This is another assured novel from Cassie Hamer, which will quickly absorb readers and keep most tense and watchful till the end.

Maz Antonio has returned to her family after two years in prison. She’s still haunted by the events that put her in prison, but she’s determined to make the first Christmas since her return absolutely perfect for her family.

And yet, on Christmas Day paramedics find themselves at her home, tending a badly injured man who no-one will admit to knowing. Who is he, what happened to him, and what happened to the perfect family Christmas Maz was crafting?

Hamer uses the tropes of the domestic suspense novel well. Although this means that some elements of the plot will probably be picked up early by many readers, she maintains enough doubt to keep the reader off balance, and introduces a few surprises to be sure that no reader could say “I saw it all coming”.

Characterisation is a strength for Hamer, and Maz in particular is a vivid and understandable character. Despite her stint in prison and the reasons for it, most readers will empathise strongly with her and be on her side very early on. Other characters take longer to reveal themselves, but they’re all realistic and in many ways it’s their personalities that move the plot along.

Hamer has improved steadily with each of her novels. Her first, “After the Party”, had a fascinating idea but lacked some credibility for me. I haven’t had that problem with her recent work, and now I look out for her novels, confident I’m going to enjoy them. This one did not disappoint me.

There’s a lot of suspense, it builds gradually, and it’s not of the jump scare variety. It’s more that you can see things are coming to a head, and you’re wondering what will be revealed and what will happen when that crisis point hits.

This is a strong crime novel that focuses on personalities to both explain things and cause events to happen. I enjoyed it a great deal and recommend it to anyone looking for something that’s more complex than a “cosy” mystery, but not full of gory crimes.

EXCERPT: Why would a man, a stranger, recoil from her with such horror? Yes, she is getting old and society generally has a distaste for the elderly. But this was different. It was the shocked expression of stumbling on a dead body or witnessing a terrible car accident. It was also fleeting, a blip that lasted no longer than half a second but it was not a thing you could ignore. The expressions said, I know something terrible about you - but where was that something? There were several 'somethings' of which Margaret was not proud. Which one did this man know? The fact he regained composure so quickly told her he did not want to share. It also told her that he did not expect her to remember him. He underestimated her and this was not surprising. Underestimation came with age. Once you turned seventy, people expected you to be daffy and hopeless. Most of the time, it enraged her. On this occasion, it helped. Dominic assumed she did not remember.
But Margaret Hardie never forgets a face. Ever.
It's the son. The thought had popped into her head, as nimble as a cat chasing a bird. It's the son. So what is he doing here?

ABOUT 'THE STRANGER AT THE TABLE': A family gathering, but not everyone who sits down to dinner will survive it. Poisonous lies, family secrets, addiction and revenge - always a dish best served cold - are all on the menu.

Maz Antonio has spent the last two years in prison so is determined to make the first major family gathering in their new home deep in Australian suburbia as perfect as possible. She owes it to everyone after the terrible mistakes she's made ... mistakes for which she will always be trying to atone. This special lunch is her chance to make things right for her husband and children, to show everyone that she can maintain her sobriety, that things can go back to normal. (Whatever normal looks like when you have traumatic, confusing flashbacks of that fateful day where two innocent lives were lost.)

Her sister, Elli, is in. So is her husband's brother. Her distant father-in-law is gracing them with his presence and her mum Margaret is on the way from Newcastle, bringing a colleague - a virtual stranger she impulsively invited.

But is this man really a stranger? Or could it be that he is intimately connected to the past that Maz has so desperately been trying to put behind her - a past that's about to explode across the dinner table in the deadliest of ways...

MY THOUGHTS: Inviting a virtual stranger to share Christmas lunch with one's family seems such a kind thing to do and Margaret may have had the best of intentions, but in this case it was rather like dropping a lit match into a powder keg!

Maz may be out of jail, but she is anxious that someone is going to recognize her and is struggling against her alcohol addiction. Add to that the stress of hosting the family Christmas dinner and the family dynamics at play, and you have a situation ripe for disaster.

Going against the advice of her husband and her sister, Maz has been seeing a hypnotherapist to try to recover her memory of the accident. Disconnected fragments are coming back to her, but they don't make sense - until suddenly they do.

Unfortunately, I put together the pieces well before Maz managed to - there are plenty of clues if you know where to look and this did somewhat impact my enjoyment. But while I may have solved the puzzle of what happened with the accident that sent Maz to jail for almost two years, I had no idea of the identity of the person who died on Christmas Day until it was revealed.

The Stranger at the Table is a family psychological drama where the characters include a manipulator, the manipulated, a mother with a decades old secret and a stranger who isn't as much of a stranger as those gathered at the table think. The big question is - who doesn't survive Christmas Day?

⭐⭐⭐.6

#TheStrangeratTheTable #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Cassie Hamer has a professional background in journalism and PR, but now much prefers the world of fiction over fact. She is the author of three novels, including the Australian bestseller After the Party, and her stories focus on ordinary characters who find themselves in extraordinary situations.

