Alice Reed goes for a run in the Swiss Alps when she spots a man standing on a bridge over the river Lorie looking forlorn. Manfred wants to end his life as he can’t live with who he is and what he has done.

Manfred feels fate chose Alice to save him and they have a connection. If I was Alice I would be wishing I had carried on with my run and that being a Good Samaritan is not all it’s cut out to be. Manfred becomes obsessed with Alice but the police and her husband do not take her seriously, so Alice has to take fate into her own hands!!

There is a Chinese proverb, "If you save a life, you are responsible for that life." Well after reading this chilling novel turning the other cheek might be the safest option!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Excellent story. Wonderful characters and plot line. I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book.

The premise of this book really intrigued me, and the execution did not disappoint. The story moved a little more slowly than I expected, but it does serve to build a sense of tension and unease, which made this story creepy and gripping. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future!

Louise Mangos’ story tells of a woman who is trying to settle in a new country with her family; the authors knowledge and love is of Switzerland is evident as she describes the landscape and scenery beautifully giving the book a very real feeling which adds to the atmosphere of the story.

Alice is a runner it keeps her grounded. She’s out running when she finds Manfred on the bridge where she talks him out of committing suicide.

Alice, her family and friends think this was an act of compassion and think little more of it. Manfred agrees but sees much more into that act of kindness and he has some curious ways of showing his gratitude, his perspective is all wrong. Alice is worried, what’s happening is wrong, yet everything she does to sort it out hits a brick wall.

Alice is still getting used to the Swiss culture and way of life it is easy to empathise with her when she’s confronted with unfamiliar systems. The rigid guidelines that are part of what she confronts do seem curious. Manfred is clearly a danger, isn’t he? So why won’t anyone listen to her?

As we follow Alice through her ordeal we encounter twists in this tale that will take your breath away. You become so invested in what is happening. This is a story seemingly unbelievable and yet we know happens. Alice doesn’t always have a good sense of judgement. However, the Swiss system, to a non-Swiss, feels rigid, uncompromising and frustrating. This leaves Alice with only one course of action in her mind. What happens in the end will grip you and leave you shattered in this nightmarish tale of obsession.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book as an arc. The premise of the story was intriguing, Alice saves Manfred from committing suicide, however, this decision comes back to haunt her. Manfred's gratitude soon turns into something more sinister and his behaviour becomes increasingly dangerous. When Alice realises that her children and her marriage are at risk, she receives no support from the authorities and decides she has to resolve matters on her own.
This book was very well written and I enjoyed the descriptive setting of Switzerland, however, I felt that Alice made some questionable decisions. Trying to tackle the problem without confiding in her husband Simon, who she seemed to have a fantastic relationship with, was quite unbelievable and she seemed to lurch from one crazy decision to another. There were a few surprises and the story certainly didn't turn out the way I expected!
I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it if you enjoy an unsettling psychological thriller.

This is a great debut by Swiss-based author, Louise Mangos, who has clearly used her own experiences of living in Switzerland to create a story with a very authentic feel to it. The mountains and lakes imagery created provides a great backdrop for this tale of dark obsession.

The blurb on the cover, “She should never have saved him”, gives you a good idea of where this story goes. Right from the start, it is clear that saving Manfred is going to cause Alice a good deal of trouble, but actually, I found that the story didn’t quite take me where I expected. Which was good!

When the authorities take no notice of Alice’s complaints about Manfred’s increasingly worrying behaviour, she becomes more and more frustrated and takes matters into her own hands – which only makes things worse. Alice doesn’t always make the right decisions, but her decisions do stay true to her character. With her husband working away for long periods of time, Alice feels isolated and the Swiss locals aren’t going out of their way to make her feel part of the community.

Good pace, good tension and plenty of atmosphere make this an accomplished debut.

Strangers On A Bridge is a clever story of obsession, packed with twists! I can see this being a huge hit for summer readers and a definite one for the beach. It tells the story of Alice Reed, who saves a random stranger from a suicide attempt. Only what Alice doesn’t know yet, is this will be the unravelling of everything she holds dear.

The novel is set in the Swiss alps, which really adds to the setting in terms of background scenery. You can imagine Alice on her morning run, by the Tobel bridge. It conjures instant images in my mind. It is at Tobel bridge she first encounters Manfred Guggenbuhl. She finds him alone and anxious and her training as a psychologist kicks in. . .

