Interesting tale of a sociopath whose paranoia hits tilt when her daughter finds a friend in Imaginary. Camille has tried to keep her family safe from her past and her own state of mind, but her daughter Georgie’s new imaginary friend, Imaginary (yup, no joke), and the actions they partake in, unglue our mother to the point that would make a private investigator blush.

There are some interesting twists and turns, as Camille’s mind and actions goes further down the rabbit hole as she struggles to get to the bottom of Imaginary. But as the story goes on, the pages become harder to turn, as being in Camille’s head takes as much a toll on the reader as it does to herself. The back and forth timelines between her past therapy and the present seem to only cover gaps just quick enough for them to matter a chapter or two later. And the ending feels rather moot, because as you shall soon see from beginning to end, Camille is as wily as you can get.

Still, Imaginary Strangers is an entertaining read and credit to Minka Kent for doing the right research on mental health and getting the character of Camille right. Even if the story drags on the thrills, the psychological aspect will keep you from DNFing it.

I’ve tried to write this review multiple times and I’ve never felt so stuck - I truly have minimal thoughts on this book, I just didn’t like it. It felt very flat and the story developed so slowly, that once that twist and ending came - it elicited minimal emotions and I was left very underwhelmed.

Also, being a mum I could understand certain actions and thoughts from our MC and would also do anything to make sure my children are safe, but I expected to feel anxious, worried and shocked from such a story about, what’s meant to be a “likeable sociopath” and with her daughter having a new disturbing friend and the events that took place, but unfortunately I disappointed in this department.

There were also quite of lot of cliche phrases used throughout the entire book that just didn’t fit well with the rest of the writing style.

This is to be part of a series and while may have not enjoyed this, being that Minka is one of my favourites authors, I will still aim to pick up the next book, just to see where it goes and if my feelings change.

I don't know, this wasn't my absolute favorite Minka Kent, who I usually LOVE to read. It felt confusing and disjointed in places and I'm still confused at some of the significance of some of the subplots and fringe characters. Maybe confusing the reader was deliberate to keep us guessing on who to trust or keep us off Lucinda's trail. It just left me kind of disappointed that it never grabbed me. Either way, I'll still read every Minka Kent book she writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review!

After a failed abusive relationship Kate and her eight year old son Christopher decide to settle in the small town of Mill Grove Pennsylvania. They are both hoping to have a fresh start. Christopher is a bit of a loner he’s dyslexic and he’s poor so he’s teased about his clothing. One day Kate is late picking Christopher up and when she arrives he’s gone! For one terrifying week everyone is frantically searching for him. When he is found it’s a miracle and he said he was helped by a nice man in the woods. When the police cannot find any proof of a man in the woods they just put it off as a Christopher imagined him due to exhaustion. After his ordeal Christopher almost seems better than before he begins to excel in school all of a sudden he has friends and Kate wins the lottery and she pays her debts off and get to buy a new house! Unbeknownst to anyone including Kate, Christopher is changing. He has headaches and gets thoughts that just come to him and he knows things he shouldn’t. He also sees his imaginary friend in the woods where he disappeared. His imaginary friend is telling him to do things and the first thing he needs to build a tree house in the middle of the woods and to needs built before Christmas, or bad things will happen to everyone Christopher knows and loves. This first half of this book was amazing!! The second half I felt was a bit much and could be confusing and it was dragged out. This book had a lot religion, small town paranoia a battle between good and evil and hysteria. I don’t want to be mean but halfway through I was like ok is this book going to end how much more can be thrown in here? The story was unique I just felt like it was a bit much and a bit confusing and it was almost becoming a chore to read.. I give this three stars! I don’t want to push anyone away but if you plan to read be patient and the time you will need to Invest in it!

It said that the author researched sociopaths before writing this, but the character didn't make sense considering the diagnosis. That kept drawing me away from the story, which was supposed to be creepy, but it wasn't really and then the twist was underwhelming.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I loved most of this book. Everything was good until the plot twist and I didn’t really like it. I felt like it was too safe and easy and was hoping for more. But up until that- somewhere in the 80% of the book- I really enjoyed everything else.

Rated 4.5 ⭐️

Camille Prescott is a woman who has it all. She doesn't have to work, is married to a Dr, and a mother of two. She's also a woman who won't let her past take everything away from her.

