Parents have long told their kids to beware of strangers. In her heart-thumping thriller A Stranger on the Beach, Michele Campbell reminds readers why that lesson should be heeded.
Caroline first saw Aidan on the beach outside her newly built seaside mansion. Or so she says. As the novel unfolds, the two become friends and then more than that, though Caroline is already married. But no matter how close they get, neither can be fully trusted--not with their feelings or their words. Caroline and Aidan take turns narrating the chapters, their stories rarely matching. Is Aidan a possessive stalker? Or a dim-witted but well-intentioned boyfriend? Is Caroline a passionate lover who's afraid of her violent husband? Or a loyal wife afraid of the stranger she met on the beach?
A former federal prosecutor in New York City, Campbell draws on her experience with the law to keep readers guessing what's truth and what's fiction, even as blood is spilled and the mystery deepens. As in her previous novels, including She Was the Quiet One and It's Always the Husband, Campbell fills Stranger on the Beach with twists and turns until its truly shocking end.
At a time when more attention than ever is being paid to women's tales of sexual assault--and whether they should be believed--Campbell has delivered a realistic story that reveals just how complex such stories can become. Fans of Ruth Ware (The Woman in Cabin 10) and Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train) will not be disappointed. --Amy Brady, freelance writer and editor