⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy of this book to review.
In this story we are following Camille, a stay at home mom of two, new to an upscale San Diego neighborhood. One day Camille’s daughter Georgie comes home from school with a story about a new best friend who has taught her things that sound eerily similar to experiences Camille had under the control of her extremely abusive and demented mother in her childhood. Only Camille’s family knows nothing about Camille’s mother or the lasting effects her abuse has left. Has Camille’s mother found her after all these years or is something more going on?
This books kept me on the edge of my seat! I felt connected to Camille and her story. The writing was engaging, fast paced and smart.
I would definitely recommend this book.

This was the most intriguing book I have read in a long time! It was clear that the author did her research before attempting to tackle a seldom spoken about subject pertaining to behavioral/psychological disorders . Put on your thinking cap and be prepared to be educated,while also being entertained by this suspenseful read!

Not sure what it says about me, but I do love a good book about a sociopath. This book did not disappoint.

Camille, the main character is a sociopath. She wants to put the past behind her, and she builds a life with a family. She just wants to live a “normal” life. She has a good life – a house, a family and even a great mother in law. Then her daughter develops an imaginary friend. All good, right? But this friend knows things about Camille – specific family secrets.

From there the twists and turns keep coming! There was surprise after surprise. And that ending!
I really enjoyed this story – from the concept to the writing to the characters. But of course I did – this is a book by Minka Kent. She always delivers.

So why not 5 stars? This is a really good book. But did I close the book and say wow? Not really. Did I immediately run out and tell people about it? No. It is an enjoyable, solid, book of suspense and mystery.

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC which did not affect my opinion

Get ready to dive into a world of chilling secrets and unsettling discoveries with Minka Kent's latest thriller, "Imaginary Strangers".

Meet Camille Prescott, the picture-perfect wife and mother with a past she'd rather forget. Behind her flawless facade lies a history of trauma and fear, stemming from her tumultuous upbringing at the hands of a dangerously deranged mother. Camille has worked tirelessly to bury her past, but when her daughter Georgie begins exhibiting disturbing behavior reminiscent of Camille's own childhood, the past comes roaring back with a vengeance.

Georgie's new imaginary friend isn't just a figment of her imagination – it's a harbinger of the dark secrets Camille thought she had left behind. As Georgie's behavior grows increasingly unsettling and her imaginary friend reveals intimate details about Camille's past, the fragile foundation of the Prescott family begins to crumble.

With each twist and turn, "Imaginary Strangers" delves deeper into the murky depths of Camille's past, uncovering long-buried secrets and hidden truths that threaten to tear her world apart. As Camille struggles to protect her family from the horrors of her past, she must confront the demons that have haunted her for years before they consume everything she holds dear.

Minka Kent's masterful storytelling and spine-tingling suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that leave you breathless and questioning everything you thought you knew, then "Imaginary Strangers" is a must-read. Pre-order your copy now and prepare to be captivated by a tale of deception, betrayal, and the terrifying power of the past.

Felt like this one was full of twists! Very entertaining and a real page turner for me. I feel like with that ending though, there should certainly be a sequel

When Camille starts to notice her 6 year old daughter, Georgie, showing signs of disturbing behaviour - and even more disturbing knowledge about Camille's childhood - she finds herself reflecting on her own abusive childhood, and the scars that she's spent her adult life hiding behind the facade of being a perfect wife and mother. As it becomes clear that there's more to Georgie's behaviour than a vivid imagination, Camille begins to believe that her mother has found her, and is intent on following through with the threat she made the last time they saw each other: a threat to kill her.

I started this book late last night with the intent of reading the first chapter to get a feel for it before heading off to bed. It was a couple of hours later before I actually managed to put it down. Then again, throughout the day today, I just kept being drawn back to it again and again, caught up by both the engaging writing style and a story that kept ratcheting up the tension at a consistent rate.

There was a bit of a lull at about the 60% mark, where things became a bit repetitive, but even with this slight issue aside, I was fully on board with everything that was happening until about two-thirds of the way through the book, where - without going into spoilers - all I'll say is that a school administrator acts in a completely unbelievable way given the scenario they're presented with, and the book begins an ongoing slide into a more dramatic but, ultimately, less cohesive and engaging finale. I was surprised, but I wasn't fulfilled.

That said, there was the possibility of a sequel set up at the end of this book, and do I want to read that sequel? Absolutely. So, I guess I can't say that the final act turned me off completely.

Rating: 3/5

My mind is blown away.
Be warned, triggers in this book about child abuse and horrible mind games.

The pain Camilla suffered growing up with a person that doesn’t deserve the title of being a mom and should have never been one to begin with! She got away from that terrible person but the lasting memories are they and she finds a way to handle them.

