A Stranger in the House: A Novel

Shari Lapena

Aug 2017 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Not a Happy Family

“A Stranger in the House will have you sleeping with the lights on for weeks.” —Bustle

“Smart and suspenseful. . . you'll never see the ending coming.” —PureWow

In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home.

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes.  Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good. 

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

Ratings and reviews

The book started out great. I couldn't put it down and finished it in about 24 hours. However as the story continued, the events and characters became much more predictable so overall I enjoyed it less than I'd hoped. I'm looking forward to reading the author's first novel which seems to have been better based on other reviews.

***I received a copy of this book from netgalley*** This book was pretty good at the beginning. I was enjoying it all and had a hard time putting it down. Then things started going south, I did not like how Tom acted after what happened with his wife. Suspected Brigid was crazy from the get go. And that Karen hid more than even the reader knew. The only one I enjoyed thoroughly was detective Rasbach but only because I loved him in The couple next door. Also the ending left a bitter taste in my mouth I did not enjoy it. And to give the psycho what she wanted? Really? It wasn't the worst but it wasn't the best either. The Couple Next Door was better.

3.75/4 rating. solid book. twists. if you pay attention, you can almost catch at least 1 of the twists. I enjoy how the author paints the picture. not a rushed plot which is appreciated. decent plot - intrigued me for the most part!

About the author

Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of the thrillers The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, The End of Her, Not a Happy Family, and Everyone Here Is Lying, which have all been New York Times and The Sunday Times (London) bestsellers. Her books have been sold in forty territories around the world. She lives on a farm outside of Toronto.