“Strangers We Know” is by Elle Marr. I’ve been needing some quick reads lately and I thought this one might fit the bill. I had a bit of an issue with some of the beginning - has an FBI agent just randomly approach someone and gave them sensitive information in a public area? Maybe, but probably not likely. Although this book is told in three POVs, which was fine, but there were a number of additional characters that took me a while to keep straight (along with red herrings and twists). I had a few issues with Ivy in general - her common sense is a bit, well, lacking may be the kindest word I can use. There are a lot of layers to this book, along with a number of holes - but the ending I found, as other reviewers noted, a need to suspend belief - and it also felt a bit rushed. While this was a quick-ish read for me, I had issues with the "tell not show" direction and bits of repeated information.

I am struggling to review #StrangersWeKnow, because there’s not even an inkling of a positive remark I can make about it. The plot? Unoriginal. The narration? Flat and repetitive. The dialogues? More synthetic than polyester. Character-building? None whatsoever; every character is one-layered, and lacks any sort of individuality.

The chapters alternate among Ivy, Samson, and Tatum.

Our main character, Ivy Hon, solves crossword puzzles as a personality trait. We’re told she’s very sick with a mystery illness that the doctors can’t seem to solve, though she is never once sick throughout the entire book, despite doing extremely taxing things like taking two planes and driving for hours. She’s adopted, so she has no idea about her family medical history. A DNA submission to an ancestry site brings the FBI to her doorstep. Despite learning she’s related to a notorious serial killer, she travels to Washington to “connect” with her family — or more so interrogate them in the brashest manner anyone can think of.

Always telling and never ever showing is the book’s entire gist, other than being filled with so many holes that there’s barely any fabric left to it. The first and most nonsensical plot hole is that by the time Ivy has submitted her DNA, her cousin Lottie already had — the FBI already had their DNA match, so there’s no reason why they wouldn’t have already gone to Lottie. But it’s my fault for expecting any logic from an awfully inconsistent book that presumes its readers ignorant of even the most basic facts.

As an example, Ivy’s “mystery illness” turns out to be… lupus. At the end, we learn it was her doctors’ second guess after cancer, because somehow that makes sense to the author and the editor, because somehow lupus is so difficult to diagnose and looks exactly like cancer. Maybe Ivy found the most incompetent doctors in all of San Francisco?

This next example is a spoiler, but a) I don’t recommend you waste a minute of your life reading this book anyway, and b) it is so see-through that you understand the supposed twist the second this is done in the book: there is DNA from the killer (and let’s forget for a second that it should have been matched to Lottie way before Ivy) which means everyone already knows the sex of the killer. But for some reason, even the reporter who is presumed to be the authority on this case refers to the killer as “they”. Yes, you guessed it, it was a poor attempt at creating mystery (and mind you, there are lots of such poor attempts) in order to mask the fact that this particular killer is a woman. This is at last revealed in the most anti-climactic resolution, because by then the book has dragged on for so long that you’re incapable of feeling anything other than overwhelming boredom.

Two more things made me furious: 1) the book is laid out like a very bad video game where you go about town just talking to people, and just as one NPC exits another shows up 2) everything, literally everything, is constantly reiterated, even though we have just witnessed them happen, even though we have already read that exact same sentence at least 5 times. Thinking back to it still makes me twitch.

I don’t care enough about this book to round this review up in a conclusion. It’s terrible. Don’t waste your precious hours.

[DRC provided by #NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.]

