Strangers by C. L. Taylor keeps you guessing, it’s pacy, original and engrossing from beginning to end.

The story is set in Bristol, UK and opens as Alice Fletcher, Ursula Andrews and Gareth Filer are looking at the lifeless body at their feet, these three people are the three main characters, they are strangers who unexpectedly come together.

A few common themes in the book are family, loneliness and violence. Our three main characters have interesting back stories and become quite likeable as the story progresses.

Strangers is cleverly imaginative you just don’t know where the story is going, I really enjoyed this twisty and unpredictable thriller.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a copy of Strangers in return for an honest review

This book revolves around three main characters, Alice, Gareth and Ursula, who have interactions with each other at the Meads shopping centre. This book tells the story of their three seperate lives which come crashing together spectacularly one evening.
C. L. Taylor weaves an intricate story between the characters which brings them closer together with every page, and as the story progressed I could not figure out what was happening or how it was going to end.
This is an absorbing page turner and I recommend this book to anyone who loves twists and turns.

This book follows three characters living in Bristol who are unconnected until events bring them together.

The story is extremely character-driven, so it's a good job that the three main characters feel real and are interesting to read about. I definitely connected more with Gareth and Ursula than Alice but all three are good characters. The story of Gareth and his mum did get me a little emotional towards the end.

I found the novel to be enjoyable, but not an awful lot actually happened. There was a lot of backstory and a few side plots, but I think from reading other reviews I was expecting a 'wow' moment that never really came. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by the last few pages, I just wish we'd got to know that character a little better throughout the book.

I've read all the adult books by C L Taylor and I preferred The Lie and Sleep, but would still recommend reading this one.

This clever book is told from different perspectives of very different people...strangers. This book is a page-turner! CL Taylor is such a good writer. Recommended for a very good read.

Strangers is told in third person from three POVs. Alice- the shop manager, Ursula the klepto courier and Gareth the security guard. Each one dealing with their own mystery; Who is stalking Alice? Where is Gareth's parent? What is Ursula's house mate hiding? The entire novel is filled with many questions but these I felt were the three main events.

I found Alice unbelievably irritating, she talks a lot about not wanting to seem desperate but honestly I've never read a more clingy character. She was obsessive and weak, I cringed at her behaviour all the way through the novel.

I was most invested in Ursula. She was just so real! All she needs is a bit of help and kindness but her appearance leads others to ignore her. Everything about her screams out for pity yet she only receives derision from those around her. Even with her theft addiction I thought she was the most pure, decent soul of them all!
Her storyline was definitely my favourite and the most intriguing.

Gareth is a loveable character. A salt of the earth, simple pleasures kind of guy that deserves a little love and attention but is held back by the responsibility of his ill mother.

Maybe it's because I'm local to Cally that I find her work to be so realistic. The way she ties every day life into thrilling mysteries makes it all so much more feasible. I whip through her novels at speed, they are easy to read and unfold in my imagination like a BBC drama- I'm right there watching from the sidelines.

There is one subplot in Strangers that was neatly tied up at the end which I felt could easily have been left out. It pops up throughout the storyline but doesn't really add anything to the novel. The explanation in the epilogue fell a bit flat and for me there was enough action in other areas to negate it completely.

Strangers is a heartfelt story of loneliness and consequences in the lives of the Bristol working class with twists and turns to keep the reader hooked.

Another brilliant book from C L Taylor – definitely one of my favourite authors. Strangers my attention from page one until the end.

The story is written from the point of view of three strangers Alice, Gareth and Ursula whose lives eventually collide.

Alice is a single mum with a daughter in her twenties still living at home. Alice decided to try internet dating but her first date unnerves her by being thoroughly creepy. In her flight from creepy date she comes into contact Simon who helps her in the situation and soon becomes part of her life. Things then get very odd.

Gareth is a security guard at the local shopping centre. He looking after his elderly Mum who had dementia but then receives a postcard from Gareth’s deceased father. Gareth is now trying to find out how this can be and thinks he keeps seeing his father on the shopping centre’s security cameras.

Ursula is a delivery driver and is struggling to hold down a job and keep accommodation, not helped by her addiction to shoplifting and acquiring of other people’s property. She’s been asked to leave her room in a friend’s house due her pilfering. She then finds a room in a stranger’s house called Edward. Edward is behaving oddly and making Ursula very uncomfortable but she is determined to stick it out and find what it is that Edward is up to and why he keeps his basement locked and insists on the radio always being on and on the same channel.

C L Taylor weaves incredibly tales of suspense, drama and twists. I think this is favourite yet but I still have some books of hers to read for which I am thankful as they are very much looked forward to.

Wow what a book! I have and enjoyed several of C.L. Taylor's book and this is definitely my favourite.

The story has three different stories intertwined. Alice, Ursula and Gareth are all strangers to each other, but we soon see how their lives begin to touch. All characters are fantastic, engaging, vulnerable and likeable and their experiences weave together, by the end of the book, in unexpected ways. It so great to read a thriller where I genuinely don't know where it is going or who is responsible. An absorbing, page turning read. I loved it!

