<b>Classic whodunnit, witty prose, & a spooky gothic vibe!</b>

THE STRANGER DIARIES by ELLY GRIFFITHS is an entertaining, eerie, and gothic suspense tale that opens up with quite the hook with a creepy short darkish ghost story entitled THE STRANGER. This technique of a short story interwoven into the narrative definitely set the tone for a spooky sinister tale and immediately piqued my interest.

ELLY GRIFFITHS delivers an atmospheric, intriguing, multi-layered, complex, and well-written tale here that was uniquely formatted with a story within a story, diary entries, and multiple character points of view. Throughout the book we get these little snippets of R.M. Holland’s THE STRANGER interwoven into the narrative to rattle our minds and then in the end we are awarded with the whole story. I absolutely loved this technique and thought it was quite the clever move on the authors part to make this quite the page-turner.

So I have been trying really hard not to be an armchair detective and just let the story guide and take me there without trying to guess the who and why. I will say that I did have an inkling of the who but would have never of guessed the motivation behind the why though. The motive did leave me feeling a little bit blasé and underwhelmed though but I do think it was a fitting development. I just would have liked maybe a different avenue explored there but there were quite a few appealing and delicious aspects to this storyline that I thoroughly enjoyed and gobbled right up. The haunted old school, a ghost sighting, witchcraft, spooky gothic vibe, story within a story (that mimics the modern day story), suspenseful murder mystery, and unreliable narrators. Would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Elly Griffiths for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

3 out of 5 stars!
Incredibly atmospheric, lending a rich setting to a twisty story. Clare, her daughter, Georgie, and D.S. Kaur were very enjoyable characters to read, each of their personalities extremely well fleshed out. The eerie ghosty myths surrounding R. M. Holland and his past were some of my favorite bits of this story!
Thank you for this free copy!

I love Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series. I love Gothic mysteries. So this was a no-brainer for me, I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I read the description. I wasn't disappointed. The creepy Gothic atmosphere was there. The mystery was there, and I didn't figure it out before it was revealed. Interesting characters, red herrings, creepy goings-on - it all kept me interested and guessing and I very much enjoyed it.

My thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I read The Stranger Diaries over a hot summer weekend, and found it most enjoyable. My first by Ms. Griffiths and it was everything the blurbs claimed it would be. I loved the different points of view, seeing each character through another’s eyes, and the humor injected in the most banal moments. There’s such an atmosphere of menace throughout, when even a lone man on a train has a “cavernous” smile and feels threatening. Teenagers dabbling in white magic, love triangles and English teachers - all come together for an eerie mystery. I appreciated how Ms. Griffiths gave even the most minor characters a backstory, coloring them with humor and pathos and hidden agendas. Maybe I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t!

P.S. Thanks so much to #NetGalley for the ARC. (less)

4★
“I collect my papers and lock the classroom. Then I’m almost sprinting across the gravel towards my car. It’s five o’clock but it feels like midnight. There are only a few lights left on in the school and the wind is blowing through the trees.”

An old ghost story seems to be coming to life for attractive, divorced Clare, who teaches English at Talgarth High in West Sussex, England. She’s taught ‘The Stranger’ in her class and even named her dog Herbert, after the dog in the story. The book opens with the beginning of the story itself:

“‘If you’ll permit me,’ said the Stranger, ‘I’d like to tell you a story. After all, it’s a long journey and, by the look of those skies, we’re not going to be leaving this carriage for some time. So, why not pass the hours with some story-telling?’”

Next we hear Clare herself discussing ‘The Stranger’ with adults who are taking her creative writing course in Holland House, the Old Building named for R. M. Holland, the author of the story. The mystery begins.

Following Clare’s chapter, we move to one of her diary entries. She tells us she’s had a phone call to say Ella, a fellow teacher and one of Clare’s closest friends, has been brutally murdered. The next week at school, she’s asked more about R.M. Holland and the building.

“‘R.M. Holland married a woman called Alice Avery,’ I say. ‘They lived here, in this house, and Alice died, possibly from a fall down the stairs. Her ghost is meant to walk the place. You see her gliding along the corridors on the first floor or even floating down the stairs. Some people say that if you see her, it’s a sign that a death is imminent.’”

