How terrifying, you know something is wrong but you cannot speak! That is what happens to May in The Stranger She Knew by Rosalind Stopps. It was very uncomfortable to read about someone’s fears and they cannot communicate by just talking about them. This book was what I call a slow burn, it reveals everything slowly and doesn’t have the rapid twists and turns that thrillers typically have.

If you don’t mind a book that unfolds in all due time and contains past/present chapters then you should give this one a whirl.

SYNOPSIS

As a young woman, May found that sometimes it was easier to say nothing and cope with what life threw at her in silence. Now, decades later, May has suffered a stroke and has lost her ability to speak. She is still as sharp as ever, but only her daughter and a new friend from the care home, see this.

When May discovers that someone very familiar, from long ago, is living in the room opposite hers she is haunted by scenes from her earlier life. May is determined to protect everyone from this new threat, but how can she warn them without her voice? And who really is this man charming everyone in May’s life?

This one will be out on June 7!

Set in two time frames, this is about a choice not to speak up. May is living in a care home, unable to speak after a stroke but there's something she needs very much to say. In the past, she opted not to talk and that caused ripples across time. Did she do it? Not telling. This is,. I have to say, a bit confusing in spots but it's the twists that keep you reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I had a hard time getting into this book and staying engaged. The ending was confusing. Perhaps there's going to be a sequel? Too many questions remained, though there were a few unexpected twists. Overall, May was annoying and there were a lot of plot points that seemed unnecessary. I was surprised there was no real backstory between the two timelines. As a result, things feel flat for me.

This is a thrilling read. May is the kind of character you want to hug. The villain is as scary as they get. The story jumps back in forth in time but easy to follow. I was flooded with a mix of emotions and questions. It kept me holding my Kindle tightly!

The Stranger She Knew is a very slow burn tale. It took me a little while to get into this one. This is not the typical writing style of a suspense. Once I got into the flow of it, I was able to fly through the pages much quicker.
It is a dark tale about a woman named May. We visit her story at two different points in her life that are decades apart. She chooses to be silent in one moment, and the next, she is forced into silence by a stroke and in a long-term care facility. She is not alone in this place, as someone she knows from her past is closer than we think. I would have liked to know more about May´s past. Make sure you read until the very end on this one!

This book took me quite a while to get into. I struggled to go back and forth in the plot line. Once you are in the book, things start to pick up when May's past moves in accross the hall. She works so very hard to warn the others of th past that comes back into the present. Thank you, to NetGalley for the oppurtunity to read and give my honest opinion.

The blurb reads like a psychological thriller or suspense, but I found this to be more of an in depth character study. May finds herself trapped in silence by 2 different things 40 years apart. The switch in time periods was well done & I found May to be a plausible character. Not what I expected, but still an enjoyable read.

This book was told from the viewpoint of the protagonist, May, after she suffered a stroke and was sent to a nursing home because she was unable to communicate or care for herself.
The novel goes between the present and May's memories of earlier times when she was young.
May is married to Alain, pregnant with their daughter, and living in shared housing. Alain promises that they are moving, because he was offered a new job with the Welsh Film Board as a translator. May never knew Alain spoke Welsh, doesn't know why it never came up.
Alain tells May that the job fell through but was there ever really a job? Alain is very secretive and particular, May tries her hardest to be what he wants, who he wants. Soon, the insults start, the mental cruelty, the physical abuse, Jenny has no one to turn to nowhere to go, and she can't fight back.
May finds a friend in town, Helen, who is single and pregnant. Helen sees the marks on May's arms, hears what May isn't willing to say. As time passes and their friendship grows, Helen pushes May to let her help, to have May come and stay with her and her baby.
Helen and her baby end up dead, was it Alain? The abuse intensifies and the tension and anxiety for the reader intensifies too.
While May is recuperating she notices a new resident named Bill across the hall from her.
Bill is very private, but he keeps looking in at May when the staff isn't watching. Bill looks familiar, has mannerisms that May finds familiar but her brain is so fuzzy. Why is this new resident so interested in May? Why does he seem so menacing? It couldn't be Alain, because Alain is dead, because May killed him, or did she?
I gave this book 4 stars, because of the subject matter and the protagonist. I found it hard to read about the mental and physical anguish that May endured, and also found myself disliking May's inability to leave an abusive relationship even after multiple offers of help.
I know these situations go on daily, but it's hard to find pleasure in reading about them.
The book was exceptionally well written, the characters were very well developed and I felt like I was right there in the book too. Mental illness, drug abuse, physical and mental abuse are difficult topics, but the book was very good.

