A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

from Goodreads:

There is a stranger outside Caroline’s house.

Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she’d have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aiden, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she’s built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aiden for comfort…and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aiden’s obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline’s husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband’s murder.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book started out absolutely fascinating. I was hooked, but then it slowed down before getting into anything particularly interesting. There was a long period, from about 25 percent to sixty percent where I wasn’t sure I was going to finish it. The good news is, it does get better and the end makes it all worth the time to read.

I found the characters interesting, mostly because, honestly, I didn’t really like any of them very much, but the author wrote the story in such a way that I was still compelled to keep reading it regardless. This book quickly becomes a guessing game, making you wonder who is right and who is wrong and trying to put the pieces together as you read so it makes sense. I found out at the end that I was both right and wrong about what was going on.

I gave this book four stars, because in the end, I didn’t manage to guess exactly what was going on before it happened, as I so often do. That was exciting. This is an interesting read with just the right amount of psychological suspense to satisfy. Give it a read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.



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