This book was not what I was expecting at all and I really enjoyed it! It focuses on two women, Belinda who is a carer at a care home and Mabel who is one of the residents.

The story goes between past and present as you discover what secrets the two women are hiding and how they both ended up at Sunnyside.

It’s a chunky book but I flew through it, I don’t want to give any more about the plot away as I was really surprised (in a good way!)

The Stranger in Room Six has gone straight to the top of my 'best reads of 2025' list. I just could not put it down; I read it in the morning, the evening and in the middle of the night.

The story centres around Belinda, a carer, and Mabel, a resident at the Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart. Belinda has spent 15 years in prison for the alleged murder of her husband, losing contact with one of her daughters in the process. At the care home, Belinda meets Mabel, who has had an equally colourful life. As the pair swap stories in a series of flashbacks, the past comes back to haunt them both in the present.

The characterization of Mabel and Belinda is just brilliant, and you become completely invested in their outcomes. I wish I could go back and read it for the first time again!

The Stranger In Room Six is a book I liked in places and didn’t like so much in others.
The book is based around two women. One is a mother that does something in the flash of the moment which changes her life forever and the other is an old lady in a care home that has had a colourful life and at the age of ninety eight loves that this new carer she begins to like and trusts can share stories about their pasts and even secrets.
This book was ok for me, the writing was a little slow but then too much could happen on one page. The alternate chapters helped to develop the characters of the two women and the past and now chapters helped with the storyline but I feel like Belinda’s story could have been dropped as the older woman, Mabel, had a lot of life to reveal starting in the Second World War to present day. The characters were decent for the two main women but I feel the other characters which there were a lot of were fairly under developed and could have added so much more to the storyline. It was an ok read and I was probably expecting more.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin General UK, Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Stranger in Room Six knows Belinda's secret. She's spent fifteen years in jail after accidentally killing her husband and hasn't told her new employer Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart. Mabel, the owner, is the oldest resident and also has a secret of her own. As their friendship blossoms, so does danger. Can they trust each other?

This book is told in six different parts, spanning 116 chapters from the POV of Belinda, Mabel, and the stranger in room six. Admittedly, the table of contents was daunting, but it was a very easy and fast read.

Something I didn't love about this novel the obvious lack of knowledge about how the UK law system works. There were lots of small details and then OF COURSE the author had to mention the main character was asked to pay a "six-figure sum" for her bail. That's not a bail, that's a bail BOND which is specific to US Courts. My contructive criticism would be to remove that from the book as it casts doubt on any research done by the author, considering the gist of the story centres around historical facts.

This novel has everything: a cheating husband, mystery, politics, jail time, family drama, a love story... lots of good character development and a fantastic twist at the end!

A real page turner that I couldn’t put down. There was so much depth to it and I enjoyed the historical aspect as well.

Friendship and secrets are at the heart of this thoroughly readable book told in 3 timelines by two distinct and very different characters thrown into the fray due to their circumstances. Sprinkled into the mix is a link to world War 2,history and how to survive in distressing circumstances

A book with multiple time lines.
Belinda is in an unhappy marriage with two teenage daughters when she finds out her husband is having an affair, after confronting him she pushes him resulting in his death and was sent to prison for fifteen years.
on leaving prison Belinda starts work in a retirement home where she meets Mabel who owns the house after moving in with her aunt after her family had died during the war and was left the house.
Belinda and Mabel befriend each other and tell each other their secrets.
A great story with great characters just couldn't put it down.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

An absolutely wonderful read which was a real page turner. I loved following the story of Belinda and Mabel and how their friendship grew as time went on. Very touching and certainly gave food for thought. I loved it.

I really liked this one, reading the stories of Mabel and Belinda and how their characters intertwine. Always humbling to read about WW2 and the way everyone managed/coped and even thrived in the environment. Had to keep turning the pages!

Belinda is convicted of her husband’s murder and is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Now out, she is read to rebuild her life and is set on that happening in The Sunnyside, a residential home. Mabel who is a resident there and has lived in the home for years holds secrets about the house. But the secrets won’t stay buried forever.

I enjoy this author’s books and I liked the cover so I was excited to read this one. This ended up being an interesting read with a great premise. The story is told in the voices of both Belinda and Mabel, in separate timeframes. I preferred Belinda’s chapters and found the sections where she is in prison interesting, this is due to Mabel’s timeframe being more historical, which is not something I usually go for, however I did find it compelling in this story.

The story is quite long, however I didn’t feel like it was, like it would in some books. Saying that, the pacing was up and down, with some parts feeling a bit slow. I feel this wasn’t really a thriller as there wasn’t much suspense or many twists and would class it more as a literary/historical drama. This was a well written story overall, although not my favourite by this author. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

A psychological thriller set over two timelines, WW2 and the present day. I liked the characters but the plot was slightly unbelievable though the historical detail regarding the brown shirts was interesting.

