A Stranger in the House was fast paced and plot driven with little character development, much like Lapena's previous book The Couple Next Door . The amnesia-driven plot has been overdone in the genre and this book unfortunately didn't execute it well enough to make up for it. There was a very small cast of characters which would have worked if the characters were more interesting or likable. As it was the husband was insufferable - he comes home to dinner on the stove, his wife nowhere to be found, her keys and bag on the counter, and he's annoyed that she didn't tell him she was leaving because he'd had a bad day and looking forward to seeing her. After she's found and is being questioned in connection to a murder he says "he's surprised he can still love her when he doesn't trust her." All after a single, strange incident. The one character I was excited to see make a return was Detective Rasbach, who made his first appearance in Lapena's first novel. Overall the book was compulsively readable but not particularly memorable.

Alot better than The Couple Next Door and I read it in almost one day! It is a cannot put down sort of book!

The story is about a married suburban couple with seemingly perfect life. They are in love, they have careers and a perfect home. One night, husband Tom gets home from work and his wife Karen is not at home, she is found in her car, crashed, confused and accused of murder.

This was actually just fine! I was surprised that this book hooked me from the beginning, since this premise with unexpected back-story of a perfect couple seams so familiar and retold. Fortunately, the pace was good throughout the book, without unnecessary descriptions and details, and I was able to read this in almost one sitting.

I understand why many readers found the ending so frustrating, but for me, it was believable and satisfying. This means I should also check out Lapena's other book, Couple next door. Looking forward to that!

Initially, it felt eerily similarly to a favorite read of mine from earlier this year--The Breakdown by B A Paris. They definitely differed as the book progressed though. It's not a bad book, but it's a bit predictable and the writing wasn't inspiring. I enjoyed her previous book much more than this one.

2.5 stars. This started out strong, but lost some luster moving forward. It's not always a bad thing to only have a handful of characters. But when that is the case, those characters should be developed in such a way to make them lead the story and engross the reader in their story. This was not the case in this book. The last few pages of the book were the best part and provided the reader with a solid ending with some nice twists.

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was so happy to receive this copy! First of all I loved the cover of this book and the blurb got me fascinated right away.
Furthermore I had heard such great things about Shari Lapena’s first novel “The couple next door” that I was anxious to get to know her writing.

I am telling you, from the moment I picked up this book I was hooked!
It’s the way the story is told that got me so wrapped up in it.
The detailed writing made that I could vividly picture the two main characters Tom and Karen Krupp and their beautiful home in the suburbs.
The couple leads a perfectly comfortable life together until…that one night in which Karen flees her home and finds herself in city’s most criminal neighborhood, driving frantically and crashing her vehicle against a utility pole. Meanwhile her husband is completely unaware when he comes home to an empty house. Worried sick he calls up all of her friends in an attempt to find her and even ends up to call 911.

When learning his wife is in hospital after getting injured in a one sided car crash in the city’s worst neighborhood it leaves him stunned.
What could possibly have caused this erratic behaviour which is so out of character for Karen.
Although relieved that she is expected to make a full recovery he is frustrated that Karen is experiencing memory loss and doen’t seem to remember anything about the events leading up to the car accident.
Meanwhile local detective Fletcher is trying to make sense of what happened too. It’s undoubtedly an unusual case but when it suddenly get’s connected to a homicide that took time at the same time and place he quickly hands it over to detectives Rasbach and Jennings.
Rasbach is positive that Karen is hiding something and even Tom is starting to doubt his wife, but then again doesn’t Tom have some explaining to do himself….

Reading this novel I loved all the unexpected twists and turns the story takes.
At some point I din’t know who to trust anymore, all the characters seemed to hide things for each other and the author certainly knows how to build up tension and how to make people look suspicious.
To sum things up; highly addictive read, great pace, very interesting characters, packed with unexpected twists and turnsters, great psychological thriller.

