A Stranger in the House: From the author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

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Without much evidence to indict her, Karen returned home. But things started to change drastically as Tom began questioning Karen’s innocence. Karen also started to sense that someone had been turning things around in their house. Tom was also questioned where he was the night his wife had the accident. He revealed that he was supposed to meet their neighbor, Brigid, who asked to see Tom by the river only she didn’t show up. Brigid had wanted to talk to Tom about a strange man who had been snooping around their house the morning of the accident. She further recounted that when she asked who he was, the man replied that he was an old friend of Karen from another life. The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good. A Stranger in the House is a book with very few characters. Tom, Karen and Brigid from next door. And of course the detective, whose name I have already forgotten because for me, he felt like a very forgettable character. There wasn’t a single personality trait to the man that made him stand out from any other run-of-the-mill detective, except that he did not seem to be particularly good at his job. I was surprised to discover that this was the same detective from The Couple Next Door, the author’s debut novel, which I had enjoyed. Anyway, the problem with a very small cast is that unless they are engaging and captivating, the reader soon loses interest. I thought my life was pretty boring, but compared to this little troupe my social life is a downright circus! There are no friends, no family, no work colleagues. And to be totally honest, I hated all three characters. So now we have a problem, because I really didn’t care what happens to any of them, especially Brigid, who seemed so stereotypical that I was wondering at times if the author was writing tongue-in-cheek to throw some wild curveball right at the end. But sadly, no. They hoped her wake, and the mourners attending it, would yield a few solid leads. But the detectives' presence only rattled her distraught friends.

The library ebook was available: As I started reading - I kept saying “I’ve read this before”... IT WAS SO FAMILIAR Shari Lapena follows up her hugely successful first novel with a solid effort in, A Stranger in the House. Lapena is aware of the winning formula she employed for her first bestselling novel and again draws on this to produce her second novel. I enjoyed this novel as much as Lapena’s debut novel and I think it makes a great addition to the grip lit/domestic thriller genre. The mere concept of waking up in a hospital with no memory of how you got there is enough to scare a person witless. Add in the police telling you that you were driving like a maniac --- something you would never do --- and ran your car into a pole. Well, regaining your memory would seem like the most important thing right about then. Or would it? Maybe you don’t want to know after all.

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For those that love novels like, "Girl on the Train" or "Gone Girl", this one is for you. I actually didn't really like "Gone Girl" but I mean, if you like that sort of style in a mystery-thriller, this one is comparable. The police suspect you were up to no good. But your husband refuses to believe it. Your best friend isn't so sure. And even you don't know what to believe . . . Diane Barry: She was supposed to go with a lot of friends. She canceled at the last minute. Why did she stay home that night, you know?

I am sure that A Stranger in the House will appeal to an audience who is less particular about their fare of “psychological thriller”. The bottom line is – I do want to be thrilled. I want my mind messed with. I want tension, I want suspense. After enjoying The Couple Next Door, it saddens me having to admit that I did not get any of this from A Stranger in the House, even though there were moments when there was real potential for it to become interesting. The dramatic and exciting start really gets you in the mood for this suspenseful and intriguing thriller with twists and turns and an unexpected ending I really didn't see coming. Tom and Karen look like the ideal couple. But, their lives rapidly spiral out of control when Karen abruptly leaves the house after receiving a phone call, and winds up crashing her car in a bad neighborhood. The accident causes Karen to suffer memory loss, so she can’t tell anyone what happened or why she was in such dangerous location. Karen suddenly realizes things in the house have been moved. Someone’s been there. And now, everyone is a stranger, everyone has a secret...one they may even kill for.

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Nowadays, visitors can watch debates, and can sit in the Strangers' Gallery. Historically, visitors were not allowed in at all. Parliament still has the right to debate in private, and any visitor causing a disturbance can be ejected, or even taken into custody by the Serjeant at Arms. The House of Commons rarely goes into private session (the last occasion being on 4 December 2001 when it was Tom and Karen have a picture perfect life. The are newlyweds with a beautiful home and Tom is a successful accountant. That is until Karen's accident, she has crashed her car into a pole and has no idea why she was frantically speeding through a seedy neighborhood! She is taken to the hospital and now has a concussion and can't remember what or why she was there. The police have questions for her. Hmm..... Now having said that the writing is still excellent, I love the way Shari Lapena twists her language to tell her stories. I am not put off reading future books at ALL especially considering how truly great I thought The Couple Next Door was. It was solely the plot in this one that wore me out. It genuinely felt like I'd read it before, and beautiful as the writing was, I just knew the end as soon as I started and whilst I engaged with some of the characters I didn't find them as compelling as the ones from the previous book, not because of them so much but because I felt I knew everything about them already.

I enjoyed this book. It proved to be a fast read, was definitely entertaining and kept my attention. Lapena applies a shifting viewpoints style of narration to her second novel. As a result, we learn from the main couple, as well as neighbour Brigid (Karen’s best friend and Tom’s former lover). This helps cover all bases in terms of what might have happened the night of the crash. We are not entirely sure who to believe through Lapena’s set up. With a number of players involved in the investigation, the mystery element of the book is drawn out nicely. Despite the fact that a few reviewers before me have remarked that this was predictable, I enjoyed the journey I was taken on with Lapena and her characters of A Stranger in the House. The list of potential suspects grew as police realized just how many friends Monica had made over the years. a first-class thriller with perfect pacing.... Not much is as it appears here, which is just the way lovers of suspense want it."Detective Geoff Noble: "If you were me," meaning if I, the detective was him, the suspect, would I talk. And at that time, I said, "Absolutely, I would talk." And during that interaction between he and I, it was at that point that I knew obviously-- for sure that Adam Lane was our-- was our killer, that he had killed Monica Massaro. What truly sets "A Stranger in the House" apart is its richly developed characters. Karen's journey from confusion and vulnerability to empowerment and determination is portrayed with exceptional depth and nuance. Her struggles are palpable, and I found myself empathizing with her every step of the way. Tom's complexity adds an extra layer of intrigue, as his motivations and actions are shrouded in uncertainty, adding to the book's enigmatic atmosphere. Hoda Kotb: When you have a crime that seems this personal you're looking for those closest to her. And what were you finding when you were talking to her friends? The plot in A Stranger in the House is complex and interesting enough to hold my attention however there were only three characters which didn’t allow for much speculation in regards to the outcome. I had already guessed the ending at the halfway point so the twists didn’t deliver the tension or excitement I would expect from a psychological thriller. I was also unimpressed by the conversational nature of the writing style as it made it seem choppy and too simple. Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet. “