“I cannot live with myself any more. I cannot live with who I am, what I do. What I have done’ – Manfred

Immediately Manfred sees Alice as a saviour figure and this is when her trouble begins.
At first it is mild and almost coincidental, Manfred appears desperate to please Alice and prove to her his gratitude. But then he begins to appear everywhere she goes. She feels hounded and harassed. The police won’t listen, her own husband doesn’t seem interested. Alice feels alone and desperate.

‘The only person I could talk to was my Swiss alps GP’ – Alice

Alice turns into her own personal investigator. She becomes determined to get to the bottom of creepy Manfred. His past, his family and his history. She is desperate to understand the man hellbent on ruining her life.

The unravelling of Alice Reed

Alice is without a doubt a memorable character. She is strong-willed and defiant, refusing to allow Manfred to sabotage her future in the Swiss new neighbourhood. What ensues is a battle of wills, who will win and who will lose? 4*

After relocating to Switzerland Alice Reed is currently on her daily run through the peaceful alps. When she comes across a man on a bridge ready to take his own life. She stops him from committing suicide. His name is Manfred a local businessman. She then offers to take him to the local police station and then the hospital, but, before she does she brings him home to get changed and get her car. The man is very grateful and she leaves him at the hospital.
She goes home and tells her family and they think that’s the end of the matter. But after the incident she starts to get weird phone calls and keeps meeting up with Manfred or is he stalking her?
I read the Blurb of this story and other reviews which this seemed intriguing but for me personally I didn’t think this was for me. The story was mainly about her day to day life, her family and her running, nothing like a gripping addictive read that a Psychological thriller should be. I was rather bored of it all. I DNF this book at 30%.
Thank you NetGalley and HQ digital for a copy of this book

A creepy and very likely premise which when you think about it could happen to anyone. You’re having a nice jog/walk and then you find someone about to hurl themselves off a bridge so you talk them down. But then they wont leave you..and want to be in your life...

Take that and put it into Switzerland, a country known for its strict laws on behaviour and cultural norms, remote Switzerland no less,with all the loneliness, claustrophobia and lack of support system that could entail...with the stunning scenery as the backdrop.... sets up quite the premise. Alice, the main character who finds the man on the bridge is an expat and so an outsider from the start

I don’t know how Switzerland deals with stalking and crimes of this nature but I hope this book isn’t true to life. Having said that, I wasn’t quite sure about Alice. Would you do what she did? Talking someone off a bridge is one thing, but continuing to do things despite a sense of unease and fear for her life? Not sure about some of that. There is a lot of inward thinking and that is realistic to a stalking victim I would think- over analysing the simplest of events, the thought you might be going crazy etc...

I'd known someone who committed suicide and this coloured my reading of the book at first but having stood back and considered my thoughts, I've decided the premise and the setting create a book that haunts in many ways and offers a lot for book clubs!

Strangers on a Bridge, the debut novel by Louise Mangos has a really intriguing premise which captured my imagination straight away. Whilst Alice Reed is taking her early morning run, she saves a man when she passes him on a bridge after becoming concerned that he might be about to commit suicide. But should she have saved him? After Alice pulls him back from the brink, she soon realises that she may have made a dreadful mistake.

Louise Mangos’ opening chapters sweep you into the story; we are on that run with Alice, we can feel her concern when she spots the troubled figure leaning over the bridge. It is done really well and Louise immediately sparked the intrigue. Already I was worried for Alice as she tries her best to help the man and when she takes him to her home, I was beginning to sense the warning vibes that she shouldn’t be doing this. This was what kept me reading on.

The descriptive techniques in Louise’s writing are outstanding. I loved the vivid scenery of the Swiss landscape and Louise’s writing gave it a very atmospheric feel. I have been to Switzerland once, staying in Zurich for a few days five years ago, and I could picture the mountainous terrain and the sprawling green vegetation really well. In her writing I think this is where Louise particularly excels.

The tension in this novel continues to build after the dramatic opening scenes. I could sense Alice’s frustration when very few people showed little interest in her claims, when she starts to experience problems with the man who she saved. I also thought that Louise explored her struggle at fitting into the local Swiss community well. At times I didn’t find her a particularly likable character but she kept me engaged and I ultimately wanted to find out what was going to happen to her and how she was going to solve the problems she was facing with so many obstacles in her way.

There were times when I felt that the book could perhaps have been a little pacier but overall I found the book a really enjoyable read. Louise is a really talented writer and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Didn’t particularly enjoy this book. Didn’t seem to be much suspense for a thriller, was quite slow and a slightly boring read

This was an OK read for me, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Alice saves Manfred from jumping from a bridge but he then becomes obsessed with her and her family. It wasn't as gripping as I thought it would be but it is well written.