The adoption DNA related to a crime theme that has been becoming popular always catches my eye so I immediately requested this one. I would start off saying this is closer to a domestic suspense novel versus a thriller, to me, but it was still a slow burn of a mystery. The addition of the main character having an unknown chronic illness was great. It had quite a few twists in it that I didn’t see coming as the FBI and IVy learn about her biological family. A fun easy beach read.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of Strangers We Know. I’m not sure how I feel about this book.. The execution was hard for me, Ivy met so many new people it was impossible for me to keep them straight. Then It was unrealistic that Ivy was so trusting of strangers, new family and non-family. A single woman, alone in a new city, with a serial killer on the loose would have been more cautious. Even in her own city, would she be so trusting of strangers? I don’t think so. I didn’t really connect to the writing, but that could just be my mood. I loved the premise of DNA linking an adopted woman to a serial killer and I was really surprised when I found out who it was. There were plenty of red herrings to distract me which was fun. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Strangers We Know | Elle Marr
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Amateur detective
Strangers We Know is a standalone psychological suspense novel by author, Elle Mar. The story follows Ivy who finds out are submitting her DNA for testing that she is related to the Full Moon Killer, a serial killer who has been targeting women for decades. Ivy, who was adopted as a baby sets out in search of answers to her past and parentage and unravels a lot more than she bargained for when more victims start to turn up.
Told from multiple POV with alternating timelines, this suspenseful and fast-paced thriller is not to be missed. From the gripping first chapters as we follow along with Ivy on her search for the truth to the action-packed conclusion you will be hooked. The author somehow manages to throw everything you could want together in this book; murder, cults, family secrets, and more. There is enough to keep you guessing and several twists that I didn’t see coming at all.

A copy of this review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon and my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thepandasbookshelf).

Thank you to the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, the author, Elle Mar and Netgalley for a copy of this book.
#StrangersWeKnow #NetGalley

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Thomas & Mercer and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The premise caught my eye and I was in. What a fascinating story. Fast-paced, thrilling, intoxicating story.

The premise of this book had so much potential and for some it may live up to what they were expecting, for me, I can honestly say I was not a fan.
Our MC Ivy is on the hunt to find her biological relatives due to medical issues but then leads her to a serial killer who may or may not be related to her.
I feel like Ivy wasn’t as whole or developed as a main character that I would like. I found her unbelievable at parts and still don’t understand why she was able to put things together that law enforcement couldn’t?
I had so many issues with the characters in the book and feeling like there was so much disconnect and it didn’t flow together.
This book was a mishmash of hard to follow storylines and narratives leaving me with a big wtf at parts and unfortunately not in a good way.
With that said, Marr is an excellent writer and this concept was good, I just feel like maybe there was a bit too much going on and it didn’t seem cohesive to me.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the publisher Thomas & Mercer for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Star Read

Very quick, fun read, I finished this book in about a day or two. I went into this book blind, which I was happy about.

Things I loved:
- A DNA test assisting in the identification of a serial killer
- Family drama/cults
- Short chapters. Just when you think you have it figured out, Marr throws some surprises at you.

Things I didn’t love - the ending felt a bit extreme to me. The twists were good, but not very believable. I also felt that Samson’s character was completely random and played no role in the story, other than making you question who the Full Moon Killer really is.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I read "Lies We Bury" by Elle Marr last year & enjoyed it so much that I couldn't wait for her to write her next book.
When I discovered "Strangers We Know", was available to review, I dropped everything to read it.
I found it to be an original, interesting, addictive, chilling & twisty thriller.
I loved how the author used the different character's perspectives & the dual timelines to tell the story.
I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the first chapter and kept me glued to my seat to find out what happened next!

DNF'd @ 20%. I just really didn't like the writing style. The concept of the book is great and I think the execution is fair, but the writing and organization or the writing could be better.

This book unfortunately was hard for me to get into?! Not to sure why it had the usual, suspense, intrigue, action and a serial killer! But it didn't have that nail biting heart pumping thrill that I love, so maybe that's why?! Not sure but it wasn't A bad read it was just ok for me! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Wow! Just wow. This book grabbed me from the beginning and never had a dull moment. Ivy who was adopted at birth sets out to find her biological parents hoping to seek answers to her agonizing headaches. After submitting her DNA for genetic analysis, Ivy is contacted by the FBI informing her that she shares genetics with the Full Moon serial killer. Armed with this information, Ivy seeks contact with family members and sets out to her hometown. Little does she know she’s about to find a lot more then she expected. You’ll be questioning and assuming who turns out to be the true Full Moon killer the entire way through this book.

