“A Stranger on the Beach” is a gripping psychological thriller where you are seeing the story unfold from two different POV's. I struggled to guess who was telling the truth. There’s always two sides to every story. The twists and turns along the way will keep you guessing. This was a great suspenseful read.

WARNING: Do not pick this book up if you have things to do around the house (like chores and feeding your kids)...they will not get done (or fed)!!

“A Stranger on the Beach” is a fast-paced psychological thriller that will capture your attention right from the beginning, and once it sucks you in, you are GONE! This book is like watching a train wreck, you feel sorry for everyone involved, but you just cannot look/walk away without getting involved.

I enjoyed the two POVs in this book, and I truly appreciated the task of figuring out which one of the two main characters, Caroline or Aiden, is the true nut job that lives in her/his own delusional world. There were some twists and turns, some more predictable than others, but the clever way the author developed the story, kept me fully engaged till the end.

I highly recommend this book to all psychological thriller lovers, and I am looking forward to reading more books from this author.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author, Michele Campbell, for giving me an opportunity to read an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A STRANGER ON THE BEACH is a psychological thriller by bestselling author Michele Campbell, author of It's Always the Husband. This is a novel about a love triangle that begins on a fateful night...

There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.

Aidan Callahan stood on the sand staring at her beachfront house.

Caroline Stark’s spectacular new beach house, was built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have.

Caroline first thought was that Aidan was a potential thief. She was waiting for the technician from the burglar alarm company to show up for installation, before her housewarming party she would be throwing in a few days. Caroline had been married to her husband, Jason, an investment banker, for twenty years, and had a daughter, Hannah who had just left for college. She felt so alone as her husband travelled constantly on business…but they had marital problems. Jason was never home-hard to reach- and he was having an affair. She had been way too trusting!

But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aidan, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her, Caroline turns to Aidan for comfort...and revenge. She had picked Aidan up for a night of wild sex…a boy toy! This fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him. Aidan is obsessed with Caroline. He loves her. He starts stalking her and her family.

When Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

A Stranger on the Beach is an edge-of your-seat twisty story of intrigue, and the ending was a surprise. I was guessing right till the very end. Highly recommend!

I want to thank Jordan from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my digital copy.

Caroline Stark now has the perfect brand new beach house to go with her perfect marriage, and then her husband Jason literally drops a bomb at her lavish housewarming party. He wants to forget all about their marriage, which is, according to him, over, and in turn takes all of their money.

So she turns to the local watering hole to drink away her problems and seek revenge with the bartender, Aiden, who also happens to be the handsome stranger she's seen outside of her house, watching it. A one night stand then turns into a creepy and obsessive game: one at which she might not win..

This story is told through Caroline and Aiden's perspectives, so you get their very different versions of situations and responses, and then you start to wonder 'Who is obsessed with who'?

I enjoyed the creepy vibe that the 2 main characters put off and I flew through the second half and especially the ending of this book, not being able to wait to see what happened! With a shocking and hard to believe ending, this books is a perfect suspense read!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Michele Campbell and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of You (Caroline Kepnes) and Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) will love this page turner! A gripping story about how your whole life can be turned upside down in a moment. Seeing the story from 2 different POV's will definitely keep you guessing. There's Caroline, who is living her dream life: the husband, the daughter, and their beautiful beach home in the Hamptons. Then there's Aiden, a handsome young stranger found lurking around Caroline's beach house. But if you think you know where the story is going... you don't. The twists and turns will keep you guessing. I blew threw it in a day because I couldn't put it down. Great for a summer beach read or to read on a flight. Super suspenseful.

{ partner } Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Read the synopsis of this book. Even start reading this book. Think you have some ideas about what is going on, and who (if anyone) is telling the truth? Think again.
Get to the point where you only have three chapters left until you get to the end of this book. Think you’ve figured it out at that point, since you’re so close to the end? You’re still wrong. Think again.

This book took me a while to get all the way to the end, because I kept re-reading parts that I had just read, because I was trying to figure out the twists and turns before they happened. I was re-reading trying to instead read between the lines and see what the underlying secrets may have been. And yet I was wrong the entire time, and every time that I thought I had figured it out it turns out not only was I not on the same page but I was in a completely different chapter. This book kept me on my toes the entire time, I loved getting lost in the mystery of it, and my poor fiancé is probably glad that I’m finished with this read so that I can be done bursting out of confusion and trying to talk through it with him.

