The premise of this book was so creepy and I was very interested. I love books with creepy kids in them, and the imaginary friend trope had me hooked.

I enjoyed the story and think the writing was strong. This was fast-paced, dark, and overall entertaining.

3.75/5

Imaginary Strangers by Minka Kent was a unique read! I was thrown by the twists and turns and even the subtle hints. The characters were fascinating, and so was the timeline. It felt like there were many moving parts, but it felt effortless. I loved the different timelines we had going on, and I was not expecting some of the things that happened. Great job, Minka!

Camille has the perfect life: an amazing husband and family. But life didn’t start out that way for her. Her childhood was plagued by her terrible, abusive, vindictive mother and she is determined to leave that life behind her. Then one day her six year old daughter starts talking about an imaginary friend who knows things about Camille’s past. How does six year old Georgie know these things if her friend is imaginary?

Thank you to Minka Kent for sending me an ARC of this book for review. I apologize that it has taken me so long to share my review. But this book- WOW! I love Kent’s writing style and have read almost all of her books. I’m hooked on her psychological thrillers. This may be my new favorite. I enjoyed the duel timelines where we learn of Camille’s troubled past and then go back to present day when she is raising her daughter. Reading about Camille’s childhood was gut wrenching and really makes the reader feel for her. The short chapters kept me turning the pages because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The creepy kid trope always gets me- with the imaginary friend, it was definitely freaky. And the ending… I didn’t see that coming!

This was a pretty good book. This is a book that kept me guessing and I couldn't figure out where it was going!

Imaginary Strangers by Minka Kent is a gripping and suspenseful novel that plunges readers into the dark atmosphere of it. This is a psychological thriller full of tension that explores family dynamics and buried secrets. It was fast-paced that kept me entertained in the story. The writing is good and i was hooked from the beginning. The ending was amazing and the twist was right on top. Overall, I enjoyed quite much but felt like the middle of the book became a bit slow until it picks up closer to the end.

Enjoyed this one, a great thriller!
Thanks NetGalley and Minka Kent for letting me read before the release!

Really enjoyed this thriller. I usually love this author’s books and this one did not disappoint. Thanks for another thrilling read!

Not my usual thing, but a good time. Got through it pretty quick and was pretty engrossing at times. I'd like to read more from the author

As always, Minka Kent is brilliant. I love the authors writing!

This book will grip you from page 1 it is masterfully written and when you get to the end will leave you questioning life :)

Fast pace, lots of twists and turns and just everything you want in a domestic suspense thriller.

Great job as always on the book. Loved it. Will continue to read more from Minka Kent.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. This is the first book in a thrilling new series Dangerous Strangers.
Camille is married with two kids, a daughter and a son. Husband's a doctor, and she's a stay at home mom. Anyone looking at her life would think it's perfect. Just how she wants them to see it.
She has worked hard to bury all the childhood trauma she endured. With the help of a therapy, it has been years since it has affected her. But with one sentence from her daughter, it all comes crashing down. Now, she has to do everything she can to protect her family.
A definite page turner with a twist I didn't see coming. This book does not end on a cliffhanger but does leave you wanting to know what happens next. Can't wait for the next book.

Imaginary Strangers by Minka Kent is a gripping psychological thriller that masterfully keeps readers questioning reality until the final pages. With its fast-paced plot and chilling twists, the novel delivers everything fans of domestic suspense crave.

This book was ok but I never found myself wanting to pick it up. I loved Stillwater Girls so I was excited for this one, but unfortunately it fell a little flat.

I've been reading a bit too much romance lately so I needed a palate cleanser and this was a perfect book for that. A domestic type thriller with a twisted main female character named Camille who has a sordid past. Her primary focus now is on protecting her family and this life that she has built as fiercely as possible. I find short chapters to be key in thrillers, and this one was no exception. I found myself thinking "just one more chapter" over and over because I just couldn't put it down. It was fast paced, enthralling, and I enjoyed the twist at the end. I do feel like the author maybe left a bit of meat on the bone, but that might be because it is a part of a series. I didn't realize this was going to be a part of a series but I certainly look forward to the next book to see what Camille is up to.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

A remarkably addictive and splendidly suspenseful page-turner, this tense psychological thriller will 100% pull you out of a reading slump. I completely devoured it!

We don't often see sociopaths as leading protagonists (or protective mothers) in fiction so I loved that aspect. It was a fresh and stigma shattering take.

I was extremely excited to learn that a follow-up book is in the works. I know I'll be dropping everything to set time aside to read it as soon as it becomes available!

Perfect for fans of Mary Kubica and Freida McFadden, this gripping and entertaining quick read will have you itching to pick it back up at the end of the work day.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for early access to the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

incredibly awesome mix of some very classic thriller concepts produces an amazing thriller. Should we even be surprised? 5 stars, tysm for the arc.

I am always interested in reading books by unreliable narrators and Camille was one of the best examples of one of them.

Brought up by a vindictive mother, Camille is always looking over her shoulder. When she finally builds her own world, Camille is shocked to see her daughter Georgie exhibit disturbing behaviours, some of which can be traced back to the abuse of her own childhood.

But Camille's mother does not know where they live. Does she?

Gripping and fast-paced, this book was a great pageturner.

This was my first Minka Kent and I think I will read more of her.

4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

Camille Prescott is faking it. She’s a psychopath incapable of feeling love but it’s not her fault - she was raised by an evil mother. Having survived her horrific childhood and escaped her mother - now she looks like any other posh San Diego stay at home mom. But when her daughter’s “imaginary friend” stirs up past memories Camille will do anything necessary to protect her kids.
Imaginary Strangers is the first installation of a series. It’s fast paced and thrilling from the beginning. I recommend it to fans of psychological suspense and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

We follow Camille, a mother who seems to have it all. She lives in a nice neighborhood, has two healthy kids that she dotes on, and a doctor husband who is the best. However, Camille has dark secrets from her past. When her daughter starts coming home from school talking about things she shouldn't know about Camille's past, Camille quickly tries to find out who is behind it. She will stop at nothing to protect her family.

I really enjoyed this book! This is one of those quick thrillers that is hard to put down. I found the story interesting and it kept me wanting to read. It was almost a bit creepy in parts and I really liked that! The writing was good and I liked the characters as well.

I will say that some of the twists were a bit unrealistic to me. However, it didn't take away from my experience because I figured some of the twists would be like that. This book delievered a fast thriller and that is exactly what I was looking for!

I would definitely recommend if you are looking for a fast-paced thriller full of twists!

I thought this was a fascinating, thrilling but also psychological read! It feels very creepy and intense and internal, with a focus on mental health and motherhood and trauma, and how all of those things link together — what happens when you have a traumatic past, and you can see your child exhibiting behaviours that either trigger you or are uncomfortably reminiscent of things you'd prefer to forget? There's a lot of twists and turns, but they're all so exciting and feel so real and honest to the unfolding of the story itself. I will definitely pick up another book by Minka Kent!

For a short book, wow does it pack a punch. It’s creepy with several twists and lots of drama. Even though there was a lot in a smaller book, it wasn’t overly packed and crazy. It was such a mind blowing story, loved it. It’s my second Minka Kent book but I think I’ll have to go read her other books, I really liked both.