This suspense thriller had a twist in the middle of the book that turned the story in a radically different direction than the one this reader was heading.
   Lilian writes obituaries for a living, is unhappy with her marriage, has a drinking problem and can’t seem to get out of her own way. I really felt badly for her and what has transpired in her life.
   The discovery of her husband’s infidelity angers her enough that when a strange man shows interest in her she doesn’t shy away but takes on a fake identity and becomes a new woman as a result of his affections. But she isn’t the only one who has two identities.
   The husband, her best friend and this new lover all have another side that intertwine as the story plays out.  Add a little of the paranormal into the mix and a drinking buddy who becomes a hero and you have an exciting story that will keep you turning pages.

this book started off with so much promise, but sadly, it fell victim to the overused “my wife/husband is having an affair but it turns out he/she is a horrible person” trope 🫠

as a fan of a.r. torre’s writing, I was beyond excited to receive an ARC of this one!! it promised everything I love in a thriller: cheating spouses, dark secrets, dual POVs, and of course, a whodunnit murder!

the story itself just took a weird turn about halfway through, and I don’t think I was ready for that shift in story. it almost felt like the author decided to change directions from a murder mystery to a mafia thriller without adding any context as to the deep connection.

the main character, lillian, was another overused scorned woman trope: constantly popping pills and chugging bottles of wine. I’m just curious as to the value that it added to the story because in the end, her problems really had nothing to do with the plot.

maybe I’m just overthinking this one, because I enjoyed the writing and the pace of it, but the constant veering of the overarching plot just wasn’t it for me. I’m a sucker for continuity 😅

a huge thank you to netgalley and thomas and mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! this one’s out end of September!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: napa valley zinfandel

Yeah, sooooo........

A.R. Torre opens the door and in walks Lillian Smith. Yup, we get the standardized "Smith" last name with seemingly no strings attached. Lillian has been using her no-frills last name in her by-line obituary articles for the Los Angeles Times for almost twenty years. Lillian is appearing to be a regular bread-and-butter main character here.......and this is an A.R. Torre novel? Sooooo, yeah.

And then Torre begins tinkering with our gal Lillian. There's some crust on that bread. Lillian is beginning to suspect that her controlling, hard-nosed husband, Mike, is having an affair. Their marriage has been slammed against the rocks for some time. Robots with wedding rings alongside their teenage son, Jacob, who spends more time away from home than in.

We begin to see that Lillian is an off again/on again medication user/abuser. She remembers and then she forgets.......blurred by glassfuls of adult beverages. Lillian often visits a retired police officer who is the caretaker of a cemetery near her home. Lillian wrote the obituary after the loss of his young daughter. They became friends and confidantes over the years.

Depression sits heavily next to Lillian. But there's a perk on the horizon. Lillian makes eye contact with David in a local coffee shop. Innocent flirting becomes an affair and the affair finds residence on a boat at the marina. Lillian loves Mike, but Mike loves his job. David provides a diversion from real life for Lillian.

A.R. Torre slips in a little countdown noise in the background. We have a murder soon to take place. As readers, we're lining up the usual suspects. But here's the kicker. When it finally happens, we will be forced into two camps: the oh hell no group and the hell yes group. It will completely turn the tide in this novel. A.R. Torre is famously known for mixin' it up in her novels.

I must admit that I wanted to grab the wheel at this point and turn this bus around. It wasn't my choice of destinations. (Hence, the 3.5 kicked up to 4 Stars for the A.R. Torre writing) But, nevertheless, Torre is on cruise control and we land splendidly at the end. A Familiar Stranger has to be experienced for one's self. The cover is magnificent and deserving of this author. Ya gotta take this one out for a spin with Lillian ridin' shotgun.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to A.R. Torre for the opportunity.

I love this author and this book was no exception! Tons of twists and turns... kept me guessing and made me lose sleep! A Familiar Stranger was suspenseful and makes you wonder if those closest to you are who they say they are.

Solid 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the book, the writing was well done. It kept me engaged throughout and I did really like the characters, well developed. I could easily rate this one up if the plot was more in tune to my own personal likes and dislikes, but I would recommend.

