Cover Image: The Stranger Inside

The Stranger Inside

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

The Stranger Inside is a psychological thriller filled with twists and turns. This is my first book to read by Laura Benedict. I enjoyed her writing style. It is very fast-paced.

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the twist was somewhat worthwhile - but I just found the build up to the action in this book far too long.

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<I>The Stranger Inside</I> was disappointing at best. It started off with a lot of promise, but the more I read, the more I skimmed. Even though I skimmed, it still took me ages to finish because I wasn't excited to pick it up. I continued to read because I wanted to know what happened. But guess what, there were holes that weren't completely filled or were just brushed over. Needless to say, I was left disappointed and annoyed.

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The Stranger Inside is a fabulous psychological thriller that I enjoyed reading. There are twists and it is a dark read.

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I had really high hopes for this book I was really interested in the premise and felt gripped immediately but as the story progressed and I learnt more about the main character the more I didn’t want to pick this book up, the main character was really unrelatable and I couldn’t care for her in the slightest some of the things she did actually angered me I went about two weeks without picking this up and thought about leaving it but ended up picking it back up and finishing it it wasn’t awful the premise was good and it had some good twists and features of it

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Thank you Mulholland Books and Netgalley for an e-copy of The Stranger Inside in exchange for an honest review.

Kimber returns from a week-long vacation ready to relax at home and get back to work. When she gets there, her key won’t unlock the front door. She tries all the doors and all the locks have been changed. When she sees a man in her window she calls the police. He claims to have rented the house and has all the paperwork to prove it. Who is this man and what does he want with Kimber’s house?

I wish I liked this book more. I loved the idea of the plot but after a while, it just got more unbelievable as more details are revealed. Also, Kimber was not a character I could root for or care for. She was not just flawed but really deep down an unlikable person. These things combined are not for me. I like the plot of my thrillers to at least be a little believable and my lead character to be barely likeable.

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Kimber comes home from a little getaway and as she is turning her key to open her front door she realizes that it doesn't work and she is locked out. She sees someone inside her house and calls the cops to come help her but instead the man inside is able to provide a lease that shows he is allowed to be there. This is just the beginning of the many twists and turns in this book. The author was able to keep me guessing on what would happen next and I really enjoyed not being able to figure out the surprises beforehand. I thought this was a solid read and will be recommending it to people who are looking for a fast paced thriller. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Kimber comes home from a retreat to find her locks changed and a shadow in her guest room. She must find out how this stranger got into her house and what he what’s with her. This book started off great. I was instantly intrigued to know who this stranger was and what they wanted. But that slowly faded. Kimber was an unlikable character who only got worse throughout the book. The ending wasn’t at all what I hoped or expected.

Thank you to Mullholland Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

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4 stars.*

The Stranger Inside is the first book by Laura Benedict that I've read. I chose it for the cover, the blurb and the ratings I'd read on Goodreads.

I was not disappointed! I read a lot of psychological thrillers, and find I can generally predict about 50% of the plot twists and whodunit. Laura Benedict definitely kept me invested and unsure.

The story begins as Kimber Hannon returns from a weekend cabin getaway to find that her key won't open the front door. Further inspection leads her to realize there is an unknown man living in her house. She quickly calls the police, only to learn that the man claims he rented the house from her and has a signed lease to prove it. Unable to satisfactorily resolve the situation, and unwittingly escalating the situation by physically confronting her "squatter", Kimber lands herself in jail for assault.

The story unfolds with a cast of interesting characters (her lawyer/ex-boyfriend Gabriel who comes to her rescue, her best friend Diana who quickly moves her in and begins taking care of her while her husband/Kimber's ex-lover Kyle smarmily flirts out of Diana's earshot), a tricky back-story - Kimber's sister Michelle died suspiciously when Kimber was just 13 years old, and her family fell apart afterward.

A well-woven mystery with good twists and characters. I'll definitely look for more by Laura Benedict!

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

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Again, I was unable to finish this book before it was archived- but what I did read was well written and interesting.

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This was a great book. I couldn't put it down and was on the edge of my seat. The character development is great and you grow to have such different emotions for Paul and Rebecca. Definitely a page turner and a book I would recommend!

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A chilling twisted page turning read! This book grabs a hold of you right away as the main charecter Kimber arrives home from a trip to find her keys not working & a strange man living inside her house. The author packs this story with multiple story lines from past to present time making some plots a bit easy to figure out & others leaving you pleasantly surprised.

