Michelle Hannon, age 16, has begun finding notes slipped into her school locker. One note says they know what her Dad is doing tonight. Other notes are more vulgar. Michelle does not understand it. Her Dad is a jovial man and her mother is a pretty lady. Not long after, Michelle does from a fall onto some rocks.

Kimber Hannon was 14 at the time her sister, Michelle, died. Afterward, her Dad left them and Kimber was a very confused young girl.

Today, Kimber, age 38, is just returning to her house after being gone for four days of rest and relaxation. But her key won’t open the door. Seeing a man inside, she calls the police. As she explains the situation to the officer, her elderly neighbor claims she saw Kimber give keys to her house to a man named Lance Wilson and said she’s renting the house to him for 6 months. Kimber denies this and calls Gabriel Silva, an attorney. At one time, they had been an item, but no more. When Lance shows the officer a lease with Kimber’s signature on it, she knows it has been forged. Furious, she jumps on the man who whispers to her: “I was there. I saw what you did.” She doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s when the officer arrests her for jumping on him. When she’s released from jail, she goes to stay with her friend, Diana, while this gets straightened out. Frustrated at this whole bizarre situation, Kimber starts her own investigation into what is going on.

Long buried secrets; love affairs; jealousy; murder; revenge; hatred; and pure evil. These are just a few of what you will find in this action-filed book. I read it and cringed as more things were uncovered This story is beautifully woven with surprises around each corner. I think thriller fans are going to keep the pages turning quickly with this book. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Kimber returns home from a much needed vacation at the lake, she finds the locks changed and a complete stranger (or is he?) living in her house. Just who is this man and what does he want from Kimber? Little by little the story unfolds and it’s quite a doozy! A fast paced Psychological Suspense that you won’t want to miss!

Ohhh this was creepy! You come home from a long weekend and put your key in the door. Wait, why is not working? Maybe I have the wrong key, nope that is not it. What the hell is going on? As your panic builds you think okay well I have an extra key. Then you look up at your window and see a figure in the window. Who is in your house and why?!

Holy crap! As Kimber is calling the police and reporting a stranger in her home I am thinking surely this will be taken care of. Unfortunately for Kimber, it is not that simple. For people that think no way this could never happen, it can. I actually knew of someone this happened to. I know of someone that moved overseas and they planned on renting their home out. Except a scam artist beat them to it. He changed the locks, drew up a lease and rented it out to an innocent couple. So this can happen and does. Except this story is so much more! Is Lance just an innocent victim? Or is he in fact the scam artist?

Someone seems to know some details of Kimber's past that she has been trying to keep hidden. Could her life be turned upside yet again? Why is this all happening at once? On top of that she is dealing with thinking of someone in her home using her personal items, sleeping her bed. This sent creepy chills down my spine.

As this sinister plot evolves we learn more about Kimber and her past. Oh Kimber how could you? I found myself detesting Kimber as she revealed more and more of herself. Her ex Gabriel tries to help her through this hard time and I wanted them to get back together so badly! Do they or is that not in the cards? My lips are sealed, you will have to find out how Kimber fares in this whole nightmare for yourself!

I read this as a group read with my Traveling Sisters, please pop over and check out what they had to say!

Thank you to Laura Benedict, Muholland Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Excellent psychological thriller. When Kimber comes home to find the locks changed and a stranger living in her house, her life turns to chaos. With a realistic looking lease, the police take the squatter seriously and don’t remove him. Turning to an ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be an attorney, Kimber is desperate for help and advice. As Kimber investigates the hell that has become her new life, she soon realizes her past has come back to haunt her, and most everything happens for a reason. Crazy, infuriating novel that is impossible to put down.

The Stranger Inside should be a first purchase for most adult collections, especially those where domestic suspense is popular. Perfect for fans our Our House.

I've read several books by Laura Benedict that I loved. However, I couldn't even finish this one. The main character was annoying and I found the story not to be to my liking. Gave up after 30%...

