The Stranger Diaries

This one bridges thriller and mystery with some moving pieces. I read the Harbinder Kaur books out of order and I thought this one was a little creepier/spookier than the second one, so I wouldn't read this one right before bed personally.

This review is just to help me remember key points about the book. If you find it helpful or relatable that's cool too.
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“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

2 Stars ⭐️

I liked the concept and that's about it. I wish they drew more parallels between the murders and the book. I know it's unoriginal to have a copy-cat killer but if you're focusing this much on classic literature in a murder case you might as well go all out.
I listened to this as an audiobook which subtracted from the reading experience. Three out of four of the povs' are British female characters and there's ten female characters with a speaking role so it's easy to get lost.
None of these characters have normal reactions and they're so nonchalant about murder. If you were working at a school that your daughter attended and one of your coworkers was murdered I feel as though that would make someone distressed and worried, not bitter that she has to watch rehearsals for a play.
There's a weird bit where she's withholding information from the police because she doesn't want the deceased to get ‘victim blamed' because she was involved in an affair. Her friend is dead and she's more worried about her supposed “feminism.”
I really dislike the daughter's pov. It feels unnecessary and barely progresses the plot. I didn't enjoy it because of the secondhand embarrassment I get from adults trying to write teenagers.
Now what the fck was the mother thinking letting her 15-year-old date a 21-year-old? The Dad doesn't like the boyfriend but it's not even because of the gross age gap! I understand why he had to be older for the awful twist but I still hate all of it.
Hate the villain, I don't feel like it makes sense and didn't see it hinted anywhere in the plot. All the stuff with the author didn't really matter and was pretty much a red herring. And then to top it all off at the end of the book they're talking about forgiveness. It's not just some school boy crush. He killed two people. He is a murderer and a stalker and he dated a 15-year-old to get closer to her mother.

I was promised “creepy” but I didn't find it that way at all, a bit dragged on. I felt asleep almost every time picking up this book. Had to force myself to stay awake. Didn't figure out the killer until the big reveal though so gonna give it 3 stars for that. (It was Ty - the daughter's boyfriend btw)

‘Nothing in the world is hidden forever'—Wilkie Collins, No Name.

This was fun! I liked the characters, especially Harbinder and Neil and the creepy gothic school setting was perfect. The killer was an odd choice, but getting there was pretty fun.

This won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2020! Location England & Scotland! Lots of suspects, great characters. Hope the author writes another with the same police woman featured!! David N.

2,5 sterretjes
Een atmosferische thriller met een spannende opbouw dat me voortdreef om verder te lezen. Helaas vond ik de ontknoping maar niks en toch wel ontgoochelend.
Het verhaal in het verhaal The Stranger leest inderdaad als een klassiek gothic verhaal, maar ook daar liet het einde een beetje te wensen over. Nogal cliché, wat misschien wel weer de bedoeling was.

Really liked the settings in this book, plus the perspective changes kept me hooked.

This was a great story and I love the “book about a book” premise. The book gives us three somewhat unreliable narrators; not unreliable in the sense that they're untrustworthy but rather that they have their own secrets, biases, and goals that don't always align with what's going on during the investigation. With constantly changing perspectives, I was always reevaluating the characters - whether they could be trusted, whether they were involved in the murder, and just what their intentions were. The plot was complex and layered, with new information being uncovered constantly. Claire's diary entries and snippets of R.M. Holland's story, The Stranger, are sprinkled throughout the book, adding additional layers of interest. I absolutely loved that we got The Stranger in full at the end of the book and enjoyed it in its own right. I'll definitely be picking up more by Griffiths in the future.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an advance copy of the book for review.)