3.75/5

I’ve really enjoyed this authors books in the past, she writes in a really addictive way that always makes me want to read her books in one sitting and basically that’s all I’m looking for in a thriller lately. This one has that same feel and I was into it from the start. At one point things get flipped upside down and I think this particular choice will be divisive. It mostly worked for me, I don’t mind if things get a little unhinged and that’s definitely the case here. I always appreciate the unexpected and I definitely didn’t see things coming ahead of time here. It does require you to just go along for the ride and not ask too many questions so just a heads up there but if you’re looking for a page turner with some bananas surprises this one was fun

this book was quite the journey!

We had an unreliable narrator in the wife.
We had the sneezy husband.
We had the witty best friend.
We had the angst teenager son.
We had murder.
We had ghosts???
We had detectives.
We had cryptocurrency.

I mean we had a lot and it worked! I really enjoyed the story, but I found that it read very slow. It was incredibly intriguing, but also very slow and I’d occasionally lose interest in it and find my mind wandering, then I’d be right back in the thick of it. I nailed the twist fairly early on, but didn’t see one element coming and I liked the mix of being able to identify it and also still being surprised.

I also felt we had a few too many characters. I got confused keeping track of them, but it did work having all of them. So all in all a solid book, but one that I felt the pacing could have been a bit quicker on.

Okay this story was absolutely wild! So many twists and turns, they just kept on coming. This book was unputdownable!! I loved how fast paced and different this book was. It has layer after layer of intricacy. I figured out who the culprit was sort of near the end but you don't understand the motives until the very end which was awesome. I really honestly enjoyed all the characters a lot and now I'm really looking forward to more by this author. Really great writing and the story was just put together so well, leaving just enough cookie crumbs to keep you on your toes the entire time.

Wow! Did I read the same novel as everyone else? Perhaps not since I seem to be the minority opinion. Granted, it started off with a bang, but it slowly devolved into something pretty outlandish.

I did have high hopes for this novel going in. And I was prepared to give the novel five stars until the inconceivable plot twist. It was a doozy in my opinion.

The characters are developed enough to get a sense of their moral compass and personality. Lillian is neurotic and clingy. Mike, Lillian’s husband is so sterile with OCD. Sam is both Lillian’s and Mike’s best friend, who you can count on for moral support. To me, Sam was the best character in the book. There are other characters that help shape the story, but I didn’t find them to be major game changers in the overall plot.

The novel is somewhat of a page turner in that there are a number of breadcrumbs spread throughout the book that kept me moving forward. However, as I dove deeper into the narrative, it became increasingly haphazard with a mishmash of plot twists that really didn’t make any sense to me. And in the end, I had so many unanswered questions that it left me feeling disatisfied. I rated it a disappointing two stars.

I received a digital ARC from Thomas & Mercer throught NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Another quick and solid thriller from Alessandra. She knows how to suck you in and I always end up finishing her books in a day or two. Thanks for the ARC!

A. R. Torre's book A Familiar Stranger is a twisty mind-bending story. You might think you know what is going on, but you are wrong. With twenty six books to her credit, Alessandra Torre is one of my favorite authors. She writes superior and unique thrillers. You are always guessing until the very end of her books.

Synopsis:
Lillian Smith is a woman who feels ordinary and mundane in her life. Neither her husband nor her teenage son pay any attention to her. In her quest to feel desired, Lillian begins an affair with a handsome stranger named David, which will have dire consequences. Proof of the affair is exposed on her son's social media account leading to a downward spiral. Is Lillian the only one leading a double life as secrets emerge?

A Familiar Stranger is a slow burn with a unique premise. While it may not be my favorite novel by Torre, the unexpected plot twists left me rattled and shocked. The story offers an original and surprising take on the thriller genre. You can always count on A. R. Torre to leave a lasting impression on her readers. (4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)

A Familiar Stranger by A. R. Torre is available on September 27th.

A huge thank you to Alexandra Torre for all the hours of reading pleasure she has given me!

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for sharing this outstanding book by A. R. Torre. The story will stick with me for a long time.

@AmazonPub

A. R. Torre's book, A Familiar Stranger is told mostly in the voice of Lillian and her husband Mike. Lillian and Mike have been together for 20 years, but in some ways are more like roommates. They each keep their finances separate and both chip in for the costs of every day expenses. When Lillian discovers Mike has been cheating she has a difficult time deciding on her future. There are some surprises in this story. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy to review.

This is such a gripping psychological thriller that I nearly stayed up all ngiht finishing this book! And still my mind is reeling on what I have just read!

