This was a good read. Twisty and turny, but it rambled on a little too much for me and at times I was quite confused.

The back story for this book could have been pulled from many local newspapers. A young woman who has been tracking her absent father shows up on his door step and expects to join his family. That's the part you read in the paper, the middle part. Jake Cross takes that story and gives it some pretty original twists. The book moves quickly, drawing you into the "family" and telling their stories while the characters reveal themselves to be very different from what you expected. Keeping us guessing until the very end.

This was a real psychological thriller and so many twists and turns make for a nail biting read! I will highly recommend to friends! Made doe excellent reading whilst sunbathing.

What would you do if someone turned up on your doorstep and announced that she thinks she’s your daughter? That’s what happens to Chris and Rose. They’ve had a solid marriage for 20 years (they’ve been planning a celebration party with family and friends for their anniversary), and they live a fairly uneventful, secure life with their teenage daughter, Julia.

Until one mistake from Chris’s past comes back to haunt him, and Katie arrives to rock their solid world. Events seem to conspire against them all, and she lands up having nowhere to go. Rose, being a good-natured sort (although she seems to be going through menopausal mood swings – I did find her sudden flashes of anger and irritation rather surprising at times), can’t help insisting that she stay with them. Strangely, nobody seems to query this, although Julia does occasionally ask why she’s there. However, because there’s virtually no age difference between them and because they get along really well, she too welcomes her into the family home as some of twin sister!

But strange things start to occur, and these then start to compound, making both Chris and Rose suspicious that Katie might not be who she says she thinks she might be (it is just a tiny bit complicated). However … even stranger is that neither of them questions anything she says, or seems to delve deeper into her story, even when it’s evident that it has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese! This really did hamper the plot for me, and the book started to lose its edge.

The characters seem to be all over the place, eternally waiting, waiting for an answer (or an axe to fall?), and not going out and pursuing any answers for themselves. I know it’s fiction, but this did border slightly on fantasy at times. But that said, the strength of this book lies in the authenticity of its characters. Chris is … dare I say it … oh, so typically male! He just doesn’t want to deal with or face up to anything difficult. I literally pictured him stamping his foot like a toddler! He shrugs off any uncomfortable, awkward situation (and he finds himself faced with many) with banal humour, which more often than not, falls flat. He doesn’t seem to be one of life’s copers, and struck me as a bit of a wimp!

His wife Rose, on the other hand, clearly wears the pants in this partnership – well that’s the way she started off – it fluctuated a lot! Initially, being the writer, researcher type that she is, she checks up on stuff that Katie says. But that doesn’t remain consistent and she isn’t able to balance it out with her mothering role of wanting to welcome Katie into her home and look after her. I wanted her to remain cynical and suspicious, but she didn’t (or couldn’t).

I liked Julia a lot though! I loved her determination and her attempt to be independent, combined with that reticence that comes with being unsure about who she really is, combined with knowing how and who she might want to be. I found her really refreshing and real.

The original idea behind this book is what will catch readers’ attention. It opens up that ‘What If?’ conversation, which is always interesting.

18 years prior, Chris Redfern met Eve Levine had a fling. Like most flings, Chris thought nothing of it, but Eve becomes pregnant following the brief affair. Fast forward to present day, Chris is now faced with 18 year old Katie who very much wants to get to know her father and be a part of his family, which he now has with his wife Rose and 18 year old daughter Julia. The family waits on a DNA test to confirm Katie’s story, but they allow Katie to stay with them while the await the results of the paternity test.

As the story begins to unfold, it becomes quite clear that letting Katie into their lives, was a HUGE mistake. What started out as adoration for a long lost father quickly escalates into an intricate web of lies and deceit. The family dynamic completely shifts as strange and violent events start to take place…including the disappearance of Julia’s friend.

I do think that the family was a bit too trusting when Katie showed up on their doorstep, but in the same respect, I don’t know what I would do if I was faced with the same revelation. Jake has delivered yet another nail biting, page turner that quite literally kept me on the edge of my seat. With each new revelation, the tension just kept building until we ultimately got to the stellar finish. Well done.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an eARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Perfect Stranger by Jake Cross

What’s it about: A long-lost daughter shows up on Chris’s doorstep. Who is this person? Is she who she says she is?

