The Perfect Stranger

What an absolutely thrilling read. I cannot express adequately how much I enjoyed every last word of “The Perfect Stranger” by Megan Miranda and appreciate the way she kept me on the edge of my seat up until the very end of the novel. Leah Stevens is a wonderful protagonist because it’s easy to find a little of yourself in her. We get to know Leah slowly as the novel unfolds… she’s not easy to get to know… she’s been wounded and like Emmy… a much shiftier subject, she guards information close to her chest. But she’s richly compelling and you can’t help but root for her even as you can’t help but wonder, who is telling the truth and who is the liar?

I loved the way Megan Miranda offered up so many suspicious shadowy show more corners and so few answers early on. It was impossible to grasp on to anything as true fact and it was hard to point to anyone as being trustworthy. Equally compelling was the mystery behind what had really happened that had caused Leah to leave Boston, which slowly unfolds over the course of the novel. This was such a great read, and highly recommended.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author. show less

Brief plot run-down: We meet former journalist Leah Stevens, who got too personally tangled up in a story and was forced out. After a chance encounter with a summer roommate of eight years past, who also happens to be in run mode, the two decide to relocate from Boston to Western Pennsylvania, where Leah gets a teaching job. She’s still trying to acclimate when a woman who looks just like her is attacked and left for dead by the lake. Then her roommate, Emmy, goes missing. When she reports it, of course, things get interesting/complicated because it turns out there’s no record of Emmy ever existing. Cue Leah getting, again, really tangled up in the pursuit of the truth and figuring out who Emmy is/was … and if their encounter was show more really so chance, then or now.

I didn’t dislike “The Perfect Stranger,” but it doesn’t live up to its predecessor, "All the Missing Girls," in writing or story quality. It was at times clunky and felt forced and unrealistic — Leah was *this distressed* and *that close* to someone she knew for mere months? (Though she’d have a quick response: “I can only explain it this way: that I knew her deeply, if not thoroughly; that a four-month relationship can supersede all the boyfriends, all the friendships, that came after and lasted longer, that our friendship was born from the one time I’d stepped off track, done something unexpected that did not follow the predicted steps of my life. And for that reason, it shone brighter, and so did she.”)

Though I understand building suspense by slowly revealing snippets of Leah’s backstory and what led her to Pennsylvania, I felt confused more than a couple times trying to piece things together. The sub-plots are interesting but lose some of their power as they’re dropped in ever so sporadically and piece-meal. It took me more than 200 pages to actually feel invested in the characters and the outcome of the story (which landed with a bit of a dull thud after such a long buildup.)

Still, it’s entertaining enough, and worth checking out if you enjoy Miranda’s books. I adore her so much that I almost feel guilty stamping less than 5 stars on “The Perfect Stranger.” Megan, you keep your spot on my favorite authors list, and I’ll be right here waiting for the next one! show less

"As long as you end at the truth, all's fair."
Deeply seated, disturbing and nefarious, the ones you think you know to your soul could be the ones wearing the invisible mask. How can you uproot your life, live with someone and be vulnerable to them for years, without knowing anything about them at all? Be careful who you give yourself away to, because naïveté comes with the perfect set up, the perfect alibi, the perfect mark.
Miranda weaves a wickedly good tale of intrigue, suspense and mystery, that leaves you trying to figure out all the threads, but not being completely successful. Miranda ties it up by the end, and leaves you shaking your head and saying "Wow, just wow."
*I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review

A quote in the book from the main character Leah Stevens sums up this book. "I had believed everyone was something other than they were."I was still slightly confused as to who everyone was even after I finished the book. Leah Stevens was a reporter for the Boston Post who was forced to resign by something she reported that the paper thought was a lie. Was it?? We know some of the details but we don't really know exactly why she had to leave until later on in the book. She needs to leave Boston. She meets an old friend and roommate Emmy who convinces her by a toss of a dart to move to western Pennsylvania to start over. Leah gets a teaching certificate and takes a teaching job at a new high school. She and Emmy rent a rustic house by show more the lake. Sounds idyllic, right? A woman is attacked by the lake but who did it? Emmy disappears and so does a man she had been seeing. Leah thinks at first she just took off with him so she doesn't report it. Then when she does report it no trace of Emmy can be found and everything starts to point to Leah. How will Leah clear herself? Will her reporter's instincts help her? Who is Emmy? What is really going on?! I asked myself that last question several times, but everything comes together in the end. I think. This book is filled with twists and turns and makes you keep compulsively reading to try to figure it out. show less

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda is a very highly recommended page-turner and I relished every one of those pages in this complex tale of suspense.

Leah Stevens was a journalist in Boston, but needed to resign from her job due to a story she wrote. Now she needs to find something new to do - in a hurry. By coincidence she runs into a roommate she had years ago during a time in her life when she also needed help in a hurry. Emmy was there eight years ago when they first met and helped Leah out before Emmy went overseas with the Peace Corp. It is a shocking surprise for Leah to run into Emmy now. The two immediately bond and take up where they left off. They decide to move together to a small town in Western Pennsylvania on a whim. show more Leah can get a position teaching at the high school and Emmy can find a job doing something.