Asked if she’s ever seen her, she says No, but throughout the book there are stories of people who are convinced the building is haunted. Cue the police! DS Harbinder Kaur went to this high school and takes a special interest, which is noted by Clare's daughter, Georgia.

“Her aura is blue like an old-fashioned police light. I think she’d stop at nothing to get to the truth.”

Georgia is 15, is especially familiar with ‘The Stranger’ story, and fancies herself as a writer. Unbeknown to her mother, she and three friends are taking a creative writing course at another school with an older teacher, who claims to be a white witch, and of whom her mother is no fan. Hence the reference to the policewoman’s aura, no doubt.

Chapters alternate between Clare, her diaries, Georgia, Harbinder, and more creepy excerpts from ‘The Stranger’. We meet Georgia’s father (Clare’s ex), Georgia’s boyfriend, who’s 21 (polite but “too old” for her), other schoolfriends (and a would-be boyfriend), and other school staff. Plenty of herrings for the author to paint red – and paint them she does!

A small note is discovered near Ella’s body with a quotation from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ which is also quoted in ‘The Stranger’. Of course, many of the students are studying ‘The Tempest’, and we already know many people are familiar with both of the R. M. Holland stories – the one he wrote and the one about his wife’s tragic death and her haunting the building. So the note hardly narrows the field, does it?

About the building and his study, Clare says:

“The doors are all shut and, like an exercise in perspective, the lines all point to the end of the corridor where the spiral staircase leads to R.M. Holland’s study. And here is one of the oddities of the house: apparently Holland’s wife Alice often used to go up to his office barefoot (naked, in some versions of the story) and, after she died, Holland had a special carpet made with the imprint of her feet on it. It’s almost impossible to climb the stairs without putting your feet in those ghostly imprints. I’ve noticed before that they are just my size.”

CREEPY! That seems like a good place to finish. It’s a good read and I enjoyed it, although I wasn’t particularly happy about how a few red herrings were “caught”. [I added this in a spoiler in my Goodreads review.]

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).

# #TheStrangerDiaries #NetGalley

3.5 stars
The gothic setting for this book definitely added a creepy vibe making it all the more fun reading at night. I really liked how the book within a book aspect was related to the murders. I wasn't shocked by the killer, but it seemed appropriate. This was a fast page turner for me, but it still left me wanting more.

Amazing writing. Amazing book. Loved the setting. Amazing plot. Wanted to read it as soon as I finished.

In her first standalone novel, popular author of the Ruth Galloway series Elly Griffiths brings a dark, haunting mystery that is a surprise standout for me in 2019! There is a gothic feel to The Stranger Diaries that leant to the spooky nature of the plot. This is a standout in the genre, and it took me by surprise because it had a quieter launch this spring than many others in the mystery/thriller genre, but it deserves every glowing review it has received!

English teacher Clare Cassidy is an expert on gothic writer, R. M. Holland. The school that she’s at is actually hallowed ground for a Holland specialist, with it housing Holland’s former office (preserved as a shrine). Holland was particularly known for his short story The Stranger, which Clare teaches to her older writing students. It always fascinates them to learn of the connection between the building and R. M. Holland.

But when Clare’s colleague Ella is found murdered with a quote from The Stranger at the scene, Holland’s signature dark writing becomes a bit too close to reality. Even more disturbing is that the police are certain the murderer was someone Ella knew.

As Clare continues to document the strange happenings in her diary, it becomes clear that something sinister is afoot, and Clare is somehow at the center of it. Someone is recreating the murders from The Stranger and Clare could find herself a target.

I would surmise that I’m not alone in thinking that mysteries centered around books are among the most intriguing. The mystery of not only the mirrored murders to The Stranger, but also of Holland’s life are, are themes throughout the book. The setting adds a spooky atmosphere, with rumors of a haunted stairwell and the truth behind Holland’s daughter and wife lurking just out of reach.

Griffiths crafts a gothic suspense novel that is so atmospheric, I frequently felt like I was in those darkened, candlelit rooms with the wind howling outside and the old books piled up, rather than in the safely in my bright bedroom. This is a fantastic book any time, but I can imagine that on an October evening, just as the weather cools and the days become shorter, this would be a perfect book to cozy up with and get into the fall and All Hallows’ Eve spirit.

