I have only read one of the author's previous works and felt very neutral about it. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. So when I went into this one I didn't have particularly high expectations but was excited because of the great reviews. I was not disappointed. This is a really, really enjoyable book. Although I will say I didn't find it to be a modern day Gothic story as many readers are. When I hear Gothic I think I am expecting a very creepy read that is a bit of a slow building burn. This one was decidedly creepy - it was set in the UK, fall/winter, many parts set in the home of a Gothic writer subsequently turned into a school, and there is a ghost. But this is not a slow burn. It starts out strong and continues that pace throughout the book with murders, police investigations, gossip, affairs, and plenty of misdirection. In my mind this made the read very modern for me. But regardless, if you like a good mystery with lots of creepy goodness, read this book!!

I’m a big fan of the Ruth Galloway series, so I was excited to receive a copy of Griffiths’ new standalone novel. It was an interesting premise, with modern murders being committed in ways that seem identical to those in a Victorian ghost story called The Stranger. It just so happens that this is a favorite of main character, Clare, an English teacher at the local high school where the author of The Stranger used to live and work. This was a solid read, and an interesting premise, but I must admit I enjoy the Ruth Galloway series more. I found the characters in this one to be underdeveloped.

Thank you NetGalley for a free advanced copy. This did not affect my review.

I know I'm in the minority opinion here, but this was just an ok read for me. There wasn't anything especially memorable or remarkable about the writing or story. The only character that I actually liked was Harbinder and it took a long while for her to grow on me. I think what bothered me most was that the gothic elements (i.e. the mysteries surrounding R.M. Holland, The Stranger story, the white witch Mrs. Hughes & the summoning of ghosts) had nothing to do with the actual killer. I kept waiting for all of the many sub-plots to come together in some brilliantly woven, mind-blowing way and then nothing. No connection. I was very disappointed.

This book was unlike any others that I have read before. I’ve never read any Gothic Mysteries or Horrors before, but I have to say this one was truly a good read.

I liked how the story was told from the perspectives of the main characters and how they intertwined with each other to show you just a little bit more of the story.

I was definitely shocked by the reveal of who the murderer was... it wasn’t even an option for me when I was trying to figure it out!

I am glad this author didn’t decide to kill off the dog... like it was mentioned that some authors do.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. It was truly a pleasure to read this book!

MY THOUGHTS:
I loved the gothic creepy setting of this book! I loved the ghost story and the killer's references to it. I thought it was a quick read and very intriguing! I was not too fond of the characters overall. By the way, what are the statutory rape laws in England? Fifteen year old girl dating a 25 year old? I thought that was crazy. But that's beside the point. Overall, I liked the story, the mystery, the setting... Wish I could have liked at least one of the characters, but it didn't ruin the book for me at all - still a great read!

MY RATING:
Entertainment Value: 5
Characters: 3
Voice: 5
Plot: 5
Overall: 4 stars!

See all my reviews @ www.mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com
<i>Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!</i>

Rating: 5 suspenseful stars

The author of, ‘The Stranger Diaries’, Elly Griffiths, has written a couple of popular mystery series (Ruth Galloway and Stephens & Mephisto Mystery). However, this is my first foray into her work. This is a standalone book of gothic suspense, and I loved it!

This story is quite cleverly laid out. ‘The Stranger’ is a short story written by a RM Holland who is a bit of an obscure Victorian writer. ‘The Stranger’ is a work of gothic suspense. Clare Cassidy is a high-school teacher in Sussex, England. The school she teaches at used to be the home of RM Holland, and his study is has been left intact in the attic. Clare is writing a book about ‘The Stranger’, and has written her own personal diaries for years. Her teen-aged daughter, Georgie, unbeknownst to her mother, is keeping an online diary of her own.

Then Clare’s friends and colleagues start turning up dead, murdered, with an important line from ‘The Stranger’ left by their bodies. Clare cannot be ruled out as a suspect. Detective Sargent Harbinder Kaur and her partner work to discover the killer. Interwoven in the story are excerpts from the ‘The Stranger’ which unfolds in a creepy gothic way. The murders follow some of the methods of the killings in ‘The Stranger’. Then one night Clare discovers that someone has written in HER diary. “Hallo Clare. You don’t know me”.

From there the story really takes off. It’s layer upon layer of possibilities. This was a very intelligent mystery. I especially liked the character of no-nonsense DS Harbinder Kaur. I’m hoping to see her in more books. Perhaps this could be the beginning of a new mystery series for Ms. Griffiths? I didn’t guess who the culprit was, and after it was revealed, I kicked myself because I SHOULD have guessed who it was. To me that’s the hallmark of a great mystery! Next up in my reading list, perhaps I’ll start one of Ms. Griffith’s mystery series. If they are as good as this book, I’ve been missing out on some fun reading.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; and the author, Elly Griffiths; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
(Any quotes shown above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.)

