An amazing storyline, incredibly well written. This psychological thriller is almost impossible to put down. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

I think this could possibly be Taylor's best book yet. It's certainly my favourite from her so far. I absolutely loved it from the very first page to the very last.

With three different, seemingly disconnected, stories this shouldn't have worked for me but somehow it did. I usually have problems with multiple povs, there's almost always one story that I prefer to the others but here I found myself fully engaged with all three.

Annie is a single parent and manager of a fashion store in the Mead shopping centre. At her adult daughter's encouragement she's trying to put herself out there and meet someone new but while she does find a guy she likes there's someone out there who doesn't want them to get together.

Gareth is a middle aged security guard at the shopping centre who cares for his elderly mother who has dementia. He discovers his mother is receiving postcards from his father who disappeared and was presumed dead 20 years ago. Could he still be alive or is someone trying to take advantage of his mum.

Ursula is a bit of a loner. She blames herself for her fiancé's death. She works as a courier and lives with a friend until they discover she's been stealing from them. When they throw her out she's desperate enough to rent a room from a rather odd guy, who won't tell her what's in the basement and insists the radio be kept on at all times.

Add to this rumours in the background of a serial killer responsible for the disappearance of several men in the area and you've got a truly gripping read.

I was completely addicted to each of the three stories and I thought the author did a brilliant job of balancing them. Annie, Gareth and even Ursula were very sympathetic characters and they felt very real and relateable. The secondary characters were also very well rounded and the relationships between them believable.

It was however the plot that was the star. The tension never lets up for an instant and there are some truly creepy moments that had me wanting to hide under the duvet. It also keeps you guessing throughout and I genuinely had no idea where it was going or how the stories would eventually come together.

The big finale when it does come is absolutely perfect and lived up to all expectations.

Overall, a brilliant read and one I'd recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller.

Strangers has an interesting and eclectic cast of characters with interconnecting stories they keep you glued to the page. Just because someone is a stranger it doesn’t mean they won’t have an impact on your life. I’ve read all of Cally Taylor’s books but this one is her best yet. I didn’t see the end coming. Neither will you!! A perfectly executed finale.

If you like psychological thrillers then this is definitely one that won`t disappoint.
Three strangers, Alice, manageress of a ladies fashion shop, Gareth a security guard at the shopping centre and Ursula ex-teacher turned delivery driver and regular shoplifter and impulsive thief.
Alice has recently dipped her toe into the world of internet dating. Thinking she has found a keeper sets off a chain of events that sets all three characters on a collision course.
This one drew me in as I followed the authors lead through all the twists and turns, throwing light on Alice Gareth and Ursula`s lives, revealing their secrets and fears.
A cracking read brilliantly written.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC

I've had the pleasure of an ARC of #Strangers - what can I say, I loved #Sleep but I really loved #Strangers The twists and turns of this book is great and surprising. How three #Strangers lives end up coming together - great job CL Taylor.

This book definitely deserves five stars. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. It showed how each character in this story were all suffering from loneliness. The story had lots of twists and turns which took me by surprise. I was gripped to see what was going to happen next as I finished each chapter. Brilliant!

Always look forward to reading a book by C.L.Taylor as she is a fabulous writer. Loved Strangers. So many stories entwined in one smashing read. Keeps you on your toes trying to work out how the stories will eventually come together. A very clever plot. Loved that it was set in Bristol my home.

I have not read any C.L. Taylor books before this, but I will certainly read them now.

Strangers is a gripping look at how strangers with their own issues can be unknowingly connected. It is a wonderful mystery full of red herrings and misinformation. Not your typical, I have figured it all out but am going to continue mystery story.

The characters are all lonely people: One a security guard taking care of his ailing mother, another a retail manager trying to figure out how to find her own voice, and the third a delivery driver with a stealing problem. Taylor creates believable and flawed characters and draws you in to the mystery that will ultimately bring all of the strangers together.

