Book Review | Book Chatter

A Stranger in the House
By Shari Lapena
Pamela Dorman Books, 9780735221123, August 2017, 320pp.

The Short of It:

A happy couple, an unexplained accident and a case of amnesia leave this couple wondering if anyone is really who they say they are.

The Rest of It:

Karen and Tom Krupp find themselves questioning everything after an accident that leaves Karen with amnesia. Why was she driving so fast? What was she doing in that neighborhood? These are questions that neither of them can answer but when a body is found in the same location as the accident, the police begin to investigate.

I had a really hard time reading this review copy because my eBook was corrupted! Every other sentence was gibberish. However, I do believe I was able to piece together enough of the story to give it a fair review.

I have to admit, the story felt a little familiar and in the end, it was too predictable but I think it held up better than the other book I read by this author, The Couple Next Door. This story had some tense moments and I felt as if we got to know this couple a little better than the couple in her previous book. Overall, it was okay but nothing really stayed with me after I put it down.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Breakdown
By B.A. Paris
St. Martin’s Press, 9781250122469, July 2017, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Another unputdownable read by B.A. Paris.

The Rest of It:

I’ve spent this summer reading page-turners and I have to say, it’s be a really pleasant summer for these types of reads. In The Breakdown, we meet Matthew and Cass. Newly married, they live in a large home in rural part of town. A home that backs to the woods and a road that Matthew has warned Cass not to take late at night. After an evening out with friends and the horrible storm-related traffic on the highway, Cass goes against her better judgement and takes the shortcut home. What she didn’t expect to see was a woman pulled over to the side of the road. She makes a snap decision to NOT stop to see if she needs assistance and to her horror, the woman turns up dead the next morning.

This is a fun book to read. I’ll admit, Cass has some issues and they get a little repetitive in the telling. For one, she has signs of early onset dementia, which her mother had so everything she does and knows cannot be relied upon because of her failing memory. Plus, she’s jumpy from the fact that a murderer is on the loose so there are a lot of false alarms but man, I couldn’t stop turning those pages.

I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors so when I heard that Paris had another book out, I jumped at the chance to read it and I am glad I did. It was fun and suspenseful even though I kind of figured out what was going on. If you like quick, psychological thrillers and don’t mind an unreliable narrator (I love them!) then be sure to pick it up.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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