It has been quite awhile since I have read anything by Jane Corry and after reading The Stranger in Room Six I am wondering why. What a terrific storyline! i loved the dual timelines and had no idea how they related to one another. A very interesting and addictive read.

2 women with 2 very different lives form a bond in a care home. Mabel is 98 and has seen so much in her life, living through a war. Belinda is her carer and she has had a complicated life until now. The women become friends while telling each other their stories, but someone else is listening and wants something from them.

I got completely lost in both women’s stories as well as the current day story. So much mystery. I learnt a lot in the historical part of the story, it was fascinating.

Thank you to Penguin General UK for my copy of this book to read. Highly recommend.

Belinda was convicted of her husband's murder, but is now ready to move on with her life and becomes a carer at sunnyside home. 98 year old mabel owns the house and has lived in it since the war. Mabel and Belinda strike up a bond and start sharing their life stories, which are both equally tragic. A new resident moves into room six, the 2 women dont know the person however this person knows them and now knows all of their secrets.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow what a book! I really like Jane Corey’s books and this one didnt let me down. Had lots of emotions and enjoyed all the timelines!

The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry

When Belinda found out her husband, Gerald, was cheating on her she was so angry she confronted him right on the street, pushing him away not realising that he will fall over and hit his head, dying instantly. Very quickly Belinda’s life completely changes; she is jailed for fifteen years and her daughters don’t want anything to do with her.

Now years later Belinda is a helper at Sunnyside Home where she meets ninety-eight-year-old Mabel. They soon become close friends and tell each other their life stories.

This book is written in three points of view; Belinda, Mabel and the stranger in room six.

I loved everything about this book. It was a true edge on your seat thriller and as soon as one chapter ended, I had to read the next one.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin General UK for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review

‘The Stranger in Room Six is a psychological mystery by author Jane Corry. I have read many books by this author and always enjoyed them but this one didn’t quite grip me like the previous one’s It is still worth a read but not quite there for me.

The novel starts with Belinda, a woman recently released from prison after serving fifteen years for the murder of her husband. Determined to rebuild her life, she finds sanctuary at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart, a care facility that promises peace, purpose, and a second chance. Sunnyside is not quite what it seems, it conceals dark secrets and Belinda finds herself tangled in a mystery.

The oldest resident at Sunnyside is Mabel, who was evacuated there as a child during the war and is no passive observer. She has known the secrets held at Sunnyside for many years and has kept them to herself, secrets so powerful they could destr0oy lives. It becomes apparent that someone is watching both Belinda and Mabel and they have their own agenda, listening from Room Six.

The novel weaves two timelines and is well written but for some reason it didn’t quite grab me as many of the authors books have. Both Belinda and Mabel are good characters and the tension builds throughout the novel with the question of ‘who is in Room Six’ .

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin UK for supplying this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t get enough of both Mabel and Belinda, so much so that I didn’t mind whose POV we got next (and that’s how you know it’s a good book!)

It had me feeling all kinds of emotions, which is rare for a book to be able to make me do. Jane Corry has been a favourite of mine for a long time and this had simply reinforced my love for her writing.

5/5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book, set in two time zones and with two main characters. Belinda is one of the staff at the care home which Mabel owns. They become friendly and start telling each other the story of their lives, with Mabel being raised by her aunt in the second world war and Belinda, who with one bad decision found the course of her life changed. I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between the two women and how their lives were shaped. A lot happens towards the end of the book and I found the writing style to be very simplistic which is why I have given it a well deserved four stars rather than 5. A recommended read.

Due to barely being able to sleep last night, I managed to read a huge chunk of this book in one sitting (one positive of the heatwave)
As with all of the books I’ve read by this author (an auto buy author for me), I loved it. The only criticism I have of this book, it is marketed as a thriller and I don’t think it is.
The book is told from Mabel’s and Belinda’s views and over a timeline. Mabel has spent her life in the care home that she is currently a resident of. Belinda is a carer at the care home and also guilty of killing her husband
The two meet and a journey begins to unravel their history
Mabel was such a lovely character. She deserved the world and I was so pleased at the end when she got some happiness. I loved reading about her life in world war 2 and her troubles as an evacuee and how she overcome these.
I felt so much for Belinda and how her life was dealt. I really had hopes for Gillian to come round
The book is a great drama/historical fiction, with plenty of truths to be uncovered along the readers journey. I really do love this authors writing and sad that this book is over
The book is out now and is highly recommended from me

I have a bit mixed feeling about this book. I was drawn in by the premise and really appreciated the historical angle—definitely recommend reading the author’s afterword to get a sense of the real-life inspiration behind the wartime storyline.

Mabel’s part of the book stood out for me. She’s such a compelling character, navigating intense emotional waters (especially around her aunt Clarissa), and her journey is packed with drama, hardship, and poignant moments.

Belinda, on the other hand, was harder to connect with. I get that her character has been through a lot, but she just didn’t land for me in the same way. Her chapters felt more disconnected, and overall, the two timelines didn’t always blend together smoothly. I can see what the author was going for with the dual narrative, but instead of adding layers to the story, it often felt disjointed.

The mystery around the "stranger" was intriguing in the beginning and did a good job of keeping the suspense going, but the reveal felt a bit underwhelming. As the story moved toward the conclusion, things got a bit too melodramatic for my taste, veering into far-fetched territory that didn’t quite feel earned.

