Although I was interested in the description of this novel, I was, initially, a little wary. I had tried Elly Griffiths popular Ruth Galloway series, and stalled with it. However, I am glad that I gave this a try, as I absolutely loved it and it has made me determined to go back and give Ruth Galloway another try.

This is a clever, literary mystery, with an excellent cast of characters. Clare Cassidy is a divorced English teacher, living with teenage daughter, Georgie and working at Talgarth High. Although a modern secondary school, there is an Old Building, where Gothic author, R.M. Holland once worked. Indeed, his study remains, intact, at the top of the building and Clare is writing a book about him. However, when we meet her, her research has stalled and she is teaching a creative writing class in the holidays. When fellow English teacher, Elly Elphick, is murdered, it sends shock waves through the school. There is a quote left by the body and then messages are written in Clare’s private diary…

I particularly enjoyed the characters in this novel. Spiky, assertive, D S Harbinder Kaur and her partner, Neil Winston, added an excellent dimension – so often in crime novels you have either interesting suspects, or interesting investigators, but this novel has both. There is also an engaging academic flavour, with Henry H. Hamilton, a Cambridge academic, contacting Clare about some possible information he has on R.M. Holland, and a rather creepy teacher, Bryony Hughes, who seems to see herself as a modern Miss Jean Brodie.

Over-riding the story are snippets from R.M. Holland’s most famous story, which mirrors events in a very creepy way. A really good cast of possible suspects makes it hard for you to spot the killer and I enjoyed Clare’s diary snippets too – as well as those of Georgie. Diary writing might be a dying art, but hopefully Elly Griffiths will persuade some readers to take up their pen. Overall, I loved this and I particularly hope that D S Kaur will appear in future books. I am now, most definitely, an Elly Griffiths convert! I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

Having enjoyed Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway books, and the Stephens and Mephisto series, I was intrigued to read this Gothic creepy tale of ghosts and unquiet spirits.
Claire Cassidy is a divorced teacher of English at a modern comprehensive school, who lives with her teenage daughter Georgie.
She is also writing a book an R M Holland, a Victorian author whose haunted study is in the old part of the school, and who is famous for a short story “The Stranger”.
Her work, and research collide when her colleague is murdered, and a quote from this story is found by her body, “Hell is empty”, and then writing in another hand appears in her diary, quoting from the story, and other Victorian authors.
The police are involved, in the shape of Harbinder, a detective who attended the same school in her youth, and has unhappy memories of it.
As the body count increases, as does the danger to Claire, inexplicable things keep happening, and the atmosphere becomes more strained.
The story is told in the voices of Claire, Harbinder and Georgie, and this works well, as their different views of the same events become clear.
In between their voices are extracts from The Stranger, a very creepy, atmospheric story.
Add a white witch, some teenage boys, a Cambridge academic, an ex-husband and stir well, and a very satisfying mystery evolves, with an exciting climax, when the murderer is finally revealed.
An added bonus is the full text of “The Stranger”.
An excellent read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for the opportunity to read this book.

Elly Griffiths’ latest novel takes us away from Norfolk and down to the South coast, focusing on a group of English teachers and their pupils. The story is told from the points of view of three women: Clare, an English teacher who is researching the life of R M Holland, writer of a Victorian Gothic short story ‘The Stranger’ (extracts run throughout the novel), her fifteen year old daughter Georgia, a secret writer with a group of close friends, and Harbinder, a gay Sikh detective in her thirties who still lives at home with her parents.
The two murders and a third attempted killing create the narrative propulsion of the novel. The crimes are strangely similar to the modes of death in ‘The Stranger’. All connected to Clare and Georgia through the supposedly haunted Talgarth High, the school which Georgia attends and at which Clare works and which was originally R M Holland’s home, they provide the reader with a good deal to unravel. There are plenty of suspects for the murders and also plenty of alibis which makes this an entertaining and thought-provoking read. There are plenty of suspects for the murders and also plenty of alibis which makes this an entertaining and thought-provoking read.
However, it is not just this challenge which makes ‘The Stranger Diaries’ worth reading. The writer has given us three strong female voices – all very different but equally convincing. My particular favourite is Harbinder Kaur who is funny, self-aware, competent and ambitious. It would be good to see her further developed in subsequent novels.
Ironically, it is the short story ‘The Stranger’ itself which is told in full at the end of the book which blights the overall effect of this tale. Dull, clichéd, and predictable, I found myself skim-reading the extracts peppered throughout the novel (much more intriguing were the real literary references even though they didn’t link ‘The Tempest’ and ‘The Woman in White’ with Griffiths’ novel in any profound way). Because the twenty-first century story had me gripped, it was a shame that the novel ended with a weak Victorian pastiche.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Editions for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I am a huge fan of Elly Griffith and adore the Dr Ruth Galloway books so I was excited to read this stand alone book. I was not let down! It is creepy and dark and also a fantastic murder mystery. I adore books like this so I am giving it a huge thumbs up.