Thanks Netgalley for my first book by this author. After this surprising ride I will be checking out all the others. I wasn't sure how this book would work with the three separate story lines. How would they connect? I couldn't even figure out what was happening, but holy wow, when it connected it was spectacular.

Three strangers that have two secrets. It all links to one evening. Ursula, Gareth and Alice. Ursula it living with killing the love of her life and Alice has a stalker. Gareth is getting crazy mail. But what does that all have to do with each other? I can't give much away because you have to read it to believe it, but trust me. You want to read it.

Once again CL Taylor has cracked the formula to making a book keep you guessing to the end. 3 characters and from all perspectives. It takes many twists and turns and will leave you guessing till the end.

Managed to read this in one day as I needed to know how it ended

Oh, my, she's done it again! C L Taylor is a fantastic author who consistently hooks you in from the first page to the last and this is no exception.
I pretty much read in one sitting. Excellent storyline and I love her writing and the way the stories interlock with such interesting characters.

Here, it's mainly about 3 key characters; Alice (a middle aged woman with a daughter) who, as a single parent, lives in a flat and wishes for romance. Gareth (a middle aged security guard) who lives with his mum (who suffers with dementia) and Ursula (a widow) who steals as a way to deal with her loneliness and grief. In and amongst this there are a series of missing men, some very strange and unsettling characters and a dead body.

It's a fabulous tale, told from the perspective of each character and it had me riveted, creating a wide range of emotions that included; sad, happy, scared and relieved. After a number of previous disappointing ARC's, reading this was like finding a hidden gem.

Thanks so much to Avon UK publishers, NetGalley and CL Taylor for the opportunity to preview this fabulous read in exchange for my honest review.

I'll be widely publicising my review on 2 April, 2020. However, in the meantime, get it on your TBR list!

This was one book that certainly kept me on my toes. It is told by three characters which is a little confusing at first but it all comes together with a bang. I loved that there are little substories going on. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read! Great for anyone who enjoys a thriller. I think this book will be extremely popular.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for allowing me to have an advanced reading copy in exchange for my review. I enjoyed this book so much. This story kept me glued from beginning to end. This is my definition of a true psychological thriller. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author. Exceptional!

My first C L Taylor book but it won’t be my last!

A thriller from the first page as three characters are introduced, seemingly with nothing to connect them. Alice, Gareth and Ursula are all seen around the Meads shopping centre but not together. All 3 have back stories that are told during the course of the book as it builds up the layers of the story.

Would highly recommend.

Fantastically twisty and turny. A real mind bender working out the connection between them all and then who ends up dead. Brilliant.

I whizzed through this book and read most of it in one weekend. It was just so easy to read. I loved the different point of views and the short chapters! But most of all I loved the story. I didn’t have a clue what was going on, until the end around 88% and even then the last chapter had me ‘oh my gosh’ing! I mean !!!
A brilliant read, thanks to netgalley for approving/letting me read it!

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

This book delivered a twist you will never see coming. Much like other books of its kind, it follows the lives of three strangers who live in close proximity to each other. They are very different people, and it is hard to imagine how they could be brought together although their lives brush up against each other more than once. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, I assure you, you don't.

If you like to solve puzzles, this is a good one to read.

I absolutely loved this book. The tension really builds quickly and I had to read every spare minute. Three strangers with three different stories all come together in an amazing ending. I highly recommend this book, one of favourites this year so far.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

I have enjoyed all CL Taylor’s books but I think I love this one best.
Following 3 main characters Gareth, Ursula and Alice.
Their stories seem so far apart but they link through the shopping centre.
I loved the fact the book followed all 3 stories and each was very different however all believable and easy to follow.
The characters were easy to like. The chapters were short which I enjoy as I feel it keeps the book very fast paced.
Lots of twists and turns
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it

Strangers by C.L. Taylor is another page-turner from an author who rarely disappoints. This one had me engaged from the very start, and kept me enthralled until the very end.

Strangers Gareth, Ursula, and Alice are three lonely souls who are each struggling in their own way. Their only connection to one another appears to be their link to a Bristol shopping mall, The Meads. Told from the alternating perspectives of the three over the course of a week, their lives will become entwined in a way that no one could have possibly foreseen, least of all the reader of this twisty tale. This is an author who remains at the top of her game. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC.

I'm a big fan of C. L. Taylor (she never disappoints) and have read all of her books to date so was so excited to get an advanced copy of Strangers and once again she has delivered.

The story follows the lives of three people "Ursula, Gareth and Alice" they have never met before they are strangers, they have a connection they are tied together by their place of work and they are lonely. All three characters were believable and easy to relate to, Ursula was my favourite.
This was a bit of a binge read for me as I was desperate to unravel the truth, it had me gripped from the beginning to end.