The Stranger Inside is about Zoe, who has finally gotten away from her abusive ex and just wants to start over, but things go totally off the rails when she lets a women with similar circumstances move in. What starts as helping a friend turns into a nightmare full of lies, drama, and danger that Zoe never saw coming.

For the most part, I thought this book was a solid mystery, and I couldn't wait to figure out what was actually going on! I was never really sure who to trust, which kept me hooked the whole time, and I ended up finishing it in about a day because I just had to know the truth.

What I didn’t like was how the big twist(s) tried to tie way too many things back to one character. At first I was impressed by the reveals, but the more connections that were made, the less believable it started to feel.

A crazy psychological thriller.
A different storyline to the norm.
The characters were so well written it took me a while to understand what was going on with them.
Slightly unrealistic in that would Zoe go as far as she did for Lisa?
Some great humour added here and there.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

I was almost certain I was going to DNF this but it did end up surprising me a little. I picked this up days ago, sat it down and read 2 other books, then came back to this to give it one more try and it finally hooked me.

This book takes a little while to catch its bearings. The beginning is kind of slow, and the narration is so casual and conversational in tone it felt like I was reading a really long-winded reddit post at first. However, once things start to pick up and the author starts to hit their stride, so did I with reading. After that, I was able to breeze through this book and read the majority of it one day.

I literally read another thriller yesterday that had absolutely no suspense or intrigue and that was not the case here. While the ending did start to get a little too crazy, I think this story has some interesting twists to it. I managed to predict some things but I was also caught by surprise a couple times.

I don't think I would personally pick up another book from this author, as the writing style just isn't for me, but I think this is a decent thriller that a lot of people could enjoy.

Thank you to Inkubator Books and Netgalley for this Advance Copy.

The Stranger Inside by Ruth Harrow is a tense and addictive psychological thriller that kept me turning pages late into the night. The twists are sharp, the characters compelling, and the suspense builds to a gripping climax. I truly enjoyed this book and rated it five stars.

I actually went into this thriller with low hopes because I feel like most thrillers for me are truly hit and miss.

Regardless of the plot, regardless of the cover it really is about the particular story and if I connect with it, and if it’s paced well and so many other factors and personal preference does always play a part.

I try to be unbiased and fair with my reviews as much as possible, but at the end of the day, I am consuming art.

This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while. I was sweating. My heart rate increased, and the pacing was so perfect.

This book is very much about an abusive relationship and it gives Freida McFadden vibes in the best of ways. I genuinely was trying to take a nap and rest about 40% through this book and I could not put it down and I accidentally inhaled it so this is likely going to be a book that you’ll pick up and will not be able to put down until 3 AM so take that warning as you will I would read this on a Saturday evening.

Every single time I started to think that there was filler or fluff, or there was overwriting done something would happen, and it was very clear that the author was creating a transition scene and not only that but doing very well in a way that added to the characters development and showed things in realistic way.

This is one of my biggest ick with thrillers is that sometimes the character somehow doesn’t have a job they’re responsible for and can put everything down and become an investigator? This book was genuinely realistic with all of that.

I cannot express to you how much I love this book because it’s really hard for me to find a good thrillers, and this was one that blew me away and has changed my perspective slightly on what I truly enjoy in a good thriller a bit, which is my favorite part of reading new books and discovering new authors.

If you want a good thriller, I heavily recommend reading this one

Thank you for this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

First off, I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this book. In return, I am giving my honest review.
Let me begin by saying WOW! Boy, this book was a crazy ride I wasn’t expecting to take. From the beginning to the end of this book, I was hooked. It felt like seeing a car crash you couldn’t look away from. Zoe, our MFC, God love her, has the best of intentions, but seems to make horrible decision after horrible decision. I know she has her heart in the right place, but Girl, really?
Having lived through and survived an abusive relationship, she becomes deeply invested in a woman who posts online about her own domestic hell. Zoe’s heart feels deeply for this woman, and so begins our nightmare of a story.
I would love to give more detail, but I would hate to spoil this suspense packed, “nail biter” of a novel. You will just have to check it out for yourself. As for me, I look forward to reading more from this author.

Don’t walk, RUN, to get this book! I would have read this in 24 hours or less if I didn’t have to go to work! Lol. It was soooooo good!!! If you’re a fan of Frieda McFadden, you will love this book as it’s similar to her writing. I will definitely hands down, be reading more by this author! I can’t say enough good things, this book was suspenseful, intriguing, and kept me guessing!!

I love a good thriller!
This was tense, suspenseful and a page turner.
If you like thrillers definitely give this one a try!

This book was so addicted. I couldn't stop reading it until I finished. I loved the FMC so much. I felt so relatable to Zoe in many aspects. I'm happy that she got the chance to be free and happy. She deserves it.