Cam is married to Will, a man that gives her the love, respect and support that she needs. Being a mother of two is hard work, being present with them 24/7 is even harder. Her life is about to change when he daughter comes home and talks about things that no one knows about except for the one person that she thought she left behind all those years ago.

Once you start reading, you won’t be able to tear yourself away. This twisted mind game holds you to the very end and lingers even after you’re done. I had to take a step back from it all before I could even start this.

This is such a great fast paced and twisty read that will keep you guessing til the end. I was shocked and caught off guard by the ending. Camille seems to have a closet of skeletons she wants to keep hidden and Georgie's new imaginary friend seems to know her secrets. Could this all be a coincidence or has Camille's mom found her?

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and Minka Kent for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for Imaginary Strangers is July 23, 2024

I have enjoyed so many other books by Minka Kent and this one was no different. The intensity and building suspense was captivating.

I'll start off by saying that Minka Kent books are nice, easy reads that always leave me with a good twist in the end.

Although I ended up figuring out what was going on mid way through the book, it was still a good story. Camille and Will leave Chicago to move to San Diego to escape her past that she doesn't want her husband to find out about.

She had a horrible upbringing, in which she tries to give her children the complete opposite. When she finds out that someone is becoming best friends with her daughter at school, and divulging details that only someone from her past would know, that's when things get crazy.

Overall, a nice weekend read that I was able to finish over a day or two.

Thank you to #netgalley for this #arc

𝑨 𝑽𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕--𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘...𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏.

I'm a huge fan of this author, but I wasn't prepared for how utterly perfect and mind-blowing this book would be. When I sit in silence for a good ten minutes after I've finished, that's your cue to rush to request it.

I absolutely love anything to do with psychopaths and sociopaths. As a matter of fact, that is a trope I've discussed for the last 24 years in my high school English classroom while reading 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒓. 𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒏 by Lois Duncan. The discussions and research are fascinating, but it seems to boil down to this--psychopaths are born, but sociopaths are made.

Camille has had a horrifying, bleak, traumatic childhood. The psychological abuse that her mother put her through was unlike anything I've ever read, and the abject cruelty chilled me to my core. This mostly came out in her therapy sessions, but the prologue was crafted around a disturbing scene from her past in which her mother swore if she saw her again, she would kill her. Now she is married to the perfect man and is the mother of two children, but with no normally functioning mother to model herself after, she worries that she isn't connecting with her kids.

When her young daughter starts receiving gifts and attention from 'Imaginary', a lady at her school, Camille is stunned by the specificity of the gifts and phrases that her daughter is uttering. After all these years, has her mother found her and is now using her daughter to make good on her threat to kill her? I think my blood pressure was up the entire time I was reading, and the ending was SO satisfying, I wanted to scream (ok, I did; I was alone in the house) and to see there is going to be another installment has me SO impatient to see what's going to happen! So many thanks to the author for the gifted copy. This stunner will publish July 23, 2024.

Not my favorite. This has a strong beginning. I was intrigued learning about Camille's childhood and the trauma that she had associated with her mother but that isn't actually the story we got. I hated the twist ending in this and feel like we veered so far off course from what the synopsis promised. Don't get me wrong, the angle with Camille and her diagnosis as well as her therapy sessions was so fascinating to me, but I hated the whole gaslight-y, betrayal ending that we got. Especially the very last chapter. That felt like the author's last ditch attempt to bring the book back to what was promised in the very last page and it was just too little too late. Also, there was no imaginary friend story line in this? Bestie is mentioned briefly a few times and then promptly dropped from the narrative. Poor Bestie.

Content Warnings: sociopathy, kidnapping, stalking, gaslighting, ptsd, child abuse, gun violence

Camille appears to be a typical SAHM with 2 kids, but when her daughter starts sharing some disturbing phrases, her carefully crafted image come tumbling down. She doesn't know who or what to trust, other than herself.

This books was well paced, twisty, and I didn't predict the ending. The characters were well developed and I could understand the choices they made.

Instead of commas there were double spaces. After a while my brain got used to it, but I hope there will be commas in the future.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to others who enjoy psychological and domestic thrillers.

I love Minka Kent! I also love psychologically mind bending stories and Minka is perfect at this! Camille is a sociopath but highly motivated to keep her family safe and her personality disorder has provided her with the talents to do so. I knew a little about the intricacies of sociopathy but it’s amazing what I learn from Minka’s books! Absolutely 5 stars for this book! Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I recently discovered Minka Kent and have loved everything I’ve read of hers…Imaginary Strangers was no different!