What I liked: While it isn’t innovative or new, I love books that involve a potentially sinister person from the past popping up. I love the intrigue of trying to figure out if they are lying or not.

What I disliked: This book disappointed me. The dialogue and plot felt jumbled at times, which made it hard to follow. The characters felt flat. Some of the subplots weren’t interesting and didn’t make any sense. This was frustrating as a reader.

Overall: 1/5 stars. Some people enjoyed this book, I didn’t at all.

Though Chris and Rose have had their ups and downs, after twenty years their relationship feels solid. But their comfortable home life is turned upside down when Katie shows up, claiming to be Chris’s daughter from a fling two decades ago. While Chris, unnerved and confused, hesitates accepting Katie, Rose is more than welcoming— after all, how could they turn away a grieving woman who’s just lost her mother? However, after Katie moves in, strange things begin occurring … But is Katie sabotaging her new family or is Chris hiding even bigger secrets?

Author Jake Cross brilliantly structures the opening scenes of Perfect Stranger, showcasing a loving family headed by Chris and Rose and rounded out by teenage daughter Julia. They have quirks and quibbles, but there’s a comfortability that permeates their home. But one way or another, previous actions always come back to haunt. For Chris, it’s in a particularly extreme way, as a daughter he never knew existed shows up at his front door.

And from there, it’s a pulse-pounding chain of events that sends everyone’s lives topsy-turvy.

Part of this is because Cross has no issue letting his main character, Chris, make unpopular choices— and therein lies the success of the story. Chris is complicated and rife with simmering tension, though he constantly tries to diffuse the stress around him with constant jokes. Though he obviously has a loving side with his family, he also struggles moving past even mild annoyances with those outside his close circle. This leads to an internal battle of muddled thinking as he attempts to accept Katie, which justifies a lot of his actions that might seem extreme.

And through it all is a central question: Is Katie his daughter? It’s a compelling conundrum, particularly since Chris and Rose choose to form a basic relationship with Katie, no matter the results of the paternity tests. However, strange and violent events begin occurring around their home, some involving their friends and colleagues. Cross carefully balances the questions of family relationships with who is actually causing the chaos and how that issue relates to the series of crimes, and he threads multiple logical answers. Even so, the ending manages to be both satisfying and surprising.

Ultimately, tight prose, a compelling mystery, and a lot of unreliable characters combine for an original domestic thriller.

Thank you again @netgalley and Jake Cross for sending me an ARC of Perfect Stranger for an honest review. This novel is based on a family that have a loving home and a fairly normal life until one day the father discovers he may have another child that is seeking to connect with him. I quite enjoyed the nature of this storyline, the characters personalities are very likeable and you are led to suspect the new daughter straight away from her odd behaviours. I liked the honesty of the main character, he is totally believable in his mannerisms and need for normality and we understand his anxiety of this disruption as we journey with him through the book. I enjoyed the breadcrumbs laced throughout that lend suspicion without being too obvious. The family dynamic is easy to delve into and this book has an inherent message about the impact of emotional abuse on the human psyche. A well thought out climactic ending gives tension and action, then leaves the reader with a sense of closure whilst dangling a possibility of a future story emerging. My favourite thing about this book wasn't necessarily the 'thriller' aspect to it, though it totally delivers on what we expect of that genre. What I loved was the exploration of intrusion in a family, the attempt to accept and fit a stranger into an established home and how the characters process their feelings. I definitely would recommend.

Chris and Rose have an 18 year old daughter Julia. Life is plodding away nicely, apart from Rose’ rheumatoid arthritis, all is as it should be.

But then a note is put through their door ‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO EVE LEVINE’

Rose thinks it must be something to do with Chris’ work at the hospital….but Chris seems to remember something from his past.

Then, after a mugging, they meet Katie, she says she’s Eve’s daughter…..and Chris is her father! As there had been a fire at Katie’s flat, she comes to stay with them….while they wait for paternity test results to come back.