I believe this is my first of Jane's books but it definitely won't be my last.

I thought this was going to be "just" a normal, bog-standard thriller, but it's got so much depth. Yes it's got what you want - murder and prison and regrets and whatnot - but there's so much backstory. I found the story regarding Mabel during WW2 very interesting. And I liked the crossover between Belinda and Mabel's stories.

It's got a bit of everything, it has thrill, history, a bit of romance. It's like a story within a story within a story. It flicks from Mabel's past to Belinda's past and to the present, as well as chapters from the viewpoint of an unidentified character. This sounds confusing but it really wasn't, it flows very well. It's full of heart, it's tense and sad, but there is such a hopeful feeling throughout, particularly in the 1940s sections.

I loved all the characters. Some are in it more than others and some are more obviously likeable than others, but I can't say there was a wasted one amongst them. They all work by themselves but all do wonders for Belinda's and Mabel's stories. And the two main women are just gorgeous. There are elements that I think we're not meant to like, but even that couldn't take the shine off of them.

I do have one issue though. It's not to do with the book itself, no, the plot, the characters, and the meaning behind everything is just perfect. But for me, the title and the cover just scream thriller, scream crime novel, whodunnit, kind of thing. And whilst there is an element of that regarding Belinda's story, this isn't a thriller for me. And even though the majority of the story is set in the present time, or the recent past, it is the scenes set around WW2 that take over (in a good way). It's a difficult one. Because I'm not sure you could label it as an historical novel because it's not completely. But I think it would maybe match a bit better with a change in cover as I felt that jarred ever so slightly with what I expected and what I got.

I could have written a far longer review of this. I could talk about it for ages, but firstly I think a lot of joy comes from the not knowing. And secondly, a lot of what I felt about it can't be written down. It's all about emotion and feelings and morals and beliefs and I don't think that's something I can explain. So all I really want to say is that this book is very, very, very good.

A story of connection between Mabel, an elderly woman in a care home and Belinda, one of her carers. Not promising material you may think, but when you add in treason and Mosely’s Blackshirts during WW2 and Belinda’s years in jail the story really takes off as the connections between the two women are slowly revealed and other fascinating characters join the cast. The wartime story is captivating and informative and the story of Belinda’s past misfortunes comes to life too, with a very satisfying ending drawing all the threads together. The writing could flow a little more freely at times, but there is certainly plenty here to keep the reader engaged.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ARC review - Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin books for the chance to read this advance copy of The Stranger in Room Six.

Duel timeline story of Belinda and Mabel. Belinda has just come out of prison after a 15 year sentence for killing her cheating husband. Mabel an elderly lady who owns the retirement home she lives in. Both with secrets and what starts out by two strangers sharing stories of their difficult lives. Turns into a loving friendship.

Really enjoyed that this book had historically parts. With the world war 2 timeline. An emotional and suspenseful story.

This was a very absorbing story with a lot going on all the time. Partly with a background to World War 2 and the world afterwards. A great cast of characters who were very easy to visualise and a lovely conclusion

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed the different time periods this book covered and how it ended

Loved this book so much. Two women tell their stories over, two different timelines. Loved both Mabel and Belinda, and was engrossed in both of their stories. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for ARC.

I really enjoy books by this author and this is no exception. Set in a dual timeline and following two main female characters this is a hugely entertaining and page turning story.

In present day Belinda is a carer at the care home where Mabel is a resident. In Belinda’s past she was sent to prison for murder and in her early life Mabel lived through the war and saw members of her family accused of being traitors. Both of these are strong ladies with huge stories to tell, which they do in turn to each other alternating the past with their present days.

Well written and very inspiring and interesting historically I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. The main characters had different but thought provoking tales to recount. I did like the ending but thought there may be a final twist where the two characters had another link, however it is a book I would definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for an advanced copy of in exchange for a review. If you have enjoyed Jane Corry’s previous books then you will love this one too. Like her previous novels, there are 2 stories running parallel and each will have you gripped and wondering how they will become entwined.

Jane Corry does it again!
I really loved this one and was so immersed in Belinda and Mabel's story. It was so interesting to find out about Mabel's childhood growing up during the war with Aunt Clarissa and how her experiences shaped her. I also loved reading about Belinda's time in prison - how she got there and how she dealt with it.
The characters in this story were so real and I was really hoping it would all work out for the best for them.
The chapters at Sunnyside were intriguing and I loved seeing how everything came together.
This book took me a while to get into, I did find the start slower than other books by Corry but I'm so glad I stuck with it - the pay off was so worth it! I would 100% recommend this book and am already planning to buy it for my mum when it's published🙌🏼