Meh. This was only so so. It screamed unreliable narrator from word one. In general this is a device I enjoy but it felt heavy handed to me. The dual perspective was interesting but at the same time frustrating. I had the twist nailed fairly early on. As thrillers go it was decent, but not one of my favorites.

Unpopular opinion... I didn’t LOVE it. Liked it well enough but without spoiling it for others, I hate the type of narrator Caroline is. Don’t get me wrong, I like thrillers. I like guessing the twist. I love being wrong after guessing the twist. But I cannot stand being confused because of the narrator. More than once I had to go back and reread chapters because I was so lost and then realized that I think I’m meant to be confused?? Still not really sure. However, it does tie up loose ends and the twist definitely threw me for a loop. The actual twist is what got me liking the book more than I originally had. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The book follows Caroline as her marriage is collapsing. She turns to Aiden, the “stranger on the beach” with a rebel past for comfort. The book is full of passion, cheating, murder and mystery! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I gave this book a 3 ⭐️ rating.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy of this one - all opinions are my own.

I quite enjoyed this one from Michele Campbell - I will say its absolutely different from a lot of the thrillers that I read, but I often enjoy something that pulls me out of my usual reading habits, as it usually means I can't end up guessing where the story is going to go.

I also love a story being told from multiple POV - this style is one of my favorites as it tends to keep the story a little fresher, and I am always excited to get to the next chapter to see how the next piece of the puzzle is going to unfold.

Mostly I loved that I couldn't quite decide how I felt about Caroline as a character....I moved between liking and disliking her and that alone had my interest from start to finish, as I love a character that I feel like I cannot trust.

Overall this was the perfect beachy summer read for me and I would definitely recommend it to thriller lovers looking for something a little different.

Traveling With T's Thoughts:

Having enjoyed both of Michele’s previous books, It’s Always The Husband and She Was The Quiet One– I couldn’t wait to get my hands on A Stranger at the Beach.

First, if you’ve read either of Michele’s previous books, then you are in for a treat- because her writing style changes a bit in this book and becomes more intense as we read chapters alternating in character’s voices.

What I Liked:

The cover. Black, red and the ocean rolling in. Ominous.

The characters- who are the good ones? The bad ones? The 2 main characters, Caroline and Aidan, are both VERY good at drawing you in deep into their story.

The ending.



Bottom line: I said this in my Goodreads review and it bears repeating: Parts of this book- I had no idea where the author was headed. It was crazy town sometimes. But when pieces begin to fall in place, you see how clever the author is and how these characters had to be a blast to write about!

This book was so full of twists and turns, I had myself questioning what I was reading! Aiden is a bartender with a prior conviction. Caroline is in a loveless relationship with her husband who has the gall to bring his mistress to their house party. Aiden meets Caroline when he is the private bartender for her house party. Shortly after she shows up at his bar. One thing leads to another and they have a fling. Aiden thinks it is true love. Caroline starts to fear Aiden who becomes obsessed with her or is he just trying to protect her? This book had me engaged start to finish as I tried to piece everything together. Highly recommended.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often to lovers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels!

There is no time more than now that I wish I could be on a beach somewhere but instead, like many of you, I am home for the foreseeable future. But I digress...

A Stranger on the Beach didn't do it for me. I had trouble connecting with the characters and found the main storyline started out strong and dragged me right in but then it started to drag with repetitive situations. I normally cannot DNF a book unless it is REALLY bad. I didn't feel that way with this one so I worked to finish it and see how things ended up.

I think many readers out there will enjoy A Stranger on the Beach because the plot is very intriguing. I also found the different POV's interesting - is Caroline's view correct or is Aidan's view the correct one? You have to read it to decide for yourself.

3.5 stars

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once it started picking up it was a fun ride. Caroline, a married rich weekender has a one night fling with Aidan a local man, but soon enough a murder occurs. Told through alternating point of views from Caroline and Aidan the reader is left pondering which narrator is reliable.

This was my first Michele Campbell novel and while the ending felt a bit rushed I still enjoyed the book and will pick up another one from her in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced ready copy (even though I'm incredible late to reading it oops).

You all know I love a book with multiple perspectives and this one did not dissappoint throw in a twist and turn here and there and I'll most likely end up loving the book. At one point I had no idea how everything was going to get tied up, The different interpretations of what was going on had me not knowing what to believe, who to trust and I even was a little confused at times.