I enjoyed this book overall, at times it was a bit slow and some situations were hard to believe but there are some interesting twists during the story. For me it is hard to keep reading a book when I can't empathize with the main characters and Kimber is a very unlikable character. But in this case I was very curious about the story and how it would end.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5

Just too much, this one. I was certainly entertained by it but it wasn’t overly satisfying. There are a lot of twists which normally I love but here it was a bit too much. At a certain point things become over the top and it was. The characters are awful. Well written, if that was the intent and I believe it was. I have said before that I don’t need to like them but if they are awful then give me something interesting about them - like intelligent and super manipulative or completely without remorse but that wasn’t the case here. The ending does wrap things up but left me wanting more. Overall ok and may try more by this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Mulholland Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

I received a free e-copy of The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict from NetGalley for my honest review.

Kimber Hannon comes home from vacation to find her locks have been changed and someone is living inside her house. She calls the police but he has paperwork to prove he is on the lease. But, Kimber never put him on the lease and never invited him in. Then he tells her that he knows something about her, and he wants everyone else to know it too. He says, "I was there. I saw what you did:."

What does this man know about Kimber? Does he really know Kimber's secrets that she left in her past, so many years ago. This man isn't wanting just a place to stay though, he wants to destroy Kimber's life and everything she knows. This is a suspense novel and it has twists and turns in it but it was very predictable at the same time.

3.5*
This is the third book I’ve read recently with a similar premise; returning home to find someone else living in your house. What a terrifying thought! Can you even imagine? I feel chills just thinking about it!

After a trip abroad Kimber comes home and discovers her key no longer open the door. Odd...but when she sees a man inside her home her life begins to unravel. This man, this stranger, insists he has a signed lease and has no intention of leaving!
Will Kimber ever get her home back? What exactly does this man want from her? Just her home? Or is that just the beginning?

I loved the blurb when I first read it! I was anticipating an amazing read. While I enjoyed it, I wanted just a bit more (Ha! Don't I always!?). With so much potential, I’m hoping someone will take this premise and just blow me away with where they take it.

A buddy read with Susanne!❄️

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books and Laura Benedict for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

This is hands-down one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. I love thriller/mystery novels but feel they can often run a bit long. The length of this book is perfect. The writing is immaculate—I was glued to every page. The way Laura Benedict artfully writes, flipping between present and past, shows just how well she has refined her craft. In a time where more and more thriller/mystery books have become predictable ‘The Stranger Inside’ kept me guessing throughout the entire read. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone for the simply excellent writing alone.

The Stranger Inside by Laura Bendict will leave your head spinning as you try to connect all of the dots in this twisty thriller. Kimber has been gone for a long weekend at a retreat. When she arrives home she discovers that her locks have been changed and someone appears to have taken over living in her house. The police don't seem to be too interested so Kimber begins investigating herself to discover exactly who this stranger is and why he has chosen her as his target. Read and enjoy!

What do you do if you come home from a long weekend away to find your locks changed and someone living in your house? Would your answer change if he told you he knows what you did oh those so many years ago? This is what Kimber is facing decades after her sister died in an accident. Is that what is seemed to be? Was Kimber involved and does this guy know about it? Does he have proof? Will he tell the police? And what does he want from her? If only the answer was so similar. Part of me, a big part, thinks she should have told everything she knew to the police. After all, you can't be blackmailed by someone if it isn't a secret. But what fun would that be? Instead she watches as her life starts to fall apart and her circle of friends is destroyed. Is it related or coincidental? Well, I'll tell you that it adds up to an interesting read with some good surprises.

Me: Oh, I"ll just read the first chapter to see what it's about
*an hour later*: at 22% in the book
Me: Well, shoot.

Sooooo yeah, I didn't know what to expect with this book, and then next thing I know I'm compulsively reading it over the next few days.

The story kicks off from page one, when Kimber arrives home after a weekend retreat at a lake to find her key doesn't work in the lock anymore. There's a man inside her house and he won't answer the door, or come out. She calls the cops, who think she's having a mental break or episode because the man inside claims she's rented her house to him for the next six months. He has a signed lease. Kimber does the only thing she can think of: she calls her ex Gabriel, who is an lawyer, even though when she broke up with him last year, he went off the rails and tried to kill himself. Gabriel, Kimber's ex-husband and his new partner, and her friend Diana try to help Kimber sort out why this con man is in her house, and why he seems to be stalking her across town...

The linear narrative is interspersed with chapters told from the POV of Kimber's sister Michelle, who died from a terrible fall 20 years ago. Kimber as our POV protagonist in the present is contrasted with how Michelle viewed her bratty tweet sister in the past... and as the story drives forward, every character, but especially Kimber, is painted in shades of grey. Everyone has secrets, no family is perfect... and Kimber certainly isn't, either.