This is the second book I have read from this author. The story starts with Lillian Smith who writes obituaries and killing time by posting murder trivia on the Twitter. She is having an inattentive husband Mike and a son Jacob who seems disconnected to her. Then she meets handsome man named David and begins a love affair with him. But soon, with the affair, Lillian's life soon spiral out of control.

The story was told from Lillian's and Mike's perspectives and both the characters are kind of unreliable. The first part of the story was a few weeks before the "DEATH" of someone--we do not know who is going to die but we do know that it has to be one of the characters. Then when you reach the middle of the book, you soon find out who has died and that's when the story starts getting interesting. There are so much twists and turns and I feel like I was watching a very interesting criminal show that is putting me on the edge of my seat! So much of unexpected moments something that I did not expect showed up in the book, including the fact that Mike too had flaws and had an affair with someone. The ending was what completely blew me away when the killer was finally revaled.

So if you are looking for a nail biting thriller that will put you on the edge with twists and turns, then this book is one for you--worth 4.5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This was my first A. R. Torre novel and I'm excited to dive into other novels by A. R. Torre.

A Familiar Stranger is a book about double lives and twisty turns that you won't see coming.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the galley.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Familiar Stranger by A. R. Torre is an unputdownable thriller with a shocking twist! The story revolves around Lillian, who makes a living writing obituaries for the newspaper. Her life is boring and predictable. Her husband rarely pays attention to her anymore. It's like they're living in the same space but not actually married. One day, she meets David, a handsome stranger, and they embark on a passionate affair. But what will happen when her secrets come to light? And is she the only one hiding secrets?

Here is a gripping excerpt from the opening chapter:

"Everything I told David on the day that I met him was a lie.
I did that a lot back then. I didn't have a single notable thing about me - about Lillian Smith: writer, mother, wife - worth talking about, so I often invented a life, a persona, or someone better. Someone who rolled out of bed with a purpose. Someone unpredictable and exciting, and...hell. Lust-worthy. Someone whose husband would gaze at her in awe, and shower her with affection, and never stay late to work if he had the opportunity to spend just one extra moment in her presence."

Overall, A Familiar Stranger is a twist-filled thriller that will appeal to fans of Netflix's Behind Her Eyes. One highlight of this book are the many secrets, betrayals, and lies. There is a major twist halfway through that I completely wasn't expecting. Another highlight of this book is how this story was completely not what I was expecting. Instead of being a typical thriller, it went off the rails halfway through - in a good way. I was pleasantly surprised by the second half of this book, and the final reveal was jaw-dropping. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!

soooo can we just pretend like Torre was in a coma and her agent wrote this book for her? because i KNOW the genius behind the Girl In 6E series and last year’s brilliant The Good Lie did not write this garbage.
to start off this book was just very boring…typical domestic ‘husband is cheating so im gonna start cheating too’ kind of story which is a trope that’s done to death at this point. and then the ‘reveal’ if you could even call it that, happens about halfway through the book but it really changes nothing….extremely disappointed because i was confident this would be at least a 4 star read

A big bunch of thank you’s to #NetGalley, #ThomasMercer and #AJTorre for the tangled web of crime, deceit, and relationships that A Familiar Stranger revealed. It was my pleasure to read and offer this review.

I began this book blind! I had never read anything by Ms Torre prior. Double down, I had not read any blurbs on AFS. No question, I was surprised. Surprised by the plot and characters.

The lead, Lillian, was adeptly built and developed into a pivotal element upon which much of the movement was turning. She had issues; alcohol, mental health, moral, etc, but I never felt she was lackluster. I didn’t lose patience with her, I just walked with her through the muck of her life.

Her husband, Mike, was a surprise. I just thought he was an OCD control freak. He was an even more complicated and, at times, thoroughly despicable person.

Sam, also surprisingly layered. Both he and Mike had some shockingly compelling page turning moments. Ms. Torre. handled them with skillful aplomb. I thoroughly enjoy a book that surprises me to a gasp-worthy moment. This was one of those rare books. Bravo!

Perusing AJ Torre’s backlist as we speak!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and A. R. Torre for the advanced copy of A Familiar Stranger in exchange for my honest review.

What seemingly starts out as a pretty run-of-the-mill thriller quickly sets itself apart. I won't say too much more than that because I don't want to spoil anything, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire book just needing to know what was going to happen next.

This gets 4/5 strictly because I didn't *love* the ending, but totally get why it had to go the way it did. I've loved everything I've read by this author and this book was no exception. I definitely recommend to thriller lovers.

