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The Stranger Diaries: The Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

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The Stranger Diaries: The Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick by Elly Griffiths

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By Elly Griffiths

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5 reviews

THE TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR

THE RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK

‘Utterly bewitching … a pitch-perfect modern Gothic’ AJ FINN, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

‘Compelling, intelligent and increasingly mesmerising’ PETER JAMES

‘At once a homage to the Gothic thriller, and a re-imagining, it is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense. I loved this book! And you will too’ LOUISE PENNY

A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to tales of murder. As a literature teacher specialising in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a short course on them every year. Then Clare’s life and work collide tragically when one of her colleagues is found dead, a line from an R.M. Holland story by her body. The investigating police detective is convinced the writer’s works somehow hold the key to the case.

Not knowing who to trust, and afraid that the killer is someone she knows, Clare confides her darkest suspicions and fears about the case to her journal. Then one day she notices some other writing in the diary. Writing that isn’t hers…

Reviews

05 Sep 2023

Good pace and engaging

26 May 2019

St Regulus SM

This is the first time I have read a book of this genre, and didn't expect to enjoy it. However, the story fairly ripped along, and the twists and turns kept the reader on his/her toes. Even if you do guess the ending before you get there, it won't spoil your enjoyment of the story. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

17 Dec 2018

JennyC

The Stranger Diaries is a contemporary Gothic thriller. Clare Cassidy lives with her 15 year old daughter Georgia and teaches English Literature at a local school. In her spare time she is writing a biography of the author RM Holland, a gothic writer who used to live in a building which is now part of the school and whose life was surrounded by mystery. The lines between the past and the present start to blur when a work colleague and friend of Clare’s is found dead in suspicious circumstances, with a quote from an RM Holland short story by her body. Enter Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur who has been put in charge of the case. As the plot unfolds, the narrative alternates between these three women – Clare, Georgie and Harbinder, In many ways it is a classic whodunnit, but there are also hints of other genres including the psychological thriller and gothic horror. In addition, the book is littered with literary references which are integrated seamlessly into the storyline, as are excerpts from Clare’s diary and RM Holland’s short story, The Stranger.

What a great book. It was well written, easy to read and had a great plot. It also contained tension and suspense and I found it utterly compelling. The three narrators work particularly well together as there is some overlap in their narratives, giving multiple perspectives of the same situations. The characters are very well developed, both those who take centre stage and the more periphery members of the cast list. Personally I found one very interesting and perceptive observation was the disconnect between the Georgie that Clare thinks she knows and the real Georgie who is fully aware that her mother knows far less about her than she thinks she does. I suppose in a sense this theme is further developed in the family of Harbinder Kaur, the female detective on the case. She still lives at home with her parents, yet they have no idea she is gay. Harbinder is a particularly great character, worthy of a major part in at least one more book. I would love to meet her family who are witty, funny and generally very entertaining. Her Mum is a great cook and her dishes are legendary – the descriptions even made me want to turn up for dinner and I don’t even like spicy food. Somehow Clare, the writer of the Diaries and the main character in the book was less of a tour de force than some of the other characters. Although her character is both believable and likeable, she is more ordinary and has fewer eccentricities than some of the other participants in the drama.

Is there anything not to like about this book? If there is, I am struggling to find it.

I have never read any books by this author before, but I will certainly be looking out for more. Well done Elly.

14 Dec 2018

Poppy

This is the first Ellie Griffiths book that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I really couldn't put it down and finished it in a couple of days. Sometimes I feel with mysteries and thrillers that authors are almost trying too hard to keep the reader on their toes with lots of twists and turns in the plot but that simply wasn't the case with The Stranger Diaries. One of the best books I've read in a while.

02 Oct 2018

karen

This is the first I've read by Elly Griffiths but I would be keen to read more now.
Very easy to get in to, great characters, a good driving narrative. I didn't guess the ending but even if I had it doesn't rely on a big reveal, it's about the whole well-crafted story. Just the right amount of pace too.

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