High school senior Mira is on her way home for the holidays but her connecting flight is cancelled because of snow, so she decides to get into a rental car with a woman she met on her flight and three other strangers. As they head out, the weather is clear but soon a blizzard comes in and the roads get increasingly dangerous. To up the tension, letters to Mira from an anonymous stalker are threaded into the narrative. Once things start going missing - a wallet, Mira’s phone, a spare phone battery - and the charging points in the car are sabotaged, it becomes clear that someone is trying to isolate them. Add to that the stranger who keeps turning up at the service stations they stop at, and the suspense is tightened even further.

The simple set up and ratcheting tension grabbed me pretty much right from the start. I got my nose stuck in and was in “just one more chapter” mode for most of the way through. There are quite a lot of “why didn’t she…” moments, and some of the red herrings just don’t make a lot of sense in retrospect, but, honestly, when I’m gobbling down a book that quickly, that’s fine.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Great new thriller by Natalie D. Richards! A good mystery that makes you wonder about who you can truly trust and how well you know your own instincts. This grabbed me from the start and kept my interest until the end. A good YA thriller! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Quick read, had me guessing until the end. The writers description of the storms and wrecks were spot on. That had me in the edge of my seat. I would recommend this to readers looking for something suspenseful. In the end, the protagonist was running for more than just help...

This YA thriller is a solid 3 stars. The moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. Resulting in me finishing the book in one sitting. Which is not something I can complain about. I love it when a book captivates my attention so hard that I MUST keep reading.

The idea of this book, girl gets in a car with a bunch of strangers was such a great plot. Desperate to get home makes for a thrilling tale. And the concept that we know more than the characters is one of my favorite tropes.

The problem that I usually find with thrillers is that they are predictable. Five Total Strangers was no exception. It became obvious where the storyline was going early on. But I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to discover the letters that were being written. That I did not see coming.

The characters were great, Mira was pretty straight forward and I like that she wasn’t a doormat in such an intense situation. I think I would have crawled up into a ball the entire trip and had a million panic attacks. But Mira called out people on their crap and voiced her opinions out loud which I appreciated. I also liked Harper! She was very talkative so it was nice to see them all get along even if it was for a short period.

Overall, this book was great. If you enjoy a good thriller then definitely give this one a go. It’s easy to guess where the story is going, but it catches your attention from the get-go. Five Total Strangers is suspenseful and satisfying.