The Stranger at the Door by A.J. Wills is a fast paced thrilling ride. 5 stars for this book. This book grabs you from page one and doesn't stop until the end. Wow. Harvey and Gwyneth are married. It is the second marriage for both of them. Gwyneth owns an antique shop in the village and insists on walking the 2 miles there and back. One day, on the way home, Gwyneth is the victim of a hit and run which leaves her in a coma. Harvey is devastated. He spends all his time at the hospital, caring for her and talking to her. He's having a hard time coping with her accident. Enter Freya. She is Gwyneth's long lost mother. Gwyneth and her mother have been estranged for years and years. Freya is domineering and soon takes over at the hospital, basically pushing Harvey out. Harvey is a nice guy and learns that Freya has nowhere to stay so offers her a room at his house. What has he let in? Or who? Things spiral totally out of control.

That's about all I can say without giving the entire book away. I hated putting this book down to do "life" but I picked it up as soon as possible. I loved the fast paced rhythm and the plot. I loved all the characters and the writing. There is not one negative thing I can say about this book. The ending was shocking and satisfying.

Thank you to Victory Editing and Netgalley for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. I highly recommend this book.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
Publication date October 15, 2024

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Mild-mannered Harvey is at home when the police arrive. They have come to tell him there has been an accident. His wife, Gwyneth, has been struck by a car while walking home from her shop and is in a coma. In the following days, a woman arrives, claiming to be Gwyneth's estranged mother. But nothing ends up being what it seems....

This was an enjoyable, fast-paced read.

What a great story!!! Gwyneth's fate was unpredictable up until the end! Who would end up being the bad guy? Would it be Freya? Or Sheryl? Would it in the end, be Harvey? Or a completely different character you wouldn't even think about?
"The stranger at the door" by A.J Willis kept me guessing up until the last few pages!!!

Another terrific book by A J Willis, this author always presents us with such great storis that you keep you reading well into the night.

Gwyneth is Harvey’s wife and runs an antique store and one day after closing and walking home she becomes the victim of a hit and run accident that has now left her in a coma. She met Harvey after losing her first husband and went to him for counselling. Soon, a large police investigation is set up to find out why this happened to Gwyneth

Harvey is struggling to come to terms with what has happened. He is at the hospital every day, talking to her constantly trying to break through her subconscious. He is a very caring man, he sits by her bed moisturising her hands and playing music, he feels very much alone at this point.
Then enters a woman who claims to be Gwyneth’s mother, Freya. Gwyneth has not seen her mother for many years so this was not what Harvey was expecting. She is very domineering and seems to want to take over, but she is not what she seems and is there with her own agenda.

If you are looking for a very entertaining read this book is for you. Well written and a great ending twist that leaves you very satisfied. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

An exciting and tense thriller that keeps you turning the pages until the end. Full of shocking twists and turns. It was brilliant!

Loved this exciting, suspenseful tale about Gwyneth, the comatose victim of a hit and run accident, and her husband, Harvey. It’s about how their lives evolve after her accident. Will she regain consciousness? Will they catch the hit and run driver? These are the questions that kept me turning pages into the night.

I was given his book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A hit and run leaves Gwyneth in a coma fighting for her life. When a woman knocks on their door claiming to be her mother he breaks down and lets her stay in their home but what a mistake- she’s messy and stealing etc. How can he get rid of her? Is she really Gwyneths mother? And- who hit his wife- police don’t seem to have any answers. Questions he wants answers. A roller coaster of a ride to the finish.

WOW I really enjoyed The Stranger at the Door (Kindle Edition) by A. J. Wills. An amazing psychological whodunnit thriller. Release date 15th October 2024.

Harvey's wife, Gwyneth is in hospital lying in a coma after a horrific hit and run. Harvey is the doting husband who visits his wife, moisturises her lips and hands and talks to her hoping that soon she will come out of her coma.