For me this was bloody brilliant! Three characters who were all strong and separate and didn’t know one another ended up “getting together” later in the book.
The storyline(s) were really evocative which made this book one of those I just wasn’t going to put down, and I didn’t ! I can see some of the storylines I read coming out in Following books (?)
I loved this read because although I knew it was CL.Taylor it was ‘different’, literature to grab hold of and run with , just awesome
A really tense quick page reader, fingers poised on the next page ready to turn once read !
CL.Taylor just keeps bringing it on! Just when you think you have read her best, up she comes again!
I love sharing and buying CL.Taylor books with my family and friends because they get totally freaked out “ I didn’t know you were into this stuff” they say “ you should see my sky box “ I say 🤣🤣

I am really glad I read this it’s left me thinking about how many other books/novellas could come from this .Such a great book this will stay with me for a long time just remember “Strangers” can really give you nightmares 😱

Maybe I've been reading too much of this genre but Strangers just didn't grab me the way CL Taylor usually does. Told from the POV of the 3 main characters it began reasonably well but then seemed to get bogged down in endless ''filling'' and unnecessary detail - all of which wasn't really crucial to the plot. I found myself engaged for a few chapters then the endless internal musings of the characters just got in the way of the flow of the story. Can't say I was too enamoured of the ending either. Sorry - on this outing I feel CL Taylor wasn't quite hitting the mark. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC and I'm only sorry I can't give it more than 2 stars.

Set in Bristol and based around the Meads shopping centre, CL Taylor’s latest book follows three characters whose separate lives become interwoven in a life threatening climax involving them all. The story lines around each of the three are compelling - this is a fast paced and addictive read. If you have read her previous books you will know what to expect and this does not disappoint. Four stars from me - it’s all just a little too neat and contrived to secure top marks but enjoyable none the less. Thanks to NetGalley for a pre publication copy in exchange for a fair review.

Wow. Just. Wow. Sometimes the voice of British author's is a bit too unemotional and blah for me but this one is amazing.
For the most part written in the perspective of each character I didn't like any of the people. Instead of flawed interesting people I saw only flawed people. Then things change and I came to understand why this backstory was necessary to create this enjoyable, suprising, deep, involved novel
The story made me so tense I am writing this at 1am after finishing it since I couldn't sleep.
Throughout there's an evil undercurrent I couldn't put my finger on. And the last chapter--talk about a total surprise involving a peripheral character. This truly is a must read
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for sharing this arc

Annnnnnnnnd, circle gets the square!

This book was SUCH a head game; three separate stories that collide spectacularly, originally, and surprisingly!

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was happening until, you know, everything happened.

I loved it....loved it.

Thank you to C.L. Taylor, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I like a twisty thriller but often they sacrifice good characterisation for a good plot.
This one ticks the boxes on both.
Three stories - Alice, Ursula and Gareth - are told. We get to know the characters and their foibles: shy Alice internet dating, larger than life Ursula who is a shoplifter with a conscience, and security guard Gareth who cares for his mum but is being blackmailed.
There’s also a number of sub-plots and a potential murderer of young men in town.
It’s a decent way into the novel before their lives intersect. There’s then some fairly complicated plotting leading to an exciting denouement.
I’d recommend if you like a thriller that takes on some social issues and is well-paced and easy to read.

I do usually love C L Taylor books, and although I did enjoy this it didn’t keep me as gripped as I thought it would. I found myself a little bit confused in parts and even at the end did not feel like it all came together smoothly.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for a copy of Strangers for an honest review.

Another well written suspenseful novel by C L Taylor that keeps you guessing to the end. I must admit it wasn’t my favourite book by her, as I did struggle a little , at first ,with so many characters ,but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to others and to encourage them to read her other books.

Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met, but we follow each of them through their own point-of-view chapters. Ursula believes she's responsible for the death of the love of her life, Alice is being stalked, and Gareth's receiving postcards that shouldn't be possible. Alice, Ursula and Gareth's stories seem unrelated plot-wise as the book begins (though there are clearly related themes), but keep reading and the author ties the story threads together.

I like the title - are strangers friends or enemies? How well do you know anyone? Who should you trust?

The climax ties things together in a satisfying way. The ultimate resolution of their stories is spot-on. Then what follows in the last chapter is great, wrapping up the last issues in a spooky way.

