I love the beach...and thrillers, so this book was an instant draw. I didn’t even bother reading the book blurb.

We heard from two narrators—Caroline and Aidan—who told completely different versions of the same story. One of them had to be an unreliable narrator, but which one? At times I wondered if it was both of them. How could two people see the same situation so differently?

Both characters made so many bad decisions, I thought they were competing for the “I’m Stupidest” award”. As it turned out, one was naive and the other was...well you can decide!

The story was told in such a unique way, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it before. Michele Campbell has an interesting and original writing style.

This was another fun Buddy Read with Marilyn!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review!

<b>My Rating: </b> 4 ⭐️’s
<b>Published:</b> July 23rd 2019 by St. Martin's Press
<b>Pages:</b> 352

<b>Recommend:</b> Yes

Two points of view divide this book between Caroline, who's all about keeping up her image as the owner of an amazing beach house, and Aidan, who resents Caroline for building on his grandfather's land, but can't help his obsession with this "city" woman. Their accounts of what is happening are so divergent, you know that one, or both of them, is dissembling. What happens between Caroline, who is always appalled at Aidan's behavior, and Aidan, who believes he only has Caroline's best interest at heart, seems unbelievable at first. But once you realize that is the whole idea, that there is something other than either of their stories going on there, the book becomes very enjoyable. I didn't want this story to end but once it did, the ending was a complete surprise.

I enjoyed Stranger on the Beach and it really had me going for a while. It wasn't until about 2/3 of the book that I was pretty sure what was going on and still, I wanted to know more. Aidan, a 27 year old bartender, is fixated with the mansion on his late granddad's former property and he visits the land often, even once a mansion is built on the land. Carolyn is the wealthy 43 year old woman who has built the beach mansion, along with her husband, who work works for an investment company.

The first 2/3 of the story is told from both Carolyn's viewpoint and Aidan's viewpoint. How confusing that their versions of the same events are so very different and it's very hard to figure out who is telling the truth. In fact, it seems likely that both versions could be unreliable. Carolyn is not a likeable character and is very concerned with her reputation among other rich people so her version is surely tainted with her need to be accepted among the wealthy crowd. Aidan was convicted of manslaughter as a teenager and he's never overcome the stigma and also the fact that he feels he was wrongly accused. Aidan seems a bit unhinged but at the same time sincere. Being "good" seems to be important to Aidan and he doesn't want to let his older brother down since his older brother has done so much to help Aidan.

The story changes once Carolyn's husband goes missing, with enough of his blood left behind that he is surely dead. At this point we are led to believe either Carolyn, Aidan, or both of them killed her husband and we now have a young woman detective's version of events added to the story. By this time in the story, I had pretty much figured out what was going on and also had moved firmly onto the side of one of the main characters. I was glad the story wrapped up the way it did and I like to think the "bad guy(s)" have more "justice" coming their way, from some characters that they should not have angered.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Campbell paints a great picture of life on a beach amidst the turbulence of a modern day couple working hard to fund a way of life they've barely agreed upon living. The tangled relationships each spouse gets caught up in add depth and tension and I found myself rooting for the protagonist through much of the book. The fast paced read took a turn I didn't anticipate or enjoy and for me, the writing fell apart near the end--which is why I rated this book a 3.

A Stranger on the Beach was a little slow to get into but once it got interesting, I couldn’t put it down. The story is told in alternating first and third person. Caroline is an affluent New Yorker living in the Hamptons. Aiden is a local bartender and his life begins to interest with Caroline's as they meet on the beach one night. You question the events and the truth the follows. This story involves betrayal, infidelity, and keeps you intrigued and guessing through the whole book.

3.5 Stars for “A Stranger on the Beach”! Caroline has a gorgeous new beach house that she loves, but notices a stranger lurking on the beach. After finding out her husband is lying to her, she discovers the stranger on the beach is local bartender, Aiden. A fling with Aiden in a moment of weakness over her husband’s disloyalty leads to Aiden’s disturbing obsession with Caroline.

This book is told from two viewpoints, Aiden’s and Caroline’s, and the reliability of each viewpoint is in question throughout the novel. The book is fast-paced and engaging, and keeps you wanting to read more. The ending ties everything up, but I definitely found the earlier chapters to be more captivating than the later chapters. Overall, it was good thriller with plenty of of twists and turns, and I would recommend to other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Stranger on the Beach pleasantly surprised me. With this story, I did something I rarely ever do, I went into it without reading the synopsis. Although I would recommend that approach for this book, I found that it made it difficult to see where the plot was going and took me a few tries to get into it. Once it got interesting, I couldn’t put it down. I read it on a family vacation and found myself making excuses to sneak off and keep reading this one.

The story is told in alternating first and third person. The first person sections were told by Caroline, an affluent New Yorker living in the Hamptons. The third person sections mainly follow Aiden, a local bartender whose life begins to intersect with Caroline’s when they meet on the beach in front of her house one night. Both account the same events, but very differently. You find yourself questioning whose version of events is the truth.

