Thank you to Netgalley and Pamela Dorman books for providing this e-galley- all opinions are my own.
Having not read Shari Lapena's very popular previous book, The Couple Next Door (after reading a bunch of books with missing kid plot lines over the last year or so and finding them too upsetting, I'm skipping books featuring that topic for now), I didn't have any particular expectations of A Stranger in the House. Shari Lapena's writing style was definitely page-turning, and it was a frightening premise- Tom comes home late one evening to find that his wife is missing, and just as he's called the police to report her as gone, a police officer arrives to tell him she's been in a terrible car accident. Karen can't remember why she was driving so recklessly that it led to a bad accident- she's generally a law-abiding driver, and she can't remember what she was even doing in that part of town on the night of the accident. There's a lot more to be revealed, but the pleasure of this story is the way the facts and questions slowly come out.
I found this book to be a very quick read- it probably took just over two hours, and I found the story intriguing, though pretty predictable. Without divulging specifics and spoilers, the book relied heavily on several plot devices that have become very common in mysteries and thrillers in the last few years. I think this has a place for more casual mystery fans versus devotees of the genre who are expecting something more innovative.

Tom Krupp comes home from work and realizes that his front door was not locked. What is even more alarming is that there are signs in the kitchen that his wife (Karen) was preparing dinner but now she is no longer in sight. He checks his home and his wife is not there. He becomes worries and decides to call 911. Across town (in a BAD section of town- we are told this repeatedly), a woman without any identification has driven her car into a pole.

When the police arrive at his door, Tom believes that they are responding to his 911 call, but in fact they are there to inform him that his wife has been in an accident. His wife is badly injured and does not remember what occurred leading up to her accident or why she was in that area (the bad section of town that a nice housewife should not be found in) of town.

Karen suffering from amnesia does not know why she left her home, her cell phone or her wallet behind. She is now facing charges for running into the pole and hopes to move on with her life. But wait! The police have found the body of a man shot 3 nears near the accident site. Could Karen have anything to do with the murder? Is she a suspect? Is she a witness? Was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? Is her amnesia real?

Thus begins that murder investigation where the evidence is piling up. To make matters worse, Tom and Karen's neighbor, Brigid, has inserted herself more into their lives and into the police investigation. Is Brigid a good friend? Is she a noisy neighbor? Does she have something to gain by Karen being convicted? Tom and Karen begin to bicker as he begins to doubt her story. Plus, when she informs him that someone has been sneaking into their home and going through her things, he does not believe her.

This book slowly mounts with tension, as the reader learns more so do the investigators. Who can be trusted? What really happened that night? I enjoyed the pacing of this book. There are a couple of layers to this book and once peeled back, the secrets of various characters are revealed. Not everyone is as they seem. I thought I had this book figured out, I thought I knew from the get-go who the killer was. I was right and wrong all at the same time. Ambiguous, I know! Read for yourself!!!I really liked how the revelations came about. This book is a murder mystery/psychological thriller hybrid. I found this book to be very clever at times. I can't really say why I feel this way without giving away too much more of the story. I especially liked when the "secret" started coming out. I would sit and read and think "Ohhh, that explains that! or Ohhh, that explains so-and-so's behavior. I think most people will enjoy the ending. This is not a graphic or gory book so most readers will most likely enjoy it.

I enjoyed this book. It proved to be a fast read, was definitely entertaining and kept my attention.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I read The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena as well, and A Stranger in the House lived up to the high expectations I had from reading her first novel. This novel was truly a page turner and I couldn't put it down. I have recommended The Couple Next Door to my work colleagues and friends and will absolutely being doing the same for A Stranger in the House! Kudos to Shari Lapena for another awesome novel!

This is a fantastic book! It kept me on the edge of my seat! I will gladly suggest this to readers.

This wasn't anything spectacular. It was pretty predictable overall and not nearly as surprising as the author's previous book (The Couple Next Door). I did like the ending, but it didn't go very far to make up for the blah story leading up to it.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance copy, all opinions are my own.

A twisting turning tale of deception, adultery and murder. Idealistic couple, Karen and Tom's lives are uprooted when a car accident turns their normal life into chaos. When a murder is discovered and Karen's past comes into question, how does the couple have a chance to maintain their lives? Not to mention Brigid, the friendly neighbor, who befriends Karen only to become the biggest foe one could imagine.

A good story, somewhat predictable, but kept my attention and interest throughout.

Even better than The Couple Next Door. Couldn't put this one down. Fast paced, kept me guessing and at the edge of my really comfortable reading chair.

This started out with an intriguing premise--the husband arrives home from work to find his wife missing. Dinner preparations had been started; her purse and cell phone are there--but she's gone. And then he finds out she was in an car accident, unfortunately her head injury has resulted in amnesia so she can't tell anyone what happened to cause her abrupt departure.

Unfortunately a good premise was not enough to save this book. The writing was amateurish, the characters unappealing and one-dimensional, the dialogue horrible, and the story and the actions of the characters just got stupider and more unrealistic as the story went on.