Clare Cassidy was a high school English teacher with her main focus being on the writer R.M. Holland, who had actually lived in the old house which was now the school. Many would swear to the ghost of his wife, Alice, being seen at the school, while his daughter Mariana was an enigma. Clare was fascinated by the history and was in the process of writing her own book about the writer. Her fifteen-year-old daughter lived with Clare, while her ex-husband, Georgie’s father lived in London with his new wife and children.

But when Clare’s best friend and fellow English teacher was found murdered in her home, with words from Holland’s story, “The Stranger” by her side, Clare’s horror at the parallels was immense. The suspicions of the police, led by DS Kaur, further confused and caused her concern, while the words in her diary came back to haunt her. What was going on? Not sleeping, not knowing who she could trust – would the killer be caught before it was too late?

The Stranger Diaries is the first I’ve read by Elly Griffiths, and it won’t be my last! Incredible twists; I loved that the mystery was connected to a book within this book. Fast paced and electric, the plot was a complex one which kept me on my toes. An excellent murder mystery which I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

An atmospheric thriller, full of chilling scenes, I found this book very hard to put down.

Clare is a teacher at a high school, set in a historic old building. It is the former home of writer RM Holland, author of the ghost story The Stranger. Then Clare's friend and colleague, Ella, is found dead, a note is left beside her body with a line from The Stranger.

Clare, afraid that the killer is someone she knows, turn to her journal, where she's always written down her thoughts and feelings. Then one day she opens her journal to find writing that isn't her own...

The Stranger Diaries is a haunting gothic type mystery, full of creepy characters, any of which could prove to be the killer. With the setting of a haunted old mansion, what's not to love? Recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit that until about two weeks ago that The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths wasn't on my radar but then I read my dear friend Jennifer's review on her blog (you can read her excellent review here), and I knew it was the perfect book for me, especially after Jennifer told me that she was positive that I'd enjoy it, which of course I did!

The similarities between one of the main characters, Claire Cassidy, and myself just made it impossible to not pick up the book...you see, Claire is an English Literature teacher who specializes in teaching her favorite (fictional) gothic writer R. M. Holland and his thrilling, horror short story "The Stranger" to her class every year while I'm a university English Literature professor who specializes in teaching gothic literature and the works of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, and Ann Radcliffe to students. I couldn't help but feel like Claire was a kindred spirit, and I really wished she'd been real just so we could chat over our shared love of teaching and researching gothic literature!

What I don't envy (or have in common!) is how Claire almost immediately becomes the center of a murder investigation when her best friend and co-worker at Talgarth High, Ella is brutally stabbed. The killer leaves a note beside Ella's body with these words from Shakespeare's Tempest written on it: “Hell is empty"...words also quoted prominently in Holland's short story, "The Stranger" that seems to suggest the killer is tied to Claire and that life is imitating art.

DS Harbinder Kaur, the detective investigating the murders, is even more certain Claire holds all the clues to the murder after Claire discovers a stranger is writing messages in her diaries; most importantly, the handwriting matches the writing left on the notes at the murder scene. Who is this stranger? Is it the killer? And what is the stranger's connection to Claire?

There is some mega-nailbiting suspense as the story continues and as it does, the specter of R.M. Holland looms even more menacing than before! Excerpts from his short story "The Stranger" are interspersed throughout the book, and each one is more eerie, atmospheric, and frightful than the last, which ties in wonderfully with the chapters in the book. I could have believed he was a real writer because of his story and backstory of living in Talgarth High, the school where Claire now teaches, which is supposedly haunted by his wife's ghost.

The novel is told by multiple narrators: Claire, Harbinder, and Claire's 15-year-old daughter, Georgia. Each of them gives such different and exceptional views on what is happening throughout the novel although all three were a bit unreliable at times. It doesn't matter though because Griffiths does an outstanding job making each one seem real, distinctive, and quite important to putting together this shocking mystery! By the end of the book, I really liked all three characters when I wasn't sure about them at first, so Griffiths' character development is simply amazing.

The Stranger Diaries is the ideal combination of gothic horror, contemporary suspense, classic whodunit, and detective fiction. It's a dark, ominous bookish mystery since they're also a book within the book, which I loved, so I think that there's something here for every mystery lover to enjoy, especially since the writing is brilliant, immersive, evocative, with a cast of incredible characters and a plot that is spine-tingling, page-turning, and beyond clever!

Although this was my first book by Griffiths, I now understand why so many of my blogging friends love her so much! She's now a favorite new author, and I've already grabbed the first few books in her Ruth Galloway series. I'm most definitely recommending you grab a copy as soon as you can of her standalone novel The Stranger Diaries!

