BRILLIANT!!! Thank you NetGalley, Minka Kent and Thomas & Mercer for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

MIND BLOWING!!! INCREDIBLE!! FANTASTIC!! ADDICTIVE!! Everything I was hoping for and MORE!! This really creepy, darkly twisted, and utterly gripping psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end!! Imaginary Strangers is full of twists and turns and just when I thought I had it figured out, NOPE! The tension and suspense had me flipping the pages so fast!! With a shocking ending that left me totally flabbergasted, and a narrative that evoked compassion and had me rooting for a sociopath, you know you're in for a wild ride! I absolutely loved it so much!! This being my first read by Minka Kent, and I am already a HUGE fan! I cannot wait to read more of her books. Another thriller to add to my favorites for 2024!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

How far would you go to keep your family and terrifying secrets safe??

Synopsis:
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 mother, Camille has gone to great lengths to bury her past, and for good reason: if her mother ever finds her, she will kill her.
Nothing, however, 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 still, Georgie's imaginary friend knows things about Camille's childhood-things Camille has never told a soul. Is it a coincidence, or is George's imaginary friend not so fictional after all? Is Camille's past coming for her and everyone she loves or is it already here?

Conclusion:
In summary, I was completely captivated from start to finish! I wholeheartedly recommend this unputdownable, impressive masterpiece and it deserves all the stars!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: A woman begins to receive cryptic messages from her estranged mother through her 6 year old daughter. She will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it.
Pros/cos: Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy due out July 23. Wow! This thriller was fast paced, exciting and nerve wracking- everything you could hope for in a good thriller. It lost some suspense for me at the end but was still one of the best I’ve read in this genre. I highly recommend!

Psychological thrillers aren't usually my go-to reads but I do enjoy the writings of this author. Minka Kent has a way of making you root for the sociopath in the story.

From the outside, Camille Prescott has the perfect life: 2 kids, anesthesiologist husband and a home in an enviable neighborhood. What she is hiding would terrify most people. When her past suddenly resurfaces in the form of anecdotes from her daughter/daughter's imaginary friend, she takes her overprotectiveness to another level. The question is...who is she protecting them from?

Minka Kent has woven a tale that will lure you in and have you wondering if the heroine's past has truly come back to get her or if there was some skullduggery happening. This is a voluntary review of an advance reader copy from NetGalley.

I've enjoyed Minka Kent's previous work, so I had to read this one!

Camille Prescott has everything a woman could want. She's married to a doting, hardworking anesthesiologist, Will, and has 2 beautiful children, Georgina and Jackson. She gets to be a stay-at-home mom to raise her children while her husband provides for her family.

Camille and Will live in a nice neighborhood, and they're the newer neighbors. Georgina has changed schools with their move from Chicago to San Diego and Camille notices Georgina is have some difficulty make friends and interacting with the children her age. Camillie goes to tuck Georgina in one night, and notices Georgina talking, to noone visible, but appears to be having a detailed conversation. Georgina tells Camillie about her imaginary friend Bestie. Camille encourages Georgina to attempt to make new friends at school.

Georgina comes home excited from school and tells Camille she has a new best friend at school. Camille is very excited for her daughter, until this new best friend starts to reveal secrets to Georgina about Camille's childhood. The biggest concern, why does this new friend know so much about Camille's past? Now Camille must work hard to continue to hide her past that her husband knows absolutely nothing about.

engaging, constant turn of events. I loved the back and forth between 4 years ago to today. definitely recommend this read. Thank you to Minka Kent and Thomas and Mercer for this advanced readers copy.

Tension stays high in this gripping suspense novel about a young mom who protects her family from a shocking source, an unwelcomed echo of an abusive past.

Camille Prescott becomes unsettled when her six-year-old daughter Georgie starts to spout oddly specific phrases and displays disturbing behavior that bizarrely reeks of the torment Camille endured in her hellish youth.

Camille dug deep in adulthood . . . to endure the hard work of therapy and reinvention, an ongoing process of growth and healing . . . to create a better life and a healthy family she could be proud of. Over the years, she has kept the horrific details of her childhood strictly confidential, even from those closest to her.

Fear, stress, and panic begin to rise to dangerous levels, seeping far into her psyche and threatening to dismantle those thick insulated walls Camille so carefully built around her new existence.

Is she strong enough now to face this evil alone?

Is she brave enough to ask for help? Find out July 22, 2024!

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Imaginary Strangers for my unbiased evaluation.  4 stars

A page turner about a woman who turned her back on her past but now, now it's come back with a vengeance. Camille had a horrible childhood with her mother Lucinda, she's a diagnosed sociopath and she struggles every day but she's built a life and a family. Moving across the country was meant to add additional security but her little daughter is coming home from school with information about her past she claims she was told by her (imaginary) friend. How? Why? This has good twists and a few surprises. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An unusual heroine and scenario made this a fast paced read.

When her six year old daughter Georgie comes home speaking about a new friend who seems to make references to Camille's past, Camille is shocked. Who knows her secrets?

Holy moly, this book was so fantastic - I just could not put it down. I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook as I read along with my ebook copy and highly recommend the audio if you get a chance to listen to it. With a huge twist I didn't see coming in the story, I was left utterly speechless. Minka Kent has outdone herself again. All the stars for this one.