I wanted to read The Couple Next Door but didn't get to it... now I'm going to have to. This book was something else. On one hand, it had all of these elements of cheap melodrama but somehow it actually read authentically and the pages just kept turning. What I really liked is that I had figured out one of the major elements of the plot based on clues (very satisfying) but there was also one huge element that I couldn't puzzle out and really walloped me in the surprise ending (also very enjoyable). So it kind of had the best of both worlds going on. Definitely mind candy, but not totally mindless. A good summer read!

Solid mystery-very readable! Will appeal to many patrons.

The new novel by Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door, has gotten a lot of buzz, and I’m a big fan of psychological suspense, so I was happy to get an advance copy of A Stranger In the House (thanks to Penguin Group/Viking and NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

In the prologue, a woman named Karen is rushing to escape something, driving wildly across town, and runs headlong into a light pole. Her husband, Tom, comes home and finds the door unlocked, Karen’s car gone, but her purse and cell phone in the house. It doesn’t make sense to him, but he soon finds out Karen is in the hospital, suffering from amnesia.

They love in a comfy neighborhood: “People who live here are successful and settled; everyone’s a little bit smug.” There is a nosy neighbor who seems way too interested in everyone else’s business, and she is only too happy to talk to the two detectives who come around looking into a murder that happened right where Karen’s accident happened – in a part of town where people like her just don’t go.

There are lots of twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the story until the unexpected ending – but it might not be unexpected for everyone; I am notoriously bad at seeing these “unexpected” endings coming.

I wasn’t wild about Karen or Tom, but the plot kept me happy. It’s a clever, suspenseful thriller of the woman in peril genre, and will be appreciated by fans of Gone Girl, Girl on a Train, etc. I think I may not remember much about it in a few weeks, other than the “oh yeah, I liked that one” memory. I will recommend it to people, though, so it’s a solid four stars.

If there is one thing to say about Shari Lapena's writing, it's that a clever twist is to always be expected at the end.

A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE is no exception. I couldn't put it down as I tried to decipher who was responsible for pulling the trigger in this clever mystery. I found myself on the fence as I struggled to decide whether or not a seemingly idyllic housewife, Karen, could be capable of pulling off a murder in the bad part of town. Then, you throw in her best friend and husband who have buried secrets of their own, and you're left guessing until the last pages. It is a book I will definitely be recommending for mystery/thriller fans in our library.

Not bad, Shari.
NOT. BAD.

I will admit that I am not quite as excited about this book as I was The Couple Next Door, but this was still a really INTENSE read that kept me up till midnight reading on more than one occasion.

The book felt a little predictable in most places, but I'm not gonna lie - that ending had me SHOOK.

It was one of those endings where you should have seen it coming, and once it happened I was like "ahh, Shari, I see what you did there..."

But as it was happening; I. WAS. SHOOK.

There wasn't anything too new or original about this book that would make it like an ASTOUNDING read for me, but it was genuinely a fun read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Final Rating: a SOLID 3.5/5 stars!

*Thank you, Netgalley, for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.**

It was pretty good, not as good as The couple nect door, but it was good. I did not enjoy the end as much a little anticlimactic for me. But it was a good read. Thank you.

Good beach read but ending was too predicatable. Was not as good as her first book.

If you're looking for a good beach book, a quick summer read, you' might consider picking this one up. In my opinion, it progressed pretty logically, and there weren't too many surprises, but I did find myself invested enough in the story to read on to the end.

I think it was a very solid follow-up to The Couple Next Door; in fact, I found it easier to get into with a less predictable (and rather chilling) ending. Will certainly be purchasing for our library!

Ugh. I really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, I found it predictable and unsatisfying. What sounded like an exciting story ended up being a little boring, actually. I felt like the same details were being repeated over and over as one character relayed events to several different characters, so the reader is getting that same info multiple times. Brigid was written a little heavy handed. From her very first introduction, it was obvious she was not who she seemed and she was going to be so it wasn't much a surprise when her motives were finally revealed. I hate to write a negative review but this just didn't do it for me.

A Stranger in the House is a suspenseful ride. Shari Lapena has crafted a novel of mystery and murder. I was immediately drawn to the characters and the plot. I devoured this morsel in a few short sittings and was happily surprised by the cleverly complex ending. A must for fans of Gone Girl.

Implausible and predictable with a tiresome plot device -- amnesia.

Disappointed in this follow-up novel after previously liking THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR -- a nice twisty mystery. This book was not one of those. The premise, a wife is cooking dinner for her beloved husband (they are almost newlyweds) when she apparently runs off somewhere in her car to a bad part of town and then gets in a car wreck that produces a concussion. What was she doing THERE?

The police come knocking at the door when a dead man is found inside an abandoned restaurant close to where the wreck occurred. Could she be involved? Ummm, yeah? Husband is suspicious and worried he's been lied to. Best friend next door is solicitous and way over-involved. The reader has it all figured out quickly. No surprises, no tension, no suspense, really no mystery.

I read this over the course of a couple of hours hoping for something original. Just couldn't buy into the whole story, and though it was a fast read, it was actually unsatisfying.

I do thank NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the e-book ARC to review.