Parade’s “10 Books Written by Women We Can’t Wait to Read in 2019” | She Reads’ “Most Anticipated Thillers of Summer 2019” | Pure Wow’s “The Best Beach Reads of Summer 2019” | CrimeReads’ “The Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer”From bestselling author Michele Campbell comes A Stranger on the Beach, an edge-of-your seat story of passion and intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very … and intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Caroline Stark’s beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish, expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family. But after a very public fight with her husband, she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her, the money is disappearing, and there’s a stranger on the beach outside her house.
As Caroline’s marriage and her carefully constructed lifestyle begin to collapse around her, she turns to Aidan, the stranger, for comfort…and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan’s infatuation with Caroline, her family, and her house becomes more and more destructive. But who is manipulating whom in this deadly game of obsession and control? Who will take the blame when someone ends up dead…and what is Caroline hiding?
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Wow! I’m not even sure where to begin with this……I knew very little about this book when I decided to read it as I like to be surprised about what to expect. I’m blown away by this story. The different versions was a little confusing at first but then I started to understand their significance. Just when I thought I had everything figured out something would happen that made me second guess myself. A few things I did figure out correctly but how they fot into the conclusion I was unsure of until the very end. Definitely wasn’t the ending I had predicted at the beginning……it was so much better.
A tense psychological thriller set in the Hamptons. Old vs new, rich vs poor, this book has it all including a murder, a missing body and a ready-made suspect. There is a hurricane brewing and bad things happen when the lights go out.
A Stranger on the Beach rides its rising tide of terror to a finale that blanched my knuckles. An exceptionally suspenseful thriller.
A thrilling psychological read that will keep you up late into the night. When you get to the last 15-20 chapters, make sure you can finish in one sitting. I had to wait to finish and it was agonizing!
Campbell does a great job alternating the first-person accounts between Caroline and Aiden. One minute you feel sorry for Caroline and the next Aiden. You don’t know who to believe until the very end.
This the perfect vacation book as you won’t want to put it down.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
I have read thrillers in the past, where the author would either write each chapter from a different character’s point of view, or with different time frames, often jumping back and forth. Until I actually realized this was happening, or noticed that there were names/dates at the beginning of each chapter, I would be a bit confused. I completely realize that it’s my fault for not being more observant.
But one great thing about this book is that I didn’t get confused when Michele Campbell used that technique. But it could be because it was a female and male, as opposed to usually two or more characters of the same sex. In some novels, even after I realize there are different voices in each chapter, the story still didn’t flow that smooth for me. But with, A Stranger on the Beach, that was not the case.
I actually started looking forward to the next chapter to see how that character viewed the circumstances that were happening to them. I was enjoying trying to figure out which one was the one that was telling the truth.
Although it was written well, I just can’t give it five stars, due to knowing what was going on very early in the book. With these types of thrillers, I like to still be wondering at least half way through the book. And if one keeps me guessing all the way until the end, then I am super happy.
I could have even over looked knowing what was going on before the halfway point in the novel, if some of the red herrings would have left me guessing or surprised with their outcomes.
But this doesn’t make this a bad book. I have just read lots of thrillers, mysteries, and horror novels, so it is really rare for me to not know what is going to happen when watching a movie or reading a book.
So if you are someone who doesn’t read this type of book all the time, or doesn’t often guess the outcome, this book is one I would recommend. But if you often have the ending figured out early, you may find that this novel just isn’t surprising enough to satisfy you.
I can see by the other reviews that my feelings aren’t unique. This was a really good read that could have been better had the author stopped sooner and saved those last details for the big reveal. Then this would have been the perfect type of suspense/thriller. Unfortunately while the story starts off strong enough with Carolyn who at first I was about done with her and some of the decisions she made. And don’t start me on the twat of a husband and then there’s Aiden. How in the world was that poor guy in insta-love? It’s just that somethings made this author seem to be stretching out the story which in turn did more damage than good. Now don’t get me wrong here this is a really good story and I am an avid reader so I saw it coming because of all the clues, which as I said before could have made for a stronger ending instead. I haven’t read this author before and don’t know if the repetitiveness is part of her usual style but it isn’t a favorite of mine. Overall I say this is a good read and yes I did enjoy it and I would in fact recommend it.