It's ironic, there is no way I would have tried this title if I didn't enjoy the authors previous works, the irony being that this book bears absolutely no resemblance to her previous books. So set aside your preconceptions (I don't like gothic) and enjoy this slightly blended, moderately spooky gothic style police procedural. More from Ds Kaur too please!

This book held my interest all the way through, it is a great combination of murder mystery and ghost story.
It is filled with quirky characters and a very well thought out plot.
The story is told from more than one persons perspective and I liked the way we saw some of the incidents from more than one point of view.
The present day murders take place at a public school , previously the home of R.M.Holland. A victorian writer, his most famous, a ghost story "The Stranger".
The two stories intertwine and the eerie atmosphere is cleverly created.
A really entertaining read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for the opportunity to read this as an ARC

Really enjoyed reading this book a lot. The story seemed to flow very naturally and the characters were believable.
The story itself had some gripping and tense moments and I was very happy I got the chance to read it.

Ella, an english teacher at the local comprehensive is murdered. Naturally the police investigate her department and friends. Clare Cassidy was her best friend and colleague in the english department. As the investigations progress Claire finds writing in her diary which isn't hers and then there is another murder........

I am a big fan of Elly Griffiths work having read all the Stephens & Mephisto as well as the Dr Ruth Galloway. I very much enjoyed this book being in a slightly different direction to those. I do hope that it is intended as the beginning of a series as I would be very happy to see the policewoman, Harbinder, again and maybe Clare Cassidy as well?

This book takes various forms in its writing. We see things from the view of different characters - Clare, Harbinder and Clare's daughter Georgia. We also have diary entries from Clare and Georgia. The book also follows the path of a short story - The Stranger. We gets bits of this story as the book progresses. Naturally there are some similarities. At the end of the book is the complete version of The Stranger which I very much appreciated. I like books which employ a variety of methods in the telling - parallel time periods, different characters per chapter, letters, diaries and so on. Having The Stranger as a story running throughout was a different approach but one which I liked.

Clare is quite a bland character. She is quite an ordinary person with few distinguishing characteristics or personality. If this book is the start of a series which includes Clare again then I hope to see her character develop more. I loved Harbinder. She had plenty of character & personality. She has some very caustic thoughts which add spice to the text. Although single she does not come from a dysfunctional family - hurrah a break from detective cliche! She lives at home with her parents & has a Mum who cooks wonderful food and waits up for her.

The plot itself was solid. I did have a fair idea as to who the murderer was & why quite early on in the book. However I did enjoy the story as it arrived at its conclusion - not quite as simply as I had. Oh the advantage of the reader being able to read people's thoughts!

I very much enjoyed this book and I would certainly be happy if it was the beginning of a series.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

I have read all Ruth Galloway series and was interested to see if I would enjoy this standalone as much. I enjoyed it from start to finish. It was a story within a story which was both Gothic and modern. A pleasureable mix. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I liked reading The Stranger Diaries. It started off with a ghost story and then went on to be a murder mystery book.

The book has three narrators-Clare, DS Kaur or Harbinder and Clare's daughter Georgie. I liked the author's writing style -very atmospheric, vivid. However, I felt the addition of the RM Holland's story, in the end, to be unnecessary.

I look forward to reading more of the author's works.

Thanks to NetGalley,the publisher,and the author for providing me with an eARC.

This book is a mixture of a ghost story and a murder mystery. Clare an English teacher her daughter Georgie and DS Harbinder Kaur are the main characters with the ghost story written by RM Holland running through the book in the background. The book starts with the start of the ghost story and then leads you intothe murder of Clare's friend and colleague Ella.
This book is a stand alone book and not quite what I expected but still an enjoyable read.

I have read the Ruth Galloway with great enjoyment but the Stranger Diaries is completely different. It's a story within a story and the M R Holland story is creepy and atmospheric but I'm not sure the modern story line is quiet as good. I liked the way the narrative switches between the characters. The events seen from different perspectives really added a depth to the storyline. There were one or two niggles about the way the plot sometimes felt a bit contrived so that it would fit the Victorian gothic storyline but overall I enjoyed the book and did read it in one sitting.