Imaginary Strangers follows Camille Prescott who has the life - an amazing husband, two perfect kids..and she’s also a diagnosed sociopath with a dark past. When her daughter, Georgie, starts talking about an imaginary friend who happens to know some of Camille’s dark secrets, things spiral out of control.

I truly couldn’t put this book down once I started it. I finished it within a few hours and loved every second of it. There’s such a dark eerie feeling throughout the book and I absolutely did not see the twist coming.

I do feel like the twist was wrapped up a little too quickly in the end. I love how the book ends with the opening for a sequel. I will definitely be reading that when it comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

This is the second book I’ve read by Minka Kent and I really enjoy her style of writing. Imaginary Stranger was a quick read, mainly because I didn’t want to put the book down!

Camille, mother of 2 with the perfect husband seems to have it all but deep down she struggles with sociopathy and reminders of her abusive mother, Lucinda. The last time Camille saw her mother, Lucinda swore she would kill her if she ever saw her again. Since that day, Camille has gone through extensive therapy to cope with the trauma.

One day her 6 year old daughter Georgina comes home with an imaginary friend singing song nursery rhymes and saying phrases only Lucinda would know. Camille sets out to find out who this imaginary friend that could very possibly be her mother.

My first Minka Kent book but definitely not my last! Fast paced thriller! A mother, even a sociopath, will do anything to protect her family.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Imaginary Strangers
Dangerous Strangers Thrillers
By Minka Kent

A woman must keep her family—and her terrifying secrets—safe in a twisting thriller by Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.
Camille Prescott has it all. A doting husband, two children, a charming home in a seaside enclave, and a beautiful, fixed smile that exudes normalcy. But behind her polished mask lurks a much different Camille—one with a padlocked vault of secrets. Raised by a vindictive and psychotic woman, Camille has gone to great lengths to bury her past and for good reason: if her mother ever finds her, she will kill her.
But nothing can prepare Camille for the day her six-year-old daughter, Georgie, starts showing signs of unsettlingly familiar behavior, including an imaginary new friend who casts a disturbing influence on everything the little girl says and does. Worse than that, Georgie’s imaginary friend knows things about Camille’s childhood, things Camille has never told a soul. Is it a coincidence or is Georgie’s imaginary friend not so fictional after all?
As the family’s stability cracks, so does Camille’s facade, because the past isn’t just coming for her and everyone she loves—it’s already here.

I give this book 5 stars. It was a quick read and kept me on the edge the entire time. Absolutely loved this book. I have to say that Minka Kent has become one of my favorite authors. I cant wait to read the next book in this series.

I received this ebook arc free from NetGalley and am voluntarily writing this review. #NetGalley #ImaginaryStrangers

I read this book in seven hours!!

Okay, I have not read a story so twisty and compelling in SUCH a long time. I was riveted from the first page, and all day I have been reading this book at any opportunity that came my way.

Imaginary Strangers is a twisty, mysterious, psychological thriller centered on Camille Prescott and her picture perfect family. She lives in a wealthy neighborhood in San Diego, her kids go to the best school, she has an amazingly perfect husband, oh and she is a diagnosed sociopath.

Camille has curated the perfect facade to keep anyone and everyone from looking too closely at her life and her upbringing. The book time jumps between Camille in the present and Camille in therapy a few years prior. Current day Camille has graduated from therapy and is enjoying sunny California when her young daughter starts playing with an imaginary friend who turns out to be not so imaginary. As Camille's past threatens to implode her present, she must come to terms with what it means to be a mother hell bent on protecting her children, and also a sociopath.

I LOVED this book, probably because as a therapist it is not often that I read very accurate descriptions of therapy/therapists. I thought her flashbacks to her time in therapy were so well written and portrayed accurately. There is a line where she wonders if therapists take so long getting to their point because they spend so much time not being able to talk. That made me laugh out loud (it's true). I also so deeply appreciate how Minka explores what sociopathy means and how our perceptions of people with sociopathy are grossly lacking. Minka flawlessly explores how the circumstances of our life do not have to dictate the rest of our future, even when we are handed difficult diagnoses.

This is book one in a series, and I hope to god I am able to get an ARC of the next book because I don't want to wait a second longer than I have to.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an early copy of the book!

Most of the time, the book dives deep into Camille's past and what sets off her PTSD. This is mainly done by the prologue and the therapist chapters. Sometimes, it felt like there was just too much detail, and I found myself skipping over those parts.

But Camille was a fascinating character to follow. Unlike how sociopaths are usually shown in movies as killers, she was actually really protective of the people she cared about.

The ending caught me off guard, but when I thought about it more, it all made sense. The last part of the book was the most exciting to read, especially when everything came together. It was a great twist that showed not everyone is what they seem.