Camille and Will seem to live a charmed life, but that certainly is not how Camille grew up. She will do anything it takes to protect her husband and two children. In order to do this she must keep hidden her previous life of neglect and abuse. When her past seems to come back to haunt her, she utilizes the lessons taught by surviving her childhood.

Although I pretty much figured out the twist in this book, it was still a fascinating read. I am enthralled by learning about sociopaths and how they function in society. A very solid read!

Imaginary Strangers by Minka Kent is a gripping psychological thriller that plunges readers into the dark undercurrents of Camille Prescott's seemingly idyllic life. Kent masterfully builds tension as Camille grapples with the haunting shadows of her traumatic past, carefully hidden beneath a facade of domestic bliss. When her daughter Georgie begins exhibiting unsettling behavior linked to an imaginary friend who seems to possess intimate knowledge of Camille's darkest secrets, the novel takes a chilling turn. Kent skillfully unravels the mystery with precision, keeping readers on edge until the shocking revelations unfold. Imaginary Strangers is a riveting exploration of family dynamics, buried secrets, and the eerie power of the past to disrupt even the most carefully curated lives.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publishers for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Twists. Tensions. Ticking time bombs.

I inhaled this novel. The past versus present alternating chapters were fluid and crucial.

Kept asking myself how...... what is the connection here?! Then BAM that twist like what?!

Kent gets you to feel for main character Camille. Very different character type than I am used to!

The perfect dose of a psychological thriller in a suburban setting!

After surviving a brutal childhood, Camille has spent her own years as a mother being better, vowing that her own children will never have less than her absolute best. She guards her secrets carefully, never letting the details of her previous life slip. Then her six-year-old daughter begins sharing songs and pictures from her new friend at school, frightening evidence that "Imaginary" knows things no one should. I started this one in the morning and seriously considered rescheduling the rest of my day so that I could just stay home and keep reading. It's thoroughly engrossing and entertaining, but lost a bit of momentum in the final chapters.

Okay, this one was a lot of fun.

Although I confess to being a tad bit irked by a few things in Camille’s marriage. First, she unnecessarily kept some key secrets she her husband. If you want to be an adult, then you need to open up to your spouse. With him, I didn’t care for how he constantly minimized her concerns. He pretty much told her how to do things, which bordered on controlling.

Kent always writes imperfect characters in an addictive storyline, where there are elements that seem so fishy and you’re just aching to figure out the whole story. This was a super quick read that keeps you reading with the drama.

I absolutely loved this new thriller by Minka Kent. When Camille senses her troubled past is a threat to her happy family, she will do anything to protect them. The rich characters and twists of this book make for an unable to be put down read.

I became a fan of Minka Kent after just one book. This one?? She has solidified my love of her writing.
4 stars only because I found myself questioning sooo many of the decisions that she was making regarding “Imaginary”
I love the psychological aspects of Minka’s books because they’re so well written. I can not wait to read along with more of Camille and her family!

⭐️3.5
A mask of normalcy-in this upscale neighborhood, this type of mom is going to look the part, and Camille is an expert.

This one immediately drew me in as the author takes us back into Camille’s childhood, one of severe abuse, that hints of long lasting effects.

This was fast paced in the beginning, but lost me in the middle when Camille was obsessively following an employee at her daughter’s school. At this point, it fell flat for me. Fortunately, the ending redeemed the book and surprise, there’s a part two.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6251016482

Huge thank you to NetGalley for this early copy in exchange for my review.

Pub date: July 23, 2024

I was so excited to receive an ARC of “Imaginary Strangers” by Minka Kent! I read my first book by her a couple years ago (Unmissing) and I knew I’d have to read them all!

If you’re looking for a suspenseful, psychological thriller this is IT friends. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time and couldn’t tear myself away from what I was reading. I absolutely LOVED the insight in the main characters therapy sessions (I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall during those). I thought I had an idea of where things were going but when the big reveal came, I was completely surprised. I also feel that this opens up the doors to a sequel 😏

Minka Kent’s novels never fail to shock me (in the best way), cause me to stay up past my bedtime to read and to realize I’ll never figure out where things are going 😂 A must read!

Minka Kent didn’t disappoint with this book! What a twisty ride!
This is a fast paced, engaging thriller that keeps you guesting until the end. When you think you have it figured out…boom goes the twist that you totally didn’t expect. I love these types of books!
Great ending and I hope a book number two is already in the making. Please!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of this book! This is the third I've read of Minka's, and I'm sorry to report not my favorite. The twist wasn't much of a shocker for me. I felt a little let down with it, and just wanted more I guess? I'd give it a rough 2.5/5

This was a gripping, intense thriller that kept me reading to find out what the heck was going on! And I had no clue until the big twist was revealed. A very satisfying story, indeed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This has such a good premise, the idea of a child knowing things they shouldn’t know just creeps me out and the author portrayed it in a way that was unsettling and addictive. Camille had such a horrific childhood, the bits and pieces that are shared about her past are chilling and haunting, I so felt for her. She’s resilient and has worked very hard to move on from her past and watching her beautifully crafted life unravel was so sad. But it also made me wonder if she was just being paranoid or overprotective, I mean who could blame her if she was? It made for a fun guessing game and I really didn’t predict at all how things would turn out. I don’t want to say much more about the plot but if you like dark and fast paced thrillers this was excellent and I cannot wait for the next book!