A Perfect Stranger by Shalini Boland
Genre: Domestic thriller, Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 13th July 2022
Published: 11th July 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Two marriages. Three little lies. Someone’s going to die…
I hold my breath as my handsome husband walks through the door. I’ve planned the perfect surprise birthday party for him. Our friends are gathered and the champagne is flowing. But when I catch the look in his deep brown eyes, I realise I’ve got this horribly wrong.
All evening my stomach is churning. And I can’t help but notice Danielle Baines speaking with Aidan. With her salon-styled hair, diamonds glittering on her ring finger and married to a rich businessman she has the kind of lifestyle I can only dream of. I’ve never liked her. And I know the feeling is mutual.
So why is she here and what is she saying to my husband?
Now it’s the end of the party and the man I love is confessing a secret that shocks me to the core. But it’s not what I was afraid of. It’s much worse.
He says we have to take our son and leave the place we call home because our lives are in danger.
I thought I knew everything about my husband. But suddenly he feels like a stranger. Should I trust him with my life?
From the million-copy bestselling author, this totally gripping psychological thriller will have you guessing until the last jaw-dropping twist. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife Between Us.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Shalini Boland's tense domestic thriller A PERFECT STRANGER.
“She trusted her husband…She shouldn’t have…”
Shalini does it again! Should I be surprised? She has that uncanny knack of sweeping you up into a twisted and often chilling nightmare in a seemingly normal family in an innocuous setting usually in the picturesque Dorset (well, picturesque to me anyways) and dragging us along with the protagonist through all their inner turmoil. And then...even after she shocks with a big reveal, she delivers a final twist like a knife in the back of her victim. And usually one we didn't see coming.
Opening with a mysterious prologue that will have the reader pondering its relevance, we then meet Emily and Aidan and their three year old son Josh, who are struggling financially and live in a cottage in a village they could only dream of affording to buy there. Emily works as a receptionist at a local GP practice and is pregnant with their second child whilst Aidan has a successful job as a luxury car salesman.
One night, Emily throws a surprise birthday party for Aidan at a local restaurant inviting all their friends including his boss Marcus and his wife Dani. But the moment Aidan walks in the door, Emily sees his face and she knows she has made a grave mistake. Although it was meant to cheer him up, this is not what Aidan wants; not a big lavish party with friends and colleagues. And then when she gives him the present she lashed out on for him, his response is not what she expected. Something is terribly wrong. What is Aidan hiding from her? Becoming more worried by the second, Emily coaxes her husband to confide in her. She fears the worst...but nothing can prepare her for what he is about to tell her. And just how much their lives are about to change.
Wealthy couple Marcus and Dani want for nothing. Marcus is the successful owner of the luxury car dealership where Aidan is one of their top salesmen. His wife Dani spends her days at her expensive health club or lunching with friends. Her husband provides for her in every aspect she could want...except for one thing. Dani longs for a baby of her own and despite several years of trying, they have remained unsuccessful. She knows Marcus will do anything to make her dream come true but she is unaware of just how far he would go and how low he would stoop to achieve the one thing she desires. When Marcus begins inviting suspicious characters back to their home, letting them roam freely about the place and splashing about in their pool, Dani begins to worry about the company he is beginning to keep and that they may lure him into something dodgy. Each time she attempts to voice her concerns, he brushes her off flippantly as nothing but it soon becomes a strain on their marriage.
Until one day, Dani decides to do some snooping to find out what these dodgy characters may have on her husband in an attempt to free him of their grip. But she has no idea what she is about to uncover...
Then just as you think you have it all worked out - you don't! Because along comes Shalini with yet another twist to throw into the mix, shocking readers with the untold secret.
Just wow! I wasn't sure in what direction A PERFECT STRANGER was going at first but it didn't take long for the pace to pick up and lead us on a merry chase in our quest for answers. The plot is complex, without being complicated, and the multi-layered story intense and even chilling. The short snappy chapters keep the pace moving seamlessly as the narrative alternates between the two women - Emily and Dani - with the random inclusion of an anonymous character watching events unfold and plotting their own endgame.
