IMAGINARY STRANGERS was a great read, with quick pacing and an interesting back story. There were a number of twists and turns that kept me moving forward and love the setup at the end for another book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read IMAGINARY STRANGERS.

What a great book! This one hooked me from the start. Wonderfully portrayed characters; a quirky daughter and her “imaginary friend”, an overly protective mom, a hard-working but quite absent at times dad and little boy (who’s just kind of there) … it’s a typical family, from the outside. What the world doesn’t see is a flawed mother, with a sad and hidden past. She’s running from the dysfunctional family she grew up in, to make a better life for herself and her created family. What happens though, when a 2nd imaginary friend shows up, but seems to be feeding your child information as though they are quite real? Is mom being too protective? Is her past finally catching up to her? Is her family safe? What a fantastically twisty tale.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer & Minka Kent for this read!

Minka Kent NEVER ceases to grab my attention. This book was shocking and uncomfortable, it was tense and highly addictive!

Lovers of unreliable narrators will eat this one up. It'll have you questioning who you can trust and what is going on. And trust me the truth is much more shocking than you think!

Highly recommend this one to all my thriller lovers but be sure to check trigger warnings!

This is the first of the Dangerous Strangers stories. Told from a single point of view, Camille’s world is filtered through her lens of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A few of the chapters take place in the past, so we meet characters from across her fascinating, disturbing life. Current events trigger Camille’s trauma response, leading her to do whatever it takes to protect her family. Once I started this book, I had to keep reading until the end. As a reader, the single POV kept me wondering if the narrator was reliable. Those years of therapy helped Camille fit into society, despite her deficits, and I found myself empathising with a protective character who doesn’t feel. The ending was pretty satisfying, unexpected and ironic—this conflict was just the practice run for the main event.

✮🔪Just Imaginary. Really❓️💀✮

Holy crap on a cracker, what have I just read???? IMAGINARY STRANGERS from one of my favourite psych-thriller writers, Author Minka Kent was an awesome unputdownable read. She puts together more twists than a cheap garden hose so read carefully or you risk missing some pretty important pieces.

Written entirely from Camille’s POV, I soon loved and admired her. Her childhood was horrendously abusive and the only person who knew the most of the depth of it was her therapist. I say most, because she didn’t share the absolute truth of it with anyone. OMG, I was horrified and heart-broken for the young Camille yet she owned the inherited personality traits and worked hard to overcome them. In my mind, that takes guts and determination, and by crikey, she was doing it. Her husband had absolutely no idea of her internal battles, seeing only the loving wife and mother facade that she had perfected. Yep, I admired her.

And Will, Camille’s husband. All I will say is that he is the epitome of unconditional love.

BUT, what is a protective mother to do when she believes the safety of her family is in doubt??? Fight fire with fire and let those protective-psycho-tendencies run free!!!

I thought I knew the direction the plot might have been taking, and I was sitting and reading with my heart, my mind and my body all under a huge tension. Hell’s teeth, I almost gave myself a stress migraine, especially when Ms Kent ripped that assumption to pieces and put together one hell of a shock/horror moment. I can’t even begin to comment because it was so out of the park, and I’m giving nothing away!!

That whole element was perfectly executed. Absolutely.

I will say here though, that when I read the author notes at the end, I then realised it’s only book one. I’m all agog! What next? And, I can’t wait!

As always, I highly recommend anything written by Author Minka Kent, and IMAGINARY STRANGERS is no different. So, if psych-thrillers are up your alley, then this should be your next read🔪💀✮

Wow! What just happened? This is one of those books in which not everything is as it seems. Loved every single minute of it! Again….wow!

This is a 4.5 for me. I loved the unique main character and how likable she is even though she is deeply troubled and would usually be seen as a villain. Her backstory is a little hard to read but it’s not dwelled on too much. I loved the twist at the end. I did think, “hmm what if?” on that character but it caught me by surprise at the end. I think a second book is coming out, if it does I will RUN to go and read it. This is my favorite by this author so far.

Minka Kent knows how to write psychological thrillers. Add another to the list with this one. She’s become an auto-buy author for me. Imaginary strangers is fast-paced and suspenseful start to finish. Add it to your TBR, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Imaginary Strangers
by Minka Kent
Pub Date: Jul 23 2024

I absolutely loved the suspense, the tension, and the plot of "Imaginary Strangers" by author: Minka Kent. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, I was addicted from the first page until the final page trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed reading about the therapy sessions, hearing all of Camille's secrets from her past that she only told her therapist. What an interesting character Camille was, I became attached to her and could feel the struggles she went through in her past and was currently going through to hide them from her current life. I can't tell you how excited I am to hear there is a book 2 coming out in the future! I highly recommend this 5 star thriller!

Synopsis: A woman must keep her family―and her terrifying secrets―safe in a twisting thriller. 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.

Many thanks to #ImaginaryStrangers #NetGalley #Thomas&MercerPublishing and such a talented author: Minka Kent for providing me with an E-ARC of this book!

Camille is a sociopath and a mother, working very hard to appear as a normal loving mother and person. One day when Camille’s daughter comes home from school and says she has an imaginary friend. Camille’s mom thinks that the friend isn’t really imaginary. Opting to volunteer to investigate what’s going on with her daughter. Camille works throughout the book to find out about what’s going on with her daughter. Though this book is good, there are parts throughout it that seem redundant and it takes away from the storyline in my opinion. If you love a good psych thriller and or stories about creepy children this is a great choice for you.

I am however a huge fan of Minka Kent and think she doesn’t get enough hype for her books. I’m constantly recommending her books. The Memory Watcher is the book that made me fall in love with her writing.