We get this story from multiple points of view - Caroline Stark, the woman who says she’s under attack; Aiden Callahan, the man who says that he loves her; and then later also from Lieutenant Jess Messina, the woman whose job it is to find out what is really the truth.
I loved getting all three of these perspectives – the first part of the book “Before the Storm” being told by Caroline and Aiden, and then the second part titled “After the Storm” being told to us by Aiden and Jess. One thing that I found really interesting is that Caroline’s side of the story is written in first person, while Aiden’s chapters are written in third person. This immediately, at least in my opinion, makes the reader feel more trusting of Caroline and feel like they are on her side, because she is talking directly to the reader almost like they are just having a conversation, or she is trusting us and letting us in on her secret. Meanwhile the third person perspective from Aiden feels isolating, and like either he or the readers are on the outside looking in, and we’re just hearing it secondhand, which automatically makes it seem like that information is less reliable. I think that this was a really brilliant decision in the writing on the author’s part, and it definitely helped to cause a good deal of my confidence in what parts of the stories I was and was not believing, as well as my confusion when I found out how wrong I was about everything all along.

There is very little that I can go into detail on with this book without having to give a massive spoiler alert, and I want to give everyone the opportunity to think they know what is happening and see if they are as off track as I was, without me spoiling any of the surprises for them.
So I will just say this: I highly, highly recommend this book. I knew that I was picking up a highly reviewed and highly anticipated psychological thriller. What I did not know what that I was probably picking up one of my favorite reads of the month, possibly of the summer. This read was clever, confusing, manipulative, and extremely well written. While yes there were parts that maybe felt a little bit longer than they needed to be, and yes there were a few parts that weren’t my favorite. But when speaking overall, I really loved this read, and am so glad that I got the experience to read it, and will be recommending it to all of my girlfriends who love thrillers and murder shows (you know who you are.)

WOAH ... that is the only word that came to mind after finishing Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell. This was my first novel by Michele, but man I already cannot wait to read her others if they are anything like this one.

Caroline just finished building the perfect beach house right on the coast. While running one morning, she notices a man standing on the sand looking at her house, her initial thought was that he looked like bad news. That same stranger turned up as a bartender at her open house, Caroline learned his name was Aiden. After a very public fight at the same party with her husband, Jason, Caroline now finds herself lonely, in the midst of a divorce, and without any money. Needing comfort and a drink, she heads to the local bar, where she runs into none other than Aiden.

To Caroline, Aiden seemed like a good idea at the time. One too many vodka sodas and a good one night stand was what Caroline thought she needed to take her mind off her impending divorce and a husband that was not returning her calls. But that one night stand would soon end up ruining both Caroline and Aiden’s lives.

You know the old saying; there is always two sides to every story. This book tells them both! Stranger on the Beach is told from both Caroline and Aidens’ point of view. Those points of view didn’t always match up, and at times left me saying, “wait what?”. This book kept me on my toes the whole time. The short chapters are amazing, I kept saying just one more, over and over again. With all the different turns in the plot, it took me awhile to figure out the catch, but I knew it had to be there. Michele Campbell did a great job with everything! This is the perfect summer psychological thriller.

I loved this book! Through the first part of it, the author did an outstanding job of planting seeds that made me doubt who was telling the truth and who was lying. At any given moment, I could swing my “allegiance to the truth” between Aidan and Caroline. By Chapter 26, I was convinced that Aidan was a creepy stalker. By Chapter 42, my notes read, “Wth is going on?” and “What’s real and what isn’t?” And by 52, my notes were nothing but “Omg, no way!” (and variations thereof). I cannot stress what a fantastic book this was. It is an absolute page-turner and a perfect “end of summer” novel. I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for a complimentary, pre-release digital ARC.

Stranger on the beach is a twisty little novel about deception and obsession. Caroline Stark is a semi-retired interior designer who has been a stay at home mom to her only daughter for 18 years. Now that her daughter has flown the coop and is off to college, Caroline looks to new projects and she starts by buying a Hampton home with her husband. Caroline and her husband have been together for 20 years and she is completely caught off guard when he shows up to their house warming party with another woman in tow. After a very public fight, her husband asks for a divorce. Shortly after, Caroline discovers that her husband has drained all their accounts and disappeared, leaving her basically broke. At a low point Caroline starts making rounds at a local bar where a young beefcake named Aiden catches her attention. Inspite of the 15 year age difference and the fact that Caroline is still technically married, she falls fast for the young bartender, and they have a heated one night stand. Caroline awakes the next morning to realize she has made an awful mistake. Only it appears that Aiden has become obsessed with Caroline, and getting rid of him suddenly becomes very difficult. Things escalate quickly and it isn’t long before the love obsessed Aiden and Caroline’s husband clash.

