W O W!

Romantic honeymoon, secluded island… this was no romance novel!

I have been enjoying mysteries and thrillers and The Stalker was definitely up there with the ones I have read recently.

I couldn’t put this one down and I am keen to read more of Sarah Alderson’s novels now.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for so kindly gifting me this novel to read and review.

Could not put this down hooked from the start a perfect twisted Creepy Thriller. Loved the Scottish setting. Unexpected twist I did not see coming. Highly recommended.

This was a quick enjoyable read that had me hooked. I was kept guessing right up until the last third of the book where the story changes course completely. A well written, suspenseful, twisty read that I flew through.
I’ll be looking out for more books by Sarah Alderson.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley for my honest review. This is my first book from this author, Sarah Alderson.

I had a hard time rating this book as there were things I liked but also things I didn't care for. I wasn't crazy with it being reasonable or believable.

All in all I gave it 3 stars.

Synopsis:

Newly-weds Liam and Laura are spending their honeymoon in paradise: just the two of them on a remote island off the coast of Scotland.
But they soon discover that all is not as it seems, and the island has a tragic past. And they can’t shake the feeling of being watched…

When one morning, they wake to find a message scratched into the window, their worst fears are confirmed. They aren’t alone on the island.

And this stranger wants them dead.

What an excellent thriller The Stalker is. It kept me captivated throughout, drawn into the plot from early on. The author's description of the main characters, Sarah and Liams, fear and dread on their honeymoon when they realise they are not alone is gripping. I couldn't wait to keep reading and the twists at the end were perfect! Loved it. First one I've read by this author, but won't be the last!

Atmospheric, Tension Mounting Suspense….
A remote getaway is not all that it’s cracked up to be in this atmospheric, tension mounting suspense. A slow burn with short, choppy chapters adding to the general feel of tension and sense of dread as the scenario develops leading to a, perhaps, unexpected denouement. A solid read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an eerie creepy read, it had me checking the bolt on the front door a few times. For me, it started off really well but then got rather silly in places. Still, a recommended read.

EXCERPT: She was just standing at the window looking out. I like watching her when she doesn't know she's being watched.

I watched her on the beach today as she walked along, pausing now and then to pick up stones, her blonde hair whipping about her slender neck as though it was trying to strangle her. I must admit, the thought made me tingle with something halfway between pleasure and pain.

I thought I caught her looking right at me,and I smile as I recall the fear that flashed across her face for an instant. I breathe in deep. I can still smell that fear, lingering in the air.

ABOUT 'THE STALKER': Newly-weds Liam and Laura are spending their honeymoon in paradise: just the two of them on a remote island off the coast of Scotland.
But they soon discover that all is not as it seems, and the island has a tragic past. And they can’t shake the feeling of being watched…

When one morning, they wake to find a message scratched into the window, their worst fears are confirmed. They aren’t alone on the island.

And this stranger wants them dead.

MY THOUGHTS: I am torn by this book, and keep wavering over my rating. There were things I liked about The Stalker, and things I didn't.

I liked the beginning. While it all seems pretty ordinary with nothing much going on, there's a slightly creepy undertone. I really enjoyed the first 40% of this book, but then it hit a bit of a flat spot for me and I began skimming. Not a good sign.... But that ending? It is crazy good and revived my reading ardour. Then after I had finished, I began to feel a little cheated. I am going to try to explain why without giving any spoilers away.

The story is told mostly from Laura's perspective, with occasional input from an unknown person. Now my problem is that the ending, as wonderfully just as it is, makes complete nonsense of a lot of what Laura experiences as we watch her in the earlier parts of the book. And no, it's not a case of an unreliable narrator. We are seeing the events through her eyes, and experiencing her reactions. If we had been seeing this through Liam's eyes, we wouldn't be having this discussion. So there you have it.

⭐⭐⭐.4

#TheStalker #NetGalley

I: @sarahaldersonauthor @avonbooksuk

T: @sarahalderson @AvonBooksUK

#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #mystery #psychologicalthriller #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where they lived for five years.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Stalker by Sarah Alderson for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

The Stalker
Sarah Alderson

“There’s something truly unsettling about the idea of a stranger prowling around outside like a wolf while we sit in here like sitting ducks.”

MINI SYNOPSIS:
Newlyweds, Liam and Laura are on their honeymoon on a remote island in Scotland. They soon discover that they aren’t the only ones there.

If I’ve learned anything from the show Vikings any mention of a crow freaks me out. The crow symbolizes change and transformation. I don’t think either of them realized what they were getting into when they said, “I DO”. But does anyone? “Only the strong survive, THATS just natures way.”

What I liked about The Stalker:
🪨 Thriller
🪨 Different Perspectives
🪨 Quick Read

M Y F AV O R I T E T H I N G
I didn’t guess what was going to happen; My favorite thing about reading thrillers!

A couple who go on a honeymoon later due to the wife's mother dying. They decide to stay on a remote island. And this had me sucked in!! It got even better when they realised they were not alone anymore after seeing a message etched into their window.

