This is one of my favorite top reads of 2022!!

The title alone is so fitting to pique your interest about the story, and begs the question how well do you think you know your partner or even your best friend?

Once again, this author doesn’t disappoint with her genius arsenal of thrilling and unique creative stories. Every single character in this story brought something meaningful to the story. ALL are perfectly flawed even if they appear so well put together. In fact, my favorite character Lenny a cemetery groundskeeper was the undisputed hero!!

This suspenseful and haunting psychological thriller kept me on my toes until the. VERY. END!!
The term TWISTED took on a whole new definition, as I embarked on Lillian and Mike’s story.

Full of juicy jaw dropping oh snap twists, from page one I was captivated by this story.

Lillian and Mine are a married couple that have hit that slump many couples do.
Have they stopped learning new things about their partner…or are they simply avoiding the truth...they already know.

Well paced, with well developed characters, from the very beginning of the story, we’re thrust into the complex and perplexing marital life of Lillian and Mike.

Suspicions and secrets often found in marriage take a life of their own, when a discovery is made, leading to a perceived betrayal that has dire consequences!

Haunting, chilling with genius dark humor, this book is broken into 6 parts describing a time frame of what is about to be the big spoiler.

Two months before…
6 weeks before…
1 month before…
2 weeks before…
1 week before…
NOW…

This author brilliantly turns on the suspense as things are not what they appear. Every chapter gives a clue and a new twist, then just when you think you figured out what direction the author is about to take…BANG, the author throws another twist to keep you on your toes. The knowledge of the 6 parts and the need to learn whodunnit kept me glued to the pages and I couldn’t stop until the end.

Oh the secrets we keep to keep up the charade that all is good .

We don’t discover all the secrets until the very end. How all the secrets are revealed on each and every one of these characters was jaw dropping and knock me sideways with a big ol’oh snap moment.

Then for good measure the author throws another wrench at the very end lending itself to another story!
I hope so…whodat, and what happened?

A chilling look at how avoidance and ignorance can be bliss or deadly…in this story you decide.

My opinion, the best way to enjoy this book is by going in blindly!

4.5 Stars

I’m really surprised that more people aren’t talking about this one! I found it to be a compelling psychological thriller with so many secrets, lies, and betrayals that it was impossible to put down.

Lillian Smith leads a pretty boring life. She’s married with a teenage son and she writes obituaries for a living. When she discovers that her husband, Mike, is having an affair she doesn’t shy away from David, the handsome stranger she meets at a coffee shop, and falls into an affair of her own.

This is everything I want in a psychological thriller. Unreliable narrators, shocking twists, cheating spouses and that nagging feeling that there is more going on than what you see on the page.

I have to agree with other reviewers who said that I started reading one book, and by the halfway point I was reading something else entirely. No one in this story is who they appear to be and I just became more and more invested as time went on. The story is mostly told through Lillian’s POV in the beginning but eventually adds other POVs into the mix. There are quite a few twists, one that I definitely did NOT see coming, and tons of unexpected moments throughout the second half. The author took a big risk with the huge twist at the midway point, but it really paid off! I can see how other people might not like it, but I really enjoyed it.

Overall I had a great time with this one! It’s easy to read with its short chapters and I loved the flow. The way the author drops little bread crumbs of mystery and eventually weaves them all together is brilliant, and I’m planning on diving into her backlist.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, A.R. Torre and Thomas & Mercer for my review copy. A Familiar Stranger will be available on 9/27.

An absolute delight reading this wonderful book, published by Thomas & Mercer. A.R. Torre did an outstanding job with this thriller that had me in suspense right from the start. I read the book, cover to cover, in ine sitting, litearlly couldn't put it down. Twisty and full of unexpected turns from start til the last page, Lillian and Mike's story is not a pretty one. The couple both keep crucial secrets from each other. Both have their own agenda, think they're so clever, but are quickly are to find out that's not the case.
The story kept me highly, highly entertained, this author+this publisher - pure gold. The fiction, mystery thriller is one of the best in 22 so far. I recommend the book, 5 stars.

Do not start this book after dinner. I say this writing this review at four in the morning. A Familiar Stranger is a one-more-chapter-rabbit-hole domestic thriller that will have you turning pages, ignoring sleep, and staying up all night reading.

