I appreciated the idea but the writing style was just not for me and made it difficult to connect with both the story and the characters which remained quite shallow in my opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ebook!

What a dysfunctional family this is. I have mixed reviews on this. But if you wanna mind blowing thriller I don’t think that this book would be for you plenty of others out there to choose from.

While I really wanted to like the story, I sadly just couldn't find most of it believable. There are a few twists and that leave you shell-shocked, but they're all towards the end. The beginning and the middle parts of this story were good and contained a good amount of suspense, but the behaviors of the characters were not entirely believable.

When Chris Redfern receives a threating note - "I know what you did to Eve Levine" at his doorstep, his wife Rose and he shrugged it off as a practical joke. Chris is nonetheless bothered by the note and wants to know who sent it. Days later, the woman - Katie Hughill Levine shows up at his doorstep claiming to be his daughter - a result of a long-forgotten summer-fling. Katie tries her best to fit in the Redfern family while awaiting the results of a paternity test she's almost sure will tell her that Chris is her father. While Katie settles in the Redferns start noticing strange happenings around them. First, a friend of Julia never turns up to meet her, then Louise a co-worker Chris had a loud argument with is found beaten badly. A car crashes into the neighbor's fence and Chris grows increasingly unnerved and cannot focus. Soon the family starts doubting that Katie is not the sad broken girl she claims to be. With dark secrets about Chris’s history with Katie’s mother coming to light, Rose no longer knows who to trust. Soon, she isn’t sure whether she’s invited a dangerous stranger into her home, or whether she’s been living with one all along…

The minute the Redferns invite a practical stranger into their home without any proof or verification and going only on her word for thigs is when alarm bells started ringing in my head. And as they continue to write-off the bizarre happenings around them is when I realized that I do not like them at all. While this story might be high on the thrill factor, such things make it very difficult to believe that people can be so naive as to let a stranger in their houses. And Chris and his wife are no dingbats. Chris holds a respectable position as a microbiologist and Rose used to be a gymnast. They have a young daughter Julia who at least should've been the reason they should have been careful. While off-putting their behaviors and the constant making of excuses for Katie was what made this story so difficult to digest. If it's one thing, I can't stand, its stupid characters.
Ironically, I found Katie's character to be the most intriguing. Granted that she had to put in minimum effort to get her 'dad' Chris to acknowledge her., she still came off as a striking character. Wanting to know her past and story was what got me turning the pages. If I ignore the Redfern's ignorance, the plot of this book was good. I turned the pages like crazy during the last few chapters (but sadly that didn't make up for the gullible characters). I liked how the book ended. In the end, this was a good one time read!

Thank You, NetGalley, Bookouture and Jake Cross for an arc!

This didn't grab me straight away like Jake's previous books did and i really had to keep forcing myself to pick it up , I am so glad i did though as from about a third of the way in i couldn't put it down . When Chris is approached by a young woman saying she is his daughter from a long forgotten about fling he is shocked to say the least . His wife and other daughter are way more welcoming and invite Katie to stay . Weird things begin to happen , unexplained fire a disappearing visitor . A great read in the end . Thank you

A slow burn suspense with some confusion and a bit of an OMG ending. I did enjoy the book overall but the characters were a bit confusing and scattered and the story took a few odd twists and like I said it was not a fave paced thriller definitely a slow burn.

Thank you for allowing me an advanced copy to review.

This book was average for me, it started off very strong and credible, but in the latter half of the book I found it to be quite far fetched and slightly unbelievable.

This was a good book. I definitely had my thoughts and suspicions but was pleasantly surprised to get them all wrong! I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense in this book. Two thumbs way up. Thank you NetGalley.

Really good and well written captivating thriller!
The kind I like watching on tv, I can totally see this as a Lifetime movie.

Good from page one, held my interest until the end. Well developed storyline and interesting characters.

People are never what they seem and you never know what to expect... I like it when I can't figure everything out from the start!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rose & Chris have been happily married for many years. They have a teenage daughter who has not caused them much angst & apart from Rose's rheumatoid arthritis, they are ticking along nicely, until a note is found for Chris saying, "I know what you did to Eve Levine"- which confuses them all. One evening their car is involved in an attempted robbery that is foiled by a girl on a motor bike. Shortly afterwards, their saviour arrives at their doorstep. She tells them that she is Katie, Eve's daughter- the result of a long ago fling. She has recently lost her mother & her flat has burned down. Kindhearted Rose invites her to stay. Chris reluctantly agrees- at least until a paternity test result anyway.