It is an intense, high adrenaline kind of read. The author has you hooked with twists and turns that shock you.

I appreciate the fact that the book did not bore me, I was itching to read it every chance I got just to know what happened next.

I am grateful for the publisher for approving my request. This book is deffo worth buying!

Laura and Liam are travelling to an isolated small island off the coast of Scotland for their delayed honeymoon due to the unexpected death of Laura's beloved mother that has left Laura in a deep depression for the last several months. Now, Laura wants to get back on her feet and begin her new marriage with the love of her life. Laura is a meek young woman and feels safe with her strong new husband who also
happens to be a detective. They will be the only people on the island renting a lovely upscale cottage with all the luxury amenities for seven full days of hiking, swimming, bonfires exploring etc. The boat they arrived on will return in a week to bring them home and there isn't any cell service or landline phone but they will have access to an emergency radio if there are any unforseen problems. Shortly after they'd settled in Laura feels she is being watched and Liam dismisses her fears. Then one night Liam sees shadows and realizes they are not alone. Suddenly their secure little haven starts falling apart piece by piece and Laura knows Liam is feeling frightened also. What will they do? Where will they hide? Who is stalking the happy coup!e and why?

This was a great sinister and creepy story that isn't as simple as the title leads one to assume. I enjoyed the writing and pacing of the book including vivid descriptions of the Scottish island scenery. At times I wondered why Laura would make some of the decisions she did and hoped her timid nature would strengthen and wished she wouldn't lean so much on Liam to have all the right answers. About forty percent into the book the story took some twists and turns I never saw coming although I had my own ideas where the story was headed (I was wrong). The author did a terrific job taking me on a looped rollercoaster ride within the last third of the book. Wow! Unexpected creeps, chills and thrills with all the right terror inducing treats. I can't wait to read more of Sarah Anderson's books and I highly recommend "The Stalker" to any mystery lover.

I want to thank the publisher "Avon Books UK" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific story and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this sinister book a rating of 4 1/2 CHILLING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 Stars!!

The Stalker is a twisty, tense read that I really enjoyed.
Liam and Laura Carrington are having an overdue honeymoon on the Scottish island of Shura. It is an island with a cottage and some ruins and is what they were both after. Peace and quiet and time to themselves and for Laura to get over the death of her mother. The honeymoon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be though as they seem to be sharing the island with someone and this someone seems a psychopath as they have taken all their food, cut through electricity cables and from the glimpses of this person they’ve seen they also have a gun. Laura is convinced it is someone Liam has dealt with in the past with him bring a police officer and is a revenge act but Liam can think of no one who would want to scare them both like this.
This book was a builder, after I’d read the first few chapters I wasn’t sure where it was going and then bam it took off at such a pace and scared the hell out of me!! The twists were great and i never saw the biggest twist coming or the ending.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book is...hard...for me to review, for quite a few reasons. The story starts out as you would expect, but then gives into a twist that is just unfathomable and to be honest quite ridiculous. It almost feels like this book was written specifically to dupe the reader into something and then reveals all at the end. If these characters were real the deception of the reader would not be a thing, thus this book is totally unbelievable.

Now I will give some specifics that are ***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS***


***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS***

This book contains a lot of domestic violence, and pretty descriptive scenarios at some points. At the end of the book, one of the characters you thought was an "amazing guy" turns out to be a violent, abusive type. That in itself isn't something I was upset about...most abusers can be seen as "good people" to others who don't know the situation at home. But what DIDN'T set well with me was the fact that the main female lead IN HER THOUGHTS talks about how amazing this man is, then later down the line says he's not but she KNEW he wasn't the whole time. So then who is she trying to convince he is a good guy? You learn at the end she knew the whole time he wasn't so the only person she's trying to convince is the reader....um IN HER THOUGHTS?

As a certain scene is playing out (scratching of glass outside) the female lead mentions IN HER THOUGHTS how scared she is...who is this stalker trying to get in? Then at the end the female lead IN HER THOUGHTS talks about how she wasn't scared during that scene because she knew who the person scratching the glass was and instead was scared for a totally different reason.

....why would anyone IN THEIR THOUGHTS think one thing then go back later being like "oh yeah I was actually scared for this reason Dear Reader hahah fooled you" IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!!!

The story itself is faulty even without this...there are just too many things to describe that are wrong with this book. It angered me to read the ending, and kind of insulting as well. I have talked about this book A LOT since reading it but not for good reasons...for bad...it is a poor choice to write when you are just writing to trick the reader.

When people ask me about how I liked this book, I tell them to read Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse.

“It’s like two different islands; one from a nightmare, the other from a fairy tale.” The Stalker by Sarah Alderson

4 stars. I enjoyed this one. Was hooked from the start, which is a whole star for me. I didn’t expect that I’d enjoy this as much as I did. And the twist was interesting!