Cassie lives on Gadigal Country in Sydney with her terrific husband, three mostly terrific daughters, and a labradoodle, Charlie, who is the least demanding family member. (Source: cassiehamer.com)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA, via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of The Stranger at the Table for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

The Stranger at the Table was a family domestic thriller where I wasn't even sure who had died until the end of the book. It was told from multiple points of view, which I really enjoyed. It started on Christmas day with the paramedics attending a household where a man has fallen - but no one admits to knowing what happened of even who the man is. We are then taken on a journey of different points in time where we get not only the lead up to this event, but to prior events which have shaped the characters’ lives.
It was a slow burn build up which I really enjoyed, with plenty of secrets and betrayals.
There were some serious themes, but they were tackled well. Great story.

The Stranger At The Table was an intriguing read from start to finish. We're thrown into the story right away on Christmas day to find an unknown person had been injured at a house during Christmas lunch. A stranger even to the household.... However, it turns out to be much more complicated than first thought.

It is a story full of lies and of complex and flawed characters. It had me interested and thinking the whole time. I didn't expect the ending but felt everything was resolved, so I was satisfied.

This is the first Cassie Hamer book I've read - I enjoyed the writing style, the pace and the many multiple POVs. Overall, a good read and one I'd recommend. Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

The book opens with two paramedics cruising in their ambulance on Christmas Day, they have had a busy day and looking forwards to their shift ending. Then they get called to a house where it is reported that a man has fallen and ceased breathing. When they arrive there are several adults present one of whom is trying to carry out CPR, but strangely they all seem reluctant to say how the man came to fall, why he was there and who he was.

Then the story recommences by going back to early December where the reader is taken on a journey from the viewpoint of a few of the main characters before it is revealed who the man is, how he came to die, and the aftermath

The story focuses around Maz (aka Marianne) who has been in prison for two years after she was involved in a fatal accident which resulted in a women and child being killed. She is still hazy about the events of that dreadful day but is trying to put the horrible events behind her by staying sober and being a better mother and wife. Maz decides that a Christmas lunch is the way to demonstrate to her family how well she is going. Her husband and their two children will be there, of course, as is her sister. Then her husband’s brother accepts, her father-in-law decides to come and then her mother announced that she is coming and has invited a work colleague to come with her. There’s going to be a stranger at the table, and the reader knows from the opening chapter that some one is going to die.

The story builds up slowly, but it never loses you as there is this constant feeling that the story being revealed may not be the whole truth. Maz finds memories of that day are coming back but they are confusing and she can’t work the sequences out. There is an air of menace throughout the story - of some thing bad. In the end the reader is taken on a ride of twists, secrets, lies, deception and utter betrayal.

I have read a few Cassie Hammer books, and she has never let me down with her page turning and plot twisting stories. I recommend this book as a great read.

The synopsis sums this book up perfectly, what a twisty little domestic drama!
Admittedly this book took me while to get into and I had a little sump in the middle but once over that, I couldn’t let it go and had to finish in one sitting.
Told in multiple points of view it also travels back and forth in time lines. The chapters are titled of the character so you knew who’s head we were in but sometimes I felt it hard it to switch to the timeline, until I became fully invested.
This is full of layers….family secrets, lies and trying to get your life back to together again and trying to live up to expectations.
At the end I just had to sit back and digest it all, and that’s when I realised how much I enjoyed it and how clever the story was.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

I was thrilled when I discovered that The Stranger at the Table by Cassie Hamer was the March Thriller BOTM from Harlequin Australia. I have really enjoyed this authors previous books and this one sounds like my kind of book. Full of family secrets and drama, it kept me up late turning those pages and I am not sorry about it! What an absolutely fantastic read.

Maz is determined that this Christmas will be the best one ever. Their first in their new house in Sydney, and her first since being released from prison. She wants to show her family that she is a better person now, sober and a great mother. Of course things never go smoothly and by the end of the day one of the guests will be dead.

There was so much going on with all these characters. We see how the accident that put Maz in prison affected not only her but the whole family. She has no memory of what happened but thugs are coming back to her and some pieces of the puzzle don’t seem to fit. She is still struggling with her addiction and what happened and it has a ripple effect on those around her.

So many lies and secrets, and trust me there are some doozy’s here! Despite what Maz had done, I couldn’t help but feel for her and want things to go right for her for once.

Another fantastic Aussie crime thriller that I just couldn’t put down.

Thanks so much HQ for my physical and e-arcs. Published in Australia on April 2nd.

Loved it! A gripping and shocking secrets that makes the story a delight to read.
My first book of this author and I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an awesome ARC.

If you’re a fan of Sally Hepworth or Ali Lowe, you definitely enjoy this read.

This book deals with family secrets, trauma and self discovery through multi POV chapters. Our protagonist Marianne was recently released from jail after an unfortunate accident. A change of scenery to Sydney for her family is what she and her husband Andrew agree on, and she is trying to reintegrate to society.

