I really enjoyed this one! It's a lovely mix of gothic and police procedural. We get alternating POVs from Clare Cassidy, a high school English teacher whose colleague and best friend is murdered, Harbinder Kaur, the policewoman investigating the murder, and Clare's daughter, Georgie. The murder seems to be associated with an old horror story whose author is connected with the school, and things begin to escalate when Clare finds that someone else is leaving notes in her diary. The writing, slow building suspense, and spooky atmosphere were all done really well, and I want to read more by this author! I didn't love the ending as much as the rest of the book, but all in all it was really solid and I would recommend it to fans of both creepy gothic mysteries and procedurals.

What a great book and a complete surprise to me as it was my first by this author. I have made a note to try her Ruth Galloway series as soon as possible!

The Stranger Diaries is a contemporary mystery with a Gothic flavour. There's a book within the book, old houses with creepy passageways, a deserted building with lights that flash from the windows at night and even a self proclaimed witch. What more do you need for the spookiness factor?

And then there is the murder mystery, actually murders because there are several plus a few near misses. The story is told by Clare Cassidy, her daughter Georgia and D.S. Harbinder Kaur. Clare is an English teacher and would be author who is responsible for the diaries of the title and a lot of the other things that happen. Harbinder is a superb character with a very dry wit and a rather critical approach to life. Her unspoken asides to herself are hilarious.

Add to all this a number of other well written characters and a cleverly woven story which keeps you guessing right to the end. So many possible murderers and I never even considered the right one! Altogether a really excellent book.

I love Elly Griffith’s books. Her Ruth Galloway series is one my favorites and this book is no different. I was so excited when I saw that this was a standalone book, and couldn’t wait to read what she had written next.

Her books are always captivating and she dives in her writing so well. It’s deep, captivating and I feel like the characters are easy to relate to. They are similar to everyday people which grabs my attention and is super engaging.

The Stranger Diaries kept me hooked and wanting to find out what the twist was, and the suspense held on until the very end. I loved the modern day thriller with a goth twist because I feel as if you don’t get that in as many mystery-thrillers these days. I read it in two sittings because I could barely put it down. I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a good mystery thriller that keeps your attention throughout.

Love it! If you're a lover of wonderful old Gothic novels, this is a book for you. One with a modern spin, but as creepy and as atmospheric as a Gothic is supposed to be. Along with some fun twists.

Thank you NetGalley, Elly Griffiths and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Clare Cassidy is a high school English teacher who specializes in the gothic writer R.M. Holland. She teaches a course on it every year, but this year one of Clare’s colleagues is found murdered with a line from R.M. Holland’s most famous story beside the body, Clare is scared to see her life collide with that of the scary story. To make things worse, they suspect it is someone close to Clare, so not knowing who to trust, Clare turns to writing in her diary to get some perspective. Until she notices that some of the writing in her diary is not her own.

I was very interested in the story line as it is a bit different from the other whodunit’s I’ve read lately, but in the beginning I just couldn’t get into the novel or connect with the characters. As you progress further into the book however, you learn more about three different characters and become more interested in their lives and more attached to them than previously. I became attached to these characters and their lives and couldn’t quite pick out who the killer is. I enjoyed the dark, tense and creepy atmosphere that you get with this book because of the murders and just the creepy old school. I really enjoyed reading this novel from three different perspectives of what is going on so that you really get an entire picture of the story and what exactly is going on with every character. By the middle of the novel, it really felt almost like an old murder mystery, like something the Agatha Christie would have written and I thoroughly enjoyed that! This is my first book by Griffiths, but it will not be my last!

Out March 5th.

WHAT else you need when you have "Bookish Killings??" in a book that you are reading.
Clare Cassidy, a middle age English teacher, a single mother to a teenage girl, is haunted with killings around her. She is obsessed with a Gothic writer R.M Holland who used to live at the school where she currently teaches and she dreams of writing his biography someday. Soon she finds mysterious writings in her diary and is spooked. The killer seems to be obsessed by Clare. Along with DS Harbinder Kaur, the policewoman in charge of the murder investigation, they catch this Clare-obsessed-Killer.