This book kept me on the end of the seat, wondering if Camille is going crazy or was there something more going on. I never seen the twist coming, and I loved that. The emotions written on the pages you felt it come to life.

This book was fast paced and my interest was continuously engaged. The book ends with you wanting to know what happened next. I have no idea why it took me so long to open the pages to this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Minka Kent, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

This was a very compelling and fast paced novel joining in a mothers journey to see how far she would go to protect her family. If you love thrillers with ending you may not see coming this one is for you!

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

In true Minka Kent fashion, this book was twisty! I was really hoping for something more paranormal judging from the start of the book, but just regular old (ha!) family drama rife with mental health issues create a wild ride. I loved the take of the main character being a sociopath without her having to be a villain. One of my least favorite things in thrillers is gaslighting, and this one has it in abundance, so that is the only thing that really got on my nerves while reading this book.

I'm a big fan of Minka Kent and believe I have read each and every single book she has written!

Camille, the main character, is a wife, mother and a sociopath. Yes, sociopath! I Any book that delves into the psyche, I am all in and Minka always delivers a great psychological thriller! How exactly does a sociopath hide herself as a mother and a wife? From the outside looking in she is completely normal, but we all know nothing is ever quite as it seems. She becomes worried when her daughter starts talking about a new friend called Imaginary. Imaginary happens to know just a little too much about things that happened when Camille was a child. Just who is Imaginary and what does she want with her daughter? What Camille may lack in love and empathy, she makes up for with her fierce protetiveness of her daughter!

This was a fast paged thriller that had me guessing to the end. I will be here for Minka's next book!

A big thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me the oportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! Imaginary Strangers is out now and available on Kindle Unlimited! If you have not yet read it, I highly recommend you go grab it! 5 stars!

I love the premise of this book. Camille is a wife, mother and also a sociopath. I liked the whole idea of a sociopath trying to be a good mother and wife and protect her family even though she does not feel emotions the same way as a "typical" mother does. She becomes worried when her daughter starts talking about a new friend called imaginary. Camille is desperately hoping that her daughter does not carry the same traits as she does.

This one was full of suspense from beginning to end. I did suspect who the bad guy of the story was, but that did not hinder my enjoyment at all.
Unique characters who were very well portrayed. Enough creepy aspect throughout to keep you wondering.

Thanks to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

This was my first experience with a Minka Kent novel. It won't be my last. I loved the concept of a sociopathic mother trying to protect her family. Cam was a fun character perspective to read from. Her twisted thoughts were highly entertaining. I did feel that the story became a bit repetitive along the way. It wasn't perfect for me, but I did have a great time.

“Psychopaths are both sociopaths are made..” Minka Kent never disappoints and is always delivering a great psychological thriller.

Camille Prescott appears as a beautiful, smart, family-loving woman who is in the upper-income group with a devoted doctor husband and two children.. she’s living the perfect life!

But underneath all this shiny look, there is a real truth about Camille that she’s tried so desperately to mask. She has created this perfect mother and wife image but.. Camille is a sociopath.

Camille is a highly functioning sociopath who is aware of her diagnosis and also had been in therapy for a long time. The amount of effort Camille goes through to hide herself and keep everything perfect and on track, in a situation where even her doctor husband has not notice her sociopathy yet.

In the first few pages of the novel to get an idea of Camille is capable of: After attempting to drown her mother in the bathtub, Camille leaves the house where she lives with her mother at the age of 17, after her mother threatens to kill her if she meets her again.

But something happens in her life one day: Camille, who strives to prevent her children from experiencing anything she has experienced, senses a danger to the family she first established with an imaginary friend her little daughter made in kindergarten. Then, the details in her memories about the biggest criminal who ruined her life begin to reach Camille through another "silver haired friend" her daughter made at school. From this point on, we read Camille as a guided missile aimed at finding and destroying the danger. We read about Camille's search for this mysterious new friend and the secret behind it, and even her tracking -which will turn almost into an obsession.

Although Imaginary Strangers stands out with a "sociopath mother", it actually ends with a picture that shows that nothing can be completely black or completely white. On the one hand, a sociopathic Camille who is ready to do anything to not be a bad mother, and on the other hand, Camille's mother Lucinda, a terrible mother, is with us throughout the novel as a "fact". However, in the finale pages of the book, we also see another side of being a mother, the side that Camille cannot feel. Is the threat to Camille and her family shaped by a mother's love or
hatred?

