Well written psychological thriller that kept me engrossed from the first page! Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you, NetGalley, Text Publishing and Melanie Raabe for the ARC of The Stranger in exchange for my honest review.

I finished this book several days ago. I didn’t immediately write a review as I wanted to mull it over.

Sarah had finally decided to get on with her life after her husband disappeared seven years ago while on a business trip. That is, until she received the phone call that would, once again, turn her world on it’s axis. Her husband is coming home. Tomorrow.

The stranger embraces her. This isn’t my husband. Who is this man? No one will listen to me. Over the course of the next few days, the stranger and Sarah’s story unfolds.

I found the storyline unnerving but not truly plausible. There were moments of intrigue, moments of angst, moments of lightness and dark. This was a lighter read for me. I enjoyed it but it left something wanting in the end for me. I give The Stranger a solid 3.5 stars.

I was eager to jump directly into this since having read her last book The Trap and loving it. This book was no different - a horse of a different color from all of the other thrillers I have been reading lately. A woman sends her husband off on a business trip overseas from which he never returns. Seven years later, she is still hopeful he will return, so when she gets a phone call that he is coming back, she is elated. But it isn’t him, and this stranger seems to have it in for her. This book is a quick and awesome fall read (or winter even!). The prose evokes a dark otherworldly charm about it and drags you in, not releasing it’s hold on you until the very last page (legitimately - there are twists and turns up until the very end). Unlike anything I have ever read before, I would not hesitate to recommend this!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The Stranger" certainly kept me guessing about his true identity- between the female protagonist's certainty that he wasn't who he said he was and his oddness and unreliability, it was impossible to figure out before te reveal. The beginning of the book really drew me in and I realized I was a quarter in before I knew it. The middle was a bit repetitive and I lost a little interest but the end picked up and made me glad I stayed with it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this story drew me in and I was thrilled when I received copy to read.
I found it difficult to follow along with the third person point of view. Sarah was only likable when dealing with Leo, otherwise I found it hard to empathize with her.
I was annoyed instead of intrigued by the strangers presence and even when we learned the why I was still bothered by him.
The secondary characters felt forced and any potential twists fell flat for me.

Great premise, not the best execution.

Thank you to Text Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed this book overall, but mostly the ramp-up at the beginning and the wrap-up at the end. The middle seemed to drag a little for me as I found the buildup to be a little exhausting. I found the premise original which was a nice change from other reads. I would recommend this book and look forward to more works by Melanie Raabe.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC. I really enjoyed this book and sailed through it as it was riveting. It takes place in just a few short days but the flashbacks and the back and forth perspectives by the wife and stranger makes it interesting. Without spoiling the ending I do have to say it was disappointing but I think most readers will enjoy this psychological thriller.

I was looking forward to reading this book. It started out ok. When Sarah's husband arrived back after disappearing for years, there was not a huge fan fare. Yet, I had hope for this book and continued reading.

My reading experience with this book was painful. It was more stop than go. I would start to read and could only get a few pages in at a time. It was uninteresting as were the characters. Their conversations were flat liners. I would forget what I had just read but with no interests in re-reading passages. After getting a third of the way into the story, I had lost all interest in reading anymore of this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Slow to build to the climax. But good nonetheless. I would definitely read more by this author.

Wow! A thrilling read if there ever was one! Sarah anxiously awaits her husband's return from captivity, but the man that returns isn't her husband and threatens her with a well-hidden secret if she exposes the imposter. The writing for this book is great and fast-paced, making this for a thrilling read you can devour in a weekend. And my, my, you will want to.

The Stranger's plot was intriguing and somewhat suspenseful. It held my attention well, and kept me guessing the entire time. I was a bit disappointed by the ending, which is why I'm not giving it the full 5 stars. See my full review in the link below.

I received a free e-copy of The Stranger by Melanie Raabe from NetGalley for my honest review.

Sarah's husband , that she hasn't seen for seven years, disappears in South Africa. He is presumed dead. He then reappears but Sarah isn't convinced it is really him. Now the man is in her house but he is a stranger. Is it really her husband or an imposter? If it is her husband, why is he shorter? Although this is a psychological thriller, I just couldn't connect to the characters. The writing is fine just struggled with the read.

Wow!!! This book was very well written. Had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!!! This is the book you read with all the lights on while peeping out the window the whole time!! Five stars!!!!

Great psychological thriller with so many twists and turns I didn’t know what to think sometimes. I really enjoyed the intensity of this story it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Text Publising and Melanie Raabe for allowing me to have this ARC of The Stranger.