Very suspenseful thriller of a beach read. Filled with twists that had me guessing and reevaluating my guesses from one chapter to the next. Gripping page turner that I highly recommend adding to your summer reading list.
As Caroline stands outside her beautiful new beach house, she sees a stranger on the beach staring at her house. She is both frightened and intrigued. Soon Caroline sees the stranger, a bar tender named Aiden, at a local bar. Her crumbling marriage and this chance meeting set in motion a frightening series of events. I loved that the book had some twists that kept you guessing what would happen next. Another stellar book by Michelle Campbell!
A confidently written, utterly engrossing thriller, I literally couldn’t put it down and spent the whole day absorbed in this book. With a gorgeous beachfront setting, an intriguing plot, and characters I just couldn’t trust, this one had all the elements I love in a thriller.
What do you get when a former federal prosecutor specializing in international narcotics and gang cases becomes an author? THE BEST THRILLER EVER. I could not put it down!
I stayed up until 2:30 this morning to finish this one and even if I feel tired today it will have been SO worth it!
Michele Campbell hits it out of the park again with this amazing thriller! Caroline has a life many would envy; a gorgeous new beach home, a successful husband, a loving family, a job title she can toss around even as she spends her days running on the beach and working on her new house. But sometimes things are not as they seem. Caroline is already lonely when she discovers that her husband is cheating on her.
Alone and confused, she spends what was meant to be one careless and carefree night with the local bartender, Aidan. Only Aidan has different plans and if Caroline thought her life was a nightmare before she let Aidan into her bed? Well, she’s about to find out just how bad things can get….
Told from a few POVs, some reliable and some not-so-much, OMG, this one was so fun and so completely, dangerously absorbing!
Thank you to Michele Campbell, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A wealthy owner of a beach house, who suspects her husband of being involved with another woman, meets a local bartender. They have a fling and he becomes obsessed with her. She shares her marital woes with him and asks him to kill her husband, but then tells him she doesn’t seriously want that to happen. However, the seed has been planted. Her husband wipes out their accounts and then returns part of the funds. He seems to be involved in something secretive. As I started the book, I was certain it was going to be just another predicable plot line. Then, the perceptions of the characters became so diverse that I couldn’t figure out what was going on and who was doing what to whom. Overall, this is a well-written suspense with plenty of twists and turns to keep one guessing. The ending, however, wasn’t a total surprise.
By the third part I was wishing this was getting over with, but I’m glad I stuck around. I really did enjoy the finale. Especially the last sentence or two. Great job there for sure! I had read Michele’s other books and was excited when I heard this one was coming out, so I actually got to be the first person to check it out from our library because I put myself on the “Holds” list, which I don’t do too terribly often. I was going to read it fast because I knew there would be others pining to get their hands on it, but reading it fast wasn’t a problem because I was pretty into it. It’s not my absolute favorite, nor my absolute favorite of HERS, but it was pretty good with all the back and forth between characters and revealing of the next dilemmas and mysteries. I didn’t REALLY ever know how it was going to turn out or what might happen next, but she doesn’t make you wait too terribly long to find out either, so that was nice. I really liked the visuals of the scenes and how she would let you into the thoughts of the characters as they pondered everything and pieced things together…or told you stuff but still left you guessing at the truth. Oh, and I enjoyed the little old lady neighbor and all the parts she played in the book.
A Stranger on the Beach was a twisted and suspenseful novel! I enjoyed how the story was written to keep the suspense building and the truth hidden in author Michele Campbell’s signature writing style. Caroline is surprised and angry to find out that her husband Jason is having an affair. One night she goes home with Aiden, a local bartender, and spends the night with him. She doesn’t realize that he has ties to the area where her husband and her just built a new beach home. Caroline decides to reconcile with her husband and wants Aiden to leave her alone. But he begins to stalk both her and her husband. He won’t stop calling her. Strange things begin to happen. Then one night during a storm, her husband disappears. It is possible that either Aiden or Caroline could have murdered him.. And everyone’s lives are torn apart.
