailty and strength to deeply involve the reader. Their humanistic approach helps the reader envision their plight without becoming irritated with their frailties, in fact, they help you endear to them.

The plot is very well constructed and the setting of Fog Harbour really lifts the material. The atmosphere and the menace found within the pages help carry the story forward. In truth, the setting is almost a character within itself.

The book runs at its own pace and works like a large jigsaw puzzle or like a Seurat work of art, where close up, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. It feels disjointed but as you read further and step back from the original work, the picture slowly comes together and eventually you have a fully realised picture that comes together more fluidly.

The use of local legend brings the manuscript to its final conclusion and the violence and murders are expertly handled. The psychological background of the situation is expertly woven in without a detailed exposition to bog down the work as a whole. This is a real page turner and one that should find its audience very easily.

Jennifer Jaynes looks like she has a bright future ahead and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next. A winner of a thriller and an exciting read that was really hard to put down. Lost some sleep reading this which is a true sign of an excellent read.

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A compelling thriller that will have you at the end of your seat. A end you don't see coming

I have to be honest, the ending left me conflicted. After several days of thinking about the characters, the plot, the driving force, I had to give Jaynes credit for well thought out and well played thriller.

Diane Christie a successful author has been left with two hurting teenagers after the suicide death of her husband. Her daughter Alexa has been angry with her mother since the family adopted her brother Josh. She now attends a college nearby and only sees her mother when absolutely necessary. Josh is dealing with his past of rejection from his biological parents and to ease his pain, he is finds relief in video games.

Since the death of her husband, Diane volunteers at a local sucide crisis center taking calls. She receives an anonymous call who knows her by name and the details of recent murdered female college student.

The narration is done by Diane, Alexa and the killer. Diane's voice you hear her struggle as she wants her family whole again and as she begins to date again. Alexa with her insecurities, she lashes out against her mother and suffers a deep depression that only worsens as she starts drinking and taking drugs. The killer whom you do not know but his/her voice is one that finds relief in killing young woman. There is an anger and hurt that he/she cannot control.

As I said in the beginning, I was conflicted [ in who really was the killer and how Diane and Alexa came together to protect the killer. I think the author gives a voice to "I could never do that" until we walk in the shoes of those that do. (hide spoiler)].

<>A Special Thank You to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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I can't seem to get enough of this author so when I heard there was a new release, I even messaged her! This book has all the intrigue of her previous books and is great for a summer read. If you like being kept on the edge of your seat this book is for you. Check out her other books as well!

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Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This book sounded good, I was excited about reading it. I was not disappointed...until the very end. The cast of characters were well written and I was instantly hooked. Diane was a very likeable and enjoyable character, I loved meeting the residents of this small town and of course, as in all small towns, when someone is murdered, it could be anyone. I guessed the murderer a few times, and then went back and forth about who I thought it was. I was pleasantly surprised and shocked by the actual killer. I stayed up late reading this; I had to know, what would happen...

I read the last few chapters with disbelief and felt like the main characters had all lost their freaking minds! WTF?! How did that ending even make sense? I can honestly say, I did not like the ending, it was odd and a little ridiculous, I thought. But, overall, an enjoyable story, action and mystery, just ended odd.

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Oh man this was a page turner for me. I thought I had who was behind the murders only to be hit by the last person I would have even thought of.
I love how the author used the named Fog Harbor as where our main character lives, to me it just sets the mood just right!
So Diane is the mother of two older kids and a widow, volunteer at a crisis center and is also a crime writer!
She tries daily to take care of everyone especially her daughter who is fighting depression and knows that they have a rift between them that she wants to heal. It seems her daughter is still dealing with the loss of her dad from so many years ago and never got the help for it. It can change a person.
Her son is what her daughter Alexa calls the "golden child" as he can never do wrong, but he too is not himself.
When a murder hits close to home Diane is the one the killer reaches out too but why? How can she stop this killer as he gives no clues but the names of the females he kills. She writes thrillers for a living, but yet now she will find herself in the middle of one.

Diane holds it all pretty well together which I was amazed at especially with her daughter Alexa treating her the way she does. I found myself thinking man if I did that to my momma, I would be limping.
The characters were great, the plot was amazing! I really loved how the author did the killer to where she seemed to drop clues as to why he did what he did but yet not giving anything away.
Now Diane was well written! The author made her seem real like a normal person who has a normal life, if that makes sense. Diane was dealing with normal every day things in life, which I don't really see in older characters too much.
This book is a page turner if you like thrillers. The ending is not what I expected and it seems to leave it opened in a way that if she wanted to do a sequel she could?

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After mystery author Diane Christie loses her husband to suicide, she and her son move to the small coastal town of Fog Harbor, Massachusetts. Her daughter is attending college nearby, and Diane hopes that her family can now begin to heal. But rebuilding their lives after the tragedy isn’t so simple.

Diane’s depressed college-age daughter, Alexa, still avoids her, critical of everything Diane does, and even her generally amiable teenage son, Josh, has started acting out. Diane pushes forward, focusing on her writing and her volunteer work at a local crisis hotline. She knows that healing takes time.

But then a girl from Alexa's college is found strangled. Worse still, the murderer uses the crisis hotline to confess to Diane . . . and claims she is the only one who can stop the killing. And just when the glow of new love from an attractive admirer begins to chase away some of the darkness, more girls turn up dead, and Diane races to solve a mystery she fears will hit terrifyingly close to home.

This book is part of a series, but definitely can be read as a standalone. Throughout the book I was breathless with anticipation and suspected several of the characters. But I was wrong with all of them and was completely shocked when the killer was revealed. I wonder whether I would have done the same thing. What's that, you ask? No spoilers so if you want to know read the book!

4*

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