A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 305

Publisher - Penguin Books

Source - bought

Blurb from Goodreads

In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home. A domestic thriller packed full of secrets, and a twisty story that never stops—from the bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

He looks at her, concerned. “How do you feel?” She wants to say, Terrified. Instead, she says, with a faint smile, “Glad to be home.”

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.



My Review

She bolts out, has to get away, jumps into the car, speeds away and smashes into a pole, darkness. Oooft what an opening chapter! Karen wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the car accident, her husband Tom doesn't know what to think. It can't be his wife, she wouldn't speed, she doesn't drive recklessly. As the police get involved, Karen and Tom become strained, Karen turns more to her close friend and neighbour, Brigid. Tom isn't happy, Karen isn't happy, Brigid isn't happy - do they all have something to hide? The police are intent on uncovering what is really going on and if there are secrets - they will uncover them.


Ooooh it is no secret I really enjoy Lapena's writing, ever since I read The Couple Next Door, I sank it almost in one sitting in Amsterdam. She has a way of flinging you into the action with a belting opening to the book and then a tense, slow build up, tension, secrets and truths being teased out and making you trust no one and question everything!

Lapena also does shorter chapters which I love. If you work full time or run a busy house hold, or both, sometimes you don't get to sit and read lots, with wee chapters you can dip in and out. You also end up late up at night as one chapter turns into just one more and repeat.

The characters aren't always likeable, sometimes you don't even know right off why but they hook you, pull you in and you just HAVE to know where it is going. I find these books capture the readers attention quickly and you struggle to put the book down, 4.5/5 for me this time. I need to see if there are others by this author I haven't read and look forward to her next!

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