Finally, after starting three books I couldn’t get into I find this one! I couldn’t put this one down. Lillian is in a troubled marriage, has problems at work and a son that’s a concern. After discovering her husband is cheating, she gets involved with a man she meets at a coffee shop, after totally reinventing herself. This story is fast paced and told in first person changing with each chapter. The more you read the more you have to find out what happens. The twist caught me totally off guard. I will be recommending this one to all my reading friends. Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

#AFamiliarStranger #netgalley #ARTorre #Thomas&Mercer

Terrific! The one word that describes this book to a tee. Lillian Smith is a bi-polar, functioning alcoholic who makes her living as an newspaper obituary writer and married to Mike Smith, an uber-cautious financial planner. They have one son, Jacob, and live a quiet life in an unassuming neighborhood mostly doing what is expected of them. Lillian, who sometimes goes off the rails, is feeling bored and ordinary. She discovers Mike is having an affair and, throwing caution to the wind, has one of her own. However, nothing is as it seems and their perfectly structured life begins to unravel.

A. R. Torre has written a psychological thriller that sets off bombshells page after page. It is un-putdownable and you won’t see the ending coming.

Thanks to NetGalley for introducing me to, yet, another fabulous author and an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I couldn’t put this one down. Fast easy read. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. I will definitely be recommending this one to family and friends.
What a wild ride. I didn’t know what was coming and I didn’t see the twist of who did it till the very very end. I loved how there was different POVs but it wasn’t confusing.

From the beginning, we know someone dies in A Familiar Stranger, we just don't know who.
I found the first half of the book kind of slow as Lillian begins an affair because she found out her husband is having an affair. But, about halfway through, when we find out WHO dies, it becomes more interesting with a twist. The ending/killer wasn't totally surprising, though.
I did like the short chapters, but felt character development could have been better, particularly with Lillian's son and in dealing with her mental illness.

Oh my goodness! I did not see that coming! A turn of events that was shocking!
This is the first book I’ve read by AR Torre and I definitely want to read more. It was a little slow for me at first, but wow the more I read, the more I couldn’t put it down! Twists and turns and just when you think you have it all figured out- more twists and turns.
Put this one on your list to read for sure!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review!
I just reviewed A Familiar Stranger by A. R. Torre. #AFamiliarStranger #NetGalley

ONE MONTH BEFORE THE DEATH

And, the countdown begins……..

Lillian Smith is a wife and mother, obsessed with Pumpkin Spice Lattes with almond milk….and DEATH.

She writes obituaries for a living, and tweets “ puzzles” about death on Twitter as @the mystery of death: 10,000 followers-
Example: “ Three women go to Vegas for the weekend. A trophy wife, an Internet coach, and a struggling single mom. One of them won’t make it back home. Who will die?“ Her greatest entertainment is posting hints-and reading the responses.

But when she discovers that her husband has been cheating and she loses her job-it is no longer enough.

David begins flirting with her at a coffee shop, after they discover that they share the same taste in coffee-and without thinking things through she reinvents herself as “Taylor”….

I was giddy with excitement when I discovered that A.R Torre had a new book coming out in September and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! As always, her writing immediately drew me in and for the first half-I wasn’t disappointed!!

But at 50%, after we find out WHO died, the story takes a major DETOUR.

Sure, she took us down a road less traveled, and props for coming up with something new.

However, the second half was a bumpy ride, and it didn’t even feel like the same book.

What happened to the story that I was so enjoying??

I didn’t care for the direction she took at all, and this went from a potential 5 ⭐️ read for me, down to 3.

Suddenly we had a myriad of possible reasons for the DEATH, but none felt plausible to me.
Or fully fleshed out.

However, the others in my buddy read group, felt differently so be sure to check out the amazing reviews of DeAnn, MarilynW and Mary Beth to read additional opinions on this one!

Will I request her next? ABSOLUTELY! This is the first time I have been disappointed by this author So odds are-I will love her next!

You can pick up a copy on September 27, 2022 and discover which side of the fence you end up on!