Strangers We Know is the story of Ivy Hon. Ivy always new she had been adopted when she was several days old, and she never had any desire to find her birth family until she became ill with no diagnosis. Doctors seem to be unable or unwilling to set a diagnosis for Ivy. After much loving badgering from her friend to follow through with the DNA test she bought for Ivy, she decides it may give her the answers necessary to help with her health. When the FBI contacts her after it red flags a reveal to a genetic link to the Full Moon Killer. The agent reaches out to her to question her about her birth family but she has no answers to give. Ivy sees a connection online to a cousin in Rock Island, Washington and heads north with several agendas. As she learns more about the family she never knew she gets interested in finding out about the Full Moon Killer. But is the trip worth putting herself in danger.

This story draws the reader in from the very beginning. Adoptions, murders, cults, and unidentified illness are just a few of the interesting devices used to entertain the reader. These were all woven beautifully to tell Ivy's story. There are several twists and turns that will keep you guessing but there are more even after you think the story is complete.

Hoping to find some answers to her medical problems, Ivy Hon submits her DNA to an online database, only to be contacted by the FBI, who inform her that her DNA matches with that of a serial killer. Stunned, Ivy heads to a small town in Washington state to meet relatives not only to learn more about her medical issues but to also try and learn more about her birth parents.
But someone doesn’t want Ivy poking around Rock Island, digging into her family history. Because the Craine family have so many secrets that need to stay buried.
I was intrigued by the blurb with this book, it actually seemed like something that’s could happen. I’m sure there are a lot of people that submit their DNA to those websites and end up learning things about their family that they wish they didn’t know.
But I was a little disappointed. I didn’t particularly like Ivy as a character. I thought she was naive and a bit impulsive. Some of the decisions she made had me shaking my head. And I thought the ending was a little bit chaotic. Too many threads going for me. I would have liked it a bit neater. Overall a 3 star read from me.

I had such high hopes for this book after reading the synopsis. However, it just ended up not being what I expected. At least it was a quick read.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with this book. Partly due to the weird beginning and also to the fact that there's so much going on and varied timelines that I found it hard to stick with.

Ivy is adopted and decides to search for her birth family. This desire is linked to various health issues. Then there's an FBI agent who randomly approaches Ivy and discusses their hunt for the Full Moon Killer.
What follows is Ivy's search for her family / killer and I'm afraid it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

The premise of this novel was intriguing and I enjoyed the multiple narratives woven together. The story had twists and turns, but some parts of the book moved more slowly than others, and/or felt implausible. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and opportunity to read a new author.

One of my pet peeves about stories are incidents that are, to me, rather unconvincing. They can sometimes turn me totally off a book. An example : a mother who’s a nurse who doesn’t realise that her own daughter who lives in the same house is pregnant at full term. So I’m afraid this book was just not for me.

Ivy Hon has one heck of a legacy!

Those little breadcrumbs Elle Marr leaves out for you to follow?….some of them don’t lead anywhere! You’ll be so excited cuz you think you know who the killer is and then the trail of breadcrumbs disappears and you’re left scratching your head about who to suspect next. GOTCHA. It happens again and again. You’d think I’d know after the first time, but…no. Hats off to Marr.

Also working for Elle Mar is her use of multiple points of view, her slow reveal of family secrets, her ability to dial up the tension and suspense as well as her keen sense of when to present readers with a fully loaded creepfest! She’s got a serial killer, The Full Moon Killer, on the loose and her protagonist keeps putting her eggs in the wrong basket! She doesn’t know who to trust; her family of strangers or the FBI. It’ll keep readers flipping pages longer than they’d intended.

Despite a few questionable parts, Marr was still able to juggle all the family members and Rock Island inhabitants and keep me entertained. That’s important to me.

I was gifted this copy by Elle Mar, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.