Heart pounding read! I strangely love books that make me feel uncomfortable. Coming home to find that someone or something has changed the locks to your own house and knows about your biggest is one way to make me feel a little uneasy to say the least. This book kept me up at night until I devoured every last word. So worth the read!

Looking for a new fast paced psychological thriller to read? - Step this way! The Stranger Inside was an original and well thought out page turner. I inhaled within 24 hours and it pairs well with a couple glasses of wine. This is an excellent adult read. The first chapter of the book is brief and eerie and left me scratching my head and thinking “give me more of whatever that was.” The book began under bizarre circumstances and quickly turned chilling. Like most great psych thrillers, the secrets create a intensely mysterious vibe. I found myself questioning the innocence and motives of everyone. The suspense was spring-loaded in this one. It was perplexing to find myself in a situation where I sided with the main character while simultaneously not liking her. She was not a very good person and this element added complexity. I liked the story and recommend it for anyone who wants a read that is hard to put down. If you love novels by authors like B.A. Paris and Shari Lapena then you will enjoy this one.

What if you came home from a four day business trip and someone was living in your house?

They have all of the paperwork to prove they leased your home for six months, the locks are changed and the wheels of justice move slowly because, hey, bureaucracy is real, but also because you can't tell them everything they need to know in order to help because you harbor a secret that could destroy your life...and this intruder seems to know all about it.

Gritty, suspenseful and full of unreliable characters, I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Laura Benedict, Mulholland Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is an easy and somewhat enjoyable read but unfortunately, the prose felt stiff and steel, I couldn't connect with the narrator. Seeing the lots of glowing reviews I believe I'm in the minority here.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC!

One of the creepiest thrillers I have ever read. The premise is fresh and exciting even to jaded readers of this genre. The characters are well developed with the protagonist being both relatable and yet mysterious. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

The story draws you in from the very first page. Kimber returns from a long weekend at the lake to find that her key doesn't work in her locks. There is a stranger living in her house who claims he rented the house from her but there is no way because she has been gone. From this point the story takes off as Kimber tried to prove the man is lying and get him out of her house. The characters are all well drawn out, you get to know them well.
Now with that being said, I did not find any of the characters likeable. No one is what they seem; there are lots of secrets, a lot of self pity and everyone screwing everyone over. It was a tense relatively quick read.
Why only the 3 star rating? The whole book irritated me; the characters the situations. I would walk away from it and come back and I would be irritated while reading it and after. It may have just not been the book for me. Read it and see for yourself!

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

More than just a cheap thriller – not that there’s anything wrong with that - this is a truly well written multifaceted mystery story. The characters are real without necessarily being likable, and you believe in everything that happens and everyone you meet. Both pleasurable and literary. Four stars

I had trouble diving into this one. The prose felt stiff, melodramatic and a disjointed. I had trouble connecting with the narrative voice, and the ending felt a little dubious.

Publication Date: February 5th, 2019. Publisher: Mulholland Books

“An empty house somehow feels empty, doesn’t it? But thus house - her house - doesn’t feel empty at all. The idea that someone is inside takes hold of her and won’t let go.”
Someone has broken into Kimber Hannon’s house. Her key won’t work and she can see a silhouette of a man inside. Her elderly neighbour informs her that Kimber has rented the house to a man named Lance Wilson. The problem is that she hasn’t. She’s never even met the man. While Kimber has been away for the long weekend, a man has moved into her house. When she calls the police, they find that the man has a lease to her house, signed with a signature identical to Kimber’s. When no one can hear him the man whispers to her “I was there. I saw what you did.”

The Stranger Inside is a suspenseful page turner. The characters are flawed, including Kimber, whose dark past is coming back to haunt her. Her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel, who is now her lawyer, was suicidal after their break-up. Bringing him back into her life may be a mistake. She is also hiding a major secret from the world and a smaller, but devastating one, from her best friend. Will this man reveal her secrets?

“It’s not like that time she woke up to find him watching her, the gray light of a rainy Saturday morning spreading over their faces. His eyes held something that frightened her, a look that said he didn’t want to be without her. That look had made her want to run. Now there’s something possessive but no less honest.”
If you are looking for a thriller that will absorb you in a world of complex characters, then I think you will enjoy this book. The writing is well-executed and there are enough twists to keep you guessing. 

Thank you to Net Galley and Mulholland Books for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book. 

Grade: B/B-

What a nightmare. You have been away for a few days and upon returning home you find that your keys don’t work. Your nosey (but nice) neighbour hovers around you chattering and you discover that your keys don’t work. Worse. You discover that ‘you’ have leased your house to a strange man who now inhabits your home. Not to worry, the police will help. Ah, but he has the requisite paperwork to prove that you agreed to this rental. What is the result? You spend a night in custody for causing trouble when you run into your house and collide with the man.

