received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story starts with a murder and then we go back in time and follow three strangers.

Alice is divorced after her husband cheated on her. She is a manager of a clothes shop and has a daughter who lives with her who is a primary school teacher.

Ursula is a courier and ex teacher who is grieving for her boyfriend who was killed and shoplifts wherever she goes.

Gareth is a security guard at the shopping centre. He lives with his mum who has dementia.

This is a fast paced thriller which is really clever. We hear the stories f these three strangers who don’t really have any connection with each other but it all comes together at the end. I really enjoyed the twist but thought the story lost something towards the end. This was really close to being a five star read.

A fabulous thriller, I love her books and was excited to read this new book.

I love it when a book lives up to expectation and this did not disappoint. It was brilliant and I was hooked within the first chapter, I love it when this happens. Immediately I was calculating where can this book go, I'm only on chapter 1!

This book has three interesting characters and I kept wondering how they would be linked. This book kept me turning the pages through the night. The twists surprised me and it was full of suspense and kept me guessing until the end.

This book was pretty middle of the road for me. The author is a good storyteller and I found Ursula's chapters super interesting and Gareth/Alice less so. I can see why people enjoyed this book, but I just found it hard to get through. Thanks for the advance review copy.

Brilliant! A superb thriller set right up to date (not coronavirus, obviously) mainly featuring three disparate characters whose stories become interlinked.. A clothing store manager, a courier and a security guard. I will let you find out which one is which! My favourite was Ursula.

Lots of twists and turns all utterly believable. Lots of family and friends type dramas..Who could ask for more?

I don't want to give away any spoilers (which could be an easy thing to do), suffice it to say the book has a terrific ending. In this case, Ms Taylor treats us to two endings so beware.

An obvious five star review, and if I could have given it an extra half, as it is set in my hometown Bristol, then I would.

This book was so good. It hooked me from page 1., but by the end of it I absolutely loved it. This book had everything I cant say enough about this book. This is my first book by this author and I cant wait to read more.

This is three stories in one book and they only come together right at the end. I am a big fan of this author's books, but I'm afraid this wasn't my favourite. I found the switching between stories just took away any build up of tension and it was really the story of 3 sad lives, which crossed at the end in a showdown.

The Strangers by C.L. Taylor

Alice, Ursula and Gareth are complete strangers to one another and yet they are linked together by crime and mystery. Alice has a new potential boyfriend but they are driven apart by a menacing stalker. Gareth’s elderly mother is receiving strange postcards from her long dead husband. Ursula believes that she is responsible for the death of the love of her life and her life has caused her nothing but torment since. Their worlds collide in unexpected ways and then, as strangers, they must stick together to fight to save the life of one of them. Life will never be the same again.

A new psychological thriller by C.L. Taylor is always a much anticipated event, especially during these strange days when escapist pageturners are a regularly needed tonic. In my opinion, Strangers is the best of C.L. Taylor’s thrillers and I’m grateful to her because I had such a good time reading it.

It’s an unusual crime and psychological thriller in some ways because it tells the separate stories of three characters who don’t know each other at all. Their lives might briefly interconnect at moments, and those moments are such a pleasure in the novel (at those times we know something our characters do not), but this is coincidental. It’s only slowly that their worlds come together but by then we have become invested in the stories of each. It’s an interesting structure and I’m not sure I’ve read anything like it before. It works very well, painting a picture of seemingly random and different lives in a community.

One thing connects our three characters and that is the local shopping centre, making it seem all the more realistic and believable. Much of the novel’s action takes place in places that we are familiar with. The perfect locations for chance encounters, perhaps.

All three characters are enjoyable to get to know but my favourite is Ursula. She is unusual to look at and she’s unusual in other ways, too. I love the way that our opinion of her transforms through the novel as we learn that she is nothing like how she first appears.

All three strangers are fundamentally good people but there are others in the novel who are not. Goodness is under attack. To beat it strangers, communities, society, must unite. In some ways, then, Strangers gives us a positive message, while entertaining us with its thrills. It suggests that we are not alone, even if we think we are. It recognises that there is evil out there but suggests that society can overcome it. I like that.

C.L. Taylor writes very well. She has compassion for her characters and she can tell a good story. If you haven’t read one of these novels before, then I can certainly recommend you start with Strangers.

Other reviews
The Missing
Sleep

A story of how strangers lives eventually intertwine. It shows how events or decisions can change the paths we take in life. A well written, enjoyable book. Told from the point of view of different characters but the writing was strong enough that the voices were different and distinguishable. I think CL Taylor does well as capturing accurately the emotions of their characters so even when they are annoying this feels that it is relevant to their characters.

Meet Ursula , Gareth and Alice. Ursula has lost the love of her life and her life has spiralled out of control. Gareth’s mum is suffering from dementia and he is desperately trying to keep her safe whilst continuing his job as a Security Officer. Alice has met a new man but not everything is as it seems. The three protagonists have never met before, and yet their lives are going to come together in a way that will keep you guessing right to the end.

This is my 6th Cally Taylor read and I have enjoyed every single one. Whilst not always likeable, her characters are well drawn and her stories suck you in from page one and keep you turning the pages. This book is out on 2nd April and is available for pre-order on kindle for only £4.99.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner from C.L. Taylor. This was essentially three stories in one combined to have an explosive outcome.