The use of multiple narrators was done masterfully. We begin with Holland’s own short story, The Stranger, and find it interspersed among sections of the book. The murders unfold in conjunction with the story, a parallel structure that gave goosebumps. Then there are Clare’s chapters as the predominant narrator, that set the scene for the parallels between Holland and present day.

Sections are also narrated by DS Harbinger, the prototypical “bad cop” who is anything but—female, Indian, and gay, Harbinger has her own demons as she investigates the case. And finally, we get surprising narration by Clare’s teenage daughter Georgie. I must admit that Georgie’s chapters took me the most by surprise, as she became an important character in her own right, that I initially thought of as being most critical through the lens of Clare. Georgie’s chapters bring an entirely new perspective to the story and add to the vaguely ghostly context.

I have rarely been as immersed in a story as I was in this one. I actually wondered whether Holland was a real author. It isn’t unheard of that a somewhat obscure, gothic writer would slip my notice. But when I looked, he is fictional as well. I was astounded by the way Griffiths captured his voice—so distinctly different from the other narrators. After reading this book, I wondered whether Holland’s story came the most easily or the hardest, capturing a different writer’s voice must be incredibly difficult.

One other part that I found fascinating was the use of diaries—usually Clare’s—throughout the book. The characters often muse on the purpose of a diary. What does it mean for someone to create one? Why might a person care about the eloquence of their diary if no one is intended to read it? Griffith’s brings so many fascinating elements together, that the mystery of Ella’s murder—though captivating—is not necessarily the most memorable thread to this intricate novel.

A truly masterful gothic suspense novel that left me wanting to reread this again and again.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this stand alone detective/gothic ghost story. Told from 3 different perspectives, it is curiously literary as well, interweaving all sorts of authors and their works, from Shakespeare to Georgette Heyer, into the unfolding story. All narrators are unreliable in their views, but when you have 3 narrators telling overlapping stories, their characters become more three dimensional and their personalities emerge more fully. Griffith’s stories are so deceptively told - the prose is clear and direct but so well constructed that there is nothing simple about it at all. For me, when Georgie talks of her writing classes and her love of constructing prose is heart-breaking. Her mother Clare is so wanting to encourage her academically, but restrains herself because she doesn’t want her daughter to feel pressured or to put distance between them by nagging her. And so this double reveal through their separate diary entries paints such a picture of family relations.

These are the details that build through the novel - and yet it is a detective story, which of course overshadows and shapes events. And then there is the historical literature overlaying it again. Entertaining and delicious - the culprit is there from the start, mysteries old and new are solved very neatly and believably, with the feminine equivalent of Cathbad making an entrance as well.

I thought the premise of this book sounded excellent - I love a twisty gothic tale with literary overtones. I know many other early readers absolutely loved [book:The Stranger Diaries|40796097] however, sadly for me, the execution fell a bit flat. I never really warmed to the central character, although the policewoman was intriguing and I would love to read more on her as a character. With the bones of an amazing plot, I just felt that this could have been edited a little more tightly for a more polished result from an obviously gifted author. I much prefer Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels to this standalone offering.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Review limited to Goodreads due to rating

3/5 stars

Oh. My. Lord! Mark the time. I had my FIRST Elly Griffiths book I wasn't too crazy for and almost didn't finish! I also found myself pushing it aside...which I NEVER do with this author. Normally, I devour and recommend this woman's books to ANYONE who will listen to me no matter their favorite genre!

Was it horrible? Nope. I couldn't just warm up to it. On that note, I know 4 other people who have read this book and loved it. Therefore, I am giving it 3 stars versus the normal 4 to 5 Elly's books normally grab from me.

Reviewed for publisher via Netgalley.

A secondary school English department in West Sussex is turned upside down by a series of bookish killings.