Wonderfully narrated! A very cozy English village setting! I loved every inch of it.


ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
Happy Reading

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elly Griffiths writes some great books. I love her Ruth Galloway series, and I've started her Stephens and Mephisto series (though I've got to catch up on that!). Her work always has great characters and a deep, dark mystery, and this standalone is no exception. I really enjoyed this one, maybe even more so because it was a standalone, so it felt like everyone was at risk, as opposed to a series where you know, at the very least, that the main character is pretty much safe the whole time, even when they're in "danger."

The Stranger Diaries had some excellent twists and turns, multiple murders, and a very intriguing murderer reveal. I *did* guess the murderer correctly, but it was really just a whim I had that turned out to be correct. I think most people will probably be questioning up until the reveal.

Highly recommended, great mystery, excellent characters, and really good atmosphere. :)

While The Stranger Diaries has a great premise, it just never delivered for me. I think the publishers and the author for the advanced copy but I just couldn't connect with the characters or anything that was going on. Why does "gothic" sometimes mean "boring"? I read on hoping for pay off in the end, but there was none to be found.

Creepy and Witty!

The Stranger Diaries is about an English teacher whose life begins to mirror a Gothic murder mystery.

Clare, a single mother to 15-year-old Georgie, is an English teacher in an idyllic seaside town. She happens to teach in the school where famous author R.M. Holland once lived. Clare, a Holland scholar, loves to teach his eerie short story “The Stranger.” When a fellow English teacher is murdered, Clare is shocked that her friend and colleague was murdered. Even more shocking is how the scene of the crime bears some similarities to “The Stranger.” As more and more mysterious events occur, it appears that Clare might be the killer’s next target.

There is more than one mystery to be solved in The Stranger Diaries , as the reader also gets to experience R.M. Holland’s “The Stranger.” The story within a story method works well. There are multiple POV’s as the story is narrated by the Stranger, Clare, DS Kauer, and Georgie. While I was a little annoyed with the multiple POV’s, the characters grew on me and I realized at a certain point that The many POV’s are necessary.

I really enjoyed The Stranger Diaries. My favorite part was the caustic tone; I found myself frequently laughing out loud. I also loved Herbert the dog! The mystery is intriguing, the characters are fascinating, and the tone is super creepy. Griffiths does a nice job of embodying a Gothic tone and setting. While I guessed the murderer early on, it didn’t ruin the outcome. I highly recommend!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for an honest review.

When Clare’s friend and fellow teacher is found murdered, she doesn’t realize how both she and her work on the school’s celebrity writer will be made the center of the investigation.

This was a riveting page turner. Unfortunately, the ending was a bit of a let down, as it felt rushed and packed in the information regarding the reveal.

If you loved Shirley Jackson's 'Haunting of Hill House', this is a book right up your alley. It has a wonderful mix of mystery and drama- and the suspense! The suspense was killing me. I couldn't dare put it down. I read it in a three-day stretch, even skipped my scheduled weekend naps for this book! I don't do that often. The book flowed nicely and the author left every stone turned. If I were a master plot hole finder, I would be given a run for my money because I couldn't find a single one.

However, I'm not keen on multi-POV stories. I didn't like that but it was important to the story so it didn't completely bother me. Would definitely recommend to some friends when it hits the shelves. :)

The Stranger Diaries is the first Elly Griffiths novel I’ve had the good fortune to read, but it will not be the last! A page turner from start to finish, Griffiths has crafted a tale that represents the perfect blend of gothic suspense and modern narrative. Told from multiple points of view, and incorporating diary entries as well as a book within a book model, Griffiths tells the story of a school haunted by its past and plagued by death in its present. The story mirrors the book within the book: The Stranger by E.M. Holland. As Holland’s narrator reveals his chilling tale, the characters in The Stranger Diaries seek to solve the mystery that has brought murder and suspicion to their Sussex community. There are moments where you think you know whodunit, but Griffiths leaves you in suspense until the final pages - both about the mystery of the present and the conclusion to the book within the book that serves as the backdrop and inspiration for the larger story. I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy mystery and suspense without the gore and the nightmares.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing access to a free advanced copy of The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths in exchange for an honest review.

