Exhilarating Suspense…
Ivy Hon has never known much about her past, very little about her lineage, but when her DNA sampling to diagnose illness attracts the suspicions of the FBI she is compelled to venture into dangerous territory. Is she really related to the infamous Full Moon Killer? Peppered with red herrings, twists and turns aplenty and with a credible and eccentric cast this is a pacy, exhilarating suspense with a solid narrative.

I enjoyed this so much more than her previous book The lies We Bury. This book hooked me from the start. I just knew there would be twisty goodness later in the book.

Ivy Hon has known since she was a little girl that she was adopted. She and her older brother, also adopted, had a normal childhood in a loving family. But now, at the age of 30, Ivy is experiencing some strange health symptoms - headaches, sore joints/shins, fatigue and so on. When her doctors ask about family health history, well she has no idea. So she sends her DNA to one of those ‘find your family’ websites with the hope of finding a blood relative and getting answers about her condition. And she gets a hit, a potential cousin called Lottie has been identified. Ivy sends off a message and Lottie is excited to meet her.

But Ivy is also approached by Special Agent Ballo of the FBI. Apparently Ivy had ticked some box that allowed law enforcement access to her DNA and Ballo tells her she is related to the Full Moon Killer who has terrorised the Pacific NorthWest for over 30 years. Great!

Lottie welcomes her and starts to introduce her to other family members. But now, Ivy is wondering if any of them are the Full Moon Killer (FMK). Her mum was Tatum and everybody knows she’s dead but even Lottie did not know that, it was understood, Tatum was another victim of the FMK. This sends her reeling. Was her mum killed by one of her own family?

There are many elements to this story. It is told from the POV of Ivy and Samson who we know is a killer - but is he the FMK? Also, many of the family were once, and some still are, members of a very strict cult in which members HAD to obey certain rules. Yikes! Just how much sway does this cult have?

The characterisations were excellent and the plotting was taut. It was like peeling a very big onion - secrets within secrets. And still Ivy has no idea who her father was. She had initially arranged to stay for one week which see her out of there well before the next full moon. But, when the week is up she feels she is close to getting some answers so she arranges to stay longer. Will this end up costing her everything?

This one raced to a very exciting, if a little implausible, ending. It was a most entertaining story and I really felt for Ivy. She was so keen to find her north family that she maybe didn’t realise how much danger she was in. Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the much appreciated arc.which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

4.5 rounded down.

Strangers We Know is a mystery slash thriller with a little bit amateur sleuth thing going on. Ivy Hon Took a DNA test when the doctors failed to diagnose her mystery illness. Needing answers about her adoptive parents, she connects with a cousin online and then is approached by an FBI agent. Ivy shares DNA with a killer and traveling to meet her biological family just might put her square in the sights of a killer. Ivy digs into the past enough to endanger her life but nothing is as it seems. Twisted and unpredictable, the story takes you on a wild ride that will leave you blindsided and in shock. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Suspense is the word. This book takes off from the first page and has an ending that will blow your mind away.

Ivy Hon was adopted and both parents passed away in her 20s – not too long ago. Her dad had prostate cancer and her mother passed from an early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Ivy was concerned as she was now having intense headaches, a low-grade fever, muscle aches and she was tired. She figured a DNA test may give her some clues about her biological family and medical condition.

She submitted the test and was anxious to find out the results which were now ready. She took her laptop to a neighborhood café in San Francisco. She sat down and looked up when someone said her name. He introduced himself as FBI Agent Ballo and then he said, “Mind if I join you?” Apparently, she had signed a privacy waiver which put her results into a national database monitored by the Bureau. The next few minutes changed her life when he told her she may be related to the “Full Moon Killer.” There were eight young women in the Pacific Northwest that died during a full moon and the killer was still out there. At that point, he had her full attention. He left his card and said to call with any helpful information.

She opened up the report and found a link to a relative, Lottie Montagne, a first cousin on her mother’s side. She searched the internet and discovered that Lottie was 28 years old, owned a business and lived in Rock Island, WA. Shortly after that, Ivy contacted Lottie and then she was making plans to visit her new relative. She decided not to tell the FBI agent – just yet -- that she located a family member. Was this a good idea? Maybe…not.

The story is a fast page turner. The reader is given enough information that provides a good image of the small town and people that live there. I could picture the grandma that knows everyone with high opinions and the cousin that wants to be your best friend. Usually, a thriller has enough hints to make it possible to guess the ending. But this was a total surprise. However, there were parts that were hard to believe. But it's fiction and it was a good story.

My thanks to Elle Marr, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy with the expected release date of May 1, 2022.

Elle Marr always delivers page turning thrillers and this one did not disappoint! Diving into Ivy's world as she tries to navigate mysterious medical symptoms, finding out more about her birth family and meeting relatives she didn't know as she tries to figure out her possible ties to a serial killer was a fast-paced ride. I kept trying to figure out what was going to happen, who was why and I was wrong every time. Twisty and engrossing, it was such a satisfying read!

