My thanks to Netgalley And HQ for a copy of “A Stranger On The Beach “ for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the right up for this book , but unfortunately it didn’t measure up to my expectations.
I struggled to keep interest with the storyline and it didn’t help that I disliked the characters.
I have read so many better thrillers  lately  and this kept reminding me of a TV movie, so unfortunately I can only give this a n average score.

Totally gripping, far fetched but a great read. There was her side and there was his and what really happened?

I loved this book. It was full of mystery and drama with lots of twists and turns.
I have read one other Michele Campbell book before and this story was different enough whilst still providing the “whodunnit” intrigue that she writes so well.

I was a little bit underwhelmed with this one. After reading the blurb I was excited to read more although unfortunately the story didn’t quite match up to my expectations . I weren’t keen on the style of writing or the characterisation and I felt my attention dwindling in some parts of the book.

Absolutely loved this! Gripping, twisty, and my opinion on who I supported changed constantly. Just what I want in a thriller. Couldn't read it fast enough!
Very cleverly thought out, each chapter from both perspectives really aided the suspense confusion, but in a good way. 
Thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you for my ARC! Will definitely read more by this author!

Great read. Really kept me guessing until the very end. Cleverly written and leaves you not quite sure who to believe

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC

A compelling domestic noir from the eminently talented, Michelle Campbell. Well, this one had me turning the pages with bated breath. Campbell certainly knows how to keep the reader engaged with her imaginative casting of main protagonists... and the plot? Absolutely pitch-perfect. If you are looking for an incisive exploration of toxic relationships and the psyches that make them, then look no further than ‘A Stranger on the Beach’. The dramatics personae of Aiden and Caroline are the imaginative fulcrum of a casual fling gone terribly wrong. What unfolds in this novel is shocking as it is strangely inevitable. Whilst the trope of the psychotic stalker is far from new - witness: ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘bunny boiler’, bywords for that certain someone you would rather not have met, Campbell’s story still feels fresh and exciting. Very exciting, indeed. This author certainly knows how to ratchet up the tension and I devoured every page with gusto. Absolutely fantastic. Gripping, imaginative and very, very addictive.

4.5 Stars

🌊Review🌊⠀
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Me from 10% up until 90% of the book: ❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓⠀
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Me from 90% of the book until the end: 🤯⠀
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So this was one wild ride. I was completely puzzled throughout the entire story but the writing was so intriguing that the mystery of it all kept me reading because I NEEDED to find out the true story. ⠀
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I must applaud this author because she managed to take a very well-known trope and tip it onto its head creating suspense, disbelief and a hell of a lot of confusion. ⠀

I'm pretty sure I'll be in the minority here but I struggled to stay focused throughout this one. I didn't enjoy the switching of the POV's, if anything it just made it drag on, especially through the mid section. 

The blurb really intrigued me so I was really happy to get stuck into but it just never clicked with me.

I didn't connect at all with any of the characters, they all just seemed so cold, I hate it when there isnt just that one character with a bit of warmth or compassion and in all honesty Caroline just annoyed me with her stupidity and poor choices.

The actual plot is interesting and the storyline intriguing BUT the characters just ruined it for me.

I ended up skimming through alot of it once I'd hot the 50% mark, maybe hoping that it would improve but sadly for me it didn't. 

On a positive the ending is wrapped up nicely

Thanks to netgalley and HQ for the ARC. 

2* from me

I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell short for me, even before I was half way through the book I guessed the big twist which was gutting! 
 
It just didn't hook me at all. I dont think this is completely the books fault (I've read so many thrillers in a row!) And I can see why people would enjoy this book I just didn't connect with it! 

I liked the fact it was from Aiden and Caroline's POVs and them both having different recollections of the same events, and trying to figure out who was telling the truth and who was lying. (Even if I did figure this out quite quickly!) 
 
I do think this book would be good for someone who's new to thrillers or someone who doesn't read them often.
  
☆☆.5

This was a mixed one for me - it started off really good, very fast paced and draws you in straight away! It sort of peters off after this, slows down and is almost a bit repetitive. But then there are lots of twists at the end and you are hooked again! 

The characters are very hard to like - I found it very hard to connect with Caroline or have any sympathy for her. This meant that I was team Aidan, despite the way he was portrayed too.

The author has a good idea with this story but felt that it was lacking something that makes it different from other thrillers out there. I felt that some of the switches between characters were quite sudden and almost made me feel like I had missed something out. However, the author does make you constantly question who is good and who is bad and that’s what made me keep reading this book!

Poor Caroline is being played for a fool by her supposedly loving hubby. Not only is he straying from the marital bed he also has the audacity to bring the harlot to their home and parade her in front of their friends and family.

In her despair Caroline ends up having a drunken fling with a younger man. She has no idea that he has a dark and volatile past, and that he might be dangerous. He starts to stalk, threaten and scare her. It's all too much to deal with as she has to watch the life she loves slowly disintegrate.

Then the coin is flipped and the reader follows Aiden and his perspective on the story, which can in all honesty often come off as stalkerish, possessive and creepy. Simultaenously you get short moments of the desperation he feels to be accepted by family, friends and society in general. Is his connection to and concern for Caroline real? He certainly seems to be unusually invested in keeping her safe. Or is it keeping her to himself?

The story is very much a he said/she said scenario. Should the reader believe Caroline or Aiden? Their stories are so different and yet at times very similar. It's hard to determine who is telling the truth or who is telling great big fat lies. Well I'm not telling you - you will have to read it and find out.