I won’t give away any of the rest of the plot, only that it is very much a psychological thriller involving betrayal and infidelity, and it keeps you guessing until the very end.

To me this was almost the perfect book. Until the end, unfortunately. The beginning, starting with a possible affair and a quick and dirty one night stand, was intriguing and sexy. Then an obsession begins, followed by a wicked hurricane, and then the story gets a little messy.

A Stranger on the Beach is a good read. Anyone who loves mysteries and thrillers might want to pick this one up. As much as I was looking forward to it, the ending fell flat, in my opinion. But it didn't take away from parts of the book that I enjoyed. With that exception, I'll rank this:

4/5 Stars

I was disappointed after have read Campbell's first two books. I found it very predictable and familiar. It reminded me of movies/books/shows that have previously been done. Revenge came to mind.

I really don't want to leave a bad review.

Great book! Kept me interested and guessing. The characters were fascinating. I hated Aidan but in the end he was a hero. I will definitely be reading more of her books!

This book was a wild ride! It is told in alternating chapters where the perspective changes. The first chapter we read in first person narrated by Caroline, a wealthy mother and wife building a large grand beach house when she noticed a stranger watching. The book then alternates to third person perspective where we are introduced to this young, good looking stranger, Aidan. The two strike up a relationship of sorts (don’t want to give away spoilers) as her marriage is crumbling. I thought the change in perspectives was a very interesting way to tell the story. As we weaved from Caroline’s inner thoughts to almost outsider view of Aidan, it made for an unreliable narrator. Who do we trust? What is the truth? That made me devour this book. I couldn’t wait to find out how it all these pieces came together and then how they unfolded again at the end. For a very large part of the book I had no idea what was going to happen.

I love a good thriller usually but this had so many elements that I didn’t like! There’s so many plot twists written in to throw the reader off what is actually happening but I knew Caroline was in on it the entire time. I didn’t guess the twist with Jason being alive but it still felt a bit flat for me which is a shame as I really wanted to enjoy this.

Another massive pet peeve for me is that I hate when Americans think they are Irish. Hated the Irish stereotypes, ‘loves a drink and freckles’ as an actual Irish person who was born and raised in Ireland it pissed me off to no end.

I think my actual rating for this would be more of a 2.5, the writing wasn’t bad and I would check out more of Michelle’s works as I did think it had a lot of potential, it just didn’t have me sold

I have read thrillers in the past, where the author would either write each chapter from a different character’s point of view, or with different time frames, often jumping back and forth. Until I actually realized this was happening, or noticed that there were names/dates at the beginning of each chapter, I would be a bit confused. I completely realize that it’s my fault for not being more observant.

But one great thing about this book is that I didn’t get confused when Michele Campbell used that technique. But it could be because it was a female and male, as opposed to usually two or more characters of the same sex. In some novels, even after I realize there are different voices in each chapter, the story still didn’t flow that smooth for me. But with, A Stranger on the Beach, that was not the case.

I actually started looking forward to the next chapter to see how that character viewed the circumstances that were happening to them. I was enjoying trying to figure out which one was the one that was telling the truth.

Although it was written well, I just can’t give it five stars, due to knowing what was going on very early in the book. With these types of thrillers, I like to still be wondering at least half way through the book. And if one keeps me guessing all the way until the end, then I am super happy.

I could have even over looked knowing what was going on before the halfway point in the novel, if some of the red herrings would have left me guessing or surprised with their outcomes.

But this doesn’t make this a bad book. I have just read lots of thrillers, mysteries, and horror novels, so it is really rare for me to not know what is going to happen when watching a movie or reading a book.

So if you are someone who doesn’t read this type of book all the time, or doesn’t often guess the outcome, this book is one I would recommend. But if you often have the ending figured out early, you may find that this novel just isn’t surprising enough to satisfy you.

Thank you so much to the author, Net Galley and St. Martins Press for allowing me the honor of reading an ARC of this amazing new book.

This book had me holding my breath during no less than 6 different scenes. This one is going to be on a whole lot of summer reading lists for sure. The fast paced, suspense, and drama will keep the reader glued to this book. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I will leave a brief description.

Caroline and Jason Stark appear to be your typical wealthy power couple. Jason is in finance and Caroline has given up a very successful career as an interior designer to be a stay at home socialite mom. The year her daughter is set to go off to college is the same year everything begins to crack and fall apart for Jason and Caroline. She discovers her husband has been cheating on her, her daughter is spoiled and blames Caroline, and she is pretty sure she caught a young man casing her house from the beach.

Caroline decides to have just one night where she tosses cares and reputation aside and have an affair with a local, much younger hot bartender. She recognizes him as Aiden, the same stranger she met on the beach outside her house, The one night stand she had intended rapidly spirals out of control when Aiden begins stalking her every move. Caroline soon discovers her life and the people in it are not quite what they seem.
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My favorite part of this book is that it's told from several different points of view. I found myself consistently surprised by all the twists and turns in this story. I actually feel like for the first time in a long time that I could read this book all over again right now and still find more details I overlooked the first time through.