**Thank you, NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an ARC to read and review in exchange for my fair and honest review. **

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here!"

I may, or may not, be slightly baffled by how much I enjoyed this novel. 4.5 stars!

Gothic mysteries have never really been on my radar before, but, fellow readers, that needs to change. This story was absolutely, wholeheartedly delightful! My world needs more novels like The Stranger Diaries.

I'll admit, when I first began reading, the writing-style was off-putting. However, once the story got rolling (and it gets rolling very quickly), I became so engrossed trying to figure out who this nefarious killer was, the stylistic choices the author made became background noise to the amazing plot.

Speaking of the killer, this was one of the first stories in a very long time which completely, 100% stumped me--this coming from a long-time suspense fanatic. The multiple red-herrings were so well done, and so believable, at one point, I told my friend, Jenn (who was reading The Stranger Diaries simultaneously), that I thought I knew who this evil antagonist was. I was dead wrong. All the elements fit together seamlessly.

Told from three, first person perspectives...those of Clare, Georgia, and Harbinger...along with excerpts from The Stranger, I was genuinely spellbound by this fun, solid, little book. I'll definitely be reading more from Ms. Griffiths in the future.

My one and only complaint, and the reason this wasn't a 5-star read, I was a little underwhelmed when the killer was finally revealed. Yes, I was fooled, but I guess...after such a huge build-up...I was expecting more. Perhaps I'm just being too picky. Either way, you all need TSD in your life.

**As always, thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflen Harcourt, and Elly Griffiths for gifting me an advanced reader's copy, in exchange for my honest review. It's appreciated.

Yes. This is a must read for fans of British mysteries. Told from the points of view of Clare, a teacher, her daughter Georgie, and Harbinder, the police officer investigating a series of deaths at the school where Clare teaches English, it deftly combines an old ghost story with a modern maniac. Yes, a maniac. Someone killed Ella, Clare's friend and another teacher at the school, and then Rick, the head of the English department and former lover of Ella. Now that same someone is writing in Clare's diaries. And then Clare's little dog Herbert goes missing and there's another attack. Creepy. Very creepy but the story hangs together terrifically. Harbinder is a wonderful creation- an in-the-closet Indian woman who lives at home with her curry cooking mom. She's slightly agog about Clare, who conveys as elegant but we know from her diaries that she's as insecure as the rest of us (just writes a lot better.). I've been a Griffiths fan for a long time. This is quite different from her other series but it's just wonderful. Best of all, I was surprised at the identity of the killer. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Two thumbs up!

Still reading this book but since today is the pub date and I like to at least give some type of response by this time, I will give an update. Current progress is at 82% and I will come back and finish my review when I am finished. When I first started reading the book, I was a bit unsure if I would be able to get past the British-isms in the book and really find and enjoy substance. However, once things started to pick up with Ella's murder and we really dive into Holland's book and the history of the house/school, I really started to enjoy things more. And of course, the diary and how the book as a whole is wrapped up in such a gothic feeling. Its very neat.

ARC received from NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. A gothic Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery? Sign me up.

The story is told through three different POVs (an English teacher, her daughter, and a detective) and revolves around the investigation of the murder of an English teacher and its connection to “The Stranger” a gothic short story and the mystery surrounding the death of the writer’s wife and disappearance of his daughter a century before.

The plot is fast paced and full of twists that keep you turning the pages and though initially all of the characters were pretty unlikeable, I ended up being quite fond of (almost) all of them. The only criticism is that I felt the resolution of the mystery of the past was pretty rushed. But other than that this was a pretty clever and enjoyable mystery and I will sure check out Elly Griffiths other series.

Clare Cassidy is a high school English teacher who specializes in the works of Gothic writer, R.M. Holland, who just happened to reside in the school she now teaches at. When one of Clare’s close friends and colleagues is found murdered with a note containing a verse from Holland’s most famous work, The Stranger, beside her body, Clare starts to worry that she may know the killer. The coincidence of this line and her connections to the victim are too obvious to brush to the wayside.

As the detectives begin to dig deeper into the murder, Clare makes a startling discovery that leads her to believe she might be a target. Someone has written in her diary. Her innermost thoughts are contained within these pages and her fears start to mount when she realizes her sense of security has been violated. Can the detectives solve this case before Clare or someone else close to her falls victim to the killer?

Elly Griffiths has created an absolute masterpiece in storytelling within the pages of THE STRANGER DIARIES. A mixture of blurbs from The Stranger, alternating narratives, and sections of Clare’s diary come together to form an atmospheric and suspenseful story. Griffiths’ writing echoes an Agatha Christie-esque style that will resonate with fans of the crime fiction genre. There is something so comforting in these classic mysteries. THE STRANGER DIARIES manages to stay fresh, while including these nods to the past, through the use of alternating narratives, which overlap to tell the same story through the eyes of three main characters. This remains one of my favorite writing styles in the genre because of the exposure I am granted to alternative viewpoints, which tend to expose clues to the case at hand.