Strange and violent events start to happen, Julia’s friend is hurt and secrets start to be unearthed …..not everyone is as they initially seemed to be…

This is a compelling psychological thriller with many twists and revelations that keep the sense of menace building from start to the nail biting finish.

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my in honest, unbiased review.

Rose and Chris have the perfect marriage and family until, one day, Katie shows up on their doorstep claiming to be Chris' child from a summer fling many years ago. Katie tells them about how her mother has recently committed suicide and the man that she thought was her real father was murdered. Tugging at their heart strings Rose allows Katie to move in with them while waiting for the paternity results to return; she couldn't just expect this young woman to live on the streets. However, during the week that it takes the results to come back Chris' life starts to unravel. Problems between him and hi wife arise, work starts to cause unnecessary drama in his life, and now he has to deal with the stress of hiding this possible daughter from Julia, his daughter with Rose. On top of all of that he doesn't seem able to trust what Katie is saying about who she is and why she is now in his life. Is there something more that she is hiding? Is she really his daughter? Only time will tell.

I was lucky enough to be gifted with this Advanced Readers Copy through NetGalley. I love a good thriller and, towards the end, this book ended up having many twists and turns. The beginning is a little bit slow and, at times, confusing but not in a way that makes you want to stop reading. It makes you think about what is happening in the story and who you can and cannot believe. Once you finally start getting the missing pieces this book really becomes hard to put down.

On Goodreads I rated this book a 3/5. It's told completely from Chris' perspective and his mind is, expectedly, all over the place. There were several times in the beginning of this book where I felt a little lost at what was happening and the characters seemed to become a bit jumbled. However, once you have about 80% of the book read things fall into place very nicely and you become sucked into the roller coaster that is taking place. I brought this book to work so I could read it during my lunch and plan period and I was thinking about what was going to happen while teaching. However, parts of the ending were predictable. There was one major twist that I was surprised about because I didn't see it coming at all. The ending was left kind of open which, normally, I'm not a fan of but it makes sense for this particular story.

This book is published on August 21, 2019!! To my fellow thriller lovers keep a look out for this one!

Thanks to Bookouture for the ARC!!

I thought this story was a bit slow at first, but later I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was gonna happen!!! Some say the ending was predictable, but it surprised me. I changed my mind several times while I was reading, 'cause I didn't know what to believe. All characters are very complex and have thousands of reasons to act the way they do.

Also, this story brings to discussion some really important matters, like catfishing, coming out to your parents as gay, DNA tests, childhood traumas, emotional and physical abuse, among others.

This is my first book by this author and I really liked it.

Wow, wow, wow!!! This is the second book I read by Jake Cross and he really hit this one out of the ballpark. If you want suspense you really got it from this book. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I was at the edge of my seat the entire book.

This book was about a young woman trying to find her real father who she never knew existed. Chris is the supposed father to Katie but wants proof since he has a whole new family he has to think of first. As they wait for the paternity test results father and daughter try to bond in the meantime. So many strange things starts happening around Chris since he let Katie in his life and he is really starting to doubt that she has pure intentions. As the book goes on you finally find out the truth.

I want to first say that Jake Cross has done it again. I just loved this whole book and devoured every sentence. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter to find out what was going to happen next. He had me guessing the whole entire book and by the end I was dead wrong about everything. It was such a shock and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. My whole world turned upside down from this book. This is definitely the kind of book I love to read and would recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This book is a fun read with tons of twists, turns and drama! I devoured this in a day because it was that good! I like that the author made each character flawed, as well.

Happy Pub Day to Perfect Stranger by Jake Cross! Thanks to @netgalley and @bookouture I got a chance to read this one a few weeks early!

You know I love a good psychological thriller and this one was right up my alley!

Chris and Rose get a surprise when a teenager named Katie shows up claiming to be Chris’s daughter. Their seemingly perfect life is thrown for a loop in an instant after twenty years of wedded bliss.

Is Katie who she claims to be? Are her intentions innocent? Why do all these bad things keep happening?

