Author: A.R. Torre
Narrator: Christina Traister, Chris Ciulla, Patrick Lawlor, Leon Nixon
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Publication Date: September 2022
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Such a quiet and ordinary wife and mother. Who will even notice what she’s done?
Lillian Smith leads an unexceptional life, writing obituaries and killing time with her inattentive husband and disconnected son. Then she meets David, a handsome stranger, in a coffee shop. Lured into an affair, she invents a new persona, one without strings, deadlines, or brooding husbands.
Lillian has never felt so reckless, unpredictable, or wanted. But as her affair with David intensifies, she withdraws from everything that’s real, even her closest friend. When evidence of her life as a secret lover finds its way onto her son’s social media, she risks ruining much more than her marriage or reputation.
As lies beget lies, Lillian’s two worlds spiral dangerously out of control. And betrayals run deeper than she imagines. Because Lillian isn’t the only one leading a double life.
My Thoughts: I have to start this review by saying that I thought this was book was going to be another run of the mill adulterous spouse story and that somebody dies. My least favorite plot device is adultery so I wasn’t holding out a lot of hope that this book would be any different or that it would make me feel anything other than contempt for the cheating cheaters.
A Familiar Stranger is the first book I have read by this author and the story blew all of my preconceived notions out of the water. Yes, there is adultery and both Lillian and her husband, Mike, are equally guilty, but this story goes way beyond a small matter of adultery. This story opens up a whole other avenue of sinister dealings below the surface that the reader is completely unprepared for. Let me just say that lies and secrets can destroy a marriage and lives much worse than adultery can.
The author creates some very unique and interesting characters in this book. I wasn’t able to relate or empathize with most of them, but they were multi-layered and surprised me numerous times. I absolutely did not agree with either Lillian or Mike and thought they were both despicable characters. Lillian is unstable, needy and manipulative. Mike is sinister and untrustworthy. How they managed to stay married for nearly twenty years shocked and surprised me. Lillian’s best friend Sam was an interesting character and he surprised me as well. If I had to pick a character that I had any empathy for it would be Lillian’s teenage son, Jacob. He is the one most traumatized by his parents and their deceit so I felt bad for him. Several additional supporting characters added much more to the story.
I chose the audiobook format for this story and the narration performed by Christina Traister, Chris Ciulla, Patrick Lawlor and Leon Nixon was exceptional. These characters were brought to life for me with the performances and they felt genuine and sincere. The narration was performed so seamlessly, I had a difficult time putting the book down and it was so easy to picture it in my mind as though I were standing in the room watching the events unfold.
Knowing almost immediately that there is a death had me on pins and needles and when it is revealed not only who died, but how and why added to the suspense of this story. Stories like this are why I love to read. It’s not often that an author can draft a story that will shock the reader to the core but will also have the reader’s attention so riveted to the events transpiring in the story, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to the reader when the story ends. This author is such an author and I hope that this is the level of reading entertainment I can expect when I read the rest of her work.
My Final Verdict: Overall, this story was simply amazing and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers as well as stories that shock and surprise the reader while leaving them wanting more.
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