Overall the plot in this book is good. I really liked the idea of this book. I did not particularly like either Alice or Simon. I loved the descriptions of the scenery but I struggled with the rest of the story in places. I was not used to the style of writing and that made it hard to get emotionally involved in the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

We live in a world were we can trust nobody, and there is a saying that says no good deeds goes unpunished. When you think about saving someone´s life, you´d never think that same person will turn against you, but all three things above, has turn out to be true.

That´s a very insteresting background to a story, and it had a great potential to be terrifying. But, Alice´s choices felt kind of dumb. Like the person who always run up to the top floor of the building while running from the psycopath with an axe trying to kill everyone.

Alice Reed, feeling alienated in the country she and her family have relocated to (Switzerland), does everything to ensure that they belong. She, being a runner (and a marathon participant), goes on her regular morning run. What she doesn’t expect to encounter is a man about to jump off a bridge. She manages to save him from committing suicide. And that is her first mistake.

Manfred is now grateful to her for saving his life - a little too grateful perhaps?
Adamant they have an instant connection, Manfred’s exterior grows darker and his obsession with Alice grows stronger. He slowly insinuates himself into her life – casually chatting with her younger son, moving in the same vicinity as her, blank-calling her; and very soon Alice realizes she has a stalker to deal with. I am unaware about Swiss laws about stalking – and their behavior baffles me. Despite repeated complaints to the cops, they seem to do nothing, and this is what I’m referring to.

It all seems to be getting out of hand and Alice is living in constant fear – for herself, and her family. Worse still, her husband seems aloof and doesn’t seem to believe her. Maybe I wouldn’t have either - she made some pretty dumb decisions and it didn’t seem very realistic.

Then, something happens to Manfred and does it suddenly become Alice’s fault?
Will Alice be able to protect herself and her family?

I didn’t relate to Alice and her decisions.
Story-line was promising, and had potential for more.

I feel like the term "thriller" is overused. This was a mystery at best. The writing was pretty poor and there was little suspense.

Wow, this was a really bad book. Writing was simplistic and the main character was dumb and unappealing. For a book labeled as “suspense,” there seemed none to be had.

Another one-sitting read for me! This was such an interesting concept: what if you eventually realized you shouldn't have interfered in a suicide? Alice is out running when she comes across a man about to jump off a bridge;she intervenes and saves him from death. But little does she know that his gratitude will turn into obsession as he begins to stalk her believing they are meant to be together. Of course she is unnerved and fears for herself and her family but the Swiss police aren't interested as stalkers are not at all common and she has little proof. Things spiral out of control as she tries to "fix" things herself and lies to her husband and sons thinking she can take care of things. Her numerous mistakes and secrets were frustrating to me, but I guess since I've never been stalked, I have no idea how I might respond. Plus, I love a good flawed character as it just reminds us that life is often messy! I also loved the descriptions of Switzerland and the scenery. Overall, this was a great thriller!

I REALLY liked this book - a fast, enjoyable read!!! Alice is jogging when she notices a man about to jump from a bridge. Tenaciously, Alice talks the man (Manfred) down. She first brings him to her home where he sits on the porch. She was hoping to find her husband there. He was not. Since the police are closed on Sunday, she takes Manfred to the hospital, has him check in and leaves him there. (This after he mutters about "fate" and her being "the key"). Later, Alice and Manfred have coffee as his "thank-you" to her. Following this, there are phone hang-ups, unidentified gifts, visits with her son Oliver at school, Alice meeting Manfred's son, Gerry, and other incidents where Alice is stalked by Manfred. Alice finds out from Gerry that Manfred is indeed married and has had psychiatric problems. He had also stalked another woman. Two trips by Alice to the police station later, she still gets no assistance. Alice never learned the language well, and was considered an outsider by the community - this certainly did not help her when she needed assistance!!! Soon, Alice runs in a French marathon and is tripped because Manfred is there. After seeing the doctor for her sprained ankle, she showers and Manfred is in her bedroom! Simon, Alice's husband, thinks she may be enjoying this stalking attention to an - finally, she gets Manfred to drink tainted wine. He dies. NOW the cops want to talk to Alice. GREAT read, fast, with a number of twists and turns that you don't see coming!! Hats off to Louise - great job! Thanks also to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this prize!

This one just didn't click with me unfortunately. The writing was good but the story just didn't keep me intrigued enough to really care about the story. This makes me sad because I really loved the synopsis of this book.