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Kimber returns from a weekend retreat out of town to find that someone is living in her house. Her locks have been changed and “the stranger inside” seems to know something about a dark secret in her past. The police and Kimber’s lawyer ex-boyfriend are beginning an investigation, which leads to the reveal about what happened to Kimber’s sister when they were teenagers, and secrets that she would rather keep, well, secret. I enjoyed the premise of this book and the beginning reminded me a bit of "Our House." It was fast paced and I liked seeing how the characters were intertwined! Definitely a suspenseful page turner! -- rating 3.5 stars

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Absorbing narrative with inconvincible ending…

Kimber Hannon returns home after four days of vacation in Lake of the Ozarks, to find that the key to her home doesn’t work. Apparently, the next-door neighbor has rented the place to a man, Lance Wilson for six months. The police are unable to do anything as Lance has a lease with Kimber’s signatures on it. A scuffle follows between the two in which Kimber accidently knocks the man down. Threatening her with revelation of her apparent hand in two-decade old death of her sister, Michelle, Lance Wilson gets her arrested for assault. In surprising twist, a neighbour is murdered soon afterward. The police rule the death as an accident, but Kimble has her own suspicions. With Kimble’s unreliable personality, Benedict’s book is another one in the series of a generic set of recent thrillers featuring unreliable female protagonists. Despite her obvious
... full review on website

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My Thoughts: Can you imagine coming home from a weekend away to find a stranger with a seemingly valid rental agreement living in your house? And if that wasn’t bad enough, the man seems to also be threatening you with a long buried secret from your past. Kimber Hannon came home to just that and, after acting impulsively, she ended up being arrested. The Stranger Inside tells the story of Kimber’s struggle to uncover who this man is and more importantly why he wants her house. Kimber has a dark secret she’s long hidden and this stranger seems to know far more than Kimber is comfortable with.

The premise of The Stranger Inside is what initially drew me in, but Laura Benedict’s layering on of suspense is what kept me invested. From early on I was trying to piece together the mystery and come up with a solution. It was just twisty enough to keep me turning the pages, and the final solution while not probable, was also not outrageous. For me, the one flaw in this story was Kimber herself. At times I really liked her, but she’d done some pretty awful things. To be honest, those were the parts that didn’t add up for me. In the end the parts I liked about The Stranger Inside outweighed those I didn’t. I read this one, but think it would also work well on audio.

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The Stranger Inside has a compelling and terrifying premise. Kimber Hannon comes home from a weekend away to discover a stranger has moved into her home. He changed the locks on her house and has a lease with her signature on it, even though she knows she never signed it. Kimber contacts her lawyer, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend, in the hopes that he can help sort things out. Kimber cannot figure out what she did to make this man hate her enough to steal her home, but she is determined to find out, even if it drives her completely mad. As the novel progresses we learn that Kimber has plenty of secrets to hide, and this man seems to know them all.

I raced through this novel and found it to be a multilayered thrill ride full of drama and and intrigue. There were many moments that took me completely by surprise, and I found it refreshing that I had no idea where the novel was headed. Kimber turns out to be an unlikable character as we learn that she has made many questionable choices in her past. That being said, she is written in a way that still allows the reader to fell empathy for her. Kimber is a woman who has made some mistakes and is just trying to move on from her past. I think this is something we can all relate to in some way or another.

I really enjoyed this novel and found it to be a refreshing change of pace from the other thrillers I have read lately. It was also very easy to imagine myself in Kimber's situation, having my home taken from me.

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What would you do if you came home and the locks on the doors had been changed and you could see someone inside moving around? Call the police, right? What if a neighbor told them you'd rented your house to someone, but you have no memory of it? What exactly does it take to get someone out of your house who doesn't belong there? And what do you do in the meantime?

A thriller of a thriller! Fast paced, believable dialog and a not too outlandish plot. The characters are well developed and the story kept me glued to the page.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

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Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I have to say.. I did not enjoy this book. The writing was fine. I just could not connect with any of the characters, and the story felt disjointed. I do not have much more to say - I decided to stop reading it several days ago and I have mostly forgotten it.

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What a thrilling twisty ride this book was. Just what I want in a thriller! I couldn't put it down. I wasn't a fan of the multiple timelines, but that is just pure preference.

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I enjoyed this one enough, I didn't see the twist and it kept me guessing. Laura Benedict did a good job at creating an unlikable character but I still felt a connection to her because it would be terrible/terrifying to come home and someone else says they have proof that I signed them over the house. It's enough to make you think you're crazy.

Cover art (design and how appropriate it is for the book): Great cover art, one of the things that drew me in
Length (too short, too long, just right): Just right
Who I recommend it to: Someone who enjoys thrillers and wants a decent one
Twist factor: I didn't see it coming at all, it made sense and worked well

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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