Narrator (Laura): "This is going to be the perfect honeymoon, I think to myself as I reach Liam's side."

Reader: "OK you're doomed."

Liam and Laura had to cancel their originally planned honeymoon, and I immediately thought "Covid", because apparently the last fifteen months has rewired my brain. (That wasn't the reason, though.) They then decide on a week in a cottage on the otherwise uninhabited Scottish island of Shura (nope, not Jura or Shuna), which , beautiful as it is, seems a remarkably weird place to pick for a honeymoon, given that once you're on the island there's no way of leaving until the boat comes back for you. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?

With locals (in a pub called the Bucket of Blood - might as well have gone the whole hog and called it the Slaughtered Lamb) muttering ominously and Scottishly beforehand about tragedies and hauntings on the island, it's clear that however this experience turns out, it's not going to be anybody's dream honeymoon.

I described a previous read by Sarah Alderson as "tense and compelling", and hoped The Stalker would be a similar experience, but unfortunately, although the premise sounded potentially intriguing, it never really engaged me. Scary things happened, I guess, but I never actually felt a sense of tension or fear, and I didn't like either Laura or Liam. Laura seemed spineless from the outset and nothing that subsequently happened in the story changed that perception for me. (The highlight of her character is when she rescues an injured bird.) As the novel went on I found myself skipping over bits, which is never a good sign.

It was clear there was going to be a twist and it wasn't hard to guess what this would generally concern, although I certainly didn't figure out all the details. (After a lengthy "spooky island" buildup, several twists are thrown at us in quick succession.) Ultimately it all felt far-fetched and while I love a bit of misdirection, I wasn't convinced the author had played fair on this occasion. While there are hints at the truth from early on, there are also things which don't make sense in retrospect - for instance, things Laura says about Liam's job. Perhaps a third person narrative would have worked better?

The novel certainly has its strengths - the plotting is good and I'm sure the twists will be surprising to many - but unfortunately it failed to ever grab me. However, I'm sure it will hit the spot for many readers.

Liam and Laura decide on a deserted island, Shura as their honeymoon spot after their initial plans had to be changed after Laura’s mother’s sudden death. The book starts by describing the beauty of the island of Shura. The island has a raw and rugged but charming appeal to it. Locals warn off Laura and Liam saying the island is haunted by its previous inhabitants, a family that lived there for hundreds of years.
But undeterred they decide to live in bliss for eight days although the boatman warns them of an approaching storm. Quickly bliss becomes hell on the deserted island as they find they have uninvited company, a person stalking their every move. Liam follows the stalker and decides to outwit them, but Laura keeps trying to convince him to stay away and locked in their cottage and wait out their stay until their boatman arrives at the end of the vacation.
Who is this mysterious person? Why are they being stalked? Will the stalker also harm them? Will they survive this week on this remote island?
Get ready to be spooked by mysterious shadows, footprints, and words scratched on their living room windows in the dead of the night. And, of course, no connectivity!
The book has an astounding, shocking, and unbelievable twist that I did not see coming. Laura narrates the bulk of the story, but we are also given chapters narrated by the stalker, portraying their instigation and character history which I thought was very interesting.
The story gave me the creeps and I was unsure of continuing to read it at night because frankly I was spooked. But I immensely enjoy thrillers that I cannot stop reading.
Thriller fans should not miss this book to be published in July 2021.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for an advanced copy of the book.

Laura and Liam are newlyweds, on a belated honeymoon in Scotland. They have an island all to themselves, a cabin straight from the pages of an interior design magazine, a pantry fully stocked with food and drinks ... what really could go wrong (hint: everything)? Soon enough, they discover the tragic past of the island's previous inhabitants and they can't shake the feeling that someone else is on the island with them.

This has been such a great year for thrillers and "The Stalker" is no exception. It was a quick read but yet so twisty that I couldn't predict the ending. I thoroughly enjoyed Alderson's writing; once I knew the plot twist, I loved going back to reread certain sections, seeing what hints the author had been dropping all along (highly recommend you do this too). I look forward to reading more novels from Sarah Alderson. Overall, I give this 4/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an eARC of this book!