This is a story of three strangers, Alice, Gareth and Ursula, each very different from the other. We are told of each of their stories independently, how they become intertwined is nothing short of brilliant.

A very well thought out cleverly written story, its hard to say too much without giving the game away but suffice to say, this is one you will not want to put down, its completely addictive.

In this book, readers get a snapshot of a "present" moment, then we're thrust back to the days/weeks leading up to that shocking scene. The story includes a large cast of characters who are seemingly unrelated. To get to the AHA moment, you have to be willing to read through a lot of meaningless background. Only a small fraction of the character history applies to the story.

I was shocked at how emotionally insecure some of Taylor's characters seemed. What should have been steely resolve ended up being more like neediness. Alice, in particular, got on my last nerve. Her persistence was more like desperation....it was not an endearing quality. I didn't expect to like Ursula, but she was the only character who felt truly genuine to me.

This was more of a 3.5 star book for me, but I rounded up to 4. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, and I did like the way the whole story tied together in the end.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

3 strangers ursula gareth and alice, have never met before but their lives collide unexpectedly...

a thrilling read that keeps you engrossed till the end

WOW, what an absolutely engrossing read, with some brilliant characters, relatable, some likeable and believable. The story begins with Alice Fletcher saying she had never seen a dead body before. The end of the prologue is that the group agree it was self defence. But what was? Who is dead? How? Why?

Alice is mum to Emily she spent a lot of her life in an abusive marriage, now her daughter and work colleagues are encouraging her to go on dates again, to start living life. Unfortunately, her first date wasn’t the best, he turned up drunk and then tried to assault her, she had made her escape. A man called Simon had chased after her with her purse, to which she was grateful, she ends up on a date with Simon, but his behaviour is a little odd. What isn’t he telling her? She has messages on Facebook from someone known as Ann Friend warning her to stay away from him, ignoring the warning after another date she is walked back to her car to find YOU’RE NOT LISTENING scratched onto it.

Ursula, had lost the love of her life, this has led to her having a breakdown whilst teaching, which she ended up giving up and is now trying to manage by delivering parcels, but it doesn’t pay well, she gets kicked out of her accommodation that she lived in with a friend because she had stolen some bits, something she had started doing after she lost her partner. She feels invisible, so doesn’t think people will miss little trinkets, or other things. She ends up renting a room in a house with a strange man Edward, with some strange rules and habits. What does he have in his basement?

Gareth works as a security guard he watches CCTV monitors watching the local shopping centre. He lives with his mum who has dementia and needs 24 hour care, she refuses to go into a home. His father had left the house twenty years earlier and had not been seen since, he had been believed to have been going for a walk up Scafell Pike, but had had an accident, his body had never been found, his wife Joan and Gareth had been devastated. Then Gareth sees a postcard that has arrived that looks like it is his fathers writing, why would he write now? Is he still alive?

The story is told through the eyes of these three characters, but what links them all, as non of them know the other, there are many other characters within the story as everything unfolds, and with each chapter the tension ratchets up a notch. Bringing everything to a brilliantly plotted ending. I found myself believing one thing to then get thrown in a different direction, so many great twists and turns that you just don’t see coming, and so well written. I loved this book.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Avon for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Overall I enjoyed Strangers, though it wasn't my favorite kind of narrative. It was a multi-POV book following three different people whose lives slowly start to intertwine over the course of the book. There was one POV that I just didn't like and zoned out every time it switched to his parts of the story.

By the end, all the strands of the story were woven together and everything made sense. It's just a personal preference on my end that I don't love this format. If you do, definitely try this one!

This my third book I've read by this author and she never disappoints. Absolutely loved this book and all the characters, especially Ursula.
This story is mainly told from Alice, Gareth and Ursula's point of view. All the way through you are wondering how are these three people connected, and you never really find out until the last few chapters. It is wonderfully written and would highly recommend

Three characters , each with their own story. It is only at the end that the reader finds out how they are all connected. Another great read from C.L.Taylor

A compelling wonderfully written thriller. Three separate characters whose lives don't connect until the end. An easy to read gripping thriller. Recommended.

Eh. Strangers didn't really do it for me.

It took me forever to get through this book. Having said that, in all fairness, I haven't been able to focus much the past couple weeks. I certainly can't hold the COVID-19 pandemic against C.L. Taylor's latest.

The thing is, this story just seemed to take forever to get where it was going. When it finally reached it's destination, I was less than enthusiastic. It was all build-up, more build-up, and more build-up...then massive fizzle. It just seemed...pointless. Add to that characters which really weren't particularly riveting or likable, and it was all simply underwhelming.

As often seems to be the case, I'm the odd man out here, so please read other reviews to help determine if this might be the story for you.

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

A new book by this author, I am in reading heaven. Three different stories in one one book. But don't worry as they all come together for the dramatic climax. I read this book in one sitting. It gave me chills and definitely got my heart racing. I loved the sub plots and really kept me guessing. A very clever whodunnit which kept thoroughly engrossed. Chilling, creepy and almost five stars and highly recommended.
Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

Three distinctly different characters, each of them with a story of their own to tell.

To me, the reader, the main question was - Just what do these three characters have in common? How will their lives intertwine?

You have to be patient in reading this in order to understand how they will all inevitaly come together. I must admit that I was tempted at times to skim through to the end to see what happens, but glad that I didn't, instead persevering with the story, until it finally came to a timely conclusion.