This book is #4 for me by Minka Kent and I have loved everything she has written. This is about a neighborhood filled with dysfunctional families, couples, secrets, lies, you name it … this neighborhood has it. I was glued from the first page and was anxious to see how it ended. Holy cow, I did not see that ending coming!!! Will there be a 3rd book in this series? Time will tell!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a good book!!! It is a perfect thriller with so many twists and turns. You never really know where the book is going. I think it was full of emotion and great writing! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I’ve read every Minka Kent book and enjoyed the twists and turns in this book.

This is another banger from Minka Kent.

It was so good that i felt like I need the next book in the series. The ending was a cliffhanger, boy was I mad about that ending (please no cliffhanger next time 😆).

The twist and turns never disappoint. I can't wait for Camille's next story and what she would do.

Minka Kent completist, here to say I missed one?? The first book in this series got by me, so I ran right out and got it (I loved it). I'd recommend doing that if you haven't read it, because this book fully spoils the first one. This is clearly a middle book in a series - it picks right up from the last one and ends on a teaser for the next.

That said, the tone was unique. The first book was an “am I going crazy?” potential unreliable narrator kind of thing and this one had a Desperate Housewives feel. I liked how it felt new rather than like one long book that had been chopped in half and published separately. In both books, an aspect of the ending completely surprised me, which is hard to do and why I love Kent’s books!

Welcome to Arizona…things are about to heat up!☀️🌵
Camille and Will loaded up the kids, left San Diego and moved to a gated community in Arizona. Time to put the past behind them and start anew.

But between the minor inconvenience of finding a dead body in the garage and the neighborhood gossip mill that seem all too clingy, Camille struggles to settle in.

This is book two of the Dangerous Strangers series. Though it can stand on its own, you’ll have a much better understanding of Camille’s character if you start with book one.

Camille is a solid member on my top ten sociopath’s list. (JK - I don’t have such a list…or do I?)😉.
I love how she tries to control everything around her, but she may have just met her match this time!

While book one Imaginary Strangers is still my favorite, I did enjoy my visit with Camille. Will I see her again in the future? Only Minka Kent knows that answer. (You can message me later, Minka😁).

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer

We are once again taken into Camille and Will‘s world. This is the second book in the series, and I would say you definitely need to read the first one to get the full effect of this one. Though the plot is a bit outlandish, it’s very entertaining and definitely worth the read. We got to learn more about the characters and on a much deeper level in this book. Definitely worth the read!

Thank you to Minka Kent, NetGalley, and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started off a bit confused, like I was missing some key pieces of information but still enjoying the ride. It was a few chapters in, when I realised this was part of a series and I was missing information, however it did not deter from the book and was easy enough to put the pieces together.

I thought this was a nice wee thriller, fast paced and some good little twists. A tad unbelievable in places but I think that’s why I was enjoying it so much. A bit gone girl, a bit desperate housewife and another good read from Minka Kent. I will be going back to read the first, and cannot wait for the next instalment!

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

Circle of Strangers is a sequel to Imaginary Strangers so if you haven't read that, I suggest you go back and do so before starting this book otherwise a lot of it won't make sense. This book takes place after Camille and Will relocate their family to Arizona to start fresh following a series of traumatic events try to rip their family apart. They settle in a quiet, gated community hoping this will provide the family with extra security and comfort but when their neighbors start acting suspicious it seems like they won't exactly get the fresh start they were hoping for.

I thought this book had a lot of potential but the second half all the way through the ending felt SO RUSHED. I understand this is likely because there will eventually be another book in the series but the pacing of the first half of the book didn't match what happened in the second half. Details were left out, parts of the story were glazed over and/or rushed through, and it just kind of cuts off abruptly at the end. While it does make me interested in reading part 3, should it be made, it could have been wrapped up in a more cohesive way.

What a fun series! Circle of Strangers is book two of the Dangerous Strangers Thrillers and it certainly lived up to its name. Camille is back and has relocated her family to a gated community in Arizona hoping to find peace and isolation from all the drama that transpired in book one. Unfortunately, for her, this didn't quite go as planned. The book starts out with a bang when Camille finds a dead body in her garage. We are then given the backstory leading up to this moment, which doesn't occur until somewhere around or after the halfway point. The first half held my interest due to all of the shady neighbors and not knowing who to trust (even her own husband), but it did become a little repetitive with Camille's constant insecurities and all of the neighborhood gossip. However, once the body is found, this book takes off like a rocket! It was pure chaos and nail-biting suspense. There were so many unexpected twists and WOW moments that had my jaw on the floor. The content was definitely redeeming enough for me to add another star to my rating. I'm bummed that the story ended on a major cliffhanger. I know this leaves an opening for what's probably going to be a wild ride in book three, but I don't want to wait. I want to read it now! I definitely recommend this book and the series!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for granting me digital access via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This book starts off intense! Kind of like Colleen Hoover’s Verity. The main character’s weird decision making had me hooked and curious to see where it was all going but after that initial intrigue the story fizzled out for me and I became less interested.