Then a woman who closely resembles Leah is found seriously injured and Emmy has gone missing. Leah works with the police to try and help them while at the same time she tries to get them to look into the whereabouts of her missing friend. As both investigations continue it becomes increasingly clear that Leah really never knew Emmy well at all and the police are beginning to look at her as a suspect. Leah realizes that she needs to use her journalistic skills to uncover the truth about what happened and who Emmy really is.

Leah is a well-developed character and I began to like her more and more as the novel progressed and doubts began to develop. She becomes more spunky and begins to show more and more of her intelligence and intuition as she begins her own investigation while the police are more focused on investigating her.

The revelation of new information is wonderfully timed. It begs the question: How well do you really know other people? As Leah is desperately trying to find out what happened to her friend, you will begin to wonder if Emmy is even real and doubts about Leah's sanity will creep in. You only know Emmy through Leah, and Leah doesn't even reveal everything about her own life right away. The plot of The Perfect Stranger moves along at a gallop and never lets up. I enjoyed the fast-paced ride and twisty plot immensely. The writing is pitch-perfect in the suspenseful narrative.

I really enjoyed uncovering the twisty-layers of this swift-paced, agile novel of psychological suspense. It was a pleasure to read.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/05/the-perfect-stranger.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2001400965 show less

I I was so impressed with Megan Miranda's adult fiction debut, All the Missing Girls, that I nominated it for the Texas Library Association Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List. We were thrilled that Ms. Miranda was able to speak at our Author Luncheon in San Antonio in April,2017.

With her second adult fiction title, The Perfect Stranger, there is definitely no "sophomore slump." As a matter of fact, I may even like this one better than the first! As I was reading it, I felt like Gretel from the fairy tale following a trail of clues: except those clues led me into the dark forest of the unknown rather than into a safe harbor.

It is amazing how the author structures her story and drops bombshells in the narrative which take the reader into show more unexpected territory. You have a somewhat unreliable narrator, but one you are rooting for; a series of crimes that you can't quite figure out; and forays into the past that shock you as they reveal truly unexpected plot twists. The resolution is satisfying and consistent with the themes explored in story. The Perfect Stranger is....well, perfect - and one of my favorites from last Spring. As someone who reads a LOT of books, I am truly excited to be able to recommend this one. show less

Leah Stevens needs to get away from Boston. Due to an article she published, her job as a journalist is over thanks to fears of a lawsuit coupled with an in-place restraining order. So when she comes across her old friend Emmy in a bar, the timing seems perfect. Emmy is coming out a bad relationship and she suggests the pair--once former roommates--move to rural Pennsylvania and start over. Leah gets a teaching position at the nearby school, and Emmy picks up a series of odd jobs. But their fresh start is jeopardized when a local woman, with a startling likeness to Leah, is attacked. Then Emmy vanishes, and Leah really starts to worry. Leah works with the local police, but quickly fears she may be under suspicion as well, as it rapidly show more becomes clear that Leah didn't know Emmy well at all. In fact, Leah is starting to wonder: did Emmy even exist?

This is Miranda's follow-on to [book:All the Missing Girls|23212667], and I actually found myself liking THE PERFECT STRANGER even more. While GIRLS hooked you with its backward narrative shtick, STRANGER pulls you immediately with the strength of its story, and it never lets go. Everything in the novel is complicated and interrelated, it seems, and you're constantly digesting details and facts and trying to put these intricately interwoven pieces together, just as Leah is. Because she has a past as a reporter, she's great at digging through facts, but you also can't trust her as a narrator, and it puts you--the reader--in quite a bind. What is true? Who is real? It was a frustrating (in a good way) dilemma, and I loved it.

The novel gets progressively creepier as it unfolds: to the point that I found myself checking the curtains when I was up late at night (frantically reading the book, of course!). I kept wondering what on earth was going on and how everything could possibly fit together. At one point, there was a great plot twist that I totally didn't see coming. I love when that happens! The book kept me puzzling right up until the end. It's really quite spellbinding.

It reminded me a bit of a [author:Mary Kubica|7392948] novel; you really do start to doubt if Emmy exists. As mentioned, Leah is a very unreliable narrator in many ways. She brings her reporter instincts to this small town (despite trying to escape that part of her past), and it's truly fascinating watching her try to unravel the story. Her searches become really exciting, even if you don't completely trust her or know if you can believe her.

Everything ties together really well. The only downside for me was that the ending was a bit anticlimactic, but the "aha" moments when everything fits together are amazing. It's a really intricate and well-plotted novel. I stayed up late to finish it because I could not go to bed without knowing what had happened. I was more excited about finishing this book than Duke's defeat in the NCAA tournament - that should say a lot. :)

Overall, a very exciting and interesting (and often spooky!) thriller. Definitely recommend.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 04/11/2017.

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