Also, the pacing threw me off. For a long book, not a lot actually happens. The plot builds very slowly, but then within a single page it might jump across locations and conversations so quickly that it’s easy to lose track. It left the reading experience feeling uneven—like I was constantly waiting for something big to happen, but it never quite did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Quite a unique story from the ever reliable Jane Cory. Mabel as a young child transferred to the countryside under the guadianship of her cold aunt and Mabel in the same property transformed into a car home. Great linking of the two time frames. Belinda, blindsided by her husbands affair strikes out at him causing him to fall and ultimately die Belinda in prison and then as a carer in Mabels care home. The links are well done the hunt for the missing list a bit overdone but a neat story overall

This is another great thriller from Jane Corry.
It is narrated from two points of view and two timelines - the past and the present. Belinda, who is rebuilding her life after prison and Mabel who lives in a care hoime who has secrets from the Blitz.
The two women become friends sharing their experiences, then their different pasts catch up with both them.
A compelling read that keeps you guessing to the end.

Thank you to Penguin General UK, Jane Corry and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Jane Corry, The Stranger in Room Six, Penguin General UK -Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Penguin, June 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

This novel is difficult to put down, so much so, that I read it over a day with only enforced pauses. It begins with an intriguing prologue, and the pace after the gunshot at its conclusion only becomes faster. The stranger in room six begins the story telling. However, the main thrust of the narrative belongs to Belinda and Mabel. Belinda is a carer at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart; Mabel is an elderly resident. Belinda’s story begins fifteen years previously as she dispassionately observes her husband. Mabel begins her story during World War 2 with a tragedy that brings her as a fifteen-year-old to The Rectory, now Sunnyside. Both women have secrets, and both tell their stories with a mixture of satisfaction, relief, and trepidation. Their companiable story telling becomes dangerous when the stranger begins to impose her will on the information that is being gathered.

Belinda and Mabel are flawed but sympathetic characters. They are women about whom it seems imperative to know more. Corry makes it difficult to resist continuing to read, as Mabel’s story proceeds from her youthful, harsh personal experiences, and involvement in problematic political events, to her old age. Belinda’s story, although over a shorter time span is even more complex with disturbing emotional and physical events that provide insight into prison conditions, both literally and metaphorically. Belinda’s responses to both are exceptionally well depicted under Corry’s skilled hand.

This book could be read as very satisfying historical fiction, a skilled thriller, or a vehicle for depicting strong women characters, who, while traditional in their commitment to their children, also take determinedly untraditional paths. Whatever the approach to The Stranger in Room Six, Jane Corry’s novel is an excellent read.

I don't think this was one of her best but I did want to keep reading as I was interested in Mabels story and the book would have been fine just telling her story although some of the incidents were very unlikely to have happened 3 stars for this one

This excellent novel is part historical saga and part crime mystery. It tells the story of Mabel and we follow her life from the Blitz to her current life in a residential care home. There she is looked after by Belinda who is trying to rebuild her life after being found guilty of murdering her husband. Secrets abound, the fascinating. But who is the titular stranger?

You don’t know them but they know everything about you.

Sunnyside home is the place where two women find a remarkable friendship. Belinda is just out of prison after serving 15 years for killing her husband and 99 year old Mabel is a resident with lots of stories to tell. Someone in Room 6 wants to uncover secrets Mabel may have and the stakes are high so will stop at nothing to obtain them.

What a great book, I loved both Belinda’s and Mabel’s stories and the bond they formed. Thanks @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book, I had read this authors work before so I knew it would be a treat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheStrangerInRoomSix
#JaneCorry

A really clever and at times heart warming story
Great characters, well written and thrilling at the same time. Highly recommended xx

You may not know the stranger in room six. But they know everything about you.

It's been fifteen years since Belinda was convicted of her husband's murder. Now, she's ready for her life to begin again, and she's set on that happening at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart.

The owner, Mabel, has spent her life here. First as an evacuee during the Blitz and now as the care home's oldest resident, Mabel has held the secrets of this house for as long as she can remember. Secrets that could kill if in the wrong hands.

But history won't stay hidden forever and someone is onto them both. Watching and listening from room number six, they'll stop at nothing to find out the truth.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest reveiw

Jane Corry is such an exceptional writer, having that rare talent to make a story flow throughout her books. So much so that the term ‘unputdownable’ was made for her. I loved this book that basically tells the life stories of two people. Belinda who through the most awful of circumstances finds herself accused of her husband’s murder and Mabel, now an elderly lady who suffered terribly during the war years and whose life was shaped by events that were out of her control. Stories of unbelievable hardship, sacrifice, loss and betrayal but above all, love. Their lives eventually become entwined and in turn become more dangerous for all concerned. No spoilers here but this is a well written and researched book that I thoroughly recommend. The descriptions and dialogue from the war years were (I imagine!) extremely accurate and took the reader to a very different world. The characters were believable and I warmed to both Belinda and Mabel and only wanted a good outcome for them both. Did they get it? I can only suggest you read this for yourself, you won’t regret it. Surely another bestseller from this very talented author.

Another brilliant read from Jane Corry. Set in a retirement home where Mabel, the oldest resident lives and also owns the home. She has secrets from the past that she has been told not to divulge. Belinda, an ex con, gets a job there and befriends Mabel. Can they tell each other their secrets or would that undo all that they have protected so far?

I love a Jane Corry book, and really look forward to a new one out every summer!
This book was a slight step away from her usual thriller/mystery style, and there was a hint at historical fiction in here - but still with enough thriller and mystery to keep her fans happy!

I really enjoyed this book, and the historical element came as a nice surprise. Corry's writing was fab at drip feeding more and more info with her back and forth structure.
I was a tad confused at points as i was wondering where the characters from the past would play out in the modern day timeline, but was happy with the ending as it joined up all the dots!

Great book and like nothing I have read before!