In A Familiar Stranger, A.R. Torre has crafted yet another winning unputdownable strap-yourself-in thriller that will keep you guessing from the first page to the very last.

Lillian Smith is an uninspired wife and mother who writes obituaries, and even there she's failing. Her neglectful husband is having an affair. Wishing for a different life, she runs into David in a coffee shop and assumes an alter ego. When her double life crashes with her homelife things go into overdrive.

I'll stop here because the twists, the turns, and the unpredictable reveals will leave you breathless and flipping back in the book to see if you missed something. A.R. flawlessly leaves tiny bread crumbs that only an expert sleuth would be able to pick up. This masterful plot comes to a rollicking conclusion that will stun you and have you want to call a friend to discuss. You won't see it coming.

This is an enthusiastic 5-star recommendation. But clear your calendar, start early, you are in for a treat.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read. I almost DNF this book based on another reviewers review but I said no let me keep reading. The book starts off slow but I like mundane everyday life parts of stories too and then it just picks up at the 60 percent mark and it is on from there. I think a bit of back story has to happen or you start out of the gate with the issue..but this one was good. Short chapters and easy read.

I was surprised to read the husband’s voice in the story. I only expected to read Lillian’s perspective. I was immediately taken with Mike’s voice. He spied on his wife, tracked her whereabouts and was up to no good. Each one cheated on the other and real loser in it all was their son, Jacob. I wasn’t surprised to find out which character died. Frankly, the story began to run out of steam, but then there were a few surprises left.
Overall, it’s a decent read, although all the characters, except Lenny and Jacob are pretty slimy.

A big thank you to Alessandra Torre (A.R. Torre) for this advanced reader copy!

Quote from A.R. Torre about A Familiar Stranger: “It also has a huge turning point in the middle of the book that readers seem to love or hate. If I had to guess, most of my romance readers won't be crazy about it while most of my suspense readers will cackle in glee.”

No surprise here, I’m a huge romance reader but also love a good suspense/thriller that keeps me up all night. I would say A.R. Torre’s quote above is 100% accurate. If you’re a huge romance fan, you’ll enjoy the first half of the book and have troubles putting it down! Our protagonist (Lillian) lives an ordinary life writing obituaries and involved in a somewhat unhappy marriage. She reinvents herself when she meets David at a coffee shop. Out of all the storylines, I was most intrigued by this….but I WANTED MORE!! More David, more secrets/affair! That’s all I say on that...

The second half of the book is far more suspenseful. A character is killed, and readers must figure out the mystery of it all through different character’s perspectives and other twists and turns. Like many other reviews, I agree that the second half of the book reads completely different from the first. It’s different but still a page turner. After reading The Ghostwriter and A Familiar Stranger, I’ll be looking up her other books ASAP (probably full of many twists and turns too!).

A Familiar Stranger is a bumpy ride to say the least.

Lillian Smith lives a boring life; she repeatedly says so herself. Lillian used to write obituaries for celebrities but has fallen out of favour with her employer. And so, now she writes regular obituaries. She feels distant from her son and believes her husband is cheating on her. When Lillian meets an enigmatic man at a coffee shop, she invents a whole new persona for herself and commences her own steamy affair.

From the outset, the reader knows someone will die, but it’s not immediately clear who.

This domestic thriller has multiple POVs, with Lillian’s being the primary one.

There was a huge twist that totally changed the direction I thought this was going, and it left me gasping. The character development could have been a bit better. Some of the characters felt like caricatures. And Lillian calling herself boring didn’t exactly make me feel excited to read her story.

Overall, I did enjoy parts of this wild ride of a book. It was a quick read, and I may look at future books by the author. Although, I suspect this one won’t stay with me for very long.

2.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

A.R. Torre brings you a macabre tale full of twists and turns that will keep you turning pages late into the night.

Lillian, a woman on the verge of several crisis of life, a flailing career in obituary writing, a boring marriage with an absentee husband and a typical angsty teenage son. Her dearest friend props her up and brings her lattes when she is not drowning her sorrows in wine. Yet under the surface lurks something far more sinister.

Mike, is a planner, an analytical thinker to a tee. His contingencies plans have contingencies plans, but when he is caught in affair, the tables begin to turn. Lillian gains some ground and believes she has the upper hand. However, as secrets and lies unfold their seemingly mundane lives continue to spiral. This thrilling mystery comes to a crescendo and what happens will leave you stunned!