I have read several of Minka Kent’s books and have loved them. Circle of Strangers took me a while to get through. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and it felt like the story just went back annd forth. It didn’t really feel like it had an ending. I only gave it 3 stars but if there was an another book to follow up with what happened to the characters, I would definitely read it.

Minka Kent keeps you on your toes from the beginning. Camille and Will are starting life anew and things are going great…. For a while. Then you keep getting hit with curve ball after curveball. This book was so hard to put down. Definitely worth the read.

Thank you Minka Kent and Netgalley for this ARC opportunity.

This is a sequel to imaginary strangers, which I wasn't aware of until I looked it up, so I suggest reading that first for it to properly make sense, other than that it's absolutely great.

Camille Prescott and her husband want a fresh start, hence move to Phoenix and find themselves caught in a tangled web revolving the lives of their new neighbors.
Things change when Camille suddenly finds a dead body lying in a pool of blood in her garage.

Leaving questions regarding this so called tranquil gated community they moved into as Camille slowly begins to unravel some rather dark secrets her neighbors have been hiding.

The intricate narratives between characters really stands out.
There's a great balance between mystery and tension.
How far will you go to protect your own secrets??

Where Imaginary Strangers was disturbing and uncomfortable, Circle of Strangers was doubly so. This is the third book I have read by Minka Kent, and my favorite of the three. The book was fast paced and interesting. Although I guessed part of the ending, I did not suspect the biggest part of it. Circle of Strangers ended in a way that could lead to a third book in the series. I would probably read it if Kent writes another.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

The sequel to Imaginary Strangers, this book picks up right where it left off.

Camille is in her new, safe home in a gated community - when she finds a dead body in her garage. The worst part is, she has just had a heated altercation with this person, and calling 911 could raise some suspicion. When the kids are in bed and she can finally clean up the mess, everything is gone.

The rest of the book starts with a month prior, and all the events leading up to finding the body in the garage. I had lots of possibilities of who the person could be!

Minka Kent is an auto buy author for me, and I’m still slowly making my way through her backlist. She hasn’t let me down once a perfectly bingeable read, with lots of suspense. You’ll be turning pages as fast as you can.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this arc.

Circle of Strangers by Minka Kent, published by Thomas & Mercer, is the second book in the Dangerous Strangers Series. The story picks up where the previous book, Imaginary Stranger was left off, and concludes in kind of a cliffie, consider you informed.
Camille aka Gabrielle has build a new life, 2 kids, a husband, everything could be perfect. But it wouldn't be a Minka Kent when there wasn't drama, intrigue, twists and turns that had me guessing till the very last page.
I tiptoed around this book for a while now, reluctant to start it, knowing what reading this book could do to me and my bleeding heart - and it did in the best way.
I recommend this gem of a story that deserves all the stars.

ARC review • pub date 08.19.25

The sequel to Imaginary Strangers, this book picks up right where it left off.
Camille is in her new, safe home in a gated community - when she finds a dead body in her garage. The worst part is, she has just had a heated altercation with this person, and calling 911 could raise some suspicion. When the kids are in bed and she can finally clean up the mess, everything is gone.

The rest of the book starts with a month prior, and all the events leading up to finding the body in the garage. I had lots of possibilities of who the person could be!

Minka Kent is an auto buy author for me, and I’m still slowly making my way through her backlist. She hasn’t let me down once ☺️ a perfectly bingeable read, with lots of suspense. You’ll be turning pages as fast as you can. And at only 239 pages - you’ll fly through.

I can’t wait for her next book!

4⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for my ARC.

I was a little bored with this book, it wasn’t as fast paced as I like. It ended on a cliffhanger which I don’t like. Definitely not my favorite book by this author.

A follow up of Minka Kent's Imaginary Strangers, Circle of Strangers opens up after Camille and her family have relocated to Phoenix, AZ. Kind of got Desperate Housewise vibes from the nosey neighbors and the drama surrounding them. Story was a slow build, but will be beneficial in the future. However the epilogue absolutely left my jaw on the floor!

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Minka Kent for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for Circle of Strangers is August 19, 2025