Thanks for @Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the whole premise of this book! A married woman and mother battles with her dysfunctional upbringing while trying her best to keep her family safe. I loved all the twists and turns at the end and how the story didn’t lead you to a super predictable conclusion. If you like reading psychological thrillers, definitely give this book a try!

Well, this was a fun and creepy page-turning thriller. Camille is a fierce and smart FMC who will stop at nothing to protect her loved ones. From the outside looking in she has the perfect life, but we all know nothing is ever quite as it seems. I really enjoyed reading this novel which kept me at the edge of my seat. Thanks to Minka Kent, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my goodness. If creepy ass kids are in your Top Five Things That Scare the Snot Outta Me (and you want to be freaked out) or if you want to see what it's like inside the head of a sociopathic mother, this is your jam. It's kind of rare that a thriller will keep me guessing until the end like this one did! The sequel is scheduled to come out next July and I've already added it to my TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and based on the premise I wanted to like it. It was well written, but something about it just fell a bit flat for me.

For being a thriller, the tension was lacking. I think more could have been played into with her daughter knowing things she shouldn’t. The twist was unexpected, but again, just fell flat for me.

I’m giving this a three star because of the unique premise. It’s not that it was written poorly, or even executed poorly, I just think it could have had a bit more tension to it.

Imaginary Strangers
By Minka Kent
Main Characters: Camille and Lucinda
I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this book without bias or persuasion from the author.
4 out of 5 stars
I have read and reviewed all of this author's books and true to form, it is very well written but the main character is less than likable to me. Camille is a sociopath. She is married and has a young daughter who recently said she has a new friend called Imaginary. This has Camille worried about her daughter and herself, thinking this Imaginary knows a little too much about Camille's upbringing by her mother Lucinda. This is a psychological thriller and I would make a terrible detective because it took almost to the end of the book to figure out who Imaginary was. I am looking forward to the next book.

Camille is happily married to her kind husband and they have two lovely children together. They've recently moved from Chicago to San Diego for Will's job as an anesthesiologist and life seems perfect.

Until....

Her daughter starts saying things to her. Things that no one else knows. About her traumatic childhood being raised by her psychopathic mother. Who is telling her daughter these things? Camille is hell bent on figuring it out. If it's her mother coming back to haunt her then she will be ready and waiting. BRING IT ON!!!

This was a fun one!

Camilla, a diagnosed sociopath due to her horrific upbringing, was surprising easy to root for and relate to. I felt so terrible for her and her situation. I should say that she has undergone years of intensive therapy in order to maintain as much normalcy as she can. While she is incapable of love and empathy she is intensely loyal to those that care about her. She will do anything to protect her family. Mama Bear on steroids, if you get my drift. It's for those reasons that, I as a reader, had sympathy for her. She was always trying to her very best even if at times it was only acting on her part.

The ending was a total surprise. I thought I had it figured out somewhat but I never once suspected that this was how it was all going to go down. Obviously to say more would put this review in spoiler territory but points awarded to Minka Kent for that tricky late game maneuver. Well played! 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy.

I stumbled across a Minka Kent book on NetGalley a few years ago and was instantly taken with her writing. She writes psychological thrillers that are so good that when I see her name on a book, I automatically know I have to read it. I honestly believe I’ve read every book she’s ever written. Imaginary Strangers is the story of Camille. She appears to have the perfect life. She’s happily married to a wonderful, kind and loving doctor and they have 2 perfect children, a girl and a boy. They live in a beautiful home where everything appears to be perfect but Camille is keeping secrets. Camille had a horrible childhood, her mother was a sociopath. Because of this Camille has issues of her own. Even though she has sought counseling for her mental health, she feels it necessary to keep her past secret from everyone involved. It isn’t until her young daughter learns things about her from someone at her school that Camille realizes that someone is on to her and that the perfect life she has built for herself has become threatened. This is a story with a lot of twists and it kept me turning the pages late into the night. I am surprised to say that I did actually figure out who it was that was threatening Camille’s peace of mind by attempting to expose her previous life. I don’t normally figure things out but with this story I just had a feeling. But even though I was right, it still didn’t take away from my enjoyment in reading it. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc to read and review. This is a story I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys reading psychological thrillers. I’m giving this book a 5 star rating and I look forward to reading any and all future books by Minka Kent.