A married couple finally got a chance to go on a honeymoon, but instead of Greece, they opted for a small island in Scotland. They’re going to be the only people on the island, a romantic getaway, for a week. The boatman will come back for them in a week.

But then, it’s starting to look like someone’s on the island with them. And then things start happening. There’s no way off the island, too far to swim. The cell signal doesn’t reach it. They’re trapped!

Happy sigh. Great build up to the twist which twisted everything!

Thank you @avonbooksuk and @netgalley for this arc. I’m 3 days late from pub date but it’s just the posting of it, I promise. Such a fun book, this one.

Liam and Laura are newly weds. Because Laura's mother died the day after their wedding, they put off a honeymoon trip until now.

They're staying on a very remote island just off the coast of Scotland ... just the two of them. The boatman promises to return in a week. There's plenty of food, all the amenities you'd want or need ..except for cell phone service. The island is rumored to be haunted .. following a horrific past.

Both of them get t he feeling of being watched, but they re alone, aren't they? They wake to find a message scratched into the window, their worst fears confirmed. They aren’t alone on the island. And this stranger wants them dead.

Suspenseful from the first, it maintains a high level of intensity throughout. There are twists and turns that lead to an unexpected, surprising ending. The characters are solidly drawn.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books UK / Harper 360 / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Fantastic read, truly gripping, had me hooked from the get go! Cover drew me in, not disappointed at all.

This book follows Laura and Liam on their honeymoon on a private Scottish Island, it's meant to be the holiday of their dreams but quickly becomes a nightmare. I'm going to just recommend that everyone reads this book as it's bloody brilliant, so easy to read, fast paced and exciting and that ending 😱 I was not expecting those twists at all.....fantastic read, go buy this one guys ❤

The remote island is the undoubted star of this story, and the author immerses the reader in its raw and sinister ethos. A belated honeymoon for a couple who seem to be experiencing marital difficulties, neither are easy to like and the early part of the story is slow-paced with an insidious, underlying menace. The tension builds slowly, so much so that the reader believes they know how it will end and then the pace increases, the twists begin, and you can't turn the pages fast enough.

This is an intense slow burner of a story with unexpected action and twists in the latter part of the book.

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

4,5 ⭐️

Don’t you just love when a book completely fools you? You think you know what’s gonna happen and then…BAM! Everything you thought you knew turns upside down but at the same time makes so much sense. That was The Stalker for me.

Laura and Liam haven’t read many books cause they decide to go to a remote Scottish island for their honeymoon. They will be the only people there for a whole week with no way to contact the mainland. Did I mention that it is said the island is cursed? Such a great holiday destination, right? Well, not so much once they find out they may not be the only ones there after all.

I was hooked right from the start. You could think that having only two characters at play during most part of the novel could turn a bit tedious, but not at all! The island is incredibly atmospheric and it contributes to create a climate of unease that keeps building throughout the story until the big reveal. And what a reveal!

I followed with the audiobook while reading it and the “stalker” voice was extremely disquieting, adding to the overall tension.

Then the twist happened and I had to stop for a minute to think about what I had previously read. At first I couldn’t make sense of it but then it came to me like a revelation and realized what the author had done and thought it so clever.

I won’t go into details because of spoilers so I will only say that I found the ending extremely satisfying.

Last year I loved The weekend away (coming to Netflix next year) and I just adored The stalker, so I must get to the other two books by Sarah Alderson I have sitting on my bookshelf right away.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Life lesson: Never go on vacation to an isolated island with no abilty to contact somone.

I was instantly drawn to the book by its cover. If you know me then you already know my weakness for houses on covers; especially spooky looking houses. When I saw the title, I almost passed on this book. How many books can you read about stalkers watching unsuspecting people? I am so glad that I read it. “The Stalker”, by Sarah Alderson, is an extremly unique take on the subject and had a great location too.

Liam and Laura, newlyweds, decide to take their honeymooon on a remote island with no cell phone reception off the coast of Scotland. The island has this tragic history that they are unaware of until they arrive. They were dropped off by a ferry and have no way of leaving until it returns. Sounds romantic? It does until stranger thtings start happening and they feel like they are being watched. The story is told through Laura’s point of view. She is timid so her point of view really gets the reader anxious, which is a great mix with the location. Liam is your average guy. He was calm, cool, collected and madly in love with his new wife.

Being a huge fan of atmosphere building in books, I love to feel the dark stormy nights or the creepy surrondings or the beachy vibes when reading a book. Picturing things vividly in my head when reading is what I want and this did exactly that for me. Alderson was able to create the perfect gothic, creepy vibes on the island, the old castle and the cottage they were staying in. The reader really gets to feel the darkness and spookiness of the buildings and they island itself.

The book is all buildup until the very end, which suprised me. I did not care for some of the repetitiveness in the middle, but it did not ruin the book at all. I was invested until the very end. This would make a great October read.

4.5 stars


Mild trigger warning for animal abuse. The book states that something happes but its vague. The author does not go into vivid descriptions.

Thank you to Netgalley for my review copy