*3.5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What in the hell did I just read? Honestly, this story had me intrigued fro the start, and it takes a really long while to place together all the pieces. And even then, I was still left with a tonne of questions at the end.

Leah and her friends, even though they're mostly spoken about from her POV as memories in the past, were intriguing characters. Kyle the Detective seemed pretty cool. Lots of things going on this one, and it keeps you on edge wondering what actually happened.

Why Did I Read?
I remember loving Megan Miranda’s All the Missing Girls and I always am interested in a mystery/thriller that can really keep me guessing!

My Thoughts:
I was surprised that this story didn’t go in the direction that I initially thought it would! After the first bit though, I had a good idea of where things would go but I was always on the edge of my seat, eager to find out the details.

I liked the little flashbacks to the past and trying to figure out what kind of person Emmy, Leah’s missing roommate, was. There were little hints and tie-ins from the past and I always like those sort of clues as we move forward in the plot. The pacing did feel a bit slow at times but I was still kept interested. I never felt very attached to Leah though.

I liked the atmosphere of the book and I think it helped that I started reading this when I was backpacking so I was literally out by a lake in the wilderness and it added to the eerie feel. The reveals were on point and I liked the twists. I didn’t end up loving it like I did All the Missing Girls but it still hit most of the notes I like in a mystery/thriller!

In Short…
A mystery that will keep you interested and eager to find out more! The reveals and twists are good and while it isn’t my favorite by Megan Miranda, it was still enjoyable! I always appreciate a good thriller that keeps me on my toes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

How do we, how can we, ever really know someone? This question isn't limited to just people you meet, it can apply to people you have known for years. We never question if we know someone until something happens to make us question it.

Leah Stevens thinks she knows her roommate Emmy Grey. They met eight years ago and spent three months as roommates before Emmy went off on a Peace Corps assignment and Leah secured a job in her desired field, journalism. Fast forward eight years when a chance encounter in a bar in Boston reconnects them. Emmy is untethered and looking for a change of pace, Leah has job woes that leave her wanting a clean slate so they decide, in a drunken moment, to move to wherever the dart lands on the map. Three weeks later Leah finds herself living in Western Pennsylvania with a roommate from long ago. Their jobs have them keeping opposite schedules so it isn't uncommon for Leah and Emmy to go days without seeing one another. Then one day, after a body is discovered in their neighborhood, Leah realizes it's been days since she's Emmy or even seen evidence of Emmy. Could there be someone out there preying on young women? Is Emmy in danger? Leah begins to search for her missing roommate and realizes there's more than meets the eye to this whole story.

This was a page turner. I kept changing my mind about the direction the story and characters were taking until the last few chapters of the book when Miranda gave a definitive resolution to the big questions. I appreciate an author that can keep a reader stringing along on several different threads and questioning their deductions until the reveal. In 353 pages (or thereabouts) Megan Miranda was able to flesh out main characters that were believable, a story that was engaging, and provide a satisfying resolution. What else has she written? It's going on my TBR.

I really enjoyed All the Missing Girls. Because of that, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this one.

This book started out really good. It had my attention. There was enough mystery and intrigue to have me turning the pages.

However, somewhere the book lost me. I wasn't confused, I just became disinterested. It started to fall flat. It was like the author gave all she had in the first half or so of the book then lost her mojo.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this anymore. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

What a great pchyogical thriller. Now I want to read all of her other books. Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

“All things happen in an instant. Everything could change in a moment”

I havent't read any other book written by her, but I heard her other books are great as this one. She is great at delivering exciting psychological thrillers with well-developed characters and well-thought out plots. Can't wait to read more of her books.

I felt this story just kind of bumbled along, meandering through the red herrings and the vital clues. It was easy to see why the main character is in the mess she is in. For a journalist, she really didn't pick up on clues very well. The other characters were practically jumping up and down saying I did it. I really enjoyed Megan Miranda's previous books, and I am sure that I will enjoy her future books. This one was just okay for me.

Absolutely spell binding. Mind bending , psychological thriller. Get lost in mystery and intrigue. What type of person could enter your , life and make you question your sanity, read this book to get the answer.

Leah Stevens moves to rural Pennsylvania with an old roommate to escape something that happened at work. She has not seen Emmy in years, not since they were roommates once summer about 8 years ago, and now they are roommates again. The book starts out with a violent crime near where Leah now lives and then Emmy goes missing. Are the two related? Does anyone believe Leah that Emmy exists? An interesting story that follows Leah trying to find Emmy on her own, working with the police to find Emmy (and prove Emmy exists), and trying to keep up with teaching high school. A twisty sort of story and a great ending...

It is so hard to review this book. I absolutely was blown away by "All the Missing Girls" and what is often the case, I expected the same to happen with "The Perfect Stranger". I must say, I really enjoyed "The Perfect Stranger". However, it was not as good as "All the Missing Girls.