Strangers is complex and well-plotted, with interesting characters. The three points-of-view threaded together well, with the three divergent story lines melding together in a way that made sense yet I couldn't fully see coming. I recommend Strangers to fans of suspense.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #Strangers #suspense #mystery

What a clever book. At first it seemed I was reading a different book with every new chapter but as the story of each character slowly developed with more being revealed about each one, their lives gradually intertwined. With seemingly fairly normal lives and problems, mainly connected with family, relationships and jobs the culmination of revealed secrets and lies delivered a crescendo of a finale. I warmed to some of the characters, was frustrated by others and had sympathy with some too. As more was understood about each one, my opinion shifted and finally their true characters were revealed and the full story was made clear. Another great book by Cally Taylor, I can’t wait for the next one.

A gripping psychological thriller with twists galore!

Have you ever read a book that has you hooked on the first page? A story so addictive, it draws you in and you can’t stop thinking about it. Even when you’re not reading it!!
In fact, daily tasks in life become a real inconvenience as you just want to hide away with your book!
Well, this is one of those for sure!!

This book is about three different people with three different stories. Strangers to each other.

Alice is single, lives with her grown-up daughter and works as a manager of a women’s fashion shop. She meets Simon after a nasty incident and hopes a relationship is on the horizon, but who is stalking her and why? Initially, I felt Alice came across as weak and needy but I think that stems from her being lonely and just wanting some company. She’s a likeable character and shows her brave side at times too.

Ursula is grieving for the man she loved and thinks she killed! She works each day as a delivery driver but has no home to call her own and no family or friends. She does seem to have an eye for things that don’t belong to her though! Ursula comes across as quite lonely and desperate but she has a terribly sad past and actually has a really caring side. With a questionable landlord, she also shows she has a ballsy side to her. She’s definitely my favourite character.

Gareth seems to be that sad, lonely; middle-aged man who still lives with his mum. No partner or friends, just an ever-expanding waistline! His days are monotonous, working as a security guard in a shopping centre and visiting McDonald’s for tea. Never judge a book by its cover though. Gareth is actually a really sweet guy who loves his mum and just wants to protect and care for her. So when he finds strange postcards in the house addressed to his mum, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

The three stories are really quite separate from each other, so I couldn’t imagine how the characters lives would collide. My mind was definitely working in overdrive trying to guess what was going to happen.

The way the chapters change between characters and their stories is genius as it leaves so many cliffhangers. Other characters also pop up throughout the book causing constant suspicions and plenty of OMG moments 😮.

So if you’re a ‘stranger’ to C. L Taylor’s books, then don’t be! I was and can’t believe this was my first book by this amazing author! It certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you to C. L Taylor, Avon Books and Net Galley for my ARC of this book 📖

The blurb and other reviews give the premise of this book so I won't do that here.

Three main characters and each paragraph written from each one's perspective. A very easy read as I found the characters likeable (although Alice DID come across as a bit clingy and needy especially as in such early days in a potential new relationship but this served the plot).

Even though Ursula is a shoplifter, as her story progresses, and her history unfolds, she becomes more likeable and relateable.

Gareth is a very decent, sweet, normal guy.

Their link is a shopping mall where Gareth in a security officer, Alice a ladies clothing store manager and Ursula shoplifts there.

Their lives are lived independently but their paths cross; not in any great depth until near the end and they all experience something together (with supporting characters too).

I enjoyed each of their three stories, especially Alice's new relationship and stalker aspect, which didn't pan out as I expected it to (but better). And Ursula's landlord also added some tension with his very offputting characteristics. Even Gareth's story didn't work out quite as I expected. AND, the very end character's ending ... surprise, surprise?!

This author is one of my favourites and I feel this book is slightly different to her previous ones ... I thought less of a psychological thriller but maybe that was because characters and their stories WERE so normal and relateable.

I did find it surprising that I was at almost 75% of the way through the book but still, the characters hadn't really become that intertwined yet so that might be my only criticism ... as in I was a bit disappointed that they were all only together for one evening. That said, this is my favourite book of the author's so far and maybe it's because it DID take that long to bring them all together. With most psychological thrillers I can see well in advance where it's headed and solved the mystery and the motive before the big reveal. So it was nice that this one didn't really follow that sort of format (in my opinion anyway). There were quite a few red herrings placed throughout though!

An easy read with interesting characters and enough twists to keep you going ... and I'm still thinking about it even now.