Kimber is a really interesting protagonist in that she's kind of a terrible person? And yet, the stupid things she did still felt achingly human, and I found her to be a compelling protagonist to follow. I appreciated that she wasn't milquetoast, and none of the twists and turns were black & white. Every character was specific and felt real, and felt particularly Southern--I felt a real sense of place throughout the book, which takes place in St. Louis, MO. Georgia has a similar contrast between the McMansions of suburbia and the eclectic city bits, so I was able to connect to it on that level, too.

Part of what made the book compulsively readable was the complicated personal dynamics. I cared about Diana and her family, and then it was just an absolute gut punch to get all the additional details, re: Kimber's backstory with them, and then where the story goes. I cared about Gabriel and was curious about their relationship--Kimber's conflicted feelings about still being attracted to him but feeling overwhelmed felt so real. I loved Kimber's relationship with her ex and his new husband. I was SO FRUSTRATED by the work plotline because as a reader I knew Kimber shouldn't be ignoring all those phone calls! The tension was delicious.

And then the book did one of my favorite things, which I had to stop to appreciate here because so few thrillers do it well: it did the big reveal, and the big confrontation... and then it kept going and had a proper denouement and ending. TOO FEW THRILLERS DO THIS WELL, seriously. It made for a completely satisfying reading experience, with the ending unfolding over multiple chapters and pages, with all the loose plot threads and questions tied up satisfactorily.

The only TINY note for potential readers: the book is in third person, which at times I found jarring. Meaning, every once and a while I would be so deeply immersed in the POV (it's a pretty close third), but then Kimber would be referred to in third person and I'd go "oh, yeah, this is in third person, odd!" For some readers this may not click well. (I actually adore third person generally, but most thrillers I've read are in first person.)

I'd not heard of the author until I requested this from NetGalley (thank you to Mulholland Books for providing the copy for review!), but now I'm going to have to look up her other books. This was such a good reading experience, and I would read this author again for sure!

Wow the opening scene of this book definitely had me knowing that this was going to be a great thriller! Michelle Hannon is lying on the ground after what you presume is a fall, and she’s dying after hitting her head on a rock. Fast forward to twenty years later and Kimber is returning home after spending some time at a cabin and relaxing. She goes to put her keys into the door to unlock it and her locks have been changed! Soon she realizes a man is living in her home and she doesn’t know who he is. The man informs her he is renting her home for the next six months. Kimber calls the police and the man shows them a signed rental agreement that supposedly Kimber has signed and even her nosy elderly neighbor Jenny backs up his story. The police inform her there isn’t anything they can do and she needs to take him to court! Soon she realizes maybe she does have a connection to the man in her home when he whispers to her “I was there. I saw what you did”. Kimber knows what he’s talking talking about and now realizes it isn’t her home he wants. She must find out what it is he wants and who he is and get him out of her home before he takes everything she has worked so hard for. This book jumps from the past with what let Michelle at the bottom of the ravine and present with Kimber investigating the man that has taken her home. There are so many unexpected twists that this book held my attention. Kimber was a flawed character and just enough villain that I actually enjoyed her! I give this book four stars!

Wowsa! I read this several weeks ago and somehow forgot to post my review. This book and its characters stayed with me for days after I finished it. They're all horrible and equally suspicious, including the main character Kimber, but the author really kept me wanting to find out who had taken over her home and why. Lots of fun twists and turns, some of which are pretty nutty. Sadly, I've been reading lots of duds lately but this stands out as something I definitely would recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

HOLY COW! This book is definitely a 5 plus star book! So creepy, but yet so good! You can’t help but point the finger at everyone and try and figure it out, but likely not going to happen. Cannot imagine coming home to someone living in my house, ruining my life, and knowing that they could do even more damage. Definitely gave me lots of chills and a spinning brain!
Will be using in a challenge and highly recommending to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub!

I was hoping I would love this book, but unfortunately I didn't. The story kept my attention throughout however, there wasn't a single character I liked and for me that made all the difference.

This book was an easy read and definitely different then a lot of thrillers that have been coming out. The writing was very good and made the characters come to life. I will have a full review of this on my blog after release date.