First of all a huge thanks to the publisher for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am still in awe of this book because wooow I didn't see this book coming. This book tells the story of a newlywed couple that decide to spend their honeymoon on a remote island. First of all kudos to them for doing but not everything is all it seems. Be prepared to be knocked off your socks with this book and creeped out (it's okay to scream). Such a wonderful book !

Liam and Laura are newly married and decide to spend their honeymoon in a cabin on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. You can only get to the island by boat and there are rumors that it is haunted. Hearing this makes Laura very nervous. During their first day, they explore the island and Laura fears she is being watched and feels like they are not alone. Soon it becomes apparent that they are not alone and many strange things start to happen. Someone is watching them, who is it, and what do they want??

Are you ready for a pulse-pounding, edge of your seat thrill ride? If so, then "The Stalker" is for you! I was glued to pages from the very beginning, dying to see what would happen in the end and wow...was there a big twist!! I never would have guessed this one! I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on June 25, 2021.

I love this authors books and I have this one on preorder but I couldn’t wait to read it! The Stalker is a darkly atmospheric read with a terrifying premise and it totally surpassed all my expectations!
Laura and Liam have had to delay their honeymoon to Greece due to family circumstances but now they feel ready for a break and they are off to a remote Scottish island for a week. But when they get there it quickly becomes obvious they aren’t the only ones there and that they have no means of escape…
I loved the tension created by the creepy setting and that “horror film” feel to the storyline. As it becomes more obvious that Laura and Liam are up against more than they expected on their supposedly relaxing break, my heart rate went through the roof and I wasn’t able to put the book down for a second as I was just too invested in the possible outcomes!! And I have to say that when all the threads eventually weave together, there are some shocking revelations!
A brilliantly addictive plot that’s delivered perfectly!

This thriller follows newlyweds Laura and Liam as they spend a week on an isolated island in Scotland for their honeymoon. They're supposed to be the only people there, but soon find evidence that there is someone else on the island. The situation soon escalates, leaving Laura and Liam struggling to make it off the island alive. TW/CW: domestic violence

I loved this book. I haven't read any of Sarah Alderson's other books but I now have plans to rectify that. I'll be honest and admit that the title and cover of this book didn't exactly jump out at me, but the summary of this being an isolated home invasion type thriller was intriguing. I was expecting this to be more of a creepy sort of mystery/thriller where strange things are happening but we don't know until close to the end that there's an actual person involved. I was mistaken. We know pretty quickly that there's another person on the island and are thrust into a survival situation of trying to outwit the killer and escape. This read to me like a really solid home invasion horror/thriller movie and I absolutely loved it. I would consider this a pure thriller and while most books I read are more mystery/thriller, this one was really all about the thrills and the characters surviving. There wasn't really much of a mystery presented beyond the characters wondering who is stalking them. But even that question is quickly brushed aside with the answer of "it doesn't matter, we just need to get off the island" so even that mystery is pretty much abandoned.

The pacing was incredible. If this was a movie, I'd say it would be a really tight 90 minute thriller. Right from the beginning, we get thrust into the story as Laura and Liam arrive on the island and we get very little downtime until the end. I found that for me to have a break and calm down, I'd need to put the book down and walk away. There weren't really any quiet chapters where the reader could relax and process the information. I know other readers may have different opinions, but this is how I like my pure thrillers to be paced. I want to start at the top of a roller-coaster and not slow down until I'm done. I think the pacing was really balanced by the overall simplicity of the plot. While the pacing was very fast, there weren't a ton of actual plot points and twists so it didn't feel like I was missing anything by the story moving too quickly. The story takes place over the course of a week so there is only so much plot to squeeze in. I think the narrative structure of this book also helped with the breakneck speed that we were on. Almost all of the plot surrounding Laura and Liam on the island was wrapped up by the 70% mark and the last 30% of the book is a Part 2 which is a series of flashbacks and changing POV chapters that give explanation and context to what is happening on the island. These chapters are thrilling for their own reasons but are more slowly paced than what we'd been reading up to that point. This last 30% is really the last few puzzle pieces falling together so we can see the big picture. I think this break happened at just the right time and acted as a very long resolution to the climax of the story to really bring the tension and pace down slowly for the reader.

