With the competition of her new beach house in the Hamptons, Caroline Stark has everything she has ever wanted. If only her husband was around more but someone has to pay for all of this luxury.

One night she sees a man on the beach looking into her house. He is young and handsome and a little rough around the edges. Is he casing the house for a robbery? Aidan is the local bad boy with a troubled past whose big brother just happens to be the local sheriff. He was convicted of murder but he swears it was an accident.

Caroline throws a house warming party for their friends and her husband’s business associates when her life explodes. Her husband shows up late and closely followed by a woman everyone at the party assumes is his mistress. Caroline knew her marriage wasn’t perfect but to humiliate her like that was more than she can bear. She goes for a drink in town and winds up at the bar where Aiden works. They strike up a friendship and Aiden quickly falls head over heels in love with Caroline.

This is a book that you can’t say much or it might give the secrets away. It is a twist and turning plot that will leave you guessing until the end. I highly recommend!

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting/publishing a full review to my book blog. I found the narrator tedious - as though she were trying to break through the fourth wall but was doing so in a cutesy way when what was happening in the book was actually very dark and serious. The writing did not inspire me. Thank you for your consideration.

WOW! I did not want this book to end.

This book was wonderfully written. It had be trying to guess what was going on for like first 30%, then when I couldn't figure it out I didn't let myself think of what was going to happen. I was only thinking of what was going on in the present time of the book. Caroline and Aiden are such great characters, it's like you could actually see into their minds.

My mind was racing the entire time I was reading. I wanted Caroline and her family to be safe, minus her husband who was an ass. I have to admit that I thought Aiden was crazy from the beginning, and while he may be a little crazy I judged him HARD. If that hurricane didn't happen, I have no idea how this would have ended.

This book made me scared, worried, shocked, and relieved. That's why I am giving it a 5 star review. I recommend this to anyone who wants an exciting read that will make you read it in 2 days (one day if I didn't have to work).


I did receive this as an ebook from NetGallery and St. Martin's Press. Thank you for the chance to read this in advance.

This book is going to take you on a wild ride! My perspective definitely changed as I read it, suddenly I’d read one sentence and my opinion/theory would change. It’s definitely best to go blind into this story, but suffice to say if you love psychological thrillers, then this one is for you!

All you need to know is that Caroline’s perfect life starts to fall apart, emotionally fragile and unsure of what to do next, she throws caution to the wind and embarks on a tryst with Aidan, a man she has met once or twice. Unfortunately for her, he doesn’t see it as a short lived tryst and his actions become more and more disturbing!

This book is fast paced and will have you questioning what you know as you read it, as it alternates between Caroline and Aidan’s POV! I recommend picking it up without much prior knowledge and let yourself get carried away with this very well written story.

This will make one heck of a beach read this summer! Thrilling and fast paced. Keeps you guessing what the heck is going on. Finished it in one day. Nice wrap up at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC

What an amazing read! I stayed up WAY past my bedtime reading this book. What an twisty read. I had no idea what was going on...and that rarely happens to me. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my bookshelf!

This was a real page turner! This book was very exciting and I completely didn't expect the ending. All through the book I would change my predictions based on new information, but it was never expected. I highly recommend reading A Stranger on the Beach. It's an intense book full of twists and turns that you just never want to put down.

I stayed in the bright sun in the pool until I finished this thriller! Twists and turns everywhere! Characters were not very likable... intentionally. Aidan seemed really over the top at times, again intentionally. Really enjoyed the way the point of view alternated between Caroline and Aidan as it added so much to the suspenseful plot line. The ending was extremely rewarding for me. This book will jump to the best seller list upon its publication on July 23rd. Put this on your must read shelf! Many many thanks to Michele Campbell, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this ARC and the pleasure I had reading it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Michele Campbell's She Was the Quiet One so I was excited to get an ARC of her latest novel, A Stranger on the Beach. However, I didn't end up enjoying this one as much. The book starts out with a clear set up - a wealthy woman with a gorgeous house on the beach has been involved in something sinister, and it all tracks back to a man she met on the beach outside her home. The story goes back and forth between their two perspectives.

In an effort to keep the reader in the dark, the writing is simple, there is very little character development, and it quickly starts to feel like a bad Lifetime movie. I was puzzled by this, and then began to suspect that this was all a ruse and that the plot points we thought we were supposed to care about were actually red herrings. Around halfway through she begins developing the story more fully. I liked the concept but wasn't sure it was executed as well as it could have been. The ultimate reveal wasn't a reveal at all - it was obvious what had happened.

Characters were frustrating, and the twist wasn't done in a way that provided much suspense. I still like this author and think there were some good ideas here, but this wasn't my favorite book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a twisted tale of greed. Caroline and Jason swindled the mob to supplement their lavish lifestyle and came up with the perfect patsy to take the fall. All Aiden was guilty of was being naive. The plot is tightly knit together with no loose ends to leak any secrets before they come out. I was left guessing the true details of the crime all the way through until the author revealed it. It was truly a work of of Machiavellian proportions.