As the plot builds before taking proper shape, the reader may wonder just how Dani factors into Emily and Aidan's story...aside from being the wife of Aidan's employer. And as the tension builds so does the unfolding story with the pieces slotting neatly into place by the book's end. Two marriages, numerous secrets and an abundance of lies - the lives of these two women are intricately woven together with a climatic revelation that explodes to the surface, leaving them reeling from shock and disbelief. The reader too.
Shalini drops little clues throughout - nuances I picked up and pondered - until I joined all the dots in perfect symmetry...with the exception of that final twist that I didn't see coming or even suspect...not even a little bit. We are kept on our toes throughout with all the twists and unfolding drama and loads of tension right up to the end. As layer upon layer, the secrets and lies continue to build.
This is the umpteenth thriller I've read by Shalini Boland and she never ever fails to impress. She is quite honestly the queen of the killer twist, delivering a final surprise within the final pages with impeccable skill.
A PERFECT STRANGER is a perfect collision of worlds, lives, secrets and lies. A must-read for Shalini's fans that will not disappoint.
I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #APerfectStranger in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her debut psychological thriller "The Girl from the Sea" published in June 2016 reached Number 1 in the US Audible charts. Her second thriller "The Best Friend" published in October 2016 reached a high of number 10 in Amazon's UK Kindle charts. It also achieved number 1 in all its categories and was a Kindle All Star title for several months in a row.
She is also not a morning person.
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10 Things My Readers Might Not Know About Me
My dreams (nightmares) nearly always involve the characters and settings that I’m currently writing about. For example, last night I dreamt that I’d abducted a baby and tried to hide him in my husband’s car, but I couldn’t get the doors to lock. It was awful! Maybe I’d have a better night’s sleep if I wrote rom coms.
I love all fruit except bananas. The smell, texture, taste – ugh. No. Just no. Keep that evil fruit away from me.
I write for a living, and so does my husband, but neither of our children are particularly avid readers. My eldest is dyslexic and has never enjoyed reading or writing. My youngest quite enjoys it, but has to be pretty much forced into trying a new book. How did this happen? I have no idea. We always read to them when they were younger. We have a houseful of all kinds of books. Ah, well, I’ll keep trying.
When I was nineteen, I hitchhiked at night in Israel and ended up in the middle of nowhere convinced I was going to die. Turns out I only needed to walk another two minutes to find myself back at the kibbutz where I was staying. I’ve never hitchhiked since.
My writing companion is a little Poodle/Lhasa Apso/Terrier cross called Jess who sits at my feet while I type. Sometimes she sneaks up onto the sofa and rests her chin on my keyboard. I’m not sure I could write without her nearby.
When we were in our twenties, my husband and I set up VW car shows. Our events were all jinxed. Over the course of six shows we had four instances of major theft, a forest fire, the worst storm on record, someone set up illegal rave, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, and an actual bomb scare with police cordoning off the area and evacuating everyone. Plus, we only made a profit during our first show, the other times we just about broke even. Not a huge success.
Nearly all my novels are set in and around the area of Dorset where I live. I moved here when I was eighteen, but I feel like this is my true home. I love it – the towns, beaches and countryside are beautiful.
Good coffee and chocolate are my weaknesses.
I used to be a singer songwriter and once sang on stage at The Brixton Academy in front of four thousand people. I don’t know how I did it. I’m such an introvert these days.
I feel very lucky to write for a living. Every day, I’m truly thankful and appreciate that I’ve finally discovered what it is I love to do – it only took me forty years to work it out! It isn’t always easy and some days I need a kick up the backside to stop procrastinating and get working. Other days are overwhelming and I do get anxious about what my readers will think of each book. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I only hope people will continue to enjoy my books and allow me to keep doing what I love.
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