This is a compelling story of of obsession and deception. There is an ominous feel throughout, as the story played out slowly. The narrative is told from two points of view: Caroline, married to Jason and homeowner of an oceanfront house in Long Island, and Aiden, a “townie” with a dark reputation, whose family used to own the land on which Caroline’s new house now sits. One of them is seemingly an unreliable narrator and it was intriguing to try to figure out what was really happening.

A Stranger on the Beach was a satisfying page turner. It would make a good movie. This is the second good book I’ve read by Michele Campbell (I read and recommend She Was The Quiet One). I really like her writing style, and I definitely look forward to reading more! Recommended!!

An enticing portrait of marriage and betrayal, this novel is a minefield of twists and double-twists, with a wonderfully drawn cast of characters. A smart and rewarding read.

Turns out, Michele Campbell is the latest author on my not-to-be-missed list! I I thoroughly enjoyed her most recent title, A Stranger On The Beach. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, I’ve gotten to the point where I can often predict where a story is going, and a lot of times, twists aren’t super surprising to me. This one threw a much-appreciated wrench into that pattern. I had several theories through the book, but it took me soooo much longer than it normally does to put all of the pieces together, which I LOVED! This book was incredibly entertaining, twisty, and well-written, and I’m already looking so forward to what Michele Campbell comes up with next!

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy

This was a tricky little book. I don't feel like the snippet (on Goodreads) is very accurate. Certainly attention grabbing, but the story is so much more nuanced than what the description implies.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Caroline Stark and Aidan Callahan. Caroline is the wealthy, interior designer turned stay at home mom turned empty-nester that many people may dream of being - a handsome, successful husband, a loving daughter, a comfortable apartment in the city and a lavish beach home to boot. Aidan's story is... more complicated than that. The kid brother of the beach town's police chief, Aidan has his own set of issues that we get to work through throughout this novel. I think it was the second or third perspective switch when I realized that at least one of our narrators is unreliable. But which one - or is it both?

Campbell cleverly weaves together several story lines without it seeming too far-reaching. There were certainly times that I had to suspend disbelief, mostly because Caroline would behave in a way that I wouldn't expect any smart, self-sufficient woman to. There was one story arc that seemed out of left field initially, but wrapped up neatly into the ending (no spoilers here!). I was constantly changing my mind - first sympathizing with Caroline, then Aidan, then neither and both.

Secondary characters in the novel are actually pretty good - so often authors don't flesh them out enough because they're too focused on using them to drive the story. But I enjoyed reading about Caroline's sister, her daughter Hannah, and the other police officers involved throughout the story. We got enough information for me to care about them too, but not to distract me from the overall plot.

Overall, a great read. Definitely looking forward to more from this author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC!

This is my third book I have read by Michele Campbell and her first two books were awesome and in her latest book A Stranger on the Beach she keeps on delivering fantastic psychological thrillers. This book revolves around Caroline, Jason her husband and Aiden, a man 15 years younger than Caroline. It starts off in the Hamptons, a lavish beach resort at Caroline and Jason’s new beach house. But it appears things are not going well in Jason and Carol’s marriage. It appears that Jason is cheating on Caroline. So then Caroline goes to a local bar in the Hampton’s and picks up a local, very appealing younger bartender named Aiden She becomes very drunk and Aiden takes her home and they have passionate sex but in the morning Caroline is mortified with what happened. But Aiden becomes totally obsessed with Caroline and begins to stalk her. Caroline and Jason reconcile but Aiden refuses to go away and continues to stalk her. I do not want to go further with my review because I do not want to give away spoilers. Let’s just say this book had more twists and turns with a fantastic shocking ending that I only began to see as the book closes to the end. I absolutely loved this book. If you like psychological thrillers. I highly recommend this book.I also want to thank net galley for this ARC I received for an honest review. (less)

Michele Campbell has done it again! A Stranger on the Beach is twisted, compelling and a must listen. Without giving too much away, I can say that Caroline and Aiden will get under your skin and force you to think about who is telling the truth and what is really going on. Every time you think you have it figured out, something happens to make you second guess yourself. The novel also asks larger questions about truth, loyalty and love and makes us consider why we make certain decisions and whether or not we are prepared to deal with the consequences.

I had read one other book by this author, so I was very excited to get a chance to read this one. However, I don't think this one was quite as good. I found most of the twists to be a little predictable, but I will say that the author's use of a two points of view for different parts of the book probably did more to give that away than it did to hide it as I believe was the intention. This book did pull me in though, and like the author's last book the short chapters kept the action moving and kept me wanting to read more and more. I enjoyed the storyline, but it wasn't really a new story, which is probably why I found it predictable. Nonetheless, it was extremely well written and I would definitely pick up another book by Michele Campbell.

