Lillian can remember a time when her husband Mike would have brought her flowers, just because. When her teenage son hung on her every word. When her celebrity obituary column was must-read news.
Now though, she thinks her husband is having an affair, can’t get more than a word from her son, and has been demoted at work. What else could go wrong? Maybe, just maybe a chance encounter with a stranger at a coffee shop will be the catalyst she needs to make something go right.
Lillian, oh Lillian, who at one time or another hasn't felt trapped and abandoned when suddenly their picture-perfect life doesn't look quite so perfect. Told mostly from her perspective, chapters from Mike raised more questions than answers and it was pretty hard to find one redeeming quality in him. Her best friend Sam and a former cop, Lenny, now a cemetery caretaker chime in as well, and I was as wrong as a reader could be over who would wind up dead.

Well, holy crazy plot! This doesn’t publish until September, but I pushed aside the 20(yep 20?) ARCs I have to read for May planning to just read the first few chapters and didn’t put it down until I was done. Told as a countdown to death, I kept flipping the pages to find out who and why. I did not come close to figuring it out! 4.5 stars.


My first read by this author and not my last.

The premise of this was intriguing and I have not yet read a book by A.R. Torre. However, I found it impossible to connect or care for any of the book's characters. I also found the plot to be too slow-moving for not much of a payoff at the end, but one that screamed "Shock Value." Because I would not recommend this book I will not post a written review on on review sites or social media, but I will give it three stars. Thanks for the ARC!

This book started off so well but somewhere it took a weird turn. I was not a fan of the direction it took. I like the writing style and the short chapters.

Lillian Smith is your average wife and mother who has a job writing obituaries in a very unique way. She meets David in a coffee shop and begins having an affair.

Lillian creates a whole knew identity; one without rules, free from restrictions and the boundaries created for her by her ordinary life. News of her affair hits her life like a wrecking ball; the consequences of which she could have never imagined.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to get a chance to read this book by A.R. Torre. Their previous books were some of my favorite reads of last year! Anything by this author is an instant read for me

Right off the bat this book pulled me in. Lillian runs a twitter account that is fun and involves her line of work: writing obituaries. Each tweet involves a mystery of who died. I found myself even puzzling over the mysteries of who died in the tweets. I thought it was a fun touch to a thriller story.

Lillian seems to be the perfect house wife type. She is always cleaning, and making sure dinner is prepared. All while holding down a full time job as an obituary writer for the times. Meanwhile her husband Mike has been distant. Her picture perfect life is starting to crack in multiple places. I won’t lie but at times Lillian really got on my nerves. I wanted to shake some sense into her. I didn’t know if I should be angry at her or give her pity.

We do get multiple POV at times. Mainly between Lillian and her husband Mike. Mike seems to be up to no good. But what exactly? I caught myself running through all the scenarios of what he could be up to. I don’t want to give too many details so I don’t spoil it. But it is never a good sign when your husband GPS tracks you, has listening devices in your home AND checks your phone records!

What I loved:

- the pacing, I was able to finish this book quickly! There wasn’t a point in which I was ever bored. I kept trying to find time to sneak off to read more
- -the death countdown kept me on my toes. I was so curious who it was going to be!
- Lenny. I love and absolutely adore this character! His POVs were some of my favorites!
- A giant twist that I did NOT see coming at all! What?! That is all I have to say. That twist makes the books movement throttle forward at high speed.
- And even more twists! This book is wild in such a good way!


This was a wild trip of a read. I caught myself going back to specific chapters to try to piece together things. I honestly was so shocked at so many different points. The ending was perfect in my opinion. 4 stars out of 5!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Holy heart-pounding, edge-of-your seat, furious page turning book! This story opens up with one of the most unforgettable scenes in a thriller…
This was very suspenseful. It was a page turner.
The chapters weren’t too long and the story flowed well.
It kept my attention and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
A. R. Torre wrote a story that keeps you needing to read more.
As our characters' stories progress it becomes impossible to stop.
I thought about the book constantly when I wasn't reading it.
This novel is taut and quietly intense.
Despite not knowing what’s going to happen, a wave of overwhelming inevitability hits you at the end.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thomas & Mercer,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

I freaking LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!!! Oh my gosh I absolutely inhaled it!!! I loved the first person perspective. I loved the alternating chapters between different characters. I loved my confusion because I just could not see what was coming next! And I loved how the ending was all tied up and wasn’t open ended. Absolutely run to read this one and I promise you won’t regret it!!!

Holy Moly!! This book was just filled with all sorts of twists and turns that I did not see coming! As an avid reader, the element of surprise is so rare that I can usually guess the plot and outcome at some point during the story. Nope! Not this time! I devoured this in less than a day and I'm sad that it's over. I really enjoyed all of the characters, both good and bad, and I didn't want this one to end!

A Familiar Stranger starts out with a countdown to someone's death. And you won't know whose until it smacks you in the face! Lillian Smith, an obituary writer who dazzles in reinventing herself by borrowing some of her dead subjects' personas, finds herself swept up in an exciting affair with a man named David. Not a good idea when you are married to a control freak and have an anxiety-ridden teenage son! This sordid affair sets into motion a whirlwind of events that lead to secrets being revealed and many lives spiraling out of control. Whose life will end as a result? You'll just have to read and find out. And I highly recommend that you do!

