Thrilling and Twisted!! I haven’t read a book of A R Torre that I haven’t loved!! The Familiar Stranger was another solid 4 star psychological thriller.

This story followed Lillian, a wife, mother and an obituary writer for a local newspaper, led a quiet and ordinary life until she met David in a coffee shop. Feeling restless with her life, Lillian started an affair with David. As their relationship progressed, her lies caught up with her and both her marriage and affair spiral out of control.

The story was predominantly told through Lillian’s point of view. She was a dark complex character with a twisted sense of humor and not very likable. Despite her deplorable personality, I found her mysterious and deceptive behaviors oddly intriguing. Lillian’s husband, on the other hand, was even more deplorable. Mike was extremely controlling and condescending to Lillian. He was ridiculously arrogant which made me happy to see his world crumble around him.

Overall this was an intriguingly twisted psychological thriller. Like many of A R Torre’s novels, this one had me guessing until the very end.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This wasn’t a bad read with plenty of twists and turns but it wasn’t my favourite by this author . It won’t stop
Me though from reading more by the author .

Yep this was perfect! A Perfect Stranger takes you on one heck of a ride. What did I just read? Go into this one dark...

Readers who enjoy Torre's prior books might find that this one is a page turner but not to the caliber of previous works. Love the idea but wish the characters weren't so over the top. Writing is highly bingeable and will draw the reader to keep turning the pages. The drama was high vs the thrill!
The book felt a little rushed to complete, just at 275 pages. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Ooooh Lillian is a bad girl and we loved reading about it!!!!!!!! Girl can't keep a secret for nothing though. What will she do- protect her family or her affair??

Twisty and gripping - a definite page turner! This thriller takes an unoriginal plot line and turns it on its head adding new elements and risks, making the whole thing interesting and exciting! An absolute rollercoaster and lots of fun this is a quick engaging read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

I always enjoy a good domestic thriller book with a unreliable narrator, however I was wanting a little more from this one. Infidelity, double lives, deception, messy lives, it all sounded great but just didn't love it.

This was such an odd book to me. I'm still unsure exactly what happened. And ghosts? I love a good domestic thriller, and really wanted to love this one! Unfortunately I just didn't.

🌟🌟🌟/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and A. R. Torre. ❤️

Reading Between the Wines book review #67/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: A Familiar Stranger
Author: A.R. Torre
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: This story is one of those stories that is not what you think. I read the synopsis then started reading the story and it turned out to be completely different than I expected. I think there is a trope in this book that some people do not like and can be done really poorly. Thankfully, I enjoyed how this trope was written in this book. I really enjoyed the writing style and can’t wait to read more of Torre’s books.

Cheers and thank you to @ThomasAndMercer and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @AFamiliarStranger.

#AFamiliarStranger #ARTorre #ThomasAndMercer #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

This one was in my TBR pile for a long time and kept being relegated to the bottom for no particular reason, hence the lateness of the review. Torre really never disappoints with the domestic suspense and her characters are so well written that you feel like you probably know someone just like them. Once you get into Lillian's story you know she's in for trouble and when it happens the twists keep on coming and her secret life becomes more scandalous and dangerous than she ever could have imagined. Wacky, entertaining, and fun. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, A.R. Torre and Thomas & Mercer for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This has to be one of my favourite books from this author! It’s fast paced, full of twists and action that had my jaw dropping. Definitely one to pick up! I love the multiple perspectives and the hateful criminals!

This is a hard book to review. I liked the writing, Torre is a great author - BUT I wasn't thrilled with the twist at the halfway point. I'm not into books that start "normal" and then suddenly turn woo-woo. However, the actual technical writing was great. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Great book that was solid start to finish. I was taken in by the story and it was well told. I would defiantly add this one to your to be read pile.

Thank you to the author for an advanced copy of this book (I am very late to this and I feel stupid because it was so good)

I first discovered this author probably back in 2015 when I picked up The Girl in 6E which I became obsessed with and devoured the whole series). Since then I read The GhostWriter which I enjoyed, but this was even better!

I loved the twist near the middle, I was caught off guard and it was so fun seeing the different perspectives. It kept the pace and mystery going for a long time and I was entertained until the end.

This is not your typical thriller. If you didn't like some elements in the thrillers Behind Her Eyes, Daisy Darker, and The Soulmate, you may not like this one, too.

I loved the writing as it was easy to read and fast-paced. It was intriguing and the plot kept me wanting to read more.

But the second part and the ending were not good. I was okay with the ghost thing. However, the husband, the affair, and the cartel felt like a cliche to me. However, the killer was a devious character which made it interesting.

The characters that made me want to keep reading were Lilian and Lenny. I wish the plot just centered on them as they were very likable characters. I felt for Lenny.

So this was so well-written that it was difficult to fall asleep. The author writes a tragic intertwined bundle of love stories that draws you in quickly and doesn’t let you go until the very last page.

Well that was super crazy! 4 high stars for this one. I found this entertaining to say the least and it was definitely a page turner. These were some of the most interesting characters I’ve ever read about and the turns just kept coming. I couldn’t put it down and I loved the ending. I will definitely be reading more from this author because I like the way she writes and I found most of it shocking.
Thanks Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.

Lillian Smith's life is unremarkable, filled with writing obituaries and navigating a disconnected family. However, everything changes when she encounters David, a charming stranger, in a coffee shop. Drawn into an affair, Lillian crafts a new identity, free from responsibilities and marital constraints.

In the embrace of her liaison with David, Lillian feels an unprecedented sense of recklessness, unpredictability, and desirability. Yet, as the intensity of her affair grows, she distances herself from reality, even alienating her closest friend. When traces of her secret lover persona surface on her son's social media, she risks not only damaging her marriage and reputation but unravelling much more.

With each layer of deception, Lillian's dual worlds spiral into peril, and betrayals extend beyond her expectations. A Familiar Stranger unfolds as a psychological thriller, following a woman who perceives her life as mundane. Yearning for excitement, she immerses herself in a web of lies that escalates into murder. From the very first page, I found A Familiar Stranger captivating, with various perspectives adding depth to the narrative. The chilling ending was immensely satisfying, with only minor reservations. While a hint of a cliffhanger lingered, most threads were neatly tied up, concluding the story effectively.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨to quote beyonce: so what are you gonna say at my funeral, now that you've killed me?

✨it could sum up this book pretty well. this book that wasn’t amazing or spectacular but had my attention throughout. this author’s books have that effect on me.

✨for some reason this book reminded me soooo much of the Netflix show Dead to Me. nothing about the plot is the same but the ~vibes~ are. it could be the affluent people we follow, a murder plot, lovers and affairs, likable cop figures… borderline copaganda! in this book, Lenny was everything to me.

✨all this to say that this book was fine! and there’s something about the writing and the structure that keeps me coming back to this author’s books even though the 2 I’ve read i have rate a 3 star.

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. Lacking. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.