Not a fan of two unreliable narrators with such wildly different accounts of events. It was too much. Characters behavior was just too unbelievable. This was just beyond ridiculous.

This book was EXCELLENT. I was hooked from the very first line and I could not stop reading. Fun, fast-paced, and completely intriguing - Michele Campbell has done it again!

There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.

Or is he?

This story was so well-written. It's told from two perspectives: Aiden's and Caroline's. Neither is a particularly reliable narrator, and you will find yourself questioning SO MANY THINGS. There were quite a few scenes which seemed to happen one way when Caroline was narrating, but then seemed to happen a completely different way when Aiden was narrating. Who's telling the truth? What actually happened? How do Caroline's husband, Jason, or her sister, Lynn, figure in to the story? Discovering all of this is half the fun, and I'm being very mindful of spoilers so as not to take that fun away from prospective readers! 🙂

A Stranger on the Beach is a twisted (and twisty), gripping, page-turner releasing July 23rd - just in time to take it to the beach. Add it to your TBR list now!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this title early in exchange for an honest review.

Truthfully, this book was a bit confusing. Not only did it switch back and forth from the main characters viewpoints, which I usually like and understand, the versions of events were so vastly different that I didn’t believe either one of them. Things just didn’t add up or make sense in either account. The ending was so obvious from almost the beginning that when it finally arrived I was so let down that I had been right. I kept waiting for a twist that I didn’t feel ever came. Disappointing.

This was the perfect thrilling beach read! I love unreliable narrators, trying to unravel mysteries and reading about rich people fucking up their lives, so A Stranger on the Beach drew me in right away and kept me interested! .
The plot was twisty and it felt a bit familiar until the very last chapter where I actually uttered, "OHHHHH, I GET IT NOW!" out loud! Overall it was a fun fast read and the perfect beach read for when you don't want to think too much, but you also want to feel engaged!

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⭐⭐⭐ A solid fluffy read!

This book was very very good, I did not want to put it down, many long days and late nights reading this. Was new to this author but will definitely be looking forward to more by her!! Very well written and very easily captured my attention! , thank you! This is why i love reading!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This is my first book by this author, and it was such a thrilling ride! Just when I thought I had it figured out, the author changed directions. It kept me guessing to the end! Caroline, who is building a beach house, seems to have it all. There's only one problem-she knows her husband is lying to her. She meets another man on the beach and has a quick fling with him. To her, it is a fling. To him, it is something more. He starts stalking her and the thrills begin. Great book for all readers that like a great thriller!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. Well this twisty novel has it all! Cheating spouses, a crazy paroled stalker, an unreliable narrator and even the Russian mob? If you are in the mood to just dive into a book and not come up for air until it is over, this is the book for you! I loved it because you never really knew which character was telling the truth and that just added to the overall suspence of the story. A very fast and engaging story!

This is the third book that I've read by Michele Campbell and it is the strongest. She has a great knack for coming up with a compelling premise that usually deals with varying perspectives on the same event. In this novel, we have the opposing perspectives of Caroline, the wealthy owner of a newly built beach house who ends up having a fling with Aiden, a local petty criminal whose father used to own the property where her house now stands. When a crime is committed, the question is, of course, who-done-it..

The novel starts out strong and it kept my attention until about two thirds in, but the tension dissipated once a lot of the narrative switched over to the investigators rather than Caroline and Aiden. I guessed the ending way before I wanted to.

That said, folks looking for a quick beach read will find it entertaining.

Loved it! A great domestic thriller. Very well written and when I wasn't reading, I was trying to figure things out.
Themes of wealth, murder, betrayal, obsession. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the advance copy.

This book has all of the elements I look for in a good psychological thriller: a scandalous affair, a tense family situation, an unreliable protagonist, creepy weather, and a juicy twist! I devoured this book and did not want it to end.

Unreliable narrators galore in this new novel by Michele Campbell. Campbell does a great job of telling the story in alternating perspectives. You think you know what's happening, but as the story goes on... you don't know who is telling the truth.

I liked it, but didn't love it. Great concept, but the book drags on too long. And, the writing is a little clunky at times.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.
Expected publication 7/23/19.

Thank you to NetGalley, Michele Campbell and St. Martin's Press for this wonderful ARC.

Michele Campbell is becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved her first two books, and I absolutely love this one. The story is told by two different people, with two different perspectives of things. Just when you start to think one person is lying, you find out that you were 100% wrong the entire time (or was that just me??). That ending was a shocker for sure!

Loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for this GREAT read, it was so good!

The twists and turns keep you guessing until the end.

Campbell created these characters perfectly. Who to believe, what happens next!?!?!

Highly recommend this book and author!