Great novel - I am a lover of the Gothic genre so this is right up my alley. Atmospheric, suspenseful and has intriguing characters. I hate reviews that either summarize the book or give away too many hints as to the ending, so I will refrain. However, if you are a mystery fan, a lover of Gothics, an aficionado of Wilkie Collins, or follow the Dark Academia aesthetic, trust me when I say you need to read this book. Just do it. You're welcome.

Definitely not as good as her books with Ruth, but a good start to hopefully a new series... a little too much going back and forth

4.5 stars! Wow — I loved this!

This novel is a murder mystery that takes place at a old, prestigious school campus. (I love campus settings!) A well-loved teacher is found murdered in her home sending students and faculty into fearful worry. While the murder is under investigation, the head of the teaching department is found stabbed to death on campus. Each victim has cryptic notes left nearby at the scene, linking back to one teachers private journal.

This was my first experience with this author and I fully connected with her writing, characters, setting and storyline. This was a highly atmospheric novel that had me inching toward the edge of my seat in suspenseful anticipation. The storyline was dark and eerie and had a strong gothic overtone which I loved.

I adored the characters and was ever-so-excited to see that this is Book 1 in a series surrounding the main Detective Sargent. Can’t wait for Book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

A good murder mystery with a touch of a ghost story thrown in. It’s told from several characters’ points of view, some of it as diary entries. There is a likable female detective and several suspects. An interesting addition is the inclusion of a short story within the story. 2020 Edgar Award winner for best novel.

The Stranger Diaries is a great whodunit that will keep you engrossed until the very end. It is well written with amazing characters and believable story-line.

The story revolves around Clare a high school teacher. She teaches a specific class every year on Gothic writer R. M. Holland. This year is different. This year she finds her colleague and one of her best friends murdered. The killer may be someone Clare knows so she does not know who to trust.

A haunting story that will keep you up at night! Highly recommend.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

Unfortunately, I tried to start reading this book but it did not capture my interest.

I've enjoyed Griffiths' mystery series in the past, and she brings the same keen eye for plot and character to this stand alone novel.

The Stranger Diaries is a story with a spooky gothic vibe that I enjoyed reading. The story opens with a ghost story titled The Stranger, which is interwoven into the narrative. The book starts as a murder mystery but soon becomes creepy. There are three character narratives, so the story goes back and forth between them, which I liked. A perfectly paced and intriguing novel. Highly recommend.

I love a gothic thriller set in England, in the fall and winter, and at a possibly haunted school to boot. Elly Griffiths is an adept writer who creates mood and intrigue.
The characters in this novel are all varying degrees of flawed, and some more like able than others The story has multiple character viewpoints, and two sides of the crime: the suspects and the investigators. And at some points, and with some well-plotted red herrings everyone feels like a suspects.. I enjoyed the sense of place created in the writing, which drew me deeper into the story. The Stranger Diaries is a stand=alone novel, but I recommend it to readers who already love her Ruth Galloway Series. Read if you like Tana French, Alan Bradley, and Diane Setterfield (The Thirteenth Tale). (Thanks so much to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley.)

I DNF'd this title at 30% because it was too slow for my taste. I am leaving a generic three star rating because there is not a DNF option.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A mysterious murder brings together three very different women: Clare, a teacher, Georgia, her daughter, a student at the school, and Harbinder, a police investigator. The woman murdered is Clare’s friend and colleague, and left with her body is a line from a story that Clare teaches, “The Stranger.” Clare herself, struggling with her friend’s death, finds herself at the center of the investigation as the threats mount and the situation becomes more tense.

Told in the intertwining, distinctive points of view of each woman, this tense tale is a real edge-of-the-seat read. I really enjoyed the characters, the setting, the weaving of the literary story “The Stranger”, and the way that Griffiths carefully unfolded the story for the reader, bit by delicious, agonizing bit. There are constant surprises, and a neat ending with a bit of a twist. My only reservation on whole-heartedly recommending this suspense novel is that I did have issues with Clare at first. She does come across as judgmental in places, and that can be problematic for some readers. I have put down books for similar reasons in the past, but didn’t find Clare’s character flaws so problematic that I couldn’t continue with the story, and I’m very glad I did. I definitely enjoyed this neat little tale, and look forward to reading more of the author’s works in the future. (Oh, and I really liked the cover, as well!)

This one definitely kept me guessing and turning the pages past my bedtime, but it didn't have a particularly gothic vibe in my opinion, nor was it very spooky at all -- more Agatha Christie than Daphne du Maurier. That said, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to mystery fans.