This book was intriguing from the beginning. It was told in multiple points of view, and has several plot twists that kept me on the hook. The use of a natural disaster at a key point in the plot added to the suspense. Overall, it’s a great summer read!

I was put off by the lazy foreshadowing, the woman especially, who ended most of her chapters with a comment to the effect if "but I never knew something so bad was going to happen." Really it became slightly insulting. I also didn't care for how poorly the husband was fleshed out, he was barely background noise and seemed to only appear when there was no one else around to move the story forward. That said, by 3/4 of the way through I was definitely committed to finding what would happen, so there must have been some compelling quality even if I'm not entirely sure what it was.

WOOOOWWWWWWW. Just, wow.

This book is a perfect example of how thrillers can be confusing but in the best way. The book is set between two points of views and we really don't know what's going on for a while but its GREAT.

The book really finds itself around the 50% mark and once I was at that point I had to read until the end because it was so gripping and tense, a truly great read.

5/5, no question.

I was so excited to be approved for this title! This was a psychological thriller (emphasis on the thriller) from Caroline and Aiden's perspectives. I really enjoy books with alternating POV because of the unique perspective we get into the story, seeing it through two peoples eyes. There were a lot of twists and turns and I felt like I was being kept on my toes. I didn't at all know what to expect or who to trust in this book. I was surprised until the final page!! Thank you NetGalley!!

**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Caroline Stark has it all. A beautiful new beach house, a loving daughter, and a great marriage. Or so she thought. During her housewarming party she discovers (along with all the guests in attendance) that her husband has been lying to her about his recent whereabouts and he has a mistress. Caroline is humiliated and turns to a local bartender Aidan for comfort. She soon finds herself unable to break away from Aidan as he becomes more and more obsessed with her. As she tries to get away from Aidan, he attempts to make contct with her estranged husband, her daughter, and her sister. She must find a way to get away from him before things turn deadly.

This book just wasn't for me. I wanted to like it, but I predicted part of the twist about half way through the book. The alternating POV's didn't match up so I could tell something wasn't right. None of the characters were likable. Caroline annoyed me right from the beginning, Lynn was too obnoxious of a character, the daughter seemed needy and insecure (but was barely mentioned), and pathetic Aidan was caught up way too soon for no good reason. The premise was a good one, but it didn't line up for me as being believable. One glaring omission in the whole plot for me was the daughter's role after everything played out. How much did she know and what was Caroline's plan for her? Was she being lied to the whole time? That would be unforgivable. I'll give the author a second chance but that may be it for me if that one doesn't grab me also.

This was an okay read. I didn’t like Caroline and that made it hard to remain engaged in the story. Started out strong and slowed down as it went.

4 stars. I as hooked after reading the first chapter. Great job Michele Campbell. If you like a good mystery and thriller add this to your reading list you will not be disappointed. Great job to the author. I though the stranger on the beach was a weird guy. You must read to see what happens

This was a strange, sordid, twisted story. The reader receives two different tales, from two of the man characters and it's hard to discern who is lying or are they both. The narrative involves fabrication, money laundering, duplicity, an illicit affair, and lots of bends that prevent the reader from seeing that far ahead. I give the author credit with conjuring up despicable characters and a story that keeps readers guessing.

Caroline Stark is just putting the finishing touches on her brand new beach home when she notices a young man staring at her house from the beach below and this isn't the first time she's seen him out there watching. Busy with making housewarming party plans she quickly forgets about this stranger.

At the housewarming party Caroline and her husband, Jason, get into an argument in front of all of the guests and much to her humiliation. She is convinced that he is having an affair but rather than to defend himself or deny it he tells her that he has to go and doesn't know when he'll be back.

Caroline, now feeling lonely and betrayed, heads to the local watering hole to drown her sorrows when it appears that the stranger from the beach is the bartender. His name is Aidan and he's absolutely gorgeous and she thinks that there isn't anything wrong with her doing some innocent flirting with this much younger man when her husband is clearly sleeping with another woman. When that innocent flirting turns into a one night stand she thinks they'll part ways without nary a worry but Aidan has other ideas because Aidan is in love.

This book started out so strong and I was digging all the unreliable narrators and not having a clue of what was happening but then I hit the 50% mark and sadly my interest started to wane. It all started to get a little ridiculous. Stupidity and poor choices abound. Caroline was just the worst and I felt no sympathy for her whatsoever. I did manage to finish this but I'll admit I skimmed from 50-75% because it became so tedious. The ending did tie everything up but I didn't really care at that point and was just happy to be done. 2.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! I stayed hooked on it from the beginning. As the chapters went by it was full of suspense and surprises. Towards the middle of the book you think you have an idea of what’s going to happen and then the author has her special way of giving your another twist and turn. Closer to the end I was totally shocked where the storyline went. This is my 3rd time reading one of Michele’s books and she’s had become one of my favorite authors! Thanks for giving me a chance to read this addicting read.