Rose opens her house to Katie despite Chris’s protest and from there and it’s twist after twist. Truly I couldn’t keep up but I was very interested in what was going to happen next!

If you’re looking for a twisty thriller, look no further!

Highly highly recommended thriller! I had a hard time putting it down! I hope to read more from this Author.

She thinks he is her father as a result of a hidden part of his past. But now that it is revealed there seems to be more that he may hiding. Who is the true stranger?

While I did enjoy the book I don't love it. I felt that it dragged on a bit the last quarter. It is a unique storyline so that really had me hooked in the beginning. Still finished it though to get answers to the unknown events.

Chris Redfern met Eve Levine 18 years ago and had a fling. Little did he know that he'd left her pregnant. Now, that daughter, Katie, has shown up and wants to get to know him, his family, and to be a part of his life. Although Chris, his wife, Rose, and their own 18-year-old daughter, Julia, are waiting on paternity/DNA tests to confirm the relationship, they invite Katie to stay with them. That turns out to be a very bad decision.

I finished this only because I promised, by requesting, that I would read and write a review. I found it very difficult to get through as it was tedious, overly long, repetitive, and not very exciting despite the author's attempts to try some surprises and twists. Since I didn't like any of the characters, I didn't even really care how it all turned out but finish it, I did. I didn't find any of the plot believable because of the behavior and reactions of the characters. They didn't question anything or do their own covert investigation into this person who has just appeared into their lives. Call me a skeptic, but, honestly, I sure would have done a deep background check no matter the cost before I allowed someone to move into my home. But, I'm from Missouri, USA, where the motto is, "SHOW ME." Since I couldn't buy into the story line, I tried to follow the narrative and get something from it, but, sadly, I couldn't get past some of the ridiculous -- for example, Katie claiming that her paresthesias were caused by her swallowing a rubber ball that "went into her body and lived inside her, still bouncing." I mean really? Chris is supposed to be a scientist, a microbiologist, and he says nothing. Anyway, I don't know what more to say. I didn't find this book my cup of tea.

I'm still grateful to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jake Cross and Bookouture for this ARC.

I do love a good psychological thriller, and this one was pretty good. The ending was a bit predictable, but made the story more interesting in my opinion.

I'll be picking up more Jake Cross books after this!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book had me wishing I didn't have a life. Once I started it I didn't want to put it down. With that being said, I also found parts of it predictable, but not so much that I didn't want to see where the plot line was going. And thank goodness I didn't, because the twists and turns towards the end kept me guessing. A solid four stars from me, and a bunch of five stars reviews from others. At $2.99 for the Kindle Edition, you can't go wrong.

Description from Amazon:

You let her in. You’ll wish you hadn’t.

Following a whirlwind romance, Rose and Chris’s marriage has been unshakeable for twenty years. But when teenager Katie turns up on their doorstep, blonde, wide-eyed and beautiful, their perfect life threatens to crumble to pieces. Because Katie says she’s Chris’s long-lost daughter, the product of a forgotten summer fling.

The couple is still reeling from shock when Katie tells them she has nowhere to go. The couple is her only hope. Kind-hearted Rose invites Katie to stay, despite Chris’s protests. The poor girl has only just lost her mother – they can’t leave her out on the street.

But soon after Katie moves in, strange things start happening. Someone crashes into a neighbour’s fence. An unexplained fire starts in the couple’s kitchen. And a family friend coming to visit disappears on the way to the house. Chris insists Katie has to go. But it’s Chris who won’t explain where he was at the time their friend went missing…

The couple’s dream life seems to be turning into a nightmare. With dark secrets about Chris’s history with Katie’s mother coming to light, Rose no longer knows who to trust. Soon, she isn’t sure whether she’s invited a dangerous stranger into her home, or whether she’s been living with one all along…

A chilling thriller that will make you question everything you think you know about your loved ones. Fans of The Woman in the Window, Then She Was Gone and The Perfect Child won’t be able to put this book down.

Was not that great of a book. Well written on the characters but didn’t grab my attention. Thank you to the publisher for letting me read this book.