This is what happened to Kimber. From this point on things just get worse for her. Cleverly though, the author has provided flashbacks to Kimber’s childhood and a secret that haunts her. We slowly discover through her relationships with various people that Kimber is not so nice. So although I was aware how terrible this is for her, there is a bit of ‘what goes around..’

Characters were well drawn but on reflection it is hard to find a character I really liked – maybe Diane. Just goes to prove everyone is a bit flawed or maybe it is just in relation to Kimber.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, didn’t want to put it down. Intrigued, fascinated but a bit disappointed with the end, just a tiny bit. Would I recommend? You bet.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I am almost done with The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict and I have been eagerly plowing through my day, hoping to sit and finish this one so all of my questions will be answered. I liked it when it first began, but as the pages have turned, it got better and better. I stayed up until almost midnight reading last night, thinking I’d finish it but no such luck. Im eyeing the clock, looking forward to finally reading WHO IS THE STRANGER INSIDE?

Here is what you need to know:

Kimber Hannon’s belief that she has complete control over her life is shattered the night that she comes home from a trip to find her key no longer opens her front door. There is a stranger living in her house. A stranger who claims he has every right to be there, with the paperwork to prove it. When she confronts the man, he lets her get close enough to whisper, “I was there. I saw what you did.”

She doesn’t know how he knows her, but with those words Kimber knows this stranger isn’t after anything as simple as her money or artwork or charming Craftsman bungalow. She has to find out exactly what he wants and get him out of her carefully orchestrated life before he ruins it.

There are plenty of people in her life who might help, but should Kimber trust any of them? Her lawyer, Gabriel, is also her ex-lover; Diana, her best friend, doesn’t know Kimber slept with her husband; her ex-husband has a new, happier life since leaving her; and her co-workers know she’ll do anything to get her next sale. And no one can know the real reason this man is in her house. Without trust, everyone’s a stranger.

The author does a terrific job keeping the pace, she creates such suspense that I think every person in Kimber’s life could be connected to the man who has been living inside her house. This is everything you want a thriller to be! Those who enjoy twisty suspense novels will love this book.

Out in February 2019

A good book, well written, got me into the story line straight away and a good psychological thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Fall foliage is beginning to transform into bare branches and blanketed snow, and the colder the weather gets, the more reason readers have for staying indoors with a cozy new read. Whether you're in the mood for a steamy romance, heart-pounding thriller, or riveting historical fiction, there's a book for everyone on this list. Check out our list of the best books winter 2018 has to offer, complete with publishers' descriptions.

The Stranger Inside, by Laura Benedict was a treat to read. This suspense novel gripped me from the beginning. Early on, I was reminded of the film, Pacific Heights. As the story continued, I discovered that the mystery behind the stranger inside of Kimber’s home goes much deeper than a squatter who has taken over.

What stood out the most about this book was the complexity of the characters, particularly the main character, Kimber. She isn’t the innocent protagonist who has been deeply wronged. There is much more to her than that. This is precisely why it’s so difficult for her to figure out who could have it out for her—so many possibilities.

It is easy to see through this story how guilt and shame can keep you prisoner. Deception truly tangles a complex web that can be difficult to escape. I loved the development of her character and the transformation of who she was as a person. The dialogue was realistic. I felt like each character had his or her, own voice.

The pacing of the book was perfect. Things got moving right away. Just when you think one problem is about to be resolved, another shoe drops. Even though the plot was complex, I was able to follow it every step of the way.

The story was told from 2 different timelines, each with a different POV. The chapters told from Kimber’s youth were written from her sister’s point of view, while the current day plot was told from Kimber’s (though in 3rd person, limited) The chapters were dated, so it was easy to keep track of which one was which. Plus, the writing style was slightly different for the time period of Kimber’s younger days.

I loved the fact that the writer was able to give us all of the clues with such finesse. This allows readers to figure out the reason why the stranger inside of Kimber’s house has a vendetta against her, but not easily. The author unravels the details of Kimber’s life, little by little. We can see all of her flaws, but we never stop rooting for her.

Another thing I appreciated was the way she wrote children in the book, whether it was Kimber and her sister in the past timeline, or Hadley, Kimber’s friend’s daughter, in the current one. There is a very real quality that about these children that many writers all too often miss.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was some vulgar language and sexual content. I must say that it wasn’t gratuitous and did further the storyline in an honest, authentic way. Because of that, I will not remove a star, but I do include this information for readers who would prefer not to purchase a book with this content.

The book was formatted perfectly. I read it on my Fire HD with no problems. I didn’t find a single typographical, spelling, or grammar error. This is a top-notch suspense book that will keep you turning the page. If you like suspense with realistic characters, check out The Stranger on the Inside.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

You come home to find your key no longer works in your front door and that a stranger claims that your house is now theirs. That they know what you did.....and now you’re going to pay for it. This book had me feeling like Alice in Wonderland, not knowing which way was up or who to believe. A wild ride