This is a fast paced story that has all the elements of high drama, money, obsession, and secrets. It definitely had some good twists and turns that are not immediately obvious. Perhaps the only critique is that some of the transitions between Aiden and Caroline are a little jumpy and I was a little thrown off at times. None the less, this is a fun, summer read that should keep you guessing.

This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat! It's the perfect fast-paced beach read. I enjoyed how the chapters went back and forth between the two main characters. It kept my guessing and had lots of twists and turns. I finished the book quickly because I needed to know what happens!

Michele Campbell is one of my favorite authors. When I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to request it from netgalley!
I can honestly say, I spent most of this book confused, but in a good way 😂. I didn’t know who was crazy: Caroline, Aiden or myself! It was a bit slow to start but when it picked up, I didn’t want to stop reading. I enjoyed the different point of views. I felt that it really gave an edge to the story. I didn’t figure out the twist until not long before it was revealed.
I went into this book not having read the description or other reviews and I am so glad I did. I knew it was going to be good because of who the author was, so I didn’t need to know anything more than that 😂.
I definitely recommend this book for those who love psychological thrillers. Huge thanks to Michele Campbell, St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this advances copy. This review is an honest, unbiased review, all thoughts are my own.

Great psychological thriller. When Caroline's life begins to collapse, she turns to Aidan, a stranger that she had seen on the beach for a desperate fling for revenge on her husband. But the affair meant everything to Aidan and Caroline just wants for forget it ever happened. Many twists and turns in this book to keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you, thank you St. Martin's Press for this copy of a much anticipated summer thriller! Caroline Stark has just finished her dream beach house. Her only daughter has started college, and she misses her. The distraction of a beach house warming party is just what she needs. Her husband chooses this night, the night of the party, to bring his girlfriend to the house and then leave Caroline. And then he drains the bank accounts. Caroline is devastated. She takes her sorrow to the local bar, where she notices the bartender is the same guy she had seen standing on the beach staring at her beach house. Things get tangled from there.

I didn't see that coming until way later than I should have. Told from two perspectives, the same story is very different depending on who is doing the telling.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Caroline Stark’s dreams were all coming true. The construction of her beautiful beach house in the Hamptons was finally complete and she was starting up her own interior design business. However, her husband, Jason, has been distant of late and seems to resent the beach house complaining about the work he has to do to pay for it!

It was finally the night of Caroline’s big party. A combined housewarming and birthday party for Jason. Except she didn’t even know if Jason was going to show up! She had told him how important it was to her and he said he’d try, but as the time ticked away, she felt less and less confident he’d come. However, when he did show, she wished he hadn’t! Not only did he show up, but so did his mistress! Now all the socialites were talking about them and their trouble in paradise! Her marriage is over and she’s left to drown her sorrows in the nearest bottle.

Caroline finds herself at a local bar flirting with a cute bartender, Aiden. She ends up taking him home with her for a steamy one night stand. But Caroline quickly discovers that Aiden doesn’t want one night, he wants forever. Now she fears for her safety as Aiden’s obsession grows. She’s trying to reconcile with Jason, and if he finds out about her infidelity it will ruin everything! But are keeping her secrets worth the lives of her and her loved ones?

Its summertime and I was in the mood for a beach-themed read. The synopsis of this one looked pretty good, so I decided to give it a try.

This was a decent read, and it did have a good flow to it, except you did get some scenes repeated showing both Aiden and Caroline’s points of view. Their versions of events were often vastly different. It reminded me of that saying about there being three sides to every story: mine, yours, and the truth. I quickly figured that either Aiden or Caroline was lying in their telling of events. I had a pretty good guess of who that was and ended up being right.

I actually liked Aiden. He seemed like a sweet guy, but came off as way too naïve for my liking. This story seemed like one that’s been told hundreds of times and it was just too predictable for me. I was able to figure out the big twist at the end long before it happened, which did suck some of the enjoyment out of it for me.