After her divorce, Clare Cassidy, along with her daughter, Georgie, moves to West Sussex to take a teaching position at Talgarth High. One of Talgarth High’s buildings was formerly Holland House, the residence of RM Holland, author of The Stranger, a short story in the horror genre. Holland House is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Holland’s wife, who threw herself from the balcony. Clare has become somewhat obsessed with RM Holland, teaching his story in her adult creative writing class and researching for a potential book about the author. Shortly before Halloween, Clare’s best friend, Ella is murdered. DS Harbinder Kaur, a former student at Talgarth, charged with the investigation, notices that Ella’s wounds are strangely like those of one of the victims in The Stranger. As Clare tries to come to terms with her grief, she pours her feelings into her diary but soon notices that another hand is writing messages to her in it. Could it be the killer reading her diary?

I’ve been a big fan of Elly Griffiths for several years, reading all of her Ruth Galloway series and her Stephens and Mephisto Magic Men series. The Stranger Diaries is her first stand-alone novel, and it is in a different style from both of her series works. The book is written from the multiple perspectives of Clare, her daughter, Georgie, and DS Kaur, including diary entries from both Clare and Georgie. It leans more toward the thriller side of the mystery genre although DS Kaur does an excellent job of detection. Griffiths’ writing flows smoothly and draws one into the story. I felt compelled to keep reading and finished the book in a day. The diary entries are a little distracting since both Clare and Georgie’s perspectives are written in the first person, interspersed with their diary entries. Obviously, the diary entries are an integral part of the story, but I didn’t feel that the entries integrated well with the first person narrative. However, the story worked as a whole, and I must admit to being surprised at the outcome.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5.0 stars

I have never read this author but I love her take on a gothic novel set in modern times. Her writing kept me glued to this tale with an eerie setting, three narrators and an old ghost story. All the characters had secrets and the classic-type ending was a surprise. Well done.

Elly Griffiths, author of two mystery series, takes a stab at stand alone fiction with The Stranger Diaries. This novel brings us a modern-day gothic horror story while keeping solidly grounded in tradition. Instead of a castle or drafty mansion, there is an old school with secrets. Instead of a threatening lord of the manor, characters are menaced by fellow teachers and students. There is a ghost story in the background of the novel, and a mystery concerning the true identity of someone long dead. Delightfully, the novel’s three heroines are not quite so traditional.

Clare Cassidy is a single mother who brought her daughter, Georgia, to a small town to help them both restart after Clare’s separation from her husband. Georgia’s father. She teaches English, and is working on writing an academic book throughout about a fictional author and gothic story that ties into the rest of the plot. It’s her best friend who is killed very early on in the story (in fact the murder victim is never alive on page, being developed only through Clare’s memory of her and the perceptions of Ella the other characters present us with).

After her section, we get some of the same events retreaded by DS Harbinder Kaur, a generally bad ass detective with ties to the small town herself, and Georgia, whose insights as a student and teenager offer a different sort of perspective than her fellow narrators. Each of the three has a strong voice – strong enough that Harbinder’s assessment of Clare, who seems endearing in her own section, calls the reader’s own view of Clare into question with her instant dislike.

The plot follows the investigation of Ella’s murder from these three perspectives, while sprinkling in threads about older mysteries in the school itself, key mistakes made in the character’s pasts, and a light exploration of supernatural elements. In the end, while the mystery itself is fun and well told, it is these characters and their relationship to each other that shine the most. The prevailing sense of paranoia and dread is a close second, and it fully secures the book’s place as an updated and well done gothic story.

The killer is perhaps the least interesting part of the whole book – but everything else about it made that fact very forgivable. One of the side characters, white witch and writing teacher Bryony Hughes, tells writers they have “stylistic tics”. Harbinder might not be impressed with this comment, but it’s quite true – and The Stranger Diaries has all of the best of Elly Griffith’s “stylistic tics.” Her unique writing style, strong characterization, and the ability to create a prevailing atmosphere make this a book not to be missed.

This is a good book for people who like cozy's and tracing down history. The book is part thriller, mystery and ghost story. The book was suspenseful but I felt it should have been a little shorter; there were slightly too many subplots and tangents. I felt a novel like this should be quite fast paced.