Megan Miranda is back again with another compelling and suspenseful novel that keeps the reader guessing until its conclusion.

Suspenseful read with characters who are a bit more "likable" than those in Gone Girl, but there is a similar feeling of not knowing whom to trust.

Summary from Goodreads:

"Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?"

My Thoughts:

When I think of this book the first word that comes to mind is page-turner! I started reading this book and was finished it with it in a matter of days which doesn't always happen (even though I would like it to). I just couldn't stop reading as I always felt compelled to see what was going to happen next. My favorite thing about this book was that feeling that I never knew quite what was going on. As I was reading I wasn't sure who Leah could trust and who she couldn't. There were just constant questions and I was never sure of any of the character's motivations which it made it that much more interesting. It also made it that much harder to put down! It almost felt like there were two mysteries within this book. The mystery of what was happening in the present and also the mystery of what had happened in Leah's past. I enjoyed how we were given parts of Leah's past in pieces throughout the book. It added to the suspense and had me questioning Leah's motivations as well. I hit a point in this book where I just knew that I wasn't going to stop reading as I had to see how it would all end. I will say that it was a pretty satisfying conclusion even though I had started guessing pieces of it. It ended up being a really solid read for me - an easy four stars!

This is now the second book that I've read and enjoyed by this author. The first book I read of hers was a young adult novel and I enjoyed that one just as much as this one. I'm excited that I have other books of hers to look forward to! This was a really great standalone thriller which is a type of book that I just don't read enough of. I'm a series girl for the majority of the books I choose but books like this make me want to stretch and read more standalones! I love a book that keeps me reading late into the night and this one definitely did! I think that fans of both suspense and thrillers should give this book a try! I can easily recommend it and am looking forward to reading more by this author because of it!

Bottom Line: A suspenseful read that I couldn't put down!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. Thoughts on it are my own.

Let me start out by saying I love Megan Miranda's writing. She writes so clearly you feel as if you are there in the book with her as an outsider looking in. Unfortunately for me this one didn't really do the trick. It was suspenseful for most of the book but then it got a little bit confusing. I think there was a lot of depth in this book that I got sucked in and would forget which part of the book I was at. A lot of waiting time too. All in all though the plot line is fabulous, she always has good stories to tell. It could totally be me as well, maybe I just didn't put the pieces together well enough to fully grasp the book. It was enjoyable though and worth a read if you are a fan of her novels.

I enjoyed this twisty mystery and watching the main character continually get herself stuck in the next situation. I was rooting for her!

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda is the first book that I have read by this author. I was intrigued with the summary of this book and was granted a copy thru Net Galley. Megan Miranda weaves a tale of mystery, intrigue, and me questioning the characters of whether I would trust any of them. Leah Steven moves from Boston, MA to a rural town in western Pennsylvania, with the promise of a new life from Emmy Grey. Leah and Emmy move to to get away from their "troubled" past, to a fresh clean break, but is it truly gone? I love authors who write books that make me pay attention, even go back a page or two to make sure I read what I read, to question what is happening, and Megan Miranda did this for me.. Thank you Megan for crafting an intense, creative story. One I re-read over and over again with out being bored with it.

It seems perfectly plausible that a person can reinvent themselves (only in America!). In my country they would have sussed out from where you came, who your parents were, what did your brother do and even find out what school you went to very early. I doubt you'd get away with this here.



The story fascinated me. Leah has ended a troubled relationship. She has been friends with Emmy over a very long time. Emmy invites her to rural Pennsylvania and for Leah this is ideal. She can make a new start and hopefully the past will remain in the past. Her teaching position in the local school is without any problems and Leah hopes that she can fast track her career in this way baby steps at a time.

When Emmy disappears and Leah is forced to inform the local police about her friends absence things turn tricky for Leah. For one, there is no one who can corroborate Emmy's presence. There is no paper trail, no identity, no bills and when Emmy's boyfriend turns up murdered the police turn skeptical as to whether someone like Emmy actually existed and whether it is a figment of Leah's imagination. Leah's history does not help either.

It is left to Leah herself to try to find out what happened to her friend and what she discovers is a body blow as it is obvious that Emmy pursued her purely to steal her identity to make a new life for herself. How she did it was ingenious, convoluted and mind boggling.

Apart from the main characters of Leah and Emmy, everyone in this story has something to hide and in a small town, this is not easy. Unraveling the murders, solving them and finding Emmy was more than enough for this story.

Goodreads and Amazon review posted on 19/4/2018. Review on my blog first week of June 2018

I had a rough start getting into the story but eventually I had to know what happened. The way is author tied everything together made perfect sense. I just felt the story ended abruptly with its conclusion. Overall it was an good book.

While I really enjoyed the mystery in this book, I was left unsatisfied by the ending and I have so many unanswered questions!