This wasn’t a bad story, but nothing about it really surprised me. I had expected more from it, but it came off as a stale rendition of the love triangle that wrecks a marriage with a murder mystery that wasn’t so mysterious thrown in.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

What a roller coaster of events.
Caroline just had a beach house built but her husband is never there. Now it seems he is having an affair. She notices a stranger staring up at her house and she does confront him. He is Aiden and he ends up showing up again as a bartender for the housewarming party she is throwing. It is also for her husband't birthday and he says he can't make it. But then he does show up with a Russian woman in tow and all he tells Caroline is she need to get a divorce from him and he will give her the house and the apartment and money.She ends up turning to Aiden for revenge and to feel better about herself. But she didn't count on a one night stand turning into possessiveness and stalking on his part. Even when she goes to the police there isn't anything they can do because he hasn't threatened her. When you go back and forth to the events that happened then you see a story that she says and then you get into his head on what is happening.
Then Caroline's husband is murdered and Aiden looks like the #1 suspect. But things aren't always as they seem.
While reading this I kept yelling at Caroline to just come clean with her husband about the one night stand. That would have made things a whole lot better. Or so I thought.

Caroline seems to have it all, a great husband, a wonderful daughter, an apartment in the city and a stunning beach house. When she discovers that her husband is having an affair, she decides to get her revenge by sleeping with a young, local bartender which she met on the beach in front of her house. Little does Caroline know that this one-night stand with Aiden will unravel her life and endanger her family. review: If you're looking for a good summer suspense novel that will keep you turning the page, be sure to pick this one up! A Stranger on the Beach is told in alternating points of view of Caroline and Aiden. As the story unfolds you begin to realize that one of them is unreliable and is lying, but you're not really sure which one it could be... yet. The book starts off a bit slow as it's building up the details and preparing you for what's to come. I found that I liked hearing all the details because it really had me immersed in the story and it certainly kept me turning the page to find out more! I loved the twists of this book and definitely didn't see the ending coming. I have enjoyed the author's other books and am now looking forward to what she comes up with next. P.S. It was just announced that someone bought the rights to make this into a movie! rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐️

Thank you to Net Galley, Michele Campbell and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This story truly is a depiction of unreliable narrators. I really loved the set up as it could have gone a few different ways. I think with so many of these stories available now, I immediately figured on how this was going to end up and I was not wrong. That said, I still enjoyed the story and the complexities involved. I really don't want to give too much away. For those who do not read every book in the genre, there are huge surprises to find! This will be a perfect summer beach read!

Yikes! This psychological thriller had me all turned around. Switching between the viewpoints of each of the main characters, this one will keep you guessing until the very end. Who is telling the truth? Who should you believe?
I am not going to say much because it is definitely one that is more fun to walk into blindly. Buckle up, because it will be quite a ride! Make sure you have time to read this one, you won’t be able to put it down.
Michele Campbell is a new author to me. In this novel, she has created a story and characters that are so intricately woven together, that I am anxious to read more of her work.
#MicheleCampbell #AStrangerontheBeach #StMartinsPress

This book had an engaging premise, but the twists were too predictable and non well executed. There were inconsistencies in both narrators’ comments on what each believed to be true, creating plot holes. The conclusion was a tired story and the thin ending mace the book feel far too long. The character development of Aidan was also poor- is he mentally ill, desperate, or just incredibly stupid? The answer was unclear and made it impossible to sympathize with him or be invested in him as a character.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell is a true psychological thriller with twists and turns which continually play with you mind!

Caroline Stark seems to have it all. Money, beautiful things, a loving husband and daughter, but after she meets a stranger on the beach near her house, it seems her life begins to implode.

She finds out during a party she is giving at her beach house that her husband may be having an affair. Then suddenly she discovers he has moved all their money out of their accounts leaving her penniless. In a drunken moment, Caroline decides to have a one night stand with a stranger she has met on the beach. She has seen him staring up at her beach house. Aiden, a local with ties to the police has a history of being a bad boy.

But Aiden does not see their relationship as a one night stand, but as a fallen head over heels love story which will endure the test of time. As Caroline begins to regret her decision and tries to discourage Aiden's behavior, Aiden begins to stalk her as well as her husband and her daughter. He begins showing up in places he should not even know about. Caroline begins to fear Aiden will hurt someone in her family.

Then during a horrible storm someone IS killed and all the reader's theories are thrown out the beach house window! Not everything is as it seems. How can that be?

Caroline and Aiden tell their stories through his and her chapters and the reader gains their perspective as to how they see or understand the situations occurring. It is up to the reader as to who to believe more.

A Stranger on the Beach is a terrific summer read...to take to the beach! Yes, I went there!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin'sPress #AStrangerontheBeach #MicheleCampbell