However it is a good book for people who would like a somewhat old fashioned mystery and thriller.

I received a free copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars! Started off slow, but turned out to be a great story. Well developed characters & well written. Will recommend to others.

Clare Cassidy, divorced and living with her 15 y old daughter Georgie, left London for a quieter life on the Sussex coast where she teaches English at a comprehensive school. Part of the attraction of the school for Clare, is that one of the older sections was once the home of the gothic story writer R.M Holland, whose biography Clare is writing. Holland was mostly known for his famous gothic tale, 'The Stranger', which Clare uses to teach her adult creative writing class. Her dog Herbert is even named after the dog in the story. When Clare's best friend and fellow teacher Ella is found dead in a way similar to one of the victims of the story, a quote from 'The Tempest' also used in Holland's tale is left by her side "Hell is empty and all the devils are here".

Elly Griffiths has managed to infuse this modern day thriller with a gothic atmosphere, made possible by the creepiness of R.M Holland's old quarters, stories of a ghostly woman in white and the spooky abandoned factory that looms over Clare and Georgie's house. The story is told in alternating chapters by Clare, Georgie and by Harbinder Kaur, the detective investigating Ella's murder. Although, I didn't particularly warm to Clare, she cared very much for her daughter Georgie and worried about her having an older boyfriend. Georgie was easy to like with her teenage voice, her secret writing and sensible attitude and Harbinder Kaur who started off seeming hard and cold turned out to be a softie with an excellent nose for lies. (I'd really like to see her again in other mysteries.) This was a really good, well written gothic mystery culminating in a terrific final scene in the where the killer is unmasked in true classic thriller style.

This is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve read in a long time. The characters and settings are so well written, it evokes pictures in my head much as if I’m watching a movie, one that has been filmed in black and white. The story reels you in as it unfolds at the perfect pace, being told by three different people, Clare, Harbinder, and Georgia with punctuation being provided the gothic short story “The Stranger”.
Clare is an English teacher who has studied gothic author R. M. Holland, who wrote “The Stranger” along with other gothic works. The book opens a portion of The Stranger which Clare is using to teach an adult writing course. It then moves quickly into a diary entry from Clare where we learn her best friend, Ella has been killed. Clare’s entry moves the story forward through the next few chapters. Then we get a portion of the time period told from Harbinder, the Detective Sergeant called in to investigate Ella’s murder. Then, we get the same period as reported from the viewpoint of Georgia, Clare’s daughter.
Throughout the book, the story is told from these three principle people, each one slightly different because their experiences for the same time period are slightly different. The novel’s pace and flow are enhanced by this treatment as it flows smoothly from one to the other and serves to increase the reader’s interest in the story and the opportunity to see one event from different points of view.
Throughout the book, the entries are written in a style that evokes diary entries. The overall tone of the book is dark and just a little creepy, consistent with the gothic feel although the novel itself is a contemporary story. Elly Griffiths, author of THE STRANGER DIARIES does an excellent job of evoking the dark, gothic tone of the story, taking the reader up to the edge of creepy suspense, but never going over it. The end result is a novel that has perfect pitch and a compelling story that is difficult to put down.
My thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. While this is a stand-alone novel, Ms. Griffiths has written other books and, based on how well-written this one is, I will definitely be looking for others by her.

A decent mystery with alternating narrators, though the shifting voices didn't always feel entirely smooth. My rating comes mainly from my overall dislike of the characters - I just didn't feel strongly about any of them, and rather found them annoying. I also felt a bit annoyed by the need for each shift in narration to include exact same occurrences as the previous narrator, but from a different perspective. This has worked in other books, I'm not against it, but something just felt more stale and like a recitation of events, rather than anything quite necessary except to reveal the next thing. I also was pretty bored by the Holland ghost story that is constantly inserted throughout the book, then added in whole at the end. I understand Gothic ghost stories, and they're fine, but I just wanted the mystery of the book I was reading and felt a bit jarred by having to get into a broken apart, disembodied Victorian-era ghost story. So, on the whole, it was fine, but nothing remarkable.