Clare Cassidy is heading into middle age with just her teenage daughter, her faithful dog, her diary, and her teaching job to occupy her time. The most exciting part of her life may be the biography she hopes to write of R.M. Holland, a writer of gothic tales who once lived in the school where she works. But when one of her colleagues in the English department at Talgarth High is found murdered with a line from "The Stranger," the very same Holland story that has long obsessed Clare, left on a Post-it next to her body, she quickly realizes the murderer must be someone who knows an awful lot about her. This suspicion is confirmed when, the day before Halloween, Clare discovers that someone else has left her a note in her own diary. As the violence escalates, Clare and the police must figure out why the killer seems so fixated on Clare—and what a supernaturally tinged tale more than a hundred years old has to do with the quiet lives of small-town Brits. Griffiths alternates points of view among Clare, her 15-year-old daughter, Georgie, and DS Harbinder Kaur, the queer policewoman in charge of the murder investigation. Thrown into the mix are excerpts from "The Stranger," itself a delicious homage to writers like M.R. James. Though all these ingredients occasionally cause some structural unwieldiness, Griffiths (The Vanishing Box, 2018, etc.) hits a sweet spot for readers who love British mysteries and who are looking for something to satisfy an itch once Broadchurch has been binged and Wilkie Collins reread.

______

For murder mystery buffs, it’s thrilling to discover an author who not only is fabulous but has a series to her name—not the only series, but standalone novels as well, including this one, the Stranger Diaries—that consists of 11 books! Elly Griffiths is well known in her native England, especially for her highly acclaimed Ruth Galloway series, which I devoured in a few days. Fortunately, I found The Stranger Diaries—a standalone novel in the gothic tradition—on amazon, and although I usually abhor novels told from multiple perspectives, I was not disappointed.

The protagonist is Clare Cassidy, a middle-aged high school English teacher, aspiring biographer, and single mother of 15 year old Georgie. Her tranquil life with Georgie and dog Herbert is turned upside down when her friend and colleague Ella is murdered. The gothic factor is provided by the subject of Clare’s biography R. M. Holland, Victorian author of the ghost story “The Stranger,” who once resided in the building where she now teaches.

Aggressive, no-nonsense, and grumpy Detective Sergeant (DS) Harbinder Kaur, a former student at Clare’s school (which her daughter Georgie attends), and her partner, Neil Winston, are assigned to the case the crime. Her slightly hostile tendencies may have something to do with the fact that she is a minority on three counts: she’s female, Indian, and gay—and lives (closeted) at home with her traditional parents. But when reading the descriptions of her mother’s south Indian cooking, it’s hard to feel too sorry for her. It’s no surprise that she immediately distrusts dog loving, diary-writing, wine-drinking Clare.

The story unwinds through the three first-person perspectives of Clare, DS Kaur, and Georgie, along with brief excerpts from “The Stranger” (included in its entirety at book’s end) and from Clare’s diaries.

The murder suspects are quite a few, in addition to Clare herself). Rick Lewis, head of the English department (a married creep of stalks his female colleagues); Georgie’s high school friend, Patrick, who had a crush on Ella and was transferred out of her classroom after writing her a Valentine’s Day card; college writing teacher and “white witch” Bryony Hughes.

Like many other British authors, Elly Griffiths creates realistic characters and vivid atmosphere; the scenes happen in places that actually exist (and it’s fun to google them to make the background even more interesting). There are mild paranormal elements to the story, which add to its overall mysterious character. Read and enjoy!

Strange things are happening in Clare Cassidy’s life. A teacher of English to British teenagers and of creative writing to adults, Clare knows a good story when she hears one. And she’s been a fan of one particular story, R. M. Holland’s “The Stranger,” for a long time. In fact, she followed him to Talgarth High. Although Holland’s long been dead, the school was previously his home, and his office is still intact. Clare wanted to write a book about him and the mystery surrounding the death of his wife and the possible disappearance of a daughter.

But when Clare’s friend and fellow teacher is killed, some of the oddities of Holland’s story are a little to close to home. And then Clare finds that someone else has written to her in her diary. Is it possible that Clare or her teenaged daughter Georgia are in danger, or could Clare have engineered this to take the blame off herself?

Sargeant Harbinder Kaur is no stranger to Talgarth High and R. M. Holland. As a teenager, she went to to the high school. Now she’s a sergeant in the police force and trying to figure out if Clare is a killer or a potential victim, and to find the answers before others have to die.

