A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell is a psychological thriller. The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Caroline Stark, a wealthy socialite who weekends at her beach house and Aiden Callahan, the bartender and one-night stand Caroline picks up from the local bar after suspecting her husband is cheating. Aiden, who it seems has lost touch with reality, becomes obsessed with Caroline and begins stalking her after Caroline tries to end the affair and reconcile with her husband.

This book was just okay. It was an easy, simple read but I found the writing rather amateurish and at times and dragged on. I lost interest about halfway through and had a hard time finishing it. I was disappointed since this isn’t Campbell’s first novel and I really enjoyed her novel It’s Always the Husband (read the review here https://bit.ly/2N8ZRbH), so I had similar expectations. I rate this novel 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review. https://moesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Reviewed: February 18, 2019. Novel Publish Date: July 23, 2019.

This book was awesome! Had me hooked right from the get. A married woman who has had a one night stand begins being stalked by her one night stand in this crazy thriller. A secret that can’t be kept hidden.

A Stranger on the Beach is a compelling domestic thriller about a woman, Caroline, who has a one night stand with Aidan, after she finds out her husband has been having an affair. What follows is a mess of events told through Aidan and Caroline's conflicting accounts. I couldn't put this one down, starting the book with a dislike for most of the characters, but changing my mind about one in particular as the story unfolded. I would recommend this psychological/domestic thriller to those who enjoy this genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader's copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Michele Campbell has done it once again! I am totally blown away! I read the first 40% of A Stranger on the Beach in one sitting and then I literally had dreams about where this novel would go the entire night through. So of course, as soon as I woke up, I grabbed my kindle and spent the day finishing this twisty tale and boy was I wow’ed! I don’t want to get into details because with any mystery/suspense it’s always best to go in as blind as possible, but trust me this won’t be a novel you figure out quickly which is true testament to Michele Campbell’s fantastic writing! A Stranger on the Beach is a 4.5 star novel that is unputdownable! Michele Campbell has solidified herself as an automatic 1-click author- an absolute must read!

A twisting story of deceit that changes at the storm tides come in.. The perfect crime with flaws. This story kept me turning pages faster and faster to try and figure out the real story.

Caroline notices a handsome, young stranger standing outside her stunning, new beach house. He is a local.....with a history. He is a bit mysterious and dangerous, and Caroline can't seem to keep away from him.
The plot was immediately interesting and drew me in. Throw in a cheating husband, a doubting daughter and Caroline's perfect life quickly unravels. The story follows Caroline's perspective but we are also allowed to know the thoughts of Aidan, the mysterious stranger. At times, their perspectives conflict and they become unreliable narrators. You're not sure what is actually happening and what are merely the beliefs of an unsound mind. A plot twist at the end genuinely surprised me but I felt that everything wrapped up too neatly and quickly...and a bit unrealistically.

Absolutely fabulous book. I loved it. Caroline has what seems to be an envious life until it is gone. Aidan is a handsome bartender with a shady past. I really didn't envision the events that took place but they kept me hooked until the end. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

I received this book "A Stranger On The Beach" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. The end was horrible!!!!!!!! The storyline was all over the place. I couldn't figure out what was really happening in places. I figured out what was going to happen but the writing was confusing. I didn't like the characters at all! Ugh just wanted to be done reading this.

Michele Campbell is in fine form with A Stranger on the Beach which is a follow-up to It's Always the Husband and is an equally good read!

A Stranger on the Beach
Michelle Campbell
Description
From the bestselling author of It's Always the Husband comes a novel about a love triangle that begins on a fateful night...
There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.
Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aidan, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.
As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aidan for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grow more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.
A Stranger on the Beach is Strangers on a Train meets Fatal Attraction in Michele Campbell's edge-of-your-seat story of passion and intrigue.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy of this wonderful novel.
WOW, this book started out with me not connecting in any way with Caroline or Aiden. It was like a wild train, started slow and just being to take up speed. It was she said, he said thing with pov from both. But, the pov had different pov?
It was a good read. Never guessed until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins press for giving me the chance to read and review and ARC of this title. This is the second book I’ve read by Michele Campbell and I do believe I’ve become a fan of hers. The style reminded me quite a bit of the show The Affair and how it would show two sides of the story. I love that because you’re kept guessing up until the climax. I really enjoyed this and I’d recommend it.

I can't say that I enjoyed this book at all. It reads like a bad Lifetime movie. Completely unbelievable.