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me free access to this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC of A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre.

Once again A.R. Torre succeeds in creating such an original, twisty tale. This author never fails to impress me. This was definitely not what I was expecting and I loved it. If you're looking for emotion, suspense, and twists in a book, then this one is the one for you.

Deep Breaths Deep Breaths.......

Holy Moly am I left in disbelief!! What did I just read?

Only yesterday did I see A Familiar Stranger, hit "read now" on netgalley, and to say I was excited is putting it lightly. I was in the middle of reading another book and although it was REALLY good, I could not contain my excitement to start A Familiar Stranger. So I tabled my current read and instantly started.

I am not lying when I tell you I finished this book in one sitting. It completely consumed me and I hung on every single word. This book is well written, character driven, and has an explosive plot! The twist? OMG!! You will never see it coming. The ending wrapped everything together and left me completely speechless.

I am 110 percent recommending this book to everyone I know!

FIVE STARS!!!!

Lillian Smith has always been a “good girl”. She lives with an emotionally distant husband and son and writes obituaries for a living. Life isn’t great, but it’s okay, until Lillian meets David. A chance encounter at a coffee shop leads her into a torrid affair, where her real life recedes far into the distance. When her extramarital affair, or at least hints at it, begin to pop up on social media, Lillian weaves herself into an ever tighter web of deception. Readers will be drawn into Lillian’s world, where it turns out that nothing, and no one is what they seem

Whew! I gobbled this one up! Finished in about a day.

To start, what a unique way of writing a book. A count down of “a death” and then the present and the thereafter. I loved this author’s writing style. This book truly makes me want to read more of her work. I will say, I most definitely did not see who's death was coming!

This was a great mystery/thriller. A wild ride! I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of A Familiar Stranger. This is the first book I have read by A. R. Torre but it won’t be my last. I loved the way the book was written, and the different POVs really unfolded the story at a great pace. Lillian was such a great main character I was rooting for her the whole way. I loved her job of writing obituaries and how her Twitter posts were incorporated. Her relationship with the other characters was realistic, and how those relationships were incorporated into the story was masterful. . Her husband was so unlikable I wondered why they ever got together in the first place!
The story was amazing! It started out as a pretty tame domestic tale but turned out to be so much more. The way the events all came together at the end made for a really satisfying read. Do not miss this one if you want a book that will make your jaw drop and make you question everything!

WTH I just read! Whirlwind cat-mouse game, sucker punch twists, jaw dropping, mind blowing, riveting conjunction of several unexpected events, ruthless characters! Oh I need a drink! Something very strong!

When I read about the blurb about an unconventional, unique woman who is successful obituary writer, living with neglectful husband and disconnected son, tries to reinvent herself by lying about her identity, cheating her spouse with a stranger, I thought this was cunning, tempting, saucy marriage drama!
But I couldn’t be so wrong! This is more than that!

Yes, Lillian Smith catches her husband cheating on her! Yes, she’s not happy about how her life turned out! She feels insecure! She doesn’t fulfill half of her potential! She feels lost! Taking a mandatory break from her job, flirting with easygoing, gentle stranger, working as a yacht concierge might be a great escape from her problems! But this book is not a broken marriage story! It’s action packed, surprising, twisty mind game!

Lillian is a complex character with incredibly dark and entertaining sense of humor, with worse coffee flavour taste! I liked her a lot and I think she definitely deserved more!

The author literally made me jump off my seat and curse myself for not seeing the obvious things behind my eyes! I found the culprit a little earlier! But I couldn’t find out the true motive sooner! Well played!

I’m stopping right now! You get to read and find out! Expect the unexpected! Get ready to lose last remaining little grey cells ! The author will literally bbq them!

I’m so happy to see Alessandra Torre brought back her dark side to write this intelligent psychological thriller! I loved her previous Deanna Madden series! I hope she’ll also bring back more Gwen Moore- Robert Kavin stories! But this book was truly smashing, heart throbbing, exceeded my expectations! I freaking enjoyed it a lot!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas &Mercer for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

After devouring three of her books last month, A.R. Torre is one of my favorite writers - and definitely an auto-buy. Seeing this book on NetGalley, I had no doubt that I'd devour it that same day. I stayed up late into the night, unable to fall asleep until I knew the ending!

Fast paced, alternating POVs with an absolutely mesmerizing plot that you will NOT see coming, this domestic thriller is packed with drama, twists & lies. There is so much more to each character than meets the eye, and Torre crafts her plots in a way that each small detail will mean something later (I love this). Go into this one blind and you absolutely won't regret it. This will likely be one of my favorite reads of the year!

One is my favorite writers. I devoured this book in a couple of hours. Fast pace in a good story I highly recommend this read. The characterization is believable and the plot is mesmerizing.

Another banger from A R Torre! I eat up these domestic thrillers like candy. This one was especially addictive, with salacious drama, shocking twists and a setting perfect for a summer beach read. 5/5 stars!