A Stranger on the Beach


A delightful psychological thriller told from several conflicting perspectives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Caroline Stark notices the stranger on the beach staring up at her brand new, and very expensive house. He is very handsome, but it looks like he was up to no good. Other houses in the area had recently been robbed, perhaps he is casing the house? He looks like a local and she knew that people like him resented people like her, people that have everything: good looks, apartment in the city, nice car, and fancy parties

The very next day, Caroline’s perfect life takes a turn for the worse. Caroline’s husband, Jason an successful investment banker, shows up at the beach house-warming party with another woman, his Russian mistress. He tells Caroline he wants a divorce, and then closes her bank accounts and credit cards. Caroline’s lavish lifestyle collapses around her. She turns to Aiden, the stranger on the beach who turns out to be a local bartender with a past, for comfort and maybe even a little revenge. A one night stand for Aiden turns into an obsession with Caroline. She is, and she has everything he ever wanted. When Caroline’s husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her husband’s murder.

REVIEW
A STRANGER ON THE BEACH is a delightfully entertaining read. It’s a psychological thriller told from several conflicting perspectives, and you may think you know which perspective is right. But don’t be to quick to judge. There are so many twists and turns on this beach trip you are going to want to race to the end to uncover the truth.

I loved the vivid descriptions of Caroline’s gorgeous house on the beach with the wall of windows over looking the ocean, the infinity pool, the media room, the lighting system, and the soaring French limestone fireplace! Who wouldn’t want a place like that on the beach!

Books that keep you guessing are fun, but I got a little confused at times with the variety of perspectives and the unreliable characters. Who is manipulating who? And why? Even so, it’s a perfect read for a day at the beach. Just watch out for the category four hurricane that is headed straight your way.

Author Michele Campbell is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor in New York City who specializes in international narcotics and gang cases. Several years ago she moved with her husband and two children to an idyllic New England college town. She now teaches criminal and constitutional law and writes novels. Other books by Michele Campbell include She was the Quiet One (2018) and It’s Always the Husband (2017)

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Michele Campbell for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published July 23, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

This was my first book to read by Michelle Campbell and certainly will not be my last. I love that she wrote on a subject that wasn’t cliché and was able to keep me as the reader guessing. I absolutely love not being able to figure out what the ending will be.

Thank you in advance to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow! It’s not often that a psychological thriller can surprise me but Michele Campbell really pulled out all the stops.

A Stranger on the Beach was a fun read and a page turner, I just couldn’t put it down. The plot switches back and forth between our two main characters POV. Right from the beginning you can tell, things aren’t adding up...

Unreliable characters, questionable morals, scandalous affairs - this book has it all. Put A Stranger on the Beach on your list of summer reads and you won’t be disappointed. I promise you, you’ll never guess the ending.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but it didn’t totally blow me away. It had me guessing throughout as to which of the two main characters were telling the truth. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Thank you NetGalley, Michelle Campbell and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Caroline has an amazing new beach house and is hosting an extravagant house warming party with all her and her husband’s friends and coworkers. The only problem is her husband has been lying to her and they have a very public fight at this party. Aiden, a stranger who lives in the town, is there when Caroline realizes that her husband has been cheating on her. Her marriage is collapsing and her life begins to crumble around her, but Aiden is there to comfort her and help her seek her revenge. After a brief fling that means nothing to Caroline but everything to Aiden; he becomes obsessed with her and her family.

Well this is definitely one of my top ten reads of this year and definitely a great summer beach read because you aren’t going to want to put this one down! I loved the way this book was formatted with chapters from both Caroline and Aiden; each chapter was from their respective opinions on what was going on and you have to try to piece together which one of them is telling the truth and who actually committed the crime! I was so intrigued the whole way through and I couldn’t stop reading long enough to really ponder why each character felt the need to lie. There is a lot of action and twists throughout this novel that made it all the more interesting! Definitely recommend!!

Out July 23rd!

I really wanted to love this book but it fell a little short for me. I am not sure if it was the style or the shifting unreliable narrators in the story. It was fast paced and did keep me guessing, but I just felt frustrated as things were revealed. Overall a good mystery, just not my favorite I've read this year.

It's always hard to write a review like this, but I did not like this book. If it hadn't been an advance reading copy, I might have stopped it around the 40% mark. It really dragged and the writing felt too simplistic, along with twists that weren't unexpected or surprising at all. I will say I wanted to know the outcome, so that's a positive. From reading other reviews, I'm clearly in the minority. It might be one of those books you either really like or don't like at all. Might make a good beach read for those times you're distracted and need something light that won't require much focus. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc of A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell. All opinions are my own.

Michele Campbell keeps getting better and better. I finished this in one day. I could not put it down. It had a unique twist to it unlike her other books. The story follows Caroline who just finds out her husband is cheating on her and leaves her destitute.

She is extremely upset so goes to the local bar to drown her sorrows. While there she meets a younger man named Aiden. They have a one night stand which develops into a dangerous and chaotic relationship. Each chapter is either from Caroline’s or Aiden’s point of view, but what is interesting, each point of view has a different perspective. You don’t know who to believe which had me quickly turning the pages.