So far so good. A bit of a stretch accepting them taking her in, but OK. However from there on things got progressively more difficult to believe. I like a 'good' baddy but this one really stretched the bounds of likelihood. I stuck with it to the end but the last few chapters were an effort!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I enjoyed this book more than the previous books by author Jake Cross.

A young woman landed up on Chris's doorstep claiming to be his daughter. That shattered the peace of the family. While waiting for DNA reports wife Katie invited the woman to stay at their home. Strange things happened. Who was the stranger who had invaded their home and lives?

My third book by Jake Cross, the story was different. Told mainly in Chris's POV, the story was interesting in most parts, though some felt repetitive. The characters were quite a weird lot, and therein lay the mystery. Lies and deception abounded, I never knew who was uttering them. The story reached its twisted culmination which was quite shocking.

An unexpected fun read.

The concept of this book drew my attention to it, Katie showing up on Rose and Chris' doorstep claiming to be Chris' daughter. Would you let her in?

Rose starts to wonder whether she should have turned her away when strange things start happening. The book is twisty, shocking in parts and there were places in the book where my heart was racing. It is the first I've heard of Jake Cross and it definitely won't be the last book of his that I read.

Perfect Stranger
By Jake Cross
365 pages
psychological thriller
2 ⭐⭐
The blurb drew me in straight away. I had such high hopes for this book. Sadley for me none of the characters were very likeable. I failed to connect with any of them , making it a very long read. It starts out slow , confusing and was just so unbelievable. Even the ending was strange and fairly predictable. Unfortunately, this book just was not for me. Thank you to NetGalley , the publisher and author for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A complex thriller based on a chance encounter many years previously. Suddenly a young man's actions return to haunt him and his family in the present day.Good characters and many a twist.

The book was a good read. The plot was interesting, the characters were well described but I believe something was missing. I found the book good but a little bit predictable.
Would like to try to read more books of Jake Cross though.

Had me guessing on absolutely everything through reading this book. Who do I believe? Who is telling the truth. Thank you for keeping me on the edge

What another belter and roller coaster of a ride this book has been. Gripping, thrilling, chilling and an edge of your seat read.

The story focuses on a family Rose (Mum), Chris (Dad) and Julie (Their daughter). But then Katie arrives aka the perfect stranger bringing trouble their way, I was questioning her character throughout… Who really is she?

A well deserved four stars from me. Highly recommend. Loving Jake Cross’s stories. Throughally enjoyed it, I was hooked. A real page turner.

Perfect Stranger is a twisted psychological thriller with a great creep factor. Would you let a young woman into your home because she claims to be your daughter from a long ago fling? If she had no proof? This couple and their teen daughter do let her in to live with them. Strange things begin to happen and keep happening. The family are not realistic because they weren't suspicious and didn't question the presence of this stranger coinciding with the strange events. It's like they were brain dead. Is this strange girl doing sinister things or is it actually a coincidence? The questions pile up. The story is very creepy and engrossing. I felt like I was being watched. I enjoyed the story, but I wish the family had been intelligent and intuitive. As psychological thrillers go, this story will keep you guessing! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing and extremely creepy thriller from new-to-me author Jake Cross. Perfect Stranger was so good I devoured it in one day. With adept pacing and very cleverly written, it really played with my mind. Superb characterisation by the author as well. A terribly worthwhile and indulgent read, earning a well-deserved five stars.

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

Perfect Stranger is the second book I’ve read by Jake Cross and was a book I struggled at times with but overall enjoyed the storyline. 3.5 ⭐️
Chris and Rose have been married for twenty years and have a daughter, it is the result of a fast romance as soon as they met, but one evening they are held up by men whilst in their car with baseball bats threatening to kill them unless they handed over their possessions until a motorbike comes along and they scarper, unbeknown to Chris and his family the woman on the bike claims to be his daughter from an affair years ago. Whilst waiting for paternity tests Rose invites Katie to stay as she has nowhere to go and here their lives take a strange turn.
On the whole I enjoyed this book, it did feel repetitive at times and I struggled to keep going but I thought it had a good ending and was action packed at the end.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I read and loved The Family Lie by Jake Cross, so when I saw this book I was excited to read. I enjoyed it, it is a suspense and mystery filled book, with characters that are well written.
Perfect Stranger was a fast read for me, and I found myself sinking into the story that the author was telling. The story is told from Chris's point of view. I wasn't a massive fan of him, he seemed a bit of a pushover and needed a lot of prompting from various people to make decisions, which is maybe why he finds himself in the position he does.
I really enjoyed his daughter, Julia's character she was a great addition to the story. Katie, who claims to be Chris's daughter, turns up at their home and the families lives are turned on their head. Her arrival opens up a can of worms that Chris has tried to forget about and starts a chain of events that will rock the families foundations for a long time.