Griffiths’ decision to launch THE STRANGER DIARIES with a passage from a short story titled, The Stranger, immediately sets the Gothic, moody -vibe that this story needs to make it eery. The connection between the short story and Clare’s situation continues to be explored throughout the novel. I appreciated that it was not a random addition to the book, but instead aided the story greatly. I adore the fact that the entire short story can also be found at the end of this book. I loved getting to end of the main book and being treated to this gift!

The plot to this book is richly layered and unraveled in a manner that will keep your attention throughout the entire story. While I’m not sure I would characterize the three narrators as unreliable, I would say that they each have their own objective and are keeping some interesting secrets that could hold the key to the identity of the killer. I appreciated that Griffiths’ didn’t stick to the much used style of making the reader distrust and ultimately dislike these individuals. Instead I found myself able to connect with each of them, while remaining suspicious.

This is the first standalone novel from Elly Griffiths and it makes me want to snag all of her other titles. If she is able to create such a wonderful masterpiece within one book, I am beyond intrigued to find out what she can put together in a series. If you like your crime fiction with an air of Gothic undertones and multiple narrators, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of THE STRANGER DIARIES!

The Stranger Diaries is a great read! It is a blend of modern gothic, police procedural and a compelling mystery with enough suspense to keep you reading well into the night. The story is actually a story within a story, which is a clever way to present the plot. The characters are interesting and well-drawn and the story itself is told from several points of view, which I really liked. It gives the reader an insight to the lives of the three main characters, which only adds to the enjoyment of the book. It is suspenseful and atmospheric, with gothic undertones and touches of humor. It’s a complete package.

I believe this is the first Elly Griffiths book I have read and now I understand her popularity. Stranger Diaries is a great book, well-written, well-plotted and quite clever. I highly recommend it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Loved this creepy Gothic murder mystery set in an old school in Sussex, England. Three strong female characters tell a story that weaves in and out (wrapped around a spooky short story) in such a way that the pages just fly by. Actually had me looking for more by the fictional R. M. Holland. Pick up this book--you're in for a treat!

Initially I wanted to read this book simply because it was written by Elly Griffiths and for that reason alone I figured how could I not enjoy this standalone. When I first started reading I could not get into the story and found the main character Clare, a bit of a stick in the mud. So I put it down and didn’t go back to it for well over a week. Second time round I got into the story and am so glad I did. I very much appreciated the book and once I was half way through I couldn’t put it down.

Elly Griffiths does it again! I have long been a fan of the Ruth Galloway series by this author. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to read something without Ruth as the main character. Often I find that I become attached to an author's first series and I have a hard time adjusting to new characters. However, within a few chapters I found the magic so prevalent in Griffith's Galloway series. This was a book I did not want to put down and provided the twists and turns I have come to expect from her. Definitely a must read for those familiar with her previous work!

You may not want to read this chilling standalone mystery after dark. Clare Cassidy is an English teacher and working on a biography of R.H. Holland, the author of the atmospheric and enigmatic tale "The Stranger." Her friend and fellow faculty member Ella is murdered and Clare's life begins to take on a very sinister turn. She finds a message in her personal diary and then there is another murder. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Why do these crimes all connect back to Clare and mimic "The Stranger?" I could not put this down and read it at breakneck speed to get to the end -- totally shocked by the reveal of the facts behind all the evil acts in the narrative. Then at the end you get to read the entire text of "The Stranger" and its chilling conclusion. Goosebumps!

A big thank you to Houghton Mifflin andNetGalley for providing a digital ARC of this new release in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read for a dark and stormy night! Elly Griffiths newest novel has all the elements of a creepy gothic mystery.

Set on an old school campus, the story at times reminded me of Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. The story wasn’t the same, but the author managed to capture that same atmosphere of the school and the secrets to be uncovered.

Clare Cassidy, the main character, is obsessed with the life of Gothic writer RM Holland, who just happened to have a study on the top floor of one of the school buildings. Clare also teaches English with a focus on Gothic literature and is in the process of writing a book about RM Holland.

Strangely enough, about the time Clare hits a roadblock in completing the book, her good friend and colleague is murdered. Harbinder Kaur, a former student turned detective, is called in to investigate. As the investigation proceeds, things escalate to a frightening level.

Clare, her daughter Georgia and their faithful dog Herbert seem to be unwittingly holding the clues to the murderer. This was an engaging “whodunnit” and one that I think mystery readers will enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.