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I've learned from experience not to get my hopes up because when a book is reportedly touted as 'the next big thriller' or whatever PR nonsense speak is used because the books rarely, if ever, live up to my expectations. I did think for a bit that Caro's mental unraveling seemed a little bit odd and out of place, as up to that point she had appeared to be fine. The drinking was also strange as at the start of the book, there's a couple of references from Caro that she wasn't a big drinker yet several times during the novel she drinks a bottle of whisky (the results of which do serve to bring the plot forward but I still thought it all an odd character choice).
I took a leap of faith and requested this book from NetGalley before they revealed the title, author or book cover...then I saw the book cover...WOW! What a chilling book cover! I know, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Still...it’s pretty awesome...am I right? TV shows and movies such as "Switched at birth" have explored this topic and it's a premise that allows for interesting stories. The book as such could easily be turned into a television script. The story is told from Alison’s view point. Alison isn’t particularly likeable, but I think that actually adds to the story, and as it unfolds, and you learn more about her, you start to understand why she behaves so strangely. I think Alison is someone that makes a great character, and keeps the story interesting, but if you knew her in real life, you would want to shake her.
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Now this sounds right up my street! I’m going to add this to my reading list and put it top of the queue! The characters are vibrant and easy for the reader to get to know and fool the reader as well ( well they did me ) Let me tell you I was not disappointed. This was a really good psychological thriller that drew you in, kept you hooked and kept you wondering what was going to happen next. It was tense, creepy, and well-written - what more could you want?
When her stepmother unexpectedly dies, Caro comes "home'' to the farmhouse she grew up in. Flooded with bad memories and strange blank spaces in her recollections, Caro hates the house but longs for a chance to have a fresh start. She's both excited and scared when her sister tells her that she's going to turn the house and the rest of the inheritance over to her. Stephanie says she wants nothing to do with any of it. The minute Caro moves in strange things start to happen and Caro wonders if she's losing her mind. Memories start to return. Family secrets are exposed. What happened in that house? And who was to blame? In fact, their hostile behavior forces her to ask the question...why did Elizabeth hate her so much? The book was gripping, even with the moments that dragged too much for my liking. I also had a feeling that the author hasn't managed with the difficult topic so well. There was this great, promising idea but then the development was not as I had expected it. I mean, I didn't know how the story should go, how it should end, what would be better, what would be worst, but I hoped for the better delivery and development. However, I mostly focused on the relationships and the way the author captured them all. This book is a great psychological portrait of all the characters and their way to cope with the situation, showing how they cope (or don't!) with the revelation - and it also makes you wondering over and over again what you would do. I can't imagine I could live normally after receiving such news. I also am not sure if I would like to know the truth or rather happily carry on without such knowledge. A must read. Romantic, yet truthful, this is a moving love story with unforgettable characters -- Jenny Colgan This is the story of two babies swapped at birth and the ramifications of that event 15 years later.
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Recent immigrants to the U.S. work hard to live the American dream; tempers flare and one ends up struggling for her life. View Details I had no idea of where this book would take me but having read Adele Parks previously I knew it would certainly be well written. The final quarter of the book did increase the suspense and tension but the revelations as they came along were rather unrealistic and all in all I found the whole story tedious and nowhere near as dark as billed.
As she begins to sort through her stepmother’s possessions, strange things begin to happen. Could the house be haunted? Or is she being haunted by bad memories of things that occurred there while she was a young girl? The Stranger In My Home centres around a family who find out that the daughter they have raised for 15 years isn’t actually their biological daughter due to a hospital mix up. And to make matters worse, they learn that the girl may have inherited a mutated gene that dramatically increases her risk of getting terminal cancer. Can you imagine how you would feel in Alison’s (the teenager’s mother and main character) situation?After the death of her stepmother, Caro moves into the country house to sort through personal belongings and tidy up any loose ends while awaiting probate to be finalised regarding their father's estate. Unbeknownst to Caro, there is one loose end somebody else has been waiting to tidy up for many years. A retired man planning on fixing his vintage vehicles during retirement invites a meth-addicted mechanic into his home to help. View Details This book is definitely a slow burn but it managed to hold my interest throughout. I needed to know what happened in the past and what was happening in the present time and how the two things connected.
The Stranger in our Home was another psychological suspense novel that just failed to resonate and instead left me with more questions than answers. The author also seemed genre-confused and consistently flirted with the inclusion of supernatural elements, but without any follow through. In the end, it wasn’t ghosts or fairies or witches responsible for the chaos, but rather human depravity and immorality. I have always been an Adele Parks fan. She's influenced my own writing, my character, themes. So when I bought her latest offering, I expected her usual brand of sharp, but light hearted women's fiction. It was immediately obvious that this was something very different. Adele Parks does it again. She's already proved she can write a sparkling rom com, a moving love story and a lovingly researched historical novel, now she's taken on the domestic thriller genre and nailed it. Tightly plotted, brilliantly conceived and totally gripping A hollow creaky house, a haunting melody from the pear drum, a hurl from the bannister, and a hallucinating main character make this book a vortex of swirling visions. Here realities are dreams, and dreams are illusions. The inclusion of a sinister story as part of the plot was a nice addition and helped move the story along.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Stranger In My Home. It was one of those books where I wanted to get to the end to see how it all turned out, but at the same time, I didn’t want to finish it. Third, Caro has conveniently buried painful truths of her past and childhood, an extremely popular device used in many, many thrillers, nearly as much as the theme of infidelity, which is also found here! They meet Ângela Campos, a Portuguese historian and forensic genealogist, who accompanies them on their search for any signs of Carlos and the answers Luke is looking for. I didn't immediately like Alison. I found her cold and I was urging her to be kinder to her biological daughter. But I did understand her reticence, her need to be loyal to the daughter she had brought up. Is it really an accident when an old man dies having collapsed in his bathroom? 1. The Two-Faced Murder
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