I was so excited to get this book! Minka Kent has never disappointed me. This was a great novel of domestic suspense. Camille’s upbringing was enough to pull me in. She’s running away from her past while trying to maintain this facade with the perfect husband and two great kids. Her daughter Georgie gave me the creeps which was great because it’s a thriller! I couldn’t wait to find out how Georgina’s imaginary friend knew things about Camille’s past. And to see if her mother caught up with her.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 7/23/24!

I went into this book completely blind and suggest that future readers do the same. Told from 1 POV with dual timelines, the author crafted a story that not only was gripping from the first page but also hard to put down. There was also beautiful imagery here with a Venus flytrap, which I found to be a unique plot structure that I haven’t seen often in contemporary thrillers. This book also has a creepy element to it for a thriller which I enjoyed. I didn’t realize this was the first book in a series according to Goodreads and although I am not typically a series reader, I will for sure be picking the second one up when/if it releases. Definitely recommend giving this one a read but please check trigger warnings before picking this one up, as some discussion topics are intense.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the early read of Imaginary Strangers. Okay, I don’t think I can find the right words to describe this book. I love psychological thrillers and when it’s heavy on the psychological it’s just WOW! We get to be inside the head of an actual sociopath and how she got there. Camille had a terrible and traumatic childhood, to say the least and she wants to be the Mom her mother wasn’t. But when Georgie comes home and starts talking about her new friend “Imaginary” things get weird. How does this “friend” know things about Camille? I was so creeped out by certain scenes in this book that I had to catch my breath. The best news of all is that it’s going to be a series so the creepy can continue!!

This was such a great read! Captivating, addictive and most definitely INTENSE 😳. I love psychological thrillers and this one did not disappoint! It’s fast paced and you will NOT be able to put it down.

Camille was such an intriguing character, and the sudden secret information about her past coming from her own daughter was such an entertaining and unique (to me) plot.

And prepare yourself for a very unexpected WTF ending that is SO well-done! I’m still not over it 🫣 There’s no doubt that this book will keep you guessing from start to finish! I cannot wait to read more from this author!


Thank you to the publisher for providing me with eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was an easy, and entertaining read that was fast-paced from start to finish.

Camille is a woman who suffered an immense amount of child abuse at the hands of her mother, and as a result is doing her best to be a good protective mom for her children despite being clinically diagnosed with sociopathy.

At first, I was pretty skeptical of the fact that the FMC is a sociopath but I thought that was handled tastefully and it’s clear Minka Kent put in thorough research (also appreciate the acknowledgment of such)

I found the reveal satisfying, and my only qualm is that Camille’s mother ended up playing less of a role than I thought. Overall, this was entertaining and I’ll be sure to read more from Minka Kent when I’m in the mood for a very fast-paced thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

This book is a page-turner that kept me on edge from start to finish. The trauma that Camille went through in her childhood comes full circle and is threatening her children. She can’t reveal the danger to her husband Will without exposing her past. She will do everything possible to protect her children but who must she protect them from? It was a great thriller and had me guessing until the end. I highly recommend this book.

Format:📱 Ebook
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Really liked it!

This excerpt says it all about what sort of suspense unfolds in the pages of Imaginary Strangers:

"Thirteen years ago, I attempted to murder my mother— only to have her wake up and promise to kill me if she ever saw me again. If she knew I was living a happy, comfortable life with two precious children and an adoring husband who treats me like a literal queen, she’d do everything in her power to take it all away."

✴️ What I liked:

~ Holy sh#$! The first chapter is 🔥🔥🔥 What an incredible start!

~ Meat jelly sandwich 🤮

~ The twist! 😱 I did not see that coming! The plot went in a completely different direction than the premise of the book.

✴️ What didn't work for me:

~ Some of the flashbacks were difficult to get back to things happening currently, such as reminiscing about meeting her husband while she was about to read a bedtime story to her son.

✴️ Final thoughts:

I love that Will is such a supportive husband, so I question why Camille can't just be honest about everything. It's apparent that her struggle with taking off the mask she wears is complex, but I found myself wanting to scream at her to just tell him!

Wow, what a wildly unexpected ride! I'm glad that in the end everything came together, and I would be excited to read a sequel! 👀

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me the opportunity to review. All opinions are my own.

Kent never disappoints!
Imaginary Strangers by Minka Kent was an engrossing read that will keep any reader on the edge of their seat from start to finish.
Kent’s writing skills are truly remarkable. The author's gripping plot that immediately grabbed my attention and kept me engaged throughout.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was my first book by this author and it wont be my last. The writing had me hooked from the beginning. I liked the timelines as well.

This was a well-researched novel and you could tell how much the author was into the psychology of Camille Prescott, the protagonist.

Camille was the perfect wife and mother. She was determined to give her children the childhood that she never had. However, her perfect facade hid a personality that she found almost exhausting to maintain, but she did it to perpetuate her perfect life. When someone insinuates their way into her family's life and threatens to destroy everything she's worked hard to build, she'll stop at nothing to bring them down.

In some ways, this was a difficult read. Camille's psychology was hard to empathise with and relate to, in spite of what we learn about her childhood. We can sympathise with her for her traumas, but I found her quite unrelatable. The building of tension and Camille's mania was tense and kept you guessing. When the culprit was uncovered, I must say I was surprised and glad it wasn't who I initially suspected! I loved that Will, her husband, supported her and wanted what was best, although the poor guy was flying blind, but it was good to see him step up for her.

Overall, a well-written story with a great plot. I'd like to read the next book and would love to see Camille's psychology evolve into something more (gah! It's hard to really say what I mean without giving spoilers!).