“A Stranger on the Beach” is Michelle’s Campbell’s latest novel, which delivers on the hype that it is the psychological thriller of the summer. Caroline Stark is excited because her Hampton beach house is completed, and she’s holding a house warming party. When she calls her husband of twenty years to remind him to come to the party, he gives her a vague excuse as to why he cannot be there. As a result, she uses her “Find a Phone” app to discover that he is not where he claims to be and instead, might be having an affair. It’s at that party where her husband shows up with a mysterious woman and announces he is ending the marriage, but will leave her everything in the divorce. Despite the recommendation of her sister, Caroline does not immediately seek legal counsel and is shocked to discover that all of her bank accounts have been drained. As a result, Caroline retreats to a local bar to get drunk, and ends up having a fling with the flirtatious bartender, Aidan, who she had previously spotted lurking along her section of the beach.

But the one night stand turns into something else when Caroline cannot shake Aidan who believes a very different set of events. This type of plot could be very clichéd in the wrong hands, but Campbell does an excellent job in creating believable (if not necessarily reliable) characters. Campbell expertly switches back and forth between Caroline and Aidan’s point of view, and it becomes impossible to determine whose story is the accurate one.

This is not the typical woman scorned novel and if you are looking for a tale with surprising twists and turns, you will not be disappointed. “A Stranger on the Beach” kept me on a roller coaster of suspense up until the very end. Fans of Michelle Campbell’s previous work will not be disappointed.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s for providing me an advanced copy of this novel.

This book blew me away and left me on the edge of my seat. I feel it's always best to go in blind when reading this type of thriller. I want to form my own opinion and conclusion based on what I have read. I can honestly say this book left me a mess in a good way. I connected with the characters and then realized they were not who I thought they were. Who is the good guy? Who can be trusted? The anwer no one. The twists and turns will have you second guessing everything. The writing and plot were put together perfectly. It will blow your mind and leave you breathless. This is one thriller you don't want to miss.

I was received a copy from St. Martin's press on Netgalley.

Well well Michele Campbell you fooled me girl.. you definitely fooled me!

Let me tell you.... as you all know I am EXTREMELY picky with the books I choose to read... especially my thrillers. The first two books I've read by this author... were mediocre for me but this because I was SO thrown for a loop by the twist and ending... I have to give it to her ;).

This book was fun... and what I can say is that the obvious is NOT true in this. You're thinking and questioning so many things but let me tell you... you're going to have it wrong period haha.

Michele Campbell packs an entire picnic basket full of lies, deceptions, twists, and and paranoia in this lovely spread of a book. This makes the perfect summer sizzle right off that thriller girl ;).

I would put this one in your pocket and bring it to the beach!

Is it the best thriller I've read? No, but it will definitely keep you entertained and keep you thrown off ;).

Overall, was a fun one!

4 stars for A Stranger on the Beach

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins' Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 7/23/19
Published to GR: 6/16/19

Talk about one’s life going to hell in a handbasket...Caroline appears to have it all, a loving husband of 20 years, lots of money, a new beach house on the ocean. And all of a sudden, it all goes away, starting at her housewarming party. As the dominoes fall, Caroline has a brief fling with Aidan, a local young man who was a bartender at her party.

Told from two diametrically opposed viewpoints, Caroline’s and Aidan’s, the book moves at a fast clip.

In the beginning, the book reminded me of You by Caroline Keppnes. It’s disturbing in the same way and more than once I felt a shiver from reading Aidan’s chapters. But is Caroline a victim or a really smart femme fatale? I went back and forth pondering this over and over. Flip side, I felt very confident I knew what was going on with the husband even in the early chapters.

The book starts off much stronger than it finishes. The point of a psychological thriller is to surprise readers and catch us off guard. But Campbell leaves such obvious clues that I could foresee every big reveal.

My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC - finished this in one sitting on an 11 hr flight. Caroline strikes up an affair with a 24 yr old bartender, Aidan (15 years her junior) after suspecting her husband of cheating. This story is told from multiple perspectives and the author does keep you guessing whose version of the story was accurate. If you like stalker stories, this would certainly draw you in. It was an enjoyable journey, however midway through the book the plot became pretty obvious (but still very entertaining).

An interesting thriller! I appreciated the short chapters, and I found the pages flying by.

Caroline Stark appears to have it all: a beautiful new beach house, a lavish lifestyle, and a loving family. However, we soon learn that Caroline's life is far from perfect, and she seeks comfort and revenge from Aidan, the local outcast. But as we learn more about Caroline and Aidan, are appearances what they really seem? And who is really the "bad guy"?

Overall, this was a good read, but I found the ending lacking, and a lot of parts too unrealistic.