The Police are nowhere near finding the driver and then out of the blue Gwyneth's domineering Mother Freya arrives after twenty years and Harvey's life is not going to go the way he wants it to. This is the first time he has met Gwyneth's Mother as she has been estranged from Gwyneth.

Freya is like a stranger to both Harvey and Gwyneth and unbeknown to Harvey Freya has an ulterior motive in the mix.

There are secrets between Freya and his wife Gwyneth which they have never revealed to him. Then Pandora's box has been opened and there is more to Freya an elderly frail woman whom all the nursing staff adore.

There are plenty of suspects in this whodunnit psychological thriller and the grand finale blew me away.

A engaging thriller with a gripping plot. This book has great character development and flowed well to the final intense ending.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A great tense story following a woman called Gwyneth who is knocked down by a car while walking home and ends up in hospital in a coma and her husband Harvey spends all his time at her bedside. The police persuade him to do a appeal and following the appeal a woman shows up claiming to be her mother and the twists and turns that follow keep you guessing who is the woman really as lie after lie comes out.
A real page turner which holds you in suspense with a surprising ending.
Would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Harvey gets a phone call that his wife, Gwyneth, has been in a very serious hit-and-run accident. She had been walking along the road and was hit by an unknown driver, injured to the point of being in a coma. After a televised interview that Harvey agrees to do with the news in hopes of finding help, an older woman arrives, saying she is Gwyneth's estranged mother, that she saw the interview and is here to be present for her daughter.

Things take a twist when the woman, Freya, moves into the home with Harvey. The Stranger at the Door was my first read by AJ Wills, and I did enjoy it. It was a quick read, with a high-stakes mystery behind it. I read it pretty quickly, in about a day and a half, though I'm historically a quick reader. There was a lot that I enjoyed about this. The plot moved quickly and continued to advance, and on a couple of occasions I did have that anxious thrill-type of feeling which is fully why a person 'buys the ticket' to a thriller. In terms of things I did not enjoy as much. Some of the dialogue did not flow overly well to me, and I personally would've tossed Freya out the door waaaaaaay earlier. There's one portion of the story where Freya manages to get Harvey kicked out of the hospital. That portion felt unrealistic to me.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I think AJ Wills did a good job fleshing out his ideas!

3.5/5.0

Gwyneth is lying in a coma after an accident and her 'mother' has come to be reunited with her.

Harvey and Gwyneth are not on a road to horror.

What I loved about this chilling read was the deception and how Harvey who thought he should have known what was happening was completely taken in.

I loved the plot..I have not read anything like it before, it is different than the normal thriller.

I did not guess the ending but with the twists and all the drama it is a book I really enjoyed,,,

Firstly, thank you so much to Netgalley, Victory Editing & A.J. Wills for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I love a thriller, so the blurb and first page drew me straight in... Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the rest of the story.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters - Harvey & Freya in particular were horrible people who had very questionable morals! I felt frustrated throughout the entire story at the way they spoke to & treated others.

Don't get me wrong, there was some suspense built in when you wondered what action Freya was going to take next, but, in the grand scheme of things, there wasn't a huge amount going on & the ending was a bit anti-climactic.

I'm really sorry as I hate writing negative reviews but I didn't click with this at all!

A J Wills is one of my favorite authors. The latest, The Stranger at the Door, did not disappoint. As I expected, I loved it.

The Stranger At The Door is a brilliant 5 STAR book. I loved it.
These are the sort of books that are my favourite. Fast paced and page turning.

The prologue had me hooked straight away and i couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen. I didn't want to end.

My first time reading this author and i'll definitely be reading more of their work.

Oh my god !! I could not put this down.. it was amazing from start to finish and absolute head spin of a book !!

Whoa!! So many characters to choose the guilty one!! It definitely took me a while! Great read!! This book had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, family secrets, fantastic characters and a fabulous who done it!! The story was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this one! ‘I should have seen she was lying,’ Harvey snaps. ‘I let a complete stranger into our lives. Into our home. What was I thinking? If she’s laid a finger on Gwyneth, I’ll kill her.’ Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publishers for sharing this book with me!