Clare Cassidy is an English teacher whose specialty is the author R.M. Holland, Gothic writing being his jam. She lives with her daughter Georgie and their dog Herbert, all plodding along nicely until... Clare's colleague Ella is murdered in her own home! (Ellas home, not Clares).

Enter stage left DS Harbinder Kaur, she of the suspicious glances towards Clare and air of 'I don't believe a word that comes out if your mouth love'.

Clare writes in her journal to try and piece through what she knows and work out what's going on, she hides it from the sneaky eyes of Herbert but when she picks it up again she notices someone else has been writing in there. She discounts Herbert as his writing is atrocious and all he talks about is the park and biscuits, now she has to think of someone else. Who could it be?

I loved the humour in this, little jokes added in here and there with some shade of 'Girl on the Train' (a book I really don't like so obvs I'm gonna enjoy that!). It's told from multiple points of view, Clare, Georgie and Harbinder plus diary entries.

Sped through this and look forward to picking up other books by this author in the future.

*Huge thanks to Elly Griffiths, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

Multiple points of view were well done. Characters were interesting, but some side-plots seemed to get lost. Atmospheric and creepy, but predictable ending.

As always Elly Griffiths comes though. Excellent writing, complex plot and a solid mystery. I have read all of her books and enjoy each new more more than the last.

Clare has moved to this quiet town and started teaching at a school that was the home of an Author that she is obsessed with. She is writing a book on RM Holland who is a famous gothic writer. The home has an air of mystery as it is believed to be haunted. Life goes on until one day, a fellow teacher and friend of Clare is murdered. What's stranger, is that the suspect seems to be writing in her diary. Clare finds herself in the middle of these accidents and looks like she herself is in danger.
The book was quite interesting, though it took its time to pick up pace.. i liked how the plot was interwoven with the plot of book by Holland. I enjoyed the different characters but felt there could've been more about them. With all its highs and lows the book went out without being a real page turner. Somewhere, I had an inkling about who the killer was and turns out, i was right!! However, the climax was interesting and made sense though it was not mind-blowing in anyway!
Overall, an enjoyable book but not something that I'd strongly recommend.

I am in the minority with this one, but I had to push to get through this book. It’s not bad by any stretch, but it didn’t pull me in and have me invested like thrillers often do. I did not find the characters to be likeable nor intriguing and found the “guilty party” to be a bit of a let down. All in all, a decent read, but it was not a memorable one, leading me to rate it 3/5 stars ⭐️.

This story had so much going for it.Multiple POV's,which I always love in my thrillers,as well as a mystery that kept me guessing the whole time.

But in the end,it just dragged on a bit too much,and the reveal at the end was a bit of a letdown.I didn't guess it,but it just didn't really make a whole lot of sense.

That being said,I still enjoyed the book and it would be perfect for someone who needs a quick thriller to read.

Thank you to Netgalley who allowed me to read an advanced copy of this book. I am a fan of Elly Griffiths. Her books, until this one, have been a series starring Ruth Galloway--not a detective but a professor and someone it's hard not to love. The Stranger Diaries is Griffiths first stand-alone. I found it to be a fun book and kept me guessing till the end. There were no clues dropped so I was surprised and that's fun.

Clare teaches English at a middle school and is a fan of a famous author who published a ghost story. The school is his former home before he died and parts of it are sacrosanct , no one imay trespass. However, people start dying and the murders have a resemblance to the ghost story. The book has three narrators, Clare; her daughter Georgie and the lead detective whose name is a hoot. The three voices are distinct and you have to love them all.

Griffiths writes very intimately and sometimes it throws me--not your usual mystery. Clare and her daughter both keep diaries which is what we, the readers, are privy to. The question is asked "Why do people write in a diary?" It wasn't a main theme of the book But it caught my attention as I keep a daily journal and asked myself the same question. for a couple of days.

I enjoyed this book. It's a quick read, a fun read and I recommend this book and the Ruth Galloway series.

This one had me at Gothic murder mystery. I am in. All in. I love tales like this one and I truly did enjoy this read. A single mom and an English teacher, Clare lives in a beautiful seaside town. Oh did I mention she just happens to specialize in author R. M. Holland and oh wow, he used to live in the same town. Clare loves to teach his short story "The Stranger" which is very eerie and the story takes a turn when her colleague is killed and there are similarities to the short story that she loves to teach. As the events begin to unfold it looks as though our heroine Clare may be next on the killer's list.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story within a story that was happening and there were just so many mysteries to be unraveled. This reminded me of reading an old Agatha Christie story and I LOVED IT.

I did figure it out early, but it did not diminish the story any less for me. 4 huge stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read and review.