A fast paced thriller with tons of suspense and what did I just read moments!

5 stars for A.R. Torre's A Familiar Stranger.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to @netgalley for my advance copy! A.R. Torre is always a juicy wild ride and this was no exception!

This book has all the twists and turns but it is written so smoothly that it’s like riding in a luxury vehicle. Although, I did guess some of the plot twists I still really enjoyed it.

The characters are complex, messy and some are unlikeable. I felt the plot was compelling and unique. The whole spin she put on the second half of the book was refreshing. I enjoyed that the author leaves us hanging at the end to rather imagine what happens. That is always fun!

My one and only turn off in this was that we had another drunk female narrator. I am just so over that “type” of character and wish there was something new created. Its tired authors. Let us invent something else!

3.5 -- A Familiar Stranger is a double-life type story. Lillian, an obituary writer, discovers her husband is having an affair. She confronts him quickly and never is able to find out who the other woman is. She then on a bit of a whim claims to be a different person when she meets David in a coffee shop which leads to an affair of her own. While we hear a lot about Lillian's troubled past with substances and depression following tragic events, her history doesn't have too much of a purpose except to make her an unreliable narrator. This was obvious from the get go. I had fairly quickly predicted the bulk of the plot very early on, but that's ok as I did enjoy seeing how it got there. I do wish Lillian was a bit more like-able early on. She did grown on me towards the end, but I think overall I would have enjoyed the book a bit more if she was more likable from the beginning. Overall the book was clever and I will look for more titles from the author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. A Familiar Stranger will be available on 9/27/22.

When I began the book, I did not see it ending like THAT! Man, what a wild twisty ride!

Obituary writer, mother and wife, Lillian Smith has a wee bit of a drinking problem. She's got a lot going on in her marriage and professionally. Thankfully, her best friend, Sam is there to help her through everything. When she meets David, in a coffee shop, she is more than intrigued. When they begin an affair, she never expected the proof of that will show up on her son's social media page. Things are spinning out of control and Lillian has no idea what is really going on in her life.

Whew! This one shocked me. This was such a fun escapism book. I had no idea where things were going to go in this book, and I loved every second of it. It was nice to have the wool pulled over my eyes.

Full of twists, turns and a whopper of a reveal, I found this to be a hard to put down and engaging book!

I was loving A Familiar Stranger until the 60% mark. It had Gone Girl-esque vibes and an unreliable narrator. Unfortunately, the story takes a turn for the worse then doubles down until the end.

A Familiar Stranger follows Lillian as she meets David and starts an affair that unravels her life.

Lillian is a difficult character to like at times. She’s inconsistent and flighty, but she’s also weighed down by her marriage making her feel desperate to break out. All of these traits lead her to read as unreliable as the perspective she paints isn’t always fully truthful.

Lillian’s husband has a few chapters that make it clear Lillian isn’t married to who she thinks she is married to, making readers question whether their initial impression of Lillian.

At the 60% mark something happens that changes the course of the novel for what would seem like for the better, but Torre’s choices for the final 40% are the reason I rated the novel three stars instead of four.

I’m going to be as vague as possible, so if this doesn’t make sense, bear with me. The final 40% introduces multiple perspectives that didn’t need to be included considering another choice Torre made regarding the narrative. The reveals around Lillian’s husband were just plain stupid.

However, I did enjoy the final reveal even if it didn’t feel fully earned.

Overall, A Familiar Stranger started out well but faltered in its conclusion.I wish Torre would have made different choices after the 60% mark because I probably would have ended up rating this five stars.

4.5 out of 5

This book had me turning pages quickly. We know there is a death, just not sure who. Once you hit 50%, all bets are off and the book takes so many twist you’ll need to hold on. I really can’t say I had it figured out, expected some, shocked by others. Some left me with questions and scratching my head, rereading to see if I missed it. Fast paced domestic thriller. Another win for this author. I look forward to the her next book!