This was a read that was absolutely full full of twists and surprises and I raced through reading it as I just needed to know what the hell was happening. I have never read a book by this author and I have to say I’m going to check out her previous novels as I was so impressed by the excellent writing and storyline of this one. No rehash of the plot as I because I received a widget for this from the publishers I went into it completely blind and not knowing what to expect and for that made me love it more.
So brilliant writing terrific plot, a whole host of suspects and a book that kept me guessing right till the end what more could you ask for!
My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting and intriguing book. It’s different. It’s very twisty and turns. I thought I following and then suddenly the story turns ina different direction. The book is unpredictable and I enjoyed it very much! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.
Ivy Hon has a mysterious condition and her DNA results make her none the wiser, but attracts the FBI. Apparently her DNA points to her being related to a serial killer in the Northwest, who has never been caught. She was adopted as a tiny infant by a couple who loved her to bits, but she wants to know what her condition is and finds a cousin who invites her to stay with her. She flies out and meets the rest of her family and starts asking questions...and attracting the killer.
I really liked Ivy, but I was leery of her family. There are many twists and turns and the ending was shocking, wow!
A very good thriller that I finished in a day because I couldn't put the book down. Definitely recommended!

A woman adopted almost at birth discovers that she related to a serial killer. Ivy Hon only discovers her connection to the Full Moon killer after an undiagnosed illness prompts genetic testing. Her DNA is flagged and soon the FBI is knocking on her door, hoping that Ivy will help them trap a killer that’s been getting away with murder for decades. Horrified to know that she’s related to a monster, Ivy makes it her goal to track down the killer herself, beginning with a search that leads her to a cousin in Washington State, the hunting grounds of the Full Moon Killer.

When Ivy Hon submits her DNA to an online website, she hopes for the answers to a medical condition that’s been plaguing her for months. What she gets instead is something far more sinister and serious- she is related, genetically, to a serial killer. Ivy is adopted, and although she has never sought out her birth parents, the website reveals a familial connection that Ivy is too intrigued by to ignore. As she is slowly introduced to the extended family she never knew, she finds out that they have secrets far deeper than anything she would have ever suspected, and some of them will stop at nothing to keep them.
Elle Marr’s newest novel, “Strangers We Know”, due out in May, has just about everything a suspense reader could want; family secrets, serial killers and even a controlling and pervasive religious cult. From one pulse-pounding, page-turning plot twist to another, “Strangers” pulls you in and does not let up.
I was a fan of Marr’s previous novel, “Lies We Bury”, and was surprised to discover it was only her sophomore novel. Labeled as the “one to watch”, Marr is definitely a rising star in the suspense genre.
Ivy is immediately likable and relatable, looking to reconnect with her biological family after the sudden death of her beloved adoptive parents. As she begins to develop relationships with those in the small town of her birth, there are a few bad apples (that immediately set off the red flags) and a few apples that may be a bit bruised, but all are full of never-ending surprises. Each and every one of Marr’s background characters were suspicious and somehow likable, cementing Marr’s talent at character development.
The story is narrated by Ivy, but there are also snippets from Tatem (Ivy’s birth mother) back in the 1980s when she was a pregnant teenager. There are also a few sections narrated by a character named “Samson”, whose identity remains a secret for most of the book (and once it is revealed- well, it definitely wasn’t who I expected!). Each character’s story adds more tension and emotional turmoil to an already immersive plot.
“Strangers” was well-written and, even encompassing all of the family drama and constant twists and turns in the plot, I was completely intrigued from the first page, and did not want to put the book down. Marr shows no signs of slowing down, and if “Strangers” is any indication, her creativity and writing prowess will only get better!

With this, her third novel, Marr firmly establishes herself as a must read author. STRANGERS WE KNOW gripped me from the first few pages and delivered a dark and twisty thrill ride I simply didn’t want to end. In addition to being a multi-layered and surprising whodunit mystery, it also manages to tug at your heartstrings with an emotional depth you don’t usually find in this genre.

Adopted as a baby into a loving family, Ivy Hon never knew her birth family and had no reason to look for them until a health crisis sent her in search of her family medical history. What she found was much more sinister. Secrets, lies, and a connection to a serial killer, are just a few of the things Ivy discovers as she digs deeper into her past.

Told from multiple POVs and spanning decades, STRANGERS WE KNOW is a story about good & evil and the true meaning of the word family.

Thank you to the author and publisher for my advance reading copy.

Elle Marr is an auto-read for me. What an amazing, gripping, and surprise-filled suspense. Whoa! I didn't see that ending coming! I loved how the story was told in different POVs (no spoilers). Mostly, I really connected to Ivy, our protagonist on the search for her truth. An amazing read I gulped down in two sittings.

Oh, and can I gush about that cover! GORGEOUS!