BOOK REVIEW: A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell @MCampbellBooks @StMartinsPress #astrangeronthebeach

Compulsively readable and deeply satisfying—Michele Campbell’s latest psychological thriller is suspenseful and wild in the best way! I have read both of Michele Campbell’s previous books and I am a huge fan of hers. She is certainly a queen of the summer thrillers—her books are perfect summer reading in my opinion. This is one you won’t want to miss!

“If only I’d listened to my instincts, I would’ve turned and run in the opposite direction. But that’s not what I did. I walked toward him. And I will always blame myself for what came after.”

About the Book

Caroline has the perfect new beach house. It will help re-launch her interior decorating career now that her only daughter has left for college. One day she sees a stranger on the beach staring at her house. Thinking he might be casing it for a robbery, she confronts him. Later, she’ll regret that.

On the night of her housewarming party and re-introduction into her career, her husband arrives at the party with another woman, and Caroline watches in horror as her perfect life crashes down before her eyes (and the eyes of everyone she knows). But the stranger from the beach Aiden is there to witness too as a bartender for the party. As Caroline’s life continues to crumble in the wake of the party, she finds herself turning to Aiden for comfort and revenge. That turns out to be a huge mistake.

After a wild night together, Aiden becomes obsessed with Caroline. 16 years her junior, he knows they are meant to be together, and he’ll do anything to ensure that they are. And so when Caroline’s husband goes missing soon after, Caroline comes to the shocking realization that she is the one who brought the stranger into their lives, and her husband is the one who paid the price.

Reflection

I really loved how this book was told from both Caroline’s and Aiden’s point of view in alternating chapters. Sometimes we’d see something unfold from one person’s perspective, then the same from the other’s but with a different spin. It really turned up the suspense in the story, and I felt a bit off kilter hearing Caroline’s story and then how Aiden was interpreting what was happening.

The ending to this one was so good and it definitely has some twists! I don’t want to spoil it, though, so I don’t want to talk about the ending other than to say it is WILD and a lot of fun!

There is a lot of unreliability in the story and I promise you that you won’t have this one figured out! I really loved when the police got involved, and we also had chapters centered around the investigation. A top-notch summer thriller that should definitely go on your to-read list!!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for my copy. Opinions are my own.