Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Perfect Stranger

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
Simon & Schuster: 4/11/17
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13: 9781501107993

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda is a very highly recommended page-turner and I relished every one of those pages in this complex tale of suspense.

Leah Stevens was a journalist in Boston, but needed to resign from her job due to a story she wrote. Now she needs to find something new to do - in a hurry. By coincidence she runs into a roommate she had years ago during a time in her life when she also needed help in a hurry. Emmy was there eight years ago when they first met and helped Leah out before Emmy went overseas with the Peace Corp. It is a shocking surprise for Leah to run into Emmy now. The two immediately bond and take up where they left off. They decide to move together to a small town in Western Pennsylvania on a whim. Leah can get a position teaching at the high school and Emmy can find a job doing something.

Then a woman who closely resembles Leah is found seriously injured and Emmy has gone missing. Leah works with the police to try and help them while at the same time she tries to get them to look into the whereabouts of her missing friend. As both investigations continue it becomes increasingly clear that Leah really never knew Emmy well at all and the police are beginning to look at her as a suspect. Leah realizes that she needs to use her journalistic skills to uncover the truth about what happened and who Emmy really is.

Leah is a well-developed character and I began to like her more and more as the novel progressed and doubts began to develop. She becomes more spunky and begins to show more and more of her intelligence and intuition as she begins her own investigation while the police are more focused on investigating her.

The revelation of new information is wonderfully timed. It begs the question: How well do you really know other people? As Leah is desperately trying to find out what happened to her friend, you will begin to wonder if Emmy is even real and doubts about Leah's sanity will creep in. You only know Emmy through Leah, and Leah doesn't even reveal everything about her own life right away. The plot of The Perfect Stranger moves along at a gallop and never lets up. I enjoyed the fast-paced ride and twisty plot immensely. The writing is pitch-perfect in the suspenseful narrative.

I really enjoyed uncovering the twisty-layers of this swift-paced, agile novel of psychological suspense. It was a pleasure to read.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

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