This novel is a departure from Elly Griffiths' usual style. It's a chilling murder mystery but in the style of a gothic novel with multiple narrators. The characters of the narrators are distinct enough not to cause confusion and I found the plot compelling and at times quite haunting. A real page turner that is well worth reading.

#TheStrangerDiaries #NetGalley I love Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels so I was excited to read this stand alone book by the same author. However, for me, it wasn't in the same league. The storyline was exciting in parts as a serial killer appeared to be on the loose but I guessed early on who the murderer was and therefore it lost some of its pull for me. I found one of the main characters , Clare, quite irritating although DS Harbinder Kaur was quite the opposite and it would be great to see a series with her as the lead detective! Finally I found the addition of the whole text of 'The Stranger' at the end of the book was quite unnecessary, and for some strange reason I found myself extremely annoyed by the constant spelling of 'hallo' with an 'a'!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy. Im a huge fan of the Ruth Galloway novels and although this was a well written book,it didnt really appeal to me. It had the mystery and the humour that we expect from her books but wasnt really my cup of tea. I wish the author all the best .

Overall I liked this book!

I have read a few books in the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths and I was interested to read this standalone novel. The main character is an English and creative writing teacher called Claire who is researching the life of a horror author. A friend and colleague is murdered and Claire's diary seems to hold some clues.

The whole book felt like a very modern take on a gothic style and I really liked the touches of gothic detail. There is also a short story by the fictional author that runs through the book which I absolutely loved.

The murderer was quite obvious from early in the book and I would have preferred a few plot twists. There are also quite a lot of literary quotes and a creative writing theme that I didn't really enjoy. The story is told from 3 different viewpoints - Claire, her daughter and a policewoman. I thought the relationship that developed with the policewoman was a bit odd and cheesy, and I also found the ending cheesy.

Despite this, I thought the subplot about the horror author, the story within the story and the gothic details were interesting and enjoyable enough to make up for most of my dislikes and I would recommend this book.

I've read a number of Elly Griffiths crime novels and was pleased to have the chance to read this one and reviee for NetGalley.
This story about a teacher whose life becomes embroiled in what appears to be a reflection of a short story written in the school in which she works, borders on the supernatural at times but is well bedded in the here and now.
A colleague and close friend of Claire's is killed, her daughter Georgie is drawn into the web with her visits to a slightly of the wall teacher at a nearby college raising concerns. The main police involvement is a Sikh detective Harbinder Kaur who gives us insights into her own culture and the difficulties of balancing that and her police career.
All through the book the narration moves between these the characters and each one gives their own perspective to what is going on. The death of another colleague throws doubt into the minds of the main characters and has suspicion diverted.
The ending was unexpected and the whole book well crafted. The slightly gothic theme to this book is different to one I would normally choose, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it. I hope we meet Harbinder Kaur again in more books from this author.

Prior to this book, I had never come across this author. I have to admit I was unsure what to make of this book as it, not my usual choice/genres. It is very much a Halloween/Gothic type book about ghosts.
The story is told by 3 different narrators. Although it is of gothic in style it is very modern. Plus there is some added humour in it too.
Honestly, it wasn't really my type of book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Publishers for the opportunity to read The Strangers Diary in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I have been a fan of Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series for years so was delighted to get an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for review. As the blurb says, this is a modern take on Gothic fiction. I'm not a huge fan of the gothic finding it a little 'overblown' for my liking but I did enjoy this novel very much. I especially liked finding out about the form and tropes of Gothic fiction through Clare's musings on the subject.

Clare Cassidy is a teacher at an 'improving' school. She is divorced with a teenage daughter and a labradoodle called Herbert. In her spare time she researches a Gothic writer who formerly taught at the school. She is relatively happy with her lot in life, but then strange things start to happen following the murder of her friend and colleague. Most eerily she finds messages in her diary and worse still more murders happen and seem to be following the pattern of those in a short story by the gothic writer. The story is told through the points of view of Clare, her daughter Georgie and Harbinder, the DS who is investigating the murders. I really loved the character of Harbinder and her little witty asides. She was great fun. I also found it very enjoyable to read about the same scene from the POV of the different characters. I'm hoping that we will see more of Harbinder and that she'll get a series of her own. Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A modern Gothic detective story. A Victorian writer spins a Hallowe'en yarn, interlinked is a series of murders in the school where the writer lived and died.

Elly Griffith's fans will recognise a friend in the police detective Harbinder whose presence holds the book together. I was less taken with the Victorian element but then hats off to Griffiths for trying something new. The story was told by a variety of narrators; the police, the mother and the teenage girl. This successfully gave differing views and opinions on the circumstances surrounding the murders.

A good read!