This was my first read of Laura Benedict. I liked how the story was organized as the synopsis was really interesting. I liked this book and found it interesting!

Kimber was only out of town for a few days but when she gets home she finds her locks changed and a stranger living in her house. When the police arrive, the stranger presents a rent agreement claiming that Kimber invited him to stay. But Kimber never rented out her house. Kimber doesn't know the man. And now she can't get him to leave.

As Kimber tries desperately to get her house - and her life - back, the stranger counters every attempt. The police aren't on her side and there seems to be little she can do. Anger and frustration, not to mention confusion, have become Kimber's everyday life. And now paranoia had joined the club as she becomes certain the stranger is out to take more than just her home.

I love Laura Benedict's work. Just flat out love it!

This latest is a bit of a change as it's straightforward thriller with no horror or supernatural aspects, but, if you couldn't tell, it still has a healthy dose of dread and high emotional stakes.

I can't imagine what I would do if I left for a weekend to myself and came back to find my house occupied by someone else. And to find out the police aren't interested in helping! That's the situation Kimber is in when the stranger claims he has a right to be there. And as time goes by, he even gets the police to believe that Kimber is stalking him!

So Kimber's life is not only upside down, she's being treated like a criminal.

But as it turns out, Kimber isn't exactly a great person. She's done some things in the past that reflect a little... poorly on her character. And so she needs to tread carefully where the stranger is concerned. Which makes this a twisty, turny read from the get go. For Kimber and the reader both.

Paranoia is the key here and it comes through on every page of The Stranger Inside. And the questions that drive the plot - Who is the stranger? Why is he out to get Kimber? And what are these shady secrets Kimber is so determined to keep to herself? - are guaranteed to keep readers frantically turning pages until the big reveal at the very end.

The Stranger Inside will definitely hold the interest of anyone who loves novels with unreliable protagonists who have familial and friendly drama that results in the police getting involved. While the narration isn't done in a style that I particularly enjoy, Benedict did a great job developing her characters and keeping even secondary ones well-rounded. Since you don't know who the culprits are and whether or not Kimber is mentally stable, readers have to pay attention to all the little details. A couple details seemed far-fetched, while others were clearly spot on. It's a quick read, regardless, and will grab your attention right away.

YOWZA!! What a thriller!! So many twists and turns right up to the final pages. I had guessed a few possibilities but nowhere near all of them. The writing is good with excellent descriptions and a plot that keeps the reader frantically reading to find out what happens next!! I can't say I liked Kimber, but I felt sorry for her. Actually, the character I liked best was Mr. Tuttle. ha!

I won't say more about the story - I don't want to give any spoilers. This is a book that deserves to be read without any preconceived ideas of what will happen. I'll be very surprised if this isn't a best=seller.

I look forward to Laura Benedict's next book!

You come home to find your key no longer works in your front door and a stranger claims that your house is now theirs. What would you do?


Kimber has just returned from a weekend at Lake of the Ozarks to find out that she can’t get into her house because the locks have been changed. There’s a man living in her house!

Frantic, she calls the police. According to Lance, the new occupant, he's been living there for six months after Kimber gave a lease because she was moving in with her boyfriend. She also said to take care of the yard until she decided whether to sell the house or keep it. He presents documents with Kimber’s signature.

How did he get Kimber’s signature on the papers if she was away the whole time?

To which Lance replies that he found the property on a rental website the previous week and rented the house unseen. Her nosey neighbor, Jenny even claims to have seen Kimber hand the stranger a set of keys and documents.
But Kimber insists that there must be a huge mistake; the whole thing is some kind of weird misunderstanding. Besides she has no boyfriend.

While trying to force the intruder out of her home he whispers in her ear, and out of earshot of the police.

“I was there. I know what you did.”

Kimber is shocked. She has no idea what this stranger is on about. Or does she?

As the story progresses, the reader learns that Kimber witnessed a crime twenty-five years ago, which she may be partly responsible for. Someone has discovered the truth and is threatening to expose her. Who is the stranger in her house? Is he someone from her past? And what does he want from her?

The Stranger Inside is a gripping, psychological thriller with enough suspense to keep any reader turning the pages. I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I desperately wanted to like this book. I’ve been on a thriller, mystery and suspense knick with books lately. The premise of The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict really stuck out to me; the main character returns home to find someone else living there instead.

Kimber Hannon comes home from a weekend getaway to find her key no longer opens the door. She then discovers there is man inside and he has settled in. He insists he has a signed lease and has absolutely no intention of leaving. But there is something darker behind this stranger wanting to live in Hannon’s home, and it all has to do with her past.

Just like that the book became predictable and the plot slowed to a snail’s pace. What really made this book drag was Kimber. She was such an unlikeable character and I couldn’t find sympathy for her, I almost thought she deserved what she was getting.

The amount of lies and secrets revealed were very overwhelming and hard to keep up. Like I said, it became predictable and the storylines between Kimber’s present and her sister Michelle’s flashbacks were hard to keep up with and weren’t easy to follow.

I have to give credit to the author Laura Benedict for building up the suspense and suspicion around the characters, which made me keep reading this book.