This story is told in first person, present tense from Laura's point of view. Personally, those aren't my preferred options when it comes to thrillers but usually won't stop me from enjoying a book once I get used to it. My one complaint for the book was that Laura was a pretty passive protagonist. Liam was the one to always prompt them to go out and looks for ways off the island or to try and find information about who the stalker is but Laura would always want to stay in. Most of her reaction was worrying and hand-wringing. Which, to be fair, would also be my reaction to the situation but it isn't a very interesting perspective to be reading from. This does improve as the book goes on, but I did spend a good chuck in the beginning wondering why we were following Laura at all when it seemed like Liam would be a more active and interesting protagonist. To her credit, once Liam is set on doing something, Laura pretty much always came along with him and didn't just stay at the cabin the whole time.

Despite Laura being not the most active protagonist, I do think the character work in the book was great. We jump right into Laura and Liam arriving at the island and through them starting to celebrate on their honeymoon together we get glimpses and details about their relationship. I think most of the characterization came through these small details and I personally find that a really effective method to convey information. It also naturally helps the reader make assumptions about the characters and where the story might be going. Sort of like, if character A acts like B in X situation then when the stakes are higher, I bet they'll act like C. The main story takes place over the course of a week, but we do get a good amount of character growth and change during that time mostly due to the high tension of the situation bringing out different sides of Laura and Liam. I also liked the colorful locals they met before taking a boat over to the island. Very horror movie trope type where they warned the island is haunted and Laura tries to brush it off like they're joking but there's a sinister undertone to their warnings.

Finally, the twists and the ending I think could really make or break the book. I've read through some other reviews and the main twist/reveal seems to be the point of most contention. I know a lot of readers like to be able to guess the twists in thrillers and I don't think the main twist falls under that category. Maybe some very very detailed reader could catch on but I sure couldn't. However, once we know the twist, we can see some little breadcrumbs that support the reveal so it isn't like it came completely out of nowhere and I think re-reading the book would be fun to see exactly how many little breadcrumbs there were. I do think it is a little over the top and some readers may not be able to suspend their disbelief enough to fully accept it, but I absolutely loved it. There were some really obvious suspects that fell into the category of "it couldn't be X because we're only at the 20% point in the book" but then I was second guessing because maybe it really is X but just not in the way I initially thought it was. The end reveal does tie everything together in a pretty nice way and overall I found it really fun and satisfying.

Overall, this was a really fun and thrilling read. Basically a summer blockbuster thriller movie in book form. Highly recommend!



Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for review

Expected publication date is July 8, 2021.

A brilliant rollercoaster of a ride. This book had such a unique story line. The characters were so well developed and their story so well told that there was something niggling throughout but you couldn’t grasp it till the end. The description of the island was also amazing, you could really feel the isolation. The ending of this book was a stunner. So creative and well done. I absolutely loved the ending. The middle was a tiny bit slow but the ending made up for it.

Chilling thriller! This one had a unique way to freak me out badly! The pace, the writing, the vibes that it produce just embrace me and I kept looking around half scare half paranoid. You should read it!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was unpredictable, the characters were well written, and the pace of the book was great. It was a really twisty tale, just as I like them. No spoilers from me but I thought this was an engrossing and enjoyable read, and I don't think fans of this genre will be disappointed I loved it..

Wow, I read this book in a day, I couldn't put it down. Split into different parts, it becomes apparent how these connect later in the book. There are several twists in the story , and I was left guessing about the villian up until the reveal. I cannot say too much without giving too much away. The suspense is built up through the book and you feel the fear of the characters.
I have read other books by this author, this one was exceptional
Thank you to Net Galley for an Arc in exchange for an honest review

A recommended read. Lots of tense moments with several twists along the way. I really enjoyed the setting of the book, and the author conjured up the remoteness of the island magnificently.

This was my first ARC through Net Galley and I was not disappointed! I read this book on vacation and could barely put it down. I felt that this book was going to be similar to a lot of domestic thrillers. It has a theme that I’m finding myself reading quite a bit lately - a couple (whether they be married, engaged, on honeymoon, etc.) + remote location + terror. To say I was blown away is an understatement.

