Before We Were Strangers

Now a successful model, but reeling from the loss of her good fatherly-type friend, Sloane has returned to her hometown to investigate what happened to her mother years earlier. When Sloane was a child, she heard her parents fighting, then a loud thump, then silence. In the morning, her mother was gone. Sloane suspects her father of harming her mom, but he claims innocence.
Sloane left her high school sweetheart, Micah, without a word, and now that she is back, she can't deny her feelings for him. But, her former best friend, Paige, got herself pregnant, married Micah, and when Micah divorced her, she still resents it, and maybe Sloane, too?
Micah helps Sloane, and in doing so, she finds out the truth, but not before her life is put in show more danger.
A good mystery with a few twists.
Only thing-Sloane was too quick to forgive people! show less

Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak

Suspense. Fast paced and gripping.

Wouldn’t really call it romance. There is a romance but the couple were high school sweethearts and kind of just fall back into that.
The story is fully focused on the investigation of a couple of cold cases of murder. Murder of family that puts the suspicion directly in the immediate family.

Sloane’s father, the Mayor, has so much power and has no principles when leveraging that power. A very ugly person.
Sloane’s former best friend has some serious confidence problems. She really messes up both her life and others by the choices she makes. I would love to see a follow up about Paige, but I don’t think she can totally reverse from her base line “me” show more thinking.

Overall I liked the suspense and story telling. show less

This book sucks you right in. A model, returned from a career in New York. An estranged family with a controlling father and a brother who won’t believe a word she says about what happened the night their mother disappeared. A best friend who married her ex right after she left town… and who may or may not be on her side. A cop who married a girl to do the right thing, rather than the one girl he’d always loved. This has all the makings of a really juicy soap opera, and you just can’t stop turning the pages.

But as Sloane digs deeper into the twisted history of what happened the night her mother disappeared, she starts receiving more threats. Her father controls everything in their small Texas town. Micah, her ex, now a police show more officer, wants to help. But the situation is complicated by the fact that Paige, his ex-wife in a nasty divorce and Sloane’s (maybe) best friend shows up at every turn, sure wanting Micah back and convinced he still has feelings for Sloane. (She may not be entirely wrong.) This was a complete page-turner!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

Title: Before We Were Strangers
Author: Brenda Novak
Publisher: Mira
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
'Before We Were Strangers' by Brenda Novak

My Review:

'Before We Were Strangers' was quite an interesting Thriller that kept me turning the pages to see what was coming next, with romance, mystery, family drama, and even a murder. Be ready for lots of twists and turns in this story that will keep you turning, shaking your head, and saying, "I didn't see that coming," along with a lot of guessing. There were many interesting characters with flaws all over the place. By the end, this was a good, interesting story.

3.5 stars

As I was finishing the book, I couldn't help, but feel disappointed. I wasn't a fan of the villain's identity and it had basically ruined the way I thought things had happened. Then came a glorious chapter that fixed some of my disappointment and I was a happy woman again. The only other thing that bothered me was the whole Micah/Paige thing. I don't think that it explained to us why the fell onto a bed so quickly after Sloane left him and their town behind. It might have been explained, but I had some trouble with my reader and the pdf I got, so I might have missed it.

I was going to say that I didn't like Paige, but I guess, not everyone can be good in a book. She is a little obsessed, manipulative, not in the right frame of show more mind and she could use some professional help for that. The book has a lot of flawed characters and no one is close to perfect, so be prepared for that. Even the hero is not pure book boyfriend material and I think that has to do with the change of the genre.

Sharp objects keeps popping in my mind when I think of this book. Both books are about a woman returning to her small town and she is trying to solve the mystery behind some murder(s). At least this one is better than SO. The pace of this book is a little slow, as Sloane tries to acclimate to the new dynamics in her hometown and find the right footing in order to begin her investigation. The early parts are more of a way for her and Micah to get back together and less for her starting her investigation.

Overall, the book was good but with some flaws. The likeability of some characters is completely up to the individual reader and for me, the book is going to be either a hit or a miss, so keep that in mind. The choice of whether or not you should read the book is 100% up to you and not on me saying "YOU MUST READ THIS" ('cause it's always your choice, but I hope you get my meaning) show less

This is the first time a Brenda Novak book has been on my TBR list because I assumed she wrote mostly romance novels, which is not one of my favorite genres. However, Before We Were Strangers has been a most pleasant surprise: it is a contemporary mystery thriller that captures the reader's attention from the first page. Sloane McBride, at age 5, overheard her parents having a violent argument. The next morning, her mother had disappeared, never to be seen again. This abandonment stayed with the child into adulthood. She left her hometown in Texas as soon as she was 18, leaving behind her best friend and her boyfriend Micah. She returned 10 years later because she was convinced that her rich and powerful father was responsible for show more whatever happened to her mother. With Micah's help, they proceed to dig up the past in order to solve her mother's probable murder, in spite of her father's and brother's obstruction of their investigation. This is a whodunit that will stay with the reader, long after the last page. I look forward to more novels by Brenda Novak. Thank you to Mira Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

I wouldn't exactly call this a page-turner, but it was a fast-paced, quick read. The plot moved along quickly, no lag in the storyline(s). Some of the things you can definitely see coming, but some were surprises. Pretty good character development, at least with most of the main characters. At one point I didn't necessarily understand why a certain character was having a hard time with something (I would say who and what, but no spoilers!) because what was happening was not an end-of-the-world catastrophe like they thought it was, but it gave the story a bit of plot twist, so I guess I see what Brenda Novak was trying to do there.

I've seen on other reviews that people don't like Brenda Novak's writing and that this was their first book show more by her. I'm relatively certain I've read at least one other book by her, and I haven't had any issues with her writing style. Honestly, I don't know what those other people are talking about because the writing in this book isn't really much different than most other suspense/romance books out there. So if you're looking at the other reviews and thinking to yourself "I don't know about this one" do yourself a favor and read it. I think everyone else was either reading outside their genre or being overly critical.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. Good story, fast plot, believable characters, twists and turns. If you like a little romance with your suspense, you will like this. If you like suspense and puzzles, you will like this. Just read it already! :) show less