Mays inability to make herself understood is agonising while we feel her frustration as she tries to communicate.

I did not enjoy reading this story, maybe because of the difficult theme. I felt it was quiet uncomfortable at times. The ending was strange and left me feeling confused.

The premise of this story is interesting and the book is well written. It just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read the ARC in exchange for an honest review

As a young woman, May chose silence. Forty years later, a stroke forced her back into the silence. The monster she longed to speak out against was the same.

This book is very hard to review because it's not what it seems. By the title and description one would think it was a suspense/thriller. In reality it's more a study of human behavior, more a behind-the-scenes look at the prisons our lives construct around us. As a suspense/thriller this book is so-so, perhaps a bit disappointing. In general, this book prompts some interesting thoughts about our lives and how we choose to live them and how our circumstances and surroundings change our plans.

Overall I found the story extremely dark. At two points in her life, 40 years apart, May finds herself trapped in terrible circumstances. She's terrified of her surroundings and feels powerless to speak out. Others don't understand her, and still wouldn't even if she could speak. The ravages of abuse, the ravages of time, we're never quite sure which is worse, but we would never, ever want to find ourselves in May's shoes.

I think this book would be a great read for someone who has a loved one in a long-term care facility or who works in a long-term care facility. It's a not-so-gentle reminder that behind the façade that nature has forced upon the residents, there's a whole other story that we couldn't know. Behind a seemingly non-compliant person is someone who may be completely the opposite of what their uncontrollable actions may indicate. Food for thought.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

2.5 stars rounded up

It took me a while to get into this book and I felt that it was extremely slow moving without actually having much plot. I found the main character, May, to be annoying both in the past and present timelines; however, the past storyline definitely kept me engaged and wanting to know what happened. The twist in the final chapter was good, but overall the plot itself was kind of lacking and left me almost wondering what the point of it all was. We were very much stuck in those two timelines, but didn’t get any backstory between those two times so it all felt sort of stilted and flat.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy

The Stranger She Knew
by Rosalind Stopps

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review .
This was a wonderfully written book. I found it to be hard to put down. What a tense, breathtaking book.

I was taken aback at first. This book has a style all its own. In fact, it's written like nothing else I've ever read, so it took a bit of getting used to. But it wasn't long before I was totally sucked in. May, the main character, is in a care facility after having a stroke that left her mostly paralyzed and unable to talk. It's unique to get her point of view. Then the story switches to her past, years ago while she was pregnant with her daughter who is now in her forties. Her story, in both timelines, tumbles slowly but surely into darkness and mystery. The ending was a shock.

Received this book as ARC via Kindle, and it was definitely a good read. The ending left me super confused, and not sure what to think. Did May kill her friends new husband in the present, which it turns out wasn’t her ex husband? Lots of twists and turns for sure.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Harper360 and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

What a wonder thriller! Divine details, devilish twists, characters that make me shiver.

For this to be my first Rosalind Stopps novel, I'm very impressed.
Her writing is sharp and rich.
The Stranger She Knew is a intoxicating, dark, and simply unputdownable read.
Splendid storytelling with a engaging characters. My nerves were all over the place.
Yes, some of the twists were predictable, but they were good predictable.
Stopps, just wrote an gripping, intense, spellbinding novel and I'm so thankful I was able to read an early copy!

Harper 360 HQ,
Thank You for this eARC!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

This book actually sent shivers down my spine. An absolute knockout thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page gasping for breath. I also enjoyed the setting and the characters. Highly recommend!