Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Five Strangers.

The premise was interesting but sadly the plot failed to keep my interest.

I also found the title misleading; this isn't really about the perspectives of five strangers who witness a brutal attack in a park.

This is really about the co-dependent relationship between two women, Jen and Bex.

Bex and Jen are unsympathetic characters; the former is Single White Female-ing her BFF, and the latter is a weak, wishy washy, unremarkable middle-aged woman.

In many ways, these two deserve each other because they're sad sacks.

The plot is convoluted, unbelievable and based on ridiculous coincidence.

The narrative is 50 pages too long (at least), bloated with insight into Bex's childhood and filler from the five strangers.

It also didn't help that I didn't care about Bex so her past didn't interest me.

There is no urgency or suspense, and the 'threats' Jen face are cliche; mean tweets from a creepy handle; red herrings that an ex is behind all of Jen's troubles; Jen believing she's being followed.

The premise had potential but the final result didn't live up to it.

Massive surprise! I was hoping for it to be good of course, but I thought this might be a bit generic and wasn't that sure. It did everything perfectly. The writing, the plot, the narrative, the characters, everything! And this it where you see that the difference between a good novel and a great one, are not always about big things, but more in the way the author handle every little details in it and Adamson does it like a master. I definitely recommend it!

This book will definitely make you think about relationships and what our childhood and friendships mean. Jen and Bex, both had tragedy at a young age, bond as friends but it seems like they have much different ways of coping!! Lots of twisty plots and unexpected danger and it’s a who’s who til the startling end!!
#FiveStrangers#NetGalley

I was not at all prepared for how much I would enjoy Five Strangers!
It is a gorgeous February day, actually, Valentine’s Day and Jen Hunter is waiting for her friend Bex at Hampstead Heath. A day for love turns tragic with no warning as a man murders the woman he was with and then commits suicide. For the five witnesses, it is something that will affect each of their lives and something that none of them will ever forget.
Jen had lost her job and her boyfriend, and even if she was not already having an awful day, this tragedy will have unimaginable repercussions for her. She receives a message asking her if she is certain about what happened at the park. At first, convinced this is obviously someone's idea of a cruel joke, events soon lead her on a journey to find the truth. Is it possible that the five of them have somehow been deceived?
Her investigation uncovers many secrets but as she digs deeper, she slowly fears that she is either losing her grip on reality or that someone once very close to her wants her dead. The more I learned about Jen, the more I questioned whether or not she was an unreliable narrator or if something more sinister was occurring. Told from Jen and Bex's POVs, I found out how far someone would go to fulfill their own sick agenda as I flew through the pages.
You know how you can love a book but also dislike writing a review because you don't want to give anything away. Yep, this is that book. All I will say is that this story took off in a way I never expected.4.5 stars.

WOW! I have to say I enjoyed this book way more than I anticipated. I would give it a good 4.5 rating! In five strangers, we follow Jen Hunter, who on a random Valentines Day, witnesses a horrible incident along with other strangers, but what did they actually witness and what else is there to it?
I completely fell in love with the storyline! As soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down! My only issue with it was I felt like a lot of things were spoiled really early on in the book, but I guess the point was more to see how things would unfold? rather than uncover the WHO in this book. Apart from that I found the story to be very addicting!
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I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

The opening scene, where the five strangers witness a murder-suicide, was well done, and I thought the story was going to be about the unreliability of eye witnesses. Instead it featured disturbed characters, committing disturbing and unlikely acts. Jen, the main protagonist, had apparently previously been paid an astronomical amount for writing a confessional column, but had been sacked. Her friend Bex apparently worked for the planing department, but never did a stroke of work. Instead the two roamed about London constantly following other people and each other. People kept revealing their deepest secrets to Jen, knowing she was a journalist, and then asking her not to print what they had said. There were so many unbelievable coincidences and examples of mental ill-health that by the end I would have believed anything of any one.

It left a bad taste in the mouth.

I was really excited to read this after seeing the synopsis, but ultimately it did meet up to my expectations. Five strangers witness a brutal murder-suicide of a couple on Valentine’s Day. Jen Hunter, a recently fired journalist sees an opportunity to investigate the incident after she begins to question what she actually saw. The title was a little misleading as this story mainly focuses on the relationship and perspectives of Jen and her best friend, Bex. The other 'strangers' played a minor part in comparison. This story had the potential to be really good as there were lots of twists and turns along the way, but some were just truly implausible and pretty ridiculous, especially the ending.

This is one of the most interesting books I’ve read so far this year. It’s largely a book about perspective and the perspective of five different characters. Does perspective equal truth? This book does a great job of answering that.

Thank you NetGalley, Scarlet and Author for this advance ebook copy!

This amazing gripping story was fabulous! I was so intrigued by the description I had to try and get my hands on this ebook copy!.
If you like a book with twists and turns then you will like this one.
Once again I love books about reporters and journalists. They are fascinating to me!
This book has different perspectives which I liked!
The writing flowed great. Easy to keep up with!
And that ending..... Wow so didn't see that one coming!

Great, entertaining, interesting, gripping, compelling book!

Ill post to my Goodreads and Bookstagram account closer to pub date!