Intricately woven tale of suspense by a modern day master storyteller.
Whose version of events is the truth, and whose is a lie? The convicted felon or the socialite? You really don’t know until you near the conclusion.
Ms. Campbell always ties up all loose ends, something I really appreciate as a reader of mysteries. There is nothing more disappointing than finishing a book and still not understanding all the whats, whys, and hows of the book you just invested days of your time reading. Or the ending being rushed after momentum has built and built and built – then boom! It’s over too suddenly.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Holy Moly! What a suspense filled read. Loved it, just what I needed to get out of my reading slump. Fast paced, action packed, heart pounding page turner of a read. Characters you both loved and hated from one chapter to the next. After reading The Husband is Always Right and She Was the Quiet One, Michele Campbell as been on my list of authors I buy without reading the jacket cover. This did not disappoint.
Caroline is convinced that her husband Jason is cheating, especially when he turns up at their housewarming with a mistress following close behind. But, Caroline’s life goes from bad to worse, after she has a steamy one-night stand with a hot guy, almost 20 years her senior. A few unanswered questions at the end, but a solid story line.
This is the first book I have read written by Michele Campbell. That being said, I wasn’t sure what sort of ride I was in for. I am a part of a podcast with my friend and co-creator Kim called Books Don’t Review Themselves. Together we sit down and decide was books we are going to read and review on the podcast, but each of us also read what we want in addition to the scheduled books. That being said, Kim was personally reading this book and sent me her review upon completion. After reading her review, the concept of the book, while basic, seemed very intriguing. Luckily, I was able to snag a copy on Netgalley and read it for myself. With that said, a podcast episode came to fruition.
Like I mentioned above, the storyline is nothing spectacular in the sense it revolves around Caroline, a wealthy wife and mother with a high-class lifestyle including lavish parties surrounded by other high-class wealthy individuals; and then there is Aiden, who is barely getting by and has a less than ideal past that very much affects his future. The story comes to life when their paths cross.
Caroline is remodeling their beach house and planning a lavish party to show off her efforts and also celebrate her husband, Jason, birthday when she sees Aiden standing out on the beach staring at her beach house. At the party, Caroline soon finds out that Jason has been lying to her and Aiden just so happens to be one of the bartenders at the shindig. As Caroline’s marriage starts to unravel, who better to comfort her than…you guessed it… Aiden.
Now up until that point, everything seems pretty vanilla, but that is when the author takes a basic vanilla plot and turns it into ice cream sundae with all the fixings!
What turned this story into a ride was how she wrote it in two separate views. It was so fascinating to essentially read Caroline’s perception of a scenario and then Aiden’s perception of the same thing. You felt like you were in each of their minds but at the same time, you were trying to figure out who was lying. That is what made this basic plot so amazing.
A creepy good read about murder and stalking. This is a whodunnit that will keep the reader turning pages long into the night! A must read for fans of authors such as B.A. Paris and Karin Slaughter.
Caroline thinks she has it all. She has a wonderful family, a beautiful beach house and a life anyone would be jealous of. Then it all falls apart around her. Her husband is having an affair…or so she thinks. They have a very public fight and then all their money disappears. This throws her right into Aidan’s arms. Aidan is a local bartender and his obsession with Caroline is just plain scary. Then to top it all off…Caroline’s husband is missing and she is the prime suspect in his murder.
I have to be very careful what I say. I do not want to give anything away. Just be prepared! This book is completely twisted and basically PSYCHO! Once you think you have it figured out….oh no you don’t! This story is smart, clever and totally crazy!
I received this novel from St. Martin’s Press for a honest review.
Amazing!! This is the first Michele Campbell I have read but will definitely be checking out her other books. This book kept me intrigued and up late just so I could finish it. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves psychological thrillers. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers, ebook version for my honest review.