A Familiar Stranger will be on bookshelves September 27!

4.25*
I think that A.R.Torre is officially one of my fav authors!!
I read the good lie abt a week ago and I LOVED it. But I went into this with very low expectations coz someone I know had read and rated this very low so I was nervous going into it. But I LOVED this one!!

It had all the things I love in a mystery/thriller;
-Multiple povs
-Short chapters
- Alternating timelines
-Twists and turns that make you want to keep flipping pages.

I have to say tho during the first 50% I thought that this might be a 2 star coz I was not a huge fan of the characters in this book (except one) and the stuff they did/said made me so mad. But the last 50% changed the entire thing around and I was so invested.

If you are looking for a book to binge this is for you!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this e-arc:))

Man, do I love A.R. Torre's thrillers! She knows just the way to keep you hooked, engaged, and turning those pages late into the night.

Lillian has hit a rough patch in her life - she has issues with her career (as a celeb obit writer), her husband, her child, and pretty much anything else you can think of. She starts to drink too much, and begins an affair with a man she meets at the coffee shop. One night, an inflammatory video of Lillian is sent to her teenage son, and from there, her life begins to unravel. Lillian does not know who to turn to, doesn't know who to trust. And, as we come to find out, it turns out that she is not the only person leading a double life.

I gave this book 4/5 stars! It was a fun, thrilling read. There were parts of it I didn't like how it turned out but overall this book was such a fun, twisty, turny fast paced read perfect for the summer. I love this author's thrillers and I will read anything she writes! Highly recommend this book for people who love to read unputdownable novels that keep the reader guessing.

Special thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lillian is a ho hum wife and mother who goes through life happy birthday not completely fulfilled.. Until a chance encounter leads to an affair which makes her feel alive and excited. Of course her secret life is found out in the worst way and the consequences are life altering. This book makes you think about the old saying. The grass is always greener on the other side…..or is it?

O.M.G this book was amazing. I couldn't read it fast enough. I loved the characters it in. The story was will written. I would get it 4.5 out of 5.

Lillian is a celebrity obituary writer who learns her husband is having an affair. Amidst her anger, she enters into a relationship with another man, and during a reckless night, her affair is caught on video and quickly goes viral. The aftermath is devastating, and A Familiar Stranger turns her world upside down. The author deftly and meticulously lays the foundation for what’s to come as the slow build up in the first half of the book absolutely explodes in the second half, with tension filled chapters and shocking reveals in this spellbinding thriller. Don’t be misled by the character-developing, low-key beginning, as the payoff is well worth the wait as this book totally takes off to places you won’t see coming. I received an arc of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read a wide variety of Psychological and Domestic Thrillers, and through the American Facebook reader groups discovered the 'fast, fun and flowing' authors such as Freida McFadden and Natalie Barelli. I've seen A.R.Torre often mentioned and recommended alongside these highly entertaining authors so was eager to try one of her books.

It's certainly fast, flowing and easy reading. It starts out as a husband and wife Domestic, Lillian is a loose canon, borderline binge drinking alcoholic hanging on to her job and an obituary writer, she suspects husband Mike of having an affair. Mike is very unlikeable from the start. We meet Sam, Lillian's gay best friend and Lenny the drunk cemetery worker, so there are some different and original characters.

The first half features a 'Countdown to Death' so you know something bad is approaching.

After the death everything changes and it all gets a bit wacky.

I enjoyed the flow of the first half but the second half reminded too much of Kiersten Modglin's 'throw the kitchen sink full of curveballs' into the mix style, which just kills it off for me. I can't take it seriously anymore.

A fun, fast read if you enjoy that style of plotting, but unfortunately I don't.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer

"Maybe that's what my husband was keeping from me. A search for another life more exciting than our own."

Is it boring when life gets too comfortable? How to save your drowning marriage, when love and everything else has left the room? David and Lillian are struggling to save their whole world from collapse, but everything will go downhill when David's cheating sees the light of the day.

Everything Lillian had is falling apart - the life she had, her career, relationships, it all seems like a distant memory, and the midlife crisis gets real.

When someone reveals a nasty scandal, it becomes too late to do something that would save the day, the marriage, or the life Lillian and David once had.

To be honest, I really enjoyed the first half of this story. Also, there is no doubt that A.R. Torre's books are the perfect fit when your soul is having cravings for some good old domestic thriller. She knows how to write a compelling story that will get you hooked up before you even notice.
The second half of the book didn't win all the stars. It took some weird direction but however, I didn't mind at all.

A solid fast-paced thriller full of suspense, well done A.R. Torre! 🙌