It's a psychological thriller, a tense game of half-truths and betrayal. Campbell keeps the narrative of both parties flowing seamlessly - with only tiny glimpses of the actual truth here and there.

A Stranger On The Beach is the first book I’ve read in a while that after finishing it, it left me just devoid of any thought at all. The book was ok the plot was ok I think that was the problem everything was just ok.
The plot is basically rich woman meets local boy who has been a bit naughty in the past and manages to manipulate him into doing exactly what she wants without him knowing what’s happening. Caroline Stark is married to Jason, has been for twenty years they have an eighteen year old daughter, Hannah, and Caroline suspects Jason is cheating on her so puts a plan into place when she finds out he’s emptied their bank accounts. That plan involves local barman and ex convict Aiden who she starts an affair with and revenge on her husband starts.
This was a great read at the beginning and I really enjoyed it, the problem was it got at times a little unbelievable and the last third of the book was like a crime book not a thriller and I think if that bit had been shorter I would have loved this more.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

In this mystery, a woman is suspicious that her husband is having an affair. But her curiosity brings lots of problems. It was a very good mystery that pulled me in. Good writing style and a good plot. 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.

#AstrangerOnTheBeach #NetGalley 
Brutal and brilliant. A nail biting thriller. Highly recommended. 
Caroline is happy with her new beach house where she can host parties but soon her marriage is collapsed with her husband and the bartender Aiden falls for her. 
As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aidan for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan'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. 
This is a brilliant psychological thriller from the author of Its Always The Husband. 
From plot to characters and from narration to dialogues, everything was so we'll executed. 
I would definitely recommend this book to all psychological thriller fans out there. 
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy of this brilliant thriller.

A woman suspects her husband is having an affair and decides to get her own back with unfortunate repercussions, not only for herself but for her whole family. An intriguing storyline with interesting characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book.

Well this book was the surprise i didnt see coming. It is actually brilliant. So i will try my best to review it without giving too much away because you dont want to know too much.

Caroline has it all - the beach front property, a rich husband and now she is throwing an extravagant party. However - when the party takes a turn for the worse, she seeks solace in vodka at the local bar and comfort from the local bar tender Aiden. 



Aiden has fallen head over heels for Caroline and all he wants to do is support her as her marriage falls apart. However - when her husband goes missing and with murder chargers hanging over her - what is going to happen?



This book like i said at the beginning of this review was brilliant. Told from Caroline and Aidens perspective - its great to see the same situations told from how they each perceive them. The characters were great, they were so unique, flawed and at the best of times slightly unrealiable. I didnt see any of it coming at all and even though it could of gone off into the unbelievable department because it was written so well it never did. Instead what you get as a reader is a shocking outcome and a range of conflicting emotions as you have been taken in by this all.

I really enjoyed this book so much.  It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting.  I would highly recommend this book.

I was looking forward to reading this after reading the blurb on the book, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations unfortunately. Caroline and Jason Stark have been married for 20 years, they have a teenage daughter, Hannah, money, and Caroline thinks their marriage is perfect. They have a beautiful new house on the beach, for parties and for a holiday home. 

But then everything changes, Jason brings another woman, a Russian, Galena, Caroline thinks he is having an affair with this woman, then she finds out all the money has gone, she is left with nothing. She sees a man looking at the house from the beach, later she goes to a local bar and has several drinks, she meets Aidan Callaghan, and ends up flirting with him, things go further when he goes home with her, after more alcohol they end up having sex, Caroline sees it as revenge on her husband, but Aidan tells her he loves her. The following morning Caroline regrets what happened between them. 

The story is told from two different points of view Caroline’s in the first person narrative, and Aidans in third person. But as each tells the story there are differences. Who is telling the truth? Where is Jason? What has happened to him? 

Caroline claims she didn’t know Aidans shady bad boy past, she tells her sister that he is stalking her and is obsessed with her. Aidan has said he would deal with Jason, but what does he mean from that?

The latter part of the book is like a police procedural as Caroline finds herself accused of killing her husband. What is Aidans connection to the land where her house has been built? There are lots of twists and turns in the story, but I guessed the ending before I reached it. My problem was I just didn’t like any of the characters, I really hoped I could but there was just nothing about them that was likeable for me.

The writing is good, with some good prose, I just found the story unbelievable at times. Rich woman, poor boy.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HQ for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Michele Campbell writes a great, fast paced, addictive, and neat mystery in this gripping tale of fear and tension.

A Stranger on the Beach is told from two perspectives - those of Caroline Stark and Aidan Callaghan - but each of them has a completely different and contradictory version of the same events. 

For over twenty years Caroline has been married to Jason Stark. The comfortably-off couple have recently built a lavish beach house overlooking the sea miles outside the city. Their daughter, Hannah, has just gone away to college and it's time for the couple to enjoy the fruits of their labour. But things go awry on the night of their housewarming party. Caroline's husband is unexpectedly absent, until he turns up late with a woman in tow. As the guests enjoy the drama, Caroline is humiliated. When confronted, Jason leaves and Caroline can't get in touch with him. Convinced that her husband is having an affair, she bumps into Aidan, a stranger on the beach.

Michele Campbell delivers this impressive, clever, complex, and well-written psychological tale with style and aplomb. Well-plotted, and multi-layered, I loved the manipulative and obsessive nature of both of the main characters. I totally relished trying to figure out who the unreliable character was here, if either. 

A Stranger on the Beach is a cracking story and a book that I revelled in all the way through. It brought no disappointments including the fabulous finale. I'm very happy to recommend this book to those who love a family drama-style psychological thriller. 

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from HQ via NetGalley at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.