Caroline appears to have it all good looks, a husband, daughter, beach house, fancy clothes, a nice car. One night will change all this. Her marriage falls a apart away her housewarming party, and she discovers all her money is gone. Caroline sees a man on the beach. This man is Aidan, a local boy with a troubled past, who offers Caroline more then a shoulder to cry on. Caroline thinks here can solve all the problems with her husband, until she realizes maybe he's a bit more troubled then she would like. Throw in a missing husband, some crazy encounters and you have one messed up twisty psychological thriller you don't want to miss.

Did Molly Clarke leave her husband and two kids because she was so heart broken over the death of her child and the guilt of causing that girls death? Or, did someone take her, or is she on the verge of suicide in some broken down motel room. No one really knows what happened to her but they know she is gone, disappeared during a horrible storm as she was driving back from her sons football game that he would of rather she hadn't of shown up at. Her husband doesn't seem too troubled by her disappearance either. The only person who does want to know what happens her oldest daughter, Nicole, with whom she hasn't had a very good relationship with. Everyone seems to blame her for the death of her youngest daughter including herself.

This is a fast paced book that will keep you guessing. I thought it was very thought out and a bit disturbing at times which made for a very interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy of this book.

I love this fast paced psychological thriller! It was difficult to really tell what was actually happening and what wasn’t throughout the book because the dual POV seem to tell two different happenings. You just don’t know who is telling the truth and who isn’t! It will filled suspense and twists that I didn’t see coming. Loved it and would definitely recommend it! I have another one of Campbells books on my Kindle and haven’t gotten to it yet. This definitely made me want to read it soon!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Michele Campbell for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Michele Campbell book and I wasn’t disappointed. It took me a couple of chapters to really get into the book, but once I did, I could not put it down. One of those psychological thrillers that sticks with you for a couple of days after, and you check your doors and windows a couple extra times at night.



It was a great summer read! Would totally recommend it as we are approaching Spring Break!

This was a good summer thriller that ticked the boxes: murder, mayhem, sex, and plot twists. I really liked the setting and the house sounded amazing.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved A Stranger on the Beach. I was gripped from the first few pages and was definitely a great page turner. My first book by this author but certainly not my last.

I am always eager to read a psychological thriller. It’s one of my favorite genres but this one was not as good as I had hoped. The story is told by 2 main characters. I usually like a book told by different points of view but this one just didn’t work for me. The plot seemed to drag and it was a struggle to even finish it. I guessed the big twist early in the book. I thought it was just average.

This is most definitely the kind of book to go into with as little idea of the plot as possible. However, that doesn't mean it's insanely enjoyable or even decipherable. Part of the problem with A Stranger on the Beach is that the author uses the gimmicky tactic of alternating POVs. Both characters see events in completely different ways, so it makes for an odd reading experience. I'm guessing that the author saw this on The Affair and enjoyed the way the perspectives changed so radically. It works on TV since it's a visual medium, but in writing, it's a lot more confounding.

I also didn't like either of the main characters. She's a dumb bunny, and he's such a weirdo. I just couldn't make any sense of their motivations or why I should care.

HOWEVER, this book does have an interesting premise, and it is a solid psychological mystery / thriller. If you're into that genre, I think you'll enjoy this enough to make it worthwhile. It's definitely a solid beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis hooked me but the story fell flat. I felt the entire thing was rushed and so beyond reality not even the craziests of crazies could believe it. Seriously. Typical affair story mixed with a whole lot of unbelievable nonsense. Had the characters and the relationships not been rushed this could have been a better story. Not even Joe Goldberg is this insane. It’s highly ridiculous and utterly far fetched I could barely force myself to finish it.

I have already recommended this book to several people just based on how the author wrote the same event from two different people’s point of view. I have never read a book that has tackled this style so effectively! A true psychological thriller!

So this had a very strong start. I loved that it hooked me from the beginning and I love books on a beach. Especially off season when it has that eeriness about it that just adds to the suspense. But with this I felt like I needed more from the characters. They seemed a bit flat to me and stereotypical in a way. And, I hate to say this, I didn't feel a connection and didn't really care about what happened to any of them.

A fast paced thriller. With dual perspectives, this book definitely kept me guessing. Who was telling the truth, Caroline or Aiden? While I'm not sure I loved how this one panned out in the end, this was a page turner and very well crafted!