Started off strong but by halfway I knew what was going on. It was a great idea but seemed to get muddled as the story went on. Also one character's behavior kept becoming more outlandish that it was hard to suspend belief.

Wow, wow wow!! A Stranger on the Beach is an intense page turner! I knew once I started reading, I wouldn't be able to put it down. The story is told from different narrators, and each story is told well. A Stranger on the Beach is nicely paced and held my attention throughout the book.

Caroline is a woman who seems to have it all. She has a beautiful beach home, a handsome husband and a wonderful daughter. She wants for nothing. That's where she first spots Aidan.
He is staring up at her house and she thinks he's casing it to rob her. Suddenly she's feeling unnerved and to make matters worse, she finds out her husband is lying to her. Then on the night of their house warming party, her husband shows up with another woman. She can't understand what's happening. Her husband is on the verge of leaving her so she goes out for a night on the town, only to run into Aidan. She has a passionate one night stand with him. She can't live with what she's done and Aidan seems to want more than what she is willing to give. Soon, she begins being stalked while at the same time fighting to reconcile with her husband. There are still many secrets to come. Things are never what they seem and soon dark deceit will rise to the surface, forever changing everyone's lives

Excellent thriller with a big twist!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Unpopular opinion here - WOW. This book started out strong. But it fell off, and hard, around a quarter of the way through. I went from being riveted by the characters, excited about what twists and turns may happen next, but it just turned into something unbelievable. I wanted something to distract me and take me away from the hard parts of my life right now and I absolutely thought I would find that escape in this book. The first bit of the book was full of relatable thoughts and emotions that made me feel like, YES, this is THE BOOK, but I found myself rolling my eyes the more I read. The more outlandish Aidan got, the more I lost the plot. Which, speaking of the plot, this was such a solid idea! I thought this would hit the nail on the head, be one of the best thrillers I've read. But that's what sums up this book: I thought, I thought, I thought. It just wasn't what I thought it would be. (What I hoped it would be?) It always breaks my heart when I don't LOVE another book by an author whose work I typically love. I feel like I betrayed her voice and her hard work, but if I try to be honest with myself and other readers, this one missed the mark for me, even if everyone else is loving it. Which - good! I don't mind being the unpopular opinion. And despite all of this, I will continue to read more from the author.

This was a great unreliable narrator book. The reader has to choose between believing Caroline or Aidan, as their narratives minimally coincide. Who is more believable? The scorned housewife who has an affair with a younger man in a moment of weakness, or the young bartender with a criminal past and an obsessive mind?

Things that worked:
The setting was excellent. Caroline's showy beachhouse, both before and after the storm, made a great backdrop for this affair and all its consequences.
The dual narratives have you just enough to both believe and doubt each character.
Aidan's back story was a very reasonable setup for his current situation in life.

What didn't work:
While I loved this book, the unreliable narrator method definitely tricks the reader too much. There's no way to figure out this mystery on your own. You can't go back and say "ohhh, I should have known!". Because there no way you would have.

A Stranger on the Beach is the latest book by Michele Campbell. Ms Campbell tells the story in different points of view and has the reader wondering if the truth is somewhere in between the "he said, she said". This story is fascinating and difficult to put down. I was given an early copy to review.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell did not pull me in as a reader, and I appear to be in the minority in that opinion. I had to stop reading about a third of the way through.

Wow Michele Campbell really knocked it out of the park with this one!

This is my third Michele Campbell book. I liked It's Always the Husband (4/5) LOVED She was the Quiet One (5/5) and also LOVED A Stranger on the Beach. Possibly even more then She was the Quiet One. I'm not one to rate books 5/5, and usually when I love an author's book, I am disappointed with the next one I read from them as it doesn't live up to the one I loved.

I honestly think this may be her best one yet!

A Stranger on the Beach will capture your attention from the first page. It will keep you interested in the story through out the book and you will find yourself wanting to finish the book all in one day. The scenes in this book are fantastic. She nailed the atmosphere in this book.

I honestly think the less you know about this book the better. Without spoiling anything, the story is told through two main points of view. There is a lot of suspense, action, and mystery. This book will keep you on your toes. I have read through some other reviews with some potential spoilers so I'm leaving this as vague as possible. Just read it!

Schedule to be released Summer 2019, this is a perfect summer read and highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aidan, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aidan for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

A strong novel about infidelity, betrayal and greed. I've read a lot of books about this subject but none have been like this one before! This author is extremely talented and I can't wait to read her next book.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
Pub Date: 23 Jul 2019