When you get to the end you get another twist you don’t see coming. I loved this book. I will buying the hardback edition when it is released in July. Plus, the cover is amazing.

A totally tangled ewes of deceit! A lot of characters but two are front and center in this great psychological thriller. But which one is the real psychopath? Great book to save for the beach!

This is a perfect example of how the grass is not always greener on the other side. Caroline Stark has it all and after a fling she realizes how quickly is to losing everything. This book had me on the edge of my seat and really had me pulled in emotionally.

Wow - it starts creepy and continues all the way through the book! A great thriller as it keeps you guessing, and the end just flips what you thought around. Don’t read at night - will keep you up in a good way!

Caroline and Aiden, two unreliable narrators, tell the story, alternating between two completely conflicting points of view with the reader never sure where the truth lies. The industry trend of the “gone girl” type female characters influenced who I believed throughout the novel. I struggled to sympathize with any of the characters and found the storyline and timelines hard to follow. The novel has an interesting format, but ultimately fell flat for me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.
I can not say enough about this book. I thought I had it figured out but I was totally wrong from the start. You can't assume anything because you are doing the wrong thing to someone and that is unfair.
Say that you see a homeless person and you assume that the person is penniless and destitute. It has been proven that some of the most richest people have decided to escape the corporate world and live on the streets.
You also have rich people take advantage of less than unfortunate people and try to benefit from their situation. This book is exactly that. Don't believe what you read. Things are not always what they appear to be.
Every time you think you have the plot figured out, you hit a twist.
Granted if you see someone standing outside looking at your house you will think the worse. But if it is every single day, don't you think that you should ask them why?

This is the review I didn't want to write. I've been lucky enough to be granted dozens of ARCs now and been able to give honest reviews that were either favorable or I-Love-this-book favorable. This isn't one of them. This is the first one that I've felt I just couldn't finish. The writing was immature as was each character's voice. I'd say it might be better suited as YA in language but the content was racy and not at all appropriate. I felt like the basic premise was okay but the execution was just eh and unbelievable. Also, the unreliable narrator was taken to the extreme. Alternating chapters had the main characters describing events with absolutely no similarity at all. I'm putting it away after 50% and feel badly about that but I have zero curiosity as to what will happen in the last half of this book.
It was almost like the author knew I was about to quit reading because at the end of many chapters she tried to allude to a big twist coming up that I wouldn't want to miss. After awhile, I'm okay missing it. There are too many better books out there waiting for me. I hope to continue getting ARCs and appreciate being granted the opportunity to read this one.

I was not sure where this book was going. I thought for sure that Aiden had 2 personalities due to the weird two points of view. I two different outcomes for this book and the actual ending was a soft 3rd.

It was a quick page turner, defiantly a beach read.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Caroline has it all, from looks to wealth, along with a cheating husband. She finds sympathy in the arms of a local bartender, Aidan. I was a little confused at some of the chapters where these 2 characters had differing points of view. Who's telling the truth and who's the manipulator? Filled with suspense, I had to keep reading to find out the truth and the ending did not disappoint!

This is one of those books that you ought to take on your holiday and get lost in while you are sunbathing by the pool sipping a mojito. I was hooked from the start after meeting Caroline Stark, 43 interior designer who just discovered that her husband is cheating on her. Caroline finds Aidan staring at her mansion on the beach and at first she thinks he might be a burglar. She later meets him at the local bar where she goes to drink down her failed marriage. Aidan is there to listen, taken by Caroline and knowing too well she is the lady from the expensive house on the beach he's been admiring. Caroline gets drunk and Aidan ends up taking her home. After a drunk wild night together, Caroline is keen to get rid of Aidan in the morning but he is in no rush to go anywhere. Aidan feels that he and Caroline shared something special and they are meant to be together! Or do they not?

Michelle Campbell has written a clever psychological thriller with a dual perspective on the story, letting the reader decide what to believe. Looking through Caroline's eyes, we see a handsome, young, but troubled man interested in her way beyond the one night they shared. Caroline is scared of Aidan and quickly realises he is stalking her and her family. Or if you prefer looking at things from Aidan's perspective - Aidan feeling lucky to having met beautiful Caroline who seems to like him and wants to spend time with him.

Hooked from page one, the book had me guessing what was going on till the end, and unsurprisingly I was totally wrong with my predictions!
So go, grab a mojito and immerse yourself in!

Many thanks to St.Martin's Press for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

The perfect, long awaited beach house, a handsome stranger, too much to drink and a cheating husband-what other outcome could be expected? Sex? Love? A murder suspect? Yes, yes and yes!

This story will have you checking out what you just read to be sure you got it right; but in a good way. Chapter by chapter the entanglement between Caroline and young Aidan gets deeper and deeper and more perplexing. Who is telling the truth about their relationship when Caroline pulls away and Aidan turns up everywhere?

Michele Campbell develops good, strong characters and a mystery you’ll think you’ve figured out until the ending. Hang on tight for a delightful ride into this well-written tale of... well, just read it!

This was a great “beach read”. While it was predictable, I kept reading to see if my guesses were correct. It was entertaining and a quick read.

This book has you hooked from the start and takes you on a whirlwind ride. It is a cracking good thrill ride.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book