Liam and Laura are newlyweds spending their honeymoon on a remote island in Scotland. It was not the honeymoon they had initially planned but due to unforeseen circumstances, it is where they ended up. They are told that they are the only people on the island but they soon realize they are not alone. The stalker is out there, watching, waiting, planting seeds little by little. But who and why? Further complicating matters is bad weather which leads to no power, no heat, little options for food and an overall lack of sense of security.

This book! I initially gave it four stars but the more I thought on it, the more I reflected on the genius of the storyline. Dare I even say, this is a book I would re-read! It is THAT good. My entire viewpoint changed by the end and I would love to re-read it later this year knowing what I know now. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. This book drops July 8, 2021 and is a stellar 5-star read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sarah Alderson for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review


Newly-weds Laura and Liam are spending their honeymoon on the remote Scottish island of Shura. Thinking it's going to be a paradise they are far from right when they islands dark past becomes known and soon, they realise they're not alone on the island like they originally thought.

This was my first book by Alderson and it certainly won't be my last!

When I first started I really didn't like Laura, there was just something about her that grated on me and there were occasions in the book where she made stupid decisions. Liam is a doting husband to Laura who has helped her through a very rocky part of her life.
I did not see any of the twists that were coming in this book - for me it felt like a slow burner thriller to begin with but after the first quarter it certainly sped up and left you wanting more.
This book is definitely for fans of psychological or domestic thrillers.

Wow what a story! This had me hooked from the beginning. I was so drawn in that the slightest noise outside would make me jump! I felt so on edge and anxious as the story unfolded. The writing is superb. The plot twists at the end were brilliant, I just did not see that coming! I was trying to guess what was happening and didn’t have a clue all the way through! Wow. Brilliant! Tense and thrilling. I loved the design of the cover and could really imagine being in the setting of the book. I recommend this book 100%!

Woah! What the heck did I just read?? Heart-stopping addicting! Easily one of the best I've read this year! Definitely some creepy remote island vibes going on! Terrific writing, compelling characters and that ending!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

A really, really good read with a great twist. It was very well-written, with great characters I really invested in. The descriptions of the setting were brilliant. I thoroughly recommend this.

I read Sarah Alderson’s The Weekend Away last year and it blew my mind! I couldn’t wait to read this new book from her.

However, it’s in a pretty different vein and takes time to ramp up unlike The Weekend Away. But despite it’s slow start, it is so worth the time to get to it. Expect slow, crawling creepiness and gothic scenes instead of the faced-paced panic that was Alderson’s last book.

Laura and Liam are newlyweds taking a delayed honeymoon to a remote island, Shura. They are warned that it’s haunted but brush off the silly stories. But when they arrive on Shura, things quickly take a turn for the worse, with someone looking in through and drawing on their windows, leaving terrifying messages, opening the door in the middle of the night…

It appears that Laura and Liam have a stalker, but who? And why?

Again, this is not a fast-paced thriller, but a slow-paced one that will make you feel terrified right into your bones if you give it time. Don’t expect to be stunned right off the bat, you must take a little more time with this book to get to that juicy ending.

I read Sarah Anderson’s last book The Weekend Away in 2020 and really enjoyed it, so was intrigued to see if the Stalker could measure up. Happily, it did.

The isolated location was perfect and really added to the creepiness and sense of impending doom. The plot unfolded at pace, and the tension - with all the odd things building up over a few short days - ratcheted up perfectly. The characterisation was spot on and I didn’t work out the twist until much closer to the end of a book than I usually do. I’d love to see this made into a film.

Overall a taut and engaging thriller, with a great premise and intriguing backdrop.

With thanks to the author, Netgalley and publisher for the ARC.

This is the story of a newlywed couple who go on honeymoon to a remote island in Scotland that should have been exclusively theirs. It soon transpires that they are not alone. As the story unfolds they find they are being watched and things start to happen which un-nerves them. They have no contact with the mainland and can only return when the boat comes for them at the end of the week. I had my suspicions about one of the characters early on in the story which wasn't entirely correct, but I was on the right lines. I struggled to keep focused as the story was set only on the island for around 70% of the book and mainly about the couple, with brief chapters from the stalker's point of view and I found it difficult to stay interested. The story became more interesting towards the end but then took a turn which I found hard to believe..