I had high hopes for this book because of how it was described, but this was a flop for me. It looks like there are mixed reviews out there for this one, so take this review or leave it. I’m giving this a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author Laura Benedict for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enthralling thriller! I did not want to put this down and have been recommending it widely! A really exciting book! I loved it!
Kimber comes home from a trip and her key doesn't work. She finds a stranger living in her home. When she confronts him, he whispers, "I was there. I saw what you did." Kimber is no longer to trust anyone as her life falls into disarray.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This book is a very easy read, and hard to put down, and has some great plot twists. With that being said, I absolutely hated the main character, Kimber Hannon. I found her to be highly annoying, selfish, and quite dumb. I don't think I have ever had such strong feelings about a character in a novel before, but this must be a testament to the author's writing. Kimber Hannon arrives home from camping to find a stranger living in her home. The police are no help, and it is up to Kimber and her friends to find out who this man is and what he wants, while also keeping Kimber's numerous secrets hidden. There are a lot of doozies in this book that will keep you saying "WTF?" Very enjoyable, quick read.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not find it to be extremely predictable. Laura Benedict's style of writing is easy to follow. You'll find this to be a fast read. The story itself is good. I finished the entire book in about a day and a half.

The Stranger Inside is a psychological suspense story. Kimber returns home after a few days away and finds some guy living in her house. Worse, the police side with the guy who stole her house! Kimber is sympathetic at this point. As the story unfolds, it becomes very clear that Kimber is a bad person. She has done some seriously terrible things. At this point, it feels like karma for Kimber. The stranger in her house knows about things she has done and is after her. Why specifically is he after her? Will she get her house back? It's a kind of bizarre beyond suspension of disbelief story. It's entertaining and engaging with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. The main character is so vapid and deceitful. Read at your own risk. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Stranger Inside has an interesting premise and starts out well enough with Kimber returning home to find the locks changed and a stranger living in her house. From there, it goes downhill at a rapid pace. Now, going into this one, I expected it to require at least some degree of suspension of disbelief, but this goes way beyond that. As far as plot twists, this one has them in spades, and there's no shortage of suspects either. The problem is that there is so much crammed into the conclusion that it just becomes convoluted. I think I would've liked the ending better had it just stuck with the person in the house and his reason for being there rather than going over the top the way it did. All that aside, my biggest problem with this story was Kimber. She has to be one of the most unlikable protagonists that I've ever come across. I'm all for flawed characters and unreliable narrators, but this woman has absolutely no redeemable qualities. There wasn't a single thing about her to inspire even an ounce of empathy. In fact, I spent a good portion of this one feeling like karma was finally going to get its ounce of flesh from this character. Instead, it goes an entirely different direction. In the end, I can't say that I liked anything about this one after the first couple of chapters. I'm sure many will enjoy this story, but I definitely am not one of them.

Full. Of. Twists.
A main character that you know from square one is keeping secrets ...and she's fairly good at it. But is she the only good at it? Is someone else just as good?
While I didn't really LOVE any of the characters, I still enjoyed reading this one.
A great book full of everything a good mystery/thriller should be full of...and more!

Very interesting premise. Imagine coming home after just a few days away and finding someone living in your own house. First instinct is to call the police, but hey are no help either. Quite a tangled web here...creepy and suspenseful! I really liked it a lot!!

You come home from an enjoyable long weekend to find a squatter has taken over your home! Kimbe’s life continues to spiral out of control from there. I love Laura’s writing style and I enjoyed the book. . I am drawn to Mulholland Press titles because they always find authors that are talented specifically in their character development, and Laura is no exception. She creates the main character Kimber so well, you feel for her at every turn. I will be recommending this title in the store.

⭐⭐⭐ ½
Kimber returns home from a vacation only to discover that her keys do not work in her front door. She tries everything and just as she is about to call the cops she sees somebody inside. She is shocked to find that the man in her home has a signed lease which has her signature and has every right to be there. Who is this man and what does he want from her ?
The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict is a psychological thriller with some twists and turns.The book is written in different timelines from present to past with unlikable characters but in this case it helps the story .Overall an enjoyable read
I would like to thank Mullholland Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

The Stranger Inside is a fast-paced thriller that begins with a horrible 'what if' scenario. What if you came back from vacation only to find a stranger...a really obnoxious stranger...was living in your house?

When I started reading this book, I felt so sorry for Kimber. I couldn't imagine a worse thing to come home to after having a relaxing holiday. Unfortunately for her, the police believe the stranger, and Kimber is forced to relocate to a friend's house while the intruder is protected. I was so frustrated on her behalf that I was ready to spit nails!

And then the real Kimber emerged, and I wanted to spit nails at her!

[Warning: possible spoilers]

Kimber is a horrible person. Like really, really awful. She hurts others without any regard for their feelings. She uses people constantly. She admits that she is a murderer. She admits that she literally drove her ex crazy. She admits that she only friended her BFF because she was having an affair with BFF's husband, and wanted to get back at him.

Once I realized what a monster Kimber was, the book really nose-dived. The one thing I hoped would happen - that Kimber would be called out on all her s***t - never happened. In fact, she was exonerated!

The end of this novel was also very messy. There were too many 'surprise' twists and turns that muddied up the narrative. One twist is nice, but I'd rather have no twists than a jumble of them.

This book gets a 2.5 from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for the review copy.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

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The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict is a wild ride. Kimberly Hannon returns home from a retreat in the Ozarks to find her house keys don’t work and there is a strange man in her house. From the looks of it he is living there and has changed the locks. When she calls the police, the man tells them that she rented him the house and has a signed lease with Kimber’s signature. He also whispers to Kimber, “ I know who you are and I know what you did”. What did she do?!? From here begins a twisted, sordid tale where Kimber’s past and present collide. You can’t even begin to imagine the secrets in her past, which are revealed little by little each chapter. The present story alternates with chapters told from Kimber’s sister Michelle’s viewpoint from the 1990s when they were in high school. I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have this one figured out! I can’t say enough good things about this book. I have read this author’s previous books and this has a totally different feel to it, but I love it. Make sure you don’t miss this book! Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic roller coaster ride ! This psychological thriller was compelling from page 1 with so many twists ! Complex characters and a great story line that will keep you guessing .