I knew that once I began reading The Stranger, I wouldn't be putting it down until I was finished. The ride of emotions throughout the book were rampant and I couldn't figure who to empathize with! I was kept guessing, over-guessing and re-guessing time after time, and when the conclusion came, it was shattering.

Raabe did an amazing job switching between Sarah and Philip. I could feel the torture of both characters, the raw human emotions, the angst, and the love between two people. The memory chapters were so deep and descriptive, I felt almost as if I were reading someone's diary. I felt the love (and, on other chapters, the anger) come streaming off the pages. Their love and hate was so real, I almost felt like I was caught between two people...vying for me to choose a side. There were times that I literally wept, if not for the characters, for the fact that these emotions are so real and humbling. I was totally entranced. The Stranger was definitely a thriller, but unlike any thriller I have ever read.

I wish I could quote the ending, but that would give away the book. The ending, to me, was one of the most beautiful and vulnerable things I have ever read. The Stranger was a book that I feel the need to read again, slower this time, to capture in every single word and revel in the characters even more.

In a long line of surprise twist/mystery thrillers, this one was okay. I had a hard time getting into it but the pace
did pick up in the 2nd half. I wasn't really surprised by much of what happened and even telegraphed the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" event that led to the whole crazy situation. If you are looking for a read that will keep you engaged, this is it. If you are looking for a ton of surprises and are an avid reader of the "domestic thriller" genre, there are better.

Oh my god, this book fu**** me up. I’m not even sorry for the foul word. I hate to take a word from a friends review, but all I could think of while reading this was how transient and dreamlike this book was. The little snippets of reoccurring wisps of thought, the ebb and flow of memories are completely enchanting. I am riveted, and I found myself wanting to go back and read it all over, knowing what I know now. There was something so raw, so real, so tangible - so utterly heartbreaking- so relatable about the narration that I wrote passage after passage down, because what is reading for if not for self discovery? This was the book I needed for clarity, I think. No one tells you how hard the first year of marriage is, especially the first year of marriage after a loss. I feel like two simple sentences from this book gave me the permission to heal and move forward, a bit wiser: “‘What if we turn out like all the other married couples? If we end up arguing all the time?’ - ‘Then I guess we argue,’ - ‘We just have to go back to loving each other again afterwards as quickly as possible, that’s all.’” I went into this book hoping for a good thriller, the next one to measure other thrillers up to. I got that and more. I was not prepared for the beautiful writing, the honey-like flow, the edge of your seat curiosity, the heart pounding anxiety. I was definitely not prepared for the reality check, for the voice of reason, for a guide to love, trust, misery, anger and healing. This book blew me out of the water. I am left profoundly heartbroken, jaw to the floor, hoping and praying that the last few sentences were not an illusion. This. This is my new favorite. It sits high. I absolutely, 100%, with all of my bleeding heart, recommend this book.

I actually had a really hard time getting through this book. My first issue was the translation was more of a British/Australian English and that was just hard for me. I also found myself getting confused with some of the dialogue because I wasn't sure who was talking. However, I think some of this might be addressed with proper spacing and formatting, but my version was lacking that. I kept going because I really wanted to know who "the stranger" was, but even that ended up being a total disappointment. I can appreciate the different point of view the author had on this situation of someone missing and coming home, but I feel like it was disguised under a thriller novel and it didn't need to be. So in conclusion I had a very big disconnect from this book and some may be from the different background of the author, but some is that the story just wasn't for me.

"I love books. I need them, those self-contained little worlds between two covers where I can travel whenever I have the feeling I'm living in the wrong world--or when my own world is hemming me in or eluding me or hurting me." - The Stranger by Melanie Raabe.

Thank you Netgalley & Text Publishing for this ARC!

I really enjoyed The Stranger by Melanie Raabe. Although I found the book a bit slow in the beginning, it soon picked up pace and suspense. I truly appreciated the way Melanie Raabe told the main character's story. Even though, in my opinion, there can be some parts that are overly descriptive, bear with it because they are important later; they paint a picture that becomes relevant. For me this was not a nail biting suspense but a mystery that needed to be solved. Who was this stranger and why was he here? I truly did not see the ending coming at all! And I felt the epilogue left me wanting to know more about everything, in a good way.

I would recommend this book!

Thank you for the arc of this book, unfortunately I did not finish, I tried and tried, but couldn't get into after the beginning, It sucked me in at first, but then it slowed down and was just not a book I could get myself engaged in, I'll try to pick up at later date before publisher and update if so, but will let members of Chapter Chatter Pub, about its release regardless, as I do think some might find it more engaging than I did.