Thank You to Thomas and Mercer for the gifted ARC, provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Such a fun read! I started off thinking I had everything figured out. I’ve read one other book by Torre and it was a pretty standard, but totally captivating, domestic thriller. I assumed that would be the case here. But I was pleasantly surprised by a unique twist! Totally hooked me in! I can’t say what type of twist it was since it’s a massive spoiler but I’m a huge fan of books that that and it really helped give an original spin on a familiar story. I was completely invested in Lillian’s story, she’s an interesting character and while she wasn’t very likable, I couldn’t help but root for her. Plus, she’s an obituary writer. How perfectly morbid. A Familiar Stranger had great twists, secrets on secrets, characters with questionable motives, and, the biggest plus of all, very short chapters that succeeded in keeping the story moving. The book is mostly in Lillian’s POV but there were some pretty perfectly placed chapters with a POV switch. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a domestic thriller with a twist.

The first 60% of this book I was pretty engaged and was trying to figure out what was going on, and then after that it pretty much took a turn for the worse. This needs to be categorized as a family drama and not a thriller. I am interested to read more from this author in the future to see if it was just the "twist" in this book I didn't enjoy, because I do like how bingeable it was.

I liked this book. Good plot and story. Capturing read, bit of a nail biter. The characters were fleshed out well and very easy to put yourself in their shoes.

To describe A Familiar Stranger is a bit challenging, it's a mystery, thriller, crime story? It's about Lillian who is cheating on her husband to get back for her husband cheating on her. It gives Girl on The Train vibes with heavy drinking and blackouts. It started SO strong and I was super invested - Lillian is a obit writer and meets a new man David who she makes up a new persona for, her husband Mike has no idea but is growing increasingly concerned with her behavior. This book felt very disjointed and was unfortunately very disappointing.

A Familiar Stranger by A. R. Torre

Lillian Smith has issues. She used to be a celebrity obituary writer with a blog until she messed up big time and now she's just an obituary writer with a blog. She's not happy with her fall from grace but it's not likely she's going to be given another chance to move up the ladder. Her home life is dreary, with a husband who is almost completely blocking her out and a son who has his own walls up when it comes to his parents. She has a drinking problem which she is pretending is under control while she still drinks. Is this what the rest of her life is going to look like? Is her husband going to leave her? Does her son hate her?

Then she meets David in a coffee shop and, on the spur of the moment, she reinvents herself to him. She is this other person with him and it frees her from the drudge and worries of her real life. She's not hurting anyone, her husband is already doing his own thing, she's becoming a better person with this freeing of her old self. Right?

But then a video hits social media, a video directed at her son, exposing Lilian in so many ways. We've already known someone is going to die because the chapter titles have told us so from the beginning of the story. Who is going to die? Once we find out, the twists and turns are revealed, and the story goes places I didn't expect it to go. The way the book is written, I flew from one chapter to the next, not wanting to put down the book until the end. This was a fun buddy read with DeAnn, Jayme, and Mary Beth and we had lots to discuss.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.75 double-life stars

Lillian is an interesting character although she doesn’t think she’s interesting! She writes obituaries for the newspaper, she’s been married for 18 years to Mike, and she has a teenage son.

A chance encounter at a coffee shop soon takes her down a new path. She decides to reinvent herself and soon she’s having an affair with the handsome stranger David. Soon she’s taken on another job and happier than she’s ever been. Until evidence of her affair is exposed to her son and husband and anyone on social media. Her new life is imploding!

The first half of this book was compelling and a quick read. Then the second half went in an entirely different direction! We know that someone ends up dead and my mind swirled with all the possibilities! There were some great twists and an ending that made me hope for one more vengeance chapter.

I really like this author and will continue to read her next thrilling story!

I don’t know how she does it, but every book is an instant thrill from beginning to end. I was sucked in from the very first page and stayed up way too late not able to put it down.

The multiple POVs and the countdown to “the death” mixed with the high emotions and a few affairs made me binge this in a matter of a day.

If you haven’t picked up anything by this author yet, I highly suggest you do so, and then clear your day since you will not be able to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very solid mystery about people leading double lives. How well do we actually know the people we love? Many twists I didn’t expect.

This is a solid thriller, with some great twists, and an engaging plot. This should have wide appeal for fans of the genre and others. The author has a solid track record, and is on a great career path.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!