Strangers

After reading STRANGERS and his previous effort DARKBOUND, I’m beginning to get the impression that Michaelbrent Collings doesn’t like secrets. I mean, he really doesn’t like secrets – characters who commit dark acts and manage to get away with them by keeping them secret end up meeting messy fates, while those who eventually ‘fess up usually turn out a bit better. Like most good horror thrillers – and STRANGERS is very much a thriller in the slasher movie vein – it thrusts seemingly ordinary people into a horrific situation where they struggle to survive while being tormented by a brutal psychopath. The horror is ramped up because the killer seems to know everything there is to know about the intimate lives of each member show more of the family, even (especially) those things they don’t know about each other. It’s a genre that Collings does very well.

Some mild plot spoilers follow.

STRANGERS has a great premise: an “ordinary” suburban family – mom, dad, a teenage boy, and a teenage girl – are subjected to terrible torments inside their own home. Out of the blue, a madman has rendered them unconscious for an unknown period of time, done God knows what to them and their home, then sealed them inside their own house so they can’t escape. To top it all off (literally), he’s placed a termite tent over the whole house so he can play his sick games with them as long as he likes and no one will be the wiser. After all, who wants to go poking around inside a house that’s probably filled with poisonous gases just because you haven’t seen the neighbors in a while?

But I should clarify that, despite all appearances to the contrary, this family is not exact “ordinary” (is any family?) and, as I alluded to above, each member of the family has a secret. Because of these secrets they keep from each other, they are, in many ways, strangers to each other (hence the title). I’m not going to spoiler you on what these individuals’ secrets are; after all, those gradual reveals are part of the fun. Suffice it to say that these aren’t the ordinary kinds of secrets most family members keep from each other – someone snuck the last piece of cake, or one of the kids broke something and blamed the dog – these are no kidding, big deal kinds of secrets. The kind that unfortunately leave you open to being preyed upon by a madman with a twisted sense of justice (or one who just likes screwing with people). The madman’s plan for this family plays out in a fairly creepy, gory, and, I think, satisfying fashion. As always, Collings pulls no punches; his fans demand no less, I’m sure. This is certainly not a book for the faint of heart.

STRANGERS offers some interesting reflections for us. The family of the novel is able to be isolated and tormented because they are disconnected from the lives of everyone around them, even those closest to them. Aside from the obvious precipitating secrets they kept from their family members, we have no indication that any of their friends or family members were ever particularly worried about them when they went missing for a week, or did anything to help. If an entire family drops off the face of the earth for a week and their house becomes enclosed in a termite tent overnight with no warning, shouldn’t someone, somewhere do something about it? Wonder about the whole thing, maybe get suspicious, start asking questions, something? Anything? I think that Collings is also asking us to ponder if, in a sense, aren’t we all really strangers to each other? Sure, we know lots of stuff about the people around us, especially those closest to us. But isn’t it possible that even our loved ones could have a whole side to them that we don’t know about, and may never learn about, because we’re all disconnected on some fundamental level. And, by the way, shouldn’t we do something about that? STRANGERS is certainly recommended, especially if you’re looking for a well-done slasher novel with a particularly interesting premise.

Review copyright © 2013 J. Andrew Byers show less

This was a brilliant, chilling thriller. You get pulled into the story right away, and you can hear, see, even feel everything going on as if you were standing right in the midst of the story. There's so much I want to say, but I also don't want to give any spoilers. There are moments you will get chills running down your spine, like exploring a deserted haunted house. The characters have depth, even the ones that are a bit slimy. A bit of warning - this can get a bit gory, so if that's not your thing, you might want to skip this one. If you're not turned off by that, then this is an excellent kick-off to a thrilling series.

Thanks to my friend and fellow Kindler, Bill, for the loan!

I read this book with my Shelfari group. We have read a few books by this author in the past and liked them. This one was no exception.

This was a brutal tale of the isolation of one family; a family that had many secrets to hide. It was a bit too far out to be completely believable, but that didn't bother me. It was extremely fast paced-so much so that I read the entire book in two days.

When I was done, I checked out some other reviews, and there seems to be some confusion as to how the prologue fit the story. I have a clear idea of what I thought happened. If anyone wants to talk about it with me, I would love to hear from you!

Overall, I think this was a fun, fast paced tale, show more that was hard to put down. The premise was entertaining and my interest didn't wane at all at any time. This book was just plain fun! Recommend for fans of fast paced horror, tinged with some torture and severe pain. show less

ABR's full Strangers audiobook review can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

I knew when Michaelbrent Collings started the book with veteran police officers vomiting everywhere the book was going to be an experience. Michaelbrent has done what few authors have been able to do ---- he scared me half to death and kept me up most of the night thinking about my secrets and who I trust without a second thought.

This is about a family who has suffered a devastating loss of an older son and their mechanisms to deal with his death and their now fractured family. On the anniversary of their son’s death, the family once again struggles to become “normal” and fail. Although there are some glints that normalcy has returned it is but an show more illusion.

Waking from a solid night of sleep, a family of four (mom, dad, and 2 teenagers) finds themselves sealed in their home with no escape route. They are tormented and unmercifully tortured by an unknown stranger. Through phone messages left by schools and HR personnel over the course of a week, it becomes clear that no one is coming to help them. Although it is the 21st century their connection to the outside world is tenuous at best – twitter, facebook, texting. NO ONE has cared enough to check on them in the week they have been missing! Although as a reader, one might believe this to be absurd, Michaelbrent undeniably demonstrates otherwise.

A hidden stranger playing a deadly game and who has become judge, jury and executioner has decided that only those who confess their secrets willingly will live – moving from room to room searching for a way out, corpses are found, secrets are revealed, and more corpses are made.

In reading this horrifying book, you WILL change how you open your door to strangers, who has access to your home, family and secrets! You will no longer be passive because Michaelbrent won’t allow it as he puts the fear of strangers in you!

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator. show less

I didn’t realize I had this on my Kindle from an Amazon free day, when I read the second book, Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings. Any questions I had from the second book were answered here, but I feel both books could stand alone.

Horror of horrors, trapped in your house, no way out, a stranger dead set on playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. Who or will anyone survive?

The bogeyman…

The punisher…

Do you run? There’s nowhere to go.

Do you hide? There’s nowhere to hide.

Strangers is a psychological thriller that ranks up there with Dean Koontz and Stephen King. The horror is nonstop, nail biting suspense that makes each person face their shortcomings…and maybe pay for them in a gruesome way.

See more at show more target="_top">http://www.fundinmental.com show less

I can't believe I'm giving four stars for this - it is not my type of book at all. I couldn't stop reading though, because the character development, the careful plotting of the story and the interesting premise were perfect for me. There were two typos and one discrecrepancy that dropped my rating from five.

Listened to the audio version of this book. First -the reader was great. Second-finally a recent horror story with NO zombies! What an emotional roller coaster! It was full of twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout! It really begs the question - how well do you really know people? Even those in your own house. I did not see the twists at the end coming. It was a refreshing yet horrifying experience. Well done!