As with all thrillers and suspense novels that I’ve enjoyed this one had short chapters. I love when each chapter ends on a little cliff hanger, so you feel like you just have to continue. Also, the prologue in a thriller is extremely important to me, and wow this one did a great job. I was immediately wondering what happened to make all this action happen.
I will say that I wish the chapters officially switched point of views (maybe starts with each persons name at the beginning) instead of jumping into the story. None of the characters were trustworthy, I think the author did a great job of making that perfectly clear. I did like each one in their own way though. I thought the twists were interesting, maybe not very believable, but they definitely kept me interested.
Overall I would call this novel a solid thriller. I loved the cover, it really captures your eyes and makes you wonder. There were plenty of twists and turns. I liked that the main character had amnesia after her accident but the author wasn’t too repetitive with things. If you are looking for a quick thrilling read, you can find it with this book.

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena is a quick reading thriller that leaves you guessing for the whole book. Karen Krupp is in a car accident in a section of town that she normally doesn't visit. She's left without any memories of what led up to the accident. However, the police soon discover a murder victim in the same vicinity that Karen had her accident. Could there be a connection between the two events? As the plot thickens the reader becomes aware that the real Karen may not be who we were led to believe she is. This tale has plenty of twists and turns to keep you enthralled. Read and enjoy!

There was potential for a great novel here, but it just couldn't keep up the pace. Not sure why I never bought into the characters.

How well do you really no the person you are living with? Although I didn't really like any of the characters in this book, it had a good story line that kept me guessing until the end. It does leave you with a cliffhanger ending, I'll be looking forward to see if there is more to come.

I really like Lapena's writing style. This is a quick, easy read. However, I wouldn't characterize it as a "psychological thriller". The ending was pretty easy to guess and there were no real surprises. An enjoyable, but forgettable, read.

Having read The Couple Next Door before it got released to the general public, I had very high hopes for A Stranger in the House. Lapena's easy prose will draw you in quickly and hold your attention until the very last page. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, in typical Lapena fashion, I got to the end of the novel and realized I KNEW NOTHING. For those who haven't read one of her books before -- you'll be running to your nearest library or bookstore to grab The Couple Next Door after finishing this one!

It was an entertaining read, but several weeks have passed since reading it and I couldn't remember what it was about. I had to google it to be able to do this review.

As a standalone suspense novel, this book was average. After thoroughly enoying Lapena's "The Couple Next Door," I was expecting something a bit more original than what was presented. Amnesia as a plot device is a bit overdone, but Lapena is a capable writer and managed to make the tension and suspense build as the plot progresses. In a genre that's becoming crowded with unreliable narrators and "shocking twists," this is still one that I would recommend, although not as enthusiastically as Lapena's previous work.

Well I must say, I was a huge fan of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR, and was thrilled to have an early copy of the latest--but I have to say, this novel is a disappointment. The characters are cartoons--they never seem real, and the plot is so obvious--it just had twists that were so easy to figure out. The book is a breezy beach read, but not stellar like the first one at all.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

First line: She doesn’t belong here.

Summary: When Tom comes home late from work he finds the house empty. His wife, Karen, is missing but her phone and purse are still there. Where did she go? Shortly after he receives a visit from a police officer telling him that Karen has been in a car accident in a rough neighborhood. What was she doing there? When he visits her at the hospital, she cannot remember what happened in the previous hours. However, when a body is found murdered near the area of the car accident Karen becomes a suspect in the investigation.

Highlights: Lapena’s second novel is gripping and a fast read. I liked the ways that little facts and tidbits are revealed slowly throughout the storyline. The end was not what I was expecting. I should have known to expect a surprise after the author’s previous book.

Lowlights (or what could have been better): Several of the details and twists were easily predictable but it was still enjoyable to read and know that I was correct.

FYI: Perfect for fans of Girl on the Train and All the Missing Girls.

Driving the story forward is the tension created as the layers are peeled back revealing what lies beneath the triangle that is Karen, Tom and their knitting neighbor. Tom's wavering support of his wife as she becomes embroiled in trouble makes the reader waver along with him. Not something that makes us feel comfortable.

Wow! I loved this book more than her first, which is saying a lot. Karen Krupp has been in an accident and is suffering from amnesia. There is a hole in her mind where a murder was committed.....A murder she seemingly had connections to. Where can Karen turn for comfort? There's always her confidant across the street....

I have loved the authors writing since the Couple Next Door. This new book has NOT disappointed. I read it in one sitting. I could not stop reading. There was shocking twists and turns that I was not expecting. This is a great thriller book and the author keeps delivering!
I would say that the characters, I felt, were not as developed as the characters from the Couple Next Door, still a great, quick read.