Lillian has a unique job — writing obituaries. But she is at a crossroads; unhappy with work, unsatisfied in her marriage and an overly solemn son. She meets a handsome stranger in a coffee shop, comes up with an alias and starts an illicit affair. An unfulfilled life, trying to bring some much needed affection into it. Lillian has so many vices. Then we have her controlling husband, Mike. He has no redeeming qualities and you can so figure out where some of Lillian’s issues stem from. This guy has more secrets than any character should! Characters are sad, mostly unlikeable. Definitely not an uplifting character in the story. Although, I had a soft spot for the cop turned cemetery caretaker Lenny!

Thanks to AR Torre, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Huge amount of thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!
At first glance Lillian is an ordinary wife and mother. Gone are the days of being a celebrity obituary writer with a blog. Now she’s lucky to be writing for the local paper. She meets David and they begin an affair. What she doesn’t tell David is that she isn’t who she presents herself to be with him. She invents a fake persona to make herself more interesting and desirable.
As all things secret tend to do, Lillian’s facade comes crashing down when her affair is discovered and exposed on her son’s social media account. As things intensify, Lillian discovers that she isn’t the only one leading a double life.
Really, really enjoyed this one! Publication day is coming up, September 27 so put it on your list!

I love A.R. Torre’s books, but this one just wasn’t for me. While it was a well-paced and quick read, it wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped it would be. I found it a bit anti-climactic (even the scenes that should have been climactic), and the characters weren’t memorable or even likable for that matter. They all had flaws but no redeeming qualities, except maybe Lillian to a degree.

Now the second half of the book felt like a completely different story. I was surprised by some of the revelations, including who Mike had the affair with and who the murderer was, but I found this portion of the book even less engaging than the first half. While I personally would not recommend this book, I do still look forward to reading more from A.R. Torre.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Almost Two Semi-Tightly Coupled Novellas. This book is a strange one in that it is almost two separate novellas that are somewhat tightly coupled (with the second one using the same characters and playing off the events in the first one), but which are otherwise fairly distinct in both style and tone. In the first half of this book, it is more of a domestic suspense where we get a countdown every so often of how long is left until someone dies. Then, suddenly, a random perspective we've yet encountered... and this person discovers a body. This is effectively the prologue of the second novella, and from here we get more of a crime thriller where the reader is trying to figure out who the killer actually is even as various people reveal themselves to be on one side of the law or another and the two sides eventually converge with interesting and explosive results. Overall, the complete tale works, almost in a Without Remorse (the original Clancy, not the bastardized movie form) manner where you need the first half to make any real sense of the second half. An interesting tale and told using some rare mechanics. Very much recommended.

Secrets. lies,. and bad decisions propel this thriller where someone dies - but who? Lillian thinks it's harmless to reinvent herself when she meets David in a coffee shop but then they have an affair. And then there's a tik Tok video. No spoilers from me but this is twisty and entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley foe the ARC. A page turner.

I am struggling with my thoughts on this one.

On one hand, I loved this book.

On the other, there were some aspects about the book that just didn't click with me.

I think I was expecting more of the Deanna Madden series vibe with this book. It definitely didn't have that vibe for me. This one was too quick, I think. I almost wanted a little more an areas. I wouldn't even have been disappointed if it had be a duet to give me more of the thriller feel.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. The ending wasn't really my liking, but it is what the author wanted it to be. I definitely saw the who coming from a mile away. I don't think many will though. I think my brain works in some of the same ways as the author's does though. This one is definitely worth reading!

A Familiar Stranger
A R Torre
Thomas and Mercer
September 27, 2022

Lillian Smith is a wife (Mike) and mother (Jacob) and writes obituaries for a living. Mike is deceptive and feels and acts as though he is the smartest in the family.

Lillian’s obituary work included writing a young girl’s obituary. She is dying and Marcella is writing her obituary. She befriends the father, Lenny, a retired cop. When Marcella dies, Lenny takes a job at the graveyard to be near his daughter. Lillian visits the grave with Lenny and they often drink together in the graveyard.

Lillian’s uncomplicated life becomes complicated when she meets a man (David Laurent) in a coffee shop. They talk a few times but Lillian presents herself as a woman named Taylor. She makes up lies about Taylor’s life and soon she and David meet regularly. Their relationship is like a dream, expensive dinners, gifts, and champagne on his yacht.

That is all I can say about the book without ruining your reading (and you should definitely read it), but all the characters have secrets and they are revealed in a wonderful twisty way. Congratulations to A. R. Torre on her ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ thriller!