Thanks to NetGalley I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own and may differ from yours. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I will receive a small compensation. Thanks!
The Perfect Stranger
In the masterful follow-up to the runaway hit All the Missing Girls, a journalist sets out to find a missing friend, a friend who may never have existed at all.
Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.
Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.
Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?
My Review of The Perfect Stranger
I remember seeing the book All the Missing Girls when it came out, but though I knew it was a book I’d enjoy, I never got the chance to read it. When I saw that The Perfect Stranger was available for request on NetGalley, I requested it right away. The Perfect Stranger will appeal to those of you who like thrillers. Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a book with a good twist, and thrillers usually deliver great ones.
This story sucked me in right away with its backstory. Leah has lost her job for reasons we don’t right away know. By some twist of fate (or is it?), she runs into Emmy, a friend she’d known after college, who needs to get away as well. Emmy tells Leah that they should go to Pennsylvania and start over. Leah gets a teaching job, and Emmy gets a night job. Leah and Emmy are rarely together, so when Leah realizes she hasn’t seen Emmy in a few days, she gets worried.
Things start happening that cause the police to doubt that Emmy ever existed. She’s got no personal items or photos. The cabin is in Leah’s name. The bills come in Leah’s name. Did Leah make Emmy up or is Emmy really missing?
The Perfect Stranger has a lot of flashback scenes that add to the suspense in the story. I really enjoyed reading this, but I wish it has had a different ending. I suspected what was going to happen, and I wish I hadn’t. I really wanted this story to have a really twisty ending, but the twists come within the story rather than at the end. I’m going to have to go back and read All the Missing Girls. Though this one doesn’t have anything to do with it, I’ve read reviews from people who read both, and they liked All the Missing Girls better for the twists.
Veronica Lee says
Sounds like a great book. Adding this to my to-read list.
Christy Maurer says
It is!
Taylor Dean says
I love a good thriller and this sounds amazing! I want to read both of these books. Great review, Christy.
Christy Maurer says
Thanks! I just finished watching Girl on a Train, so now I’m going to have to read the book! It was a good movie!