There are many layers to this story, a lot of convoluted family dynamics with multi generational secrets.

It took me about 100 pages to truly get sucked in by this book, but then i just had to know what happened!

If you like Aussie family dramas this ones for you!

Well, well, well! What a twisty lie filled, guilt-ridden, mind bending mystery! This contemporary, troubled family life story peels back the facades that these characters have been hiding behind, giving us a front row seat to the sights, sounds and challenges they face as they get caught up in some seriously tangled harrowing events. The Stranger at the Table by Cassie Hamer is filled with many surprises and quite a study on human behaviour.

Terrible mistakes have been made in the past that carry over into the present and these are all brought to the ‘table’ to be laundered at Christmas. Secrets abound that will shock, anger and fuel some unreversible actions. As the blurb states, one person will die who has attended the family gathering.

The title of the novel will be well understood in the wash up and believe me, what a wild ride it is to get to that point! The last quarter of the novel had me pinned to the pages and reading into the wee hours of the morning! Everything speeds up as a cyclone of events tips the balance and all hearts, intentions and secrets unravel.

While reading, I wondered what inspired such a chaotic, original story. For once, I did not check the author’s notes at the end first. I decided to wait until I had finished the last chapter and I am glad I did. I reasoned: why not take this riveting roller coaster plot as it comes and see where it ends up? Yes, there are some wicked twists that unhinged my jaw and left it open! But everything becomes clear. The Epilogue says a lot and ties everything together with sense and sensibility. There are some hard cutting truths and admirable reasons behind the writing of The Stranger at the Table.

A few areas covered are the pressures many families feel in putting on the perfect Christmas festivities. A huge dose of stress fuelled by expectations can unleash a tide of varied and intense emotions. The author also explores the many faces of alcoholism (an alcoholic is not always the one you expect). And is it a genetic weakness or a learned behaviour that results from bad experiences? Then there is the biggie of seeking atonement for a truly unforgivable act: the consequences of actions and remembering of details. Trauma can mess up the brain and as we see from Marianne, something may trigger those ‘real’ events and watch out when it does. There are some very dark tones in this novel for sure but Cassie Hamer handles it all like a pro.

Many of the characters give their viewpoint and it works well in the scheme of things. Marianne, Margaret and Elli certainly kept the plot rolling along. We get to know these ladies fully. The men in the story are well delivered, too, and a few cause great agitation. They are often not quite as they appear and there are lots of secrets, sharp edges and surprises hidden below the surface. Ironically, George, an older gay man, is a special character who becomes the normaliser amid the crazy actions that occur. He is there in the background but offers amazing support. Marianne calls him a ‘de facto family member, like a great uncle.’

I won’t say anymore but be prepared for an unusual and thought provoking journey as The Stranger at the Table will jar your mind and stir up your emotions probably like no other book you have read this year! Cassie is obviously a master at her craft and genre and fans of her work certainly won’t be disappointed by her latest adventure into contemporary life! 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to HQ Fiction and Netgalley for a review copy.

The story of Maz and her husband Andrew leading up to Christmas, not just any Christmas but the first since Maz was released from prison. Add to that her and her family moving to a new location so she can start again as she killed two people in a car accident. The book goes through the days leading. The book is told from the viewpoint of some of the main characters and focuses on the fact that one person who is at the table for Christmas Day dies. How did they die? Who are they? Well you have to read the book to find out. It was a great read with some great twists which I couldn’t predict.

For Marianne and Andrew Antonio it’s going to be a special Christmas this year and they plan on celebrating it with their two daughters and family. Maz has spent the last two years in prison, they have moved away from Newcastle to suburban Sydney, and she’s looking forward to waking up to the girls squeals of delight when they see Santa has been and having a delicious lunch.

This is her chance to makes things right with her husband and daughters, mother Margaret, father-in-law Frank and sister Ellinor, show everyone she’s a good mother, reformed and sober. Maz did a terrible thing, she killed two innocent people, and she can’t remember what happened that day and she wonders if it’s her minds way of coping, and she keeps having mini flashbacks and her husband tells her to leave the past behind her and she should concentrate on moving forward.

I received a copy of Stranger at the Table by Cassie Hamer from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. As we know for many people Christmas day isn’t a happy one, they find it stressful and not everyone gets on. This gathering is tainted with family secrets, lies, betrayal, gas lighting, and history of addiction and postnatal depression, mistrust and suspicion, an unexpected guest and someone seeking revenge. All is not what it seems, emotions are running high and it’s a scene ready to implode, one person who sits down to dinner will not live to see Boxing Day! It reinforces you really have no idea what happens behind closed doors and in Australian households and within families.

During the twenty one days leading up to Christmas you discover what Maz did, how she’s coping being out of jail and how guilty she feels.
I didn’t see the big twist coming towards the end and despite already piecing some of the clues together, and this is the first book I have read by Cassie Hamer and won’t be my last, five stars from me and I highly recommend.