Elly Grifiths is known for her mystery novels, and The Stranger Diaries is definitely that. But it’s so much more. Told through the voices of several different characters, this thriller is half murder mystery, half creepy ghost story. With excerpts from Holland’s story mixed in, The Stranger Diaries becomes a spine-tingling, teeth-gnashing, white knuckle story that would be perfect for a stormy night at home alone.

For The Stranger Diaries, I got the audiobook, and hearing the tale in the voices of four distinct narrators added so much pleasure and depth to my reading experience. I loved it!

Honestly, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters. I loved the pacing. And I especially loved the use of the story story “The Stranger” to heighten the tension. Don’t miss this one!

Galleys for The Stranger Diaries were provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audiobook myself through Audible.

My thanks to the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for providing a review copy of this eBook. The comments written below are my own.

The story arises from the murder of a popular English teacher at a public secondary school in present day England. It's told by several narrators: a female colleague of the victim, her daughter, and a thirty-something female police detective investigating the murder. Each of these narrators brings a unique point of view to each other and the events of the investigation. Noteworthy is that any males are relegated to supporting roles, not always in a favourable light.

The police detective, who comes from a Sikh family, lives at home with her parents. She is gay, out to almost everyone but her family. Her parents keep hoping she'll find a husband and settle down to have a family. At the beginning she is antagonistic toward the victim's colleague, but as the story develops this falls away. Their interaction is an interesting highlight of the story.

It's a suspenseful story, with numerous red herrings to make the story-telling more interesting without being distracting. There's an exciting chase scene at the end of the story before the surprise identity of the killer is revealed.

A good read, an excellent blend of mystery, suspense and characterization.

First, a confession: I am a fan of Elly Griffiths. I read many, many mysteries both good and bad, and Griffiths is near the top of my "favorites" list. " The Stranger Diaries" is not part of her Ruth Galloway series but a fun stand alone novel. The publisher described the book as a " modern Gothic mysyery" and I wholeheartedly agree. The story has well drawn characters, a creative plot, and it kept me interested all the way to the end. I shant give away the mystery so that new readers may enjoy as I did. Finally, a "thanks" to Net Galley for the opportunity to read "The Stranger Diaries" at no charge.

I love thrillers, gothic settings, school settings and this book checked all of these categories. It wasn’t the most unpredictable that I have read within this genre but still entertaining and enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who likes this sort of atmospheric thriller.
#TheStrangerDiaries #NetGalley

When life imitates Art do we really know why

Claire teaches at the school made famous by author R M Holland a job she loves but when a friend is mysteriously killed with a sinister quote left on the body she starts to wonder if she can trust those around her

I did not connect with this story. I did not care for the characters. I thought that long stretches of this book were super boring. I skimmed most of it just to find out what happened and blech. I finished it since I'd been approved for it on Netgalley, but I really hated it.

Entertaining and compulsively readable but ultimately predictable, as many in the thriller genre are becoming.

I really enjoy the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, so when I came across this stand-alone mystery by her I wanted to give it a try.
The story here is told by three different female narrators. Clare Cassidy is a teacher of English and literature at Talgarth Academy in Sussex. Clare is an entrenched fan of Gothic novels, especially one called The Stranger, whose author once lived in a house that is now a museum to him, on the campus of Clare’s academy.
The second narrator is Georgie, Clare’s 15 year old daughter. Georgie is a mostly very likable teenager, but has a much older boyfriend (Clare, what are you thinking??)
The third narrator is DS Harbinder Kaur, a gay detective who dislikes Clare on sight—Clare is much too conventionally beautiful for DS Kaur’s liking. The detective comes into the story when one of Clare’s closest associates, another teacher named Ella, is murdered.
Clare also initially dislikes DS Kaur, sensing her distrust, and also unwilling to tell the DS all she knows about Ella and her private life. However as the story progresses, a respect develops between these two women.
This is a modern murder mystery that definitely has a sense of the Gothic instilled. The writing from an unknown author that begins to appear in Clare’s diary, the creepiness of the old museum, and the unidentified danger that is lurking, gave this at times a supernatural, dark misty feel.
While this is touted as a stand-alone, I have hopes that DS Harbinder Kaur will reappear in future writings by Elly Griffiths.
I thank Netgalley, the author, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the advanced copy of this book I was provided.