I received an ARC of this book from Inkubator via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I am thinking 3.5 stars rounded up, as there were aspects of the book I liked and others that didn't work for me.

The beginning was enticing. I definitely felt sympathetic toward Zoe, as her life is pretty sad! A job she dislikes, mentions of a former relationship with a poor ending, no family. I could completely see why she was absorbed in Lisa's forum posts.

Then the middle got a little slow for my liking. Some of Zoe's actions were not very believable - Lisa was basically bulldozing her - and I felt like it was just pages & pages of similar stuff.

The twists were satisfactorily twisty! I didn't guess any of them, though of course we do realize not everything is as it seems. However, I also found some of the twists a bit far-fetched, and the very ending was frustating!

The Stranger Inside truly had me in its grasp from beginning to end. It shocked me every time I thought I knew what was coming.

The twists were so well done and brilliantly executed. Lisa was an extremely complex and well written character. This was truly excellent psychological thriller, the epilogue of this book ensured I will be thinking of little else for the foreseeable future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ruth Harrow for the opportunity to read an advances copy of this book

The Stranger Inside pulls you into a tense psychological maze where trust is as dangerous as betrayal. Zoe, fresh from the wreckage of an abusive marriage, wants nothing more than peace and a chance to heal. When she befriends Lisa—another woman with scars of her own—her decision to open her home feels like a compassionate step forward. But Harrow expertly shifts the ground beneath the reader’s feet, turning Zoe’s safe haven into a fortress under siege.

The story thrives on uncertainty. Every chapter forces you to reassess loyalties and motives, feeding just enough truth to keep you guessing while withholding the rest until it stings. Harrow’s pacing is deliberate but never sluggish, her prose tight and emotionally loaded. Zoe’s slow slide from tentative optimism to guarded paranoia feels unnervingly real, and the tension ratchets higher with each intrusion, each whispered threat, each unanswered question.

The climax is a gut punch, the final twist as unnerving as it is satisfying, and the epilogue? It flips the lingering dread on its head in a way that stays with you. This isn’t just a thriller—it’s a study in how trauma warps trust, and how kindness can sometimes be the most dangerous gamble of all.

For readers who like:
-Unreliable alliances
-Domestic thrillers
-Psychological cat-and-mouse games

Final Verdict
Gripping, unnerving, and layered with emotional depth, The Stranger Inside keeps you teetering between suspicion and sympathy until its final, chilling reveal. Harrow proves she’s a master at making you doubt everyone—and everything—you thought you knew.

Grateful to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Ruth Harrow for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

The Stranger Inside is a chilling, slow-burning psychological thriller that explores the terrifying consequences of misplaced trust and the haunting echoes of trauma.

Ruth Harrow crafts a compelling narrative around Zoe, a woman finally free from an abusive relationship and determined to rebuild her life. When she meets Lisa on a parenting forum—another survivor of psychological torment—Zoe’s empathy leads her to offer shelter. But what begins as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a nightmare. Lisa refuses to leave, Greg (Lisa’s manipulative husband) begins a campaign of sabotage, and Zoe finds herself under siege from both outside and within.

Harrow’s prose is sharp and emotionally resonant, capturing the claustrophobia of domestic vulnerability and the slow erosion of safety. The tension builds with precision, and the final twist—when Lisa’s secret is revealed—is both shocking and deeply unsettling.

This is a story about survival, deception, and the thin line between protector and prey. Harrow doesn’t just deliver suspense; she offers a nuanced portrait of women navigating trauma, trust, and the fight to reclaim their lives.

Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Behind Closed Doors, this thriller grips from the first page and doesn’t let go.

Thank you to Ruth Harrow the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Stranger Inside is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. It's gripping and terrifying at times.

The story was incredibly deep and I loved the guessing game of is-she-the-villian-is-she-not. Every time I thought I had it figured out, a piece of information was drip-fed and so the mystery continued!

The ending was shocking! and the epilogue was wild! WOW

An absolute page-turner!

Zoe has a secret she is desperately trying to hide. So has Lisa.
When these two meet on a forum for women, their worlds collide in the most disturbing of ways.

Disturbed. That is what I am after reading this book.
Make no mistake, I enjoyed it, but Zoe was outsmarted by Lisa at every turn.
How can that be? Coincidence? Planning? Foresight? Psychic abilities? No one can get it that right, surely? Even the smartest of tricksters.

Twisty, fast paced, and a shock ending that will keep you guessing.

You have to read this book to understand. Just read it!

This book was absolutely brilliant! It was highly addictive from start to finish I just couldn’t put it down! It didn’t take long before just one more chapter turned into just surrendering and finishing it in one sitting. It was definitely worth the sleepless night and the lack of sleep!

A gripping page-turner that will make sure you will go through a thousand emotions per minute! The ENTIRE plot was superb I’d highly recommend this book!