Strangers by C.L. Taylor is a psychological thriller and a mystery both rolled into one. There are three central characters, all with their own personal problems and issues but all three suffering from loneliness. The author weaves a tale with skill, taking us through events in a period of time when the worlds of all three characters collide. There are many twists and turns, keeping me guessing throughout. I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery with strong characters.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon, Harper Collins Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3 strangers who are going to be involved with a murder within a week. Loved it. Great characters. Likeable characters and suspicion till the end. 4/5 for me. I’ll be buying more books by this author now.

This book surprised me! Oftentimes when there are multiple stories playing out all at once, the reader can get confused. Not with Taylor’s writing. Each story along is so well told, and I was just constantly guessing how these stories were linked together. So good.

I was wondering when all of the different characters in this book would come together as they seemed to have no real link at all throughout the development of the story but they did so close to the end . I enjoyed the development of the various characters also. This is not the first book that I have read of C L Taylor's and won't be the last - she's a great writer providing books that are fast, easy and enjoyable reads. - give it a go, you won't regret it!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the copy of this book.

A seemingly unconnected group of strangers are woven together through this dark and twisty psychological thriller. This is very much a character-driven book, each character well drawn and believable - Ursula's story in particular kept me interested right until the end. I was intrigued to discover how these strangers would all become connected. I had expected more of a connection earlier in the book, but enjoyed the dramatic conclusion.

Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before. Ursula thinks she killed the love of her life. Gareth’s been receiving strange postcards. And Alice is being stalked. None of them are used to relying on others – but when the three strangers’ lives unexpectedly collide, there’s only one thing for it: they have to stick together. Otherwise, one of them will die.

I really enjoyed this book, although there are a few niggles along the way. The first 80% of the book (I read on Kindle) is all about the 3 people above. Its not until after this, in the last 20% of the book that you actually find out how they all connect. I felt that the last part of the book was rushed but that doesn't detract from the fast paced action (for want of a better word) of it. Another niggle was regarding Gareth. 4 times in the book the author wrote that Gareth was doing "all he can not to cry" JUST CRY MAN!! But all characters were very likable, my favourite being Ursula.
The part at the end was just brilliant. I'm sure it wasn't meant to make me laugh but it did.

This is a story of three people, thee strangers and one that will have you hooked from the first chapter. There is Alice who runs a clothes shop, Ursula who works as a courier and Gareth who has a job as a security guard and also lives and cares for his mother who has dementia. They all have problems in their lives. Alice is divorced and lonely and starts online dating but then becomes afraid she is being stalked. Ursula finds herself homeless after her friend threw her out of their shared flat and she is also a compulsive shoplifter. Gareth finds himself in trouble with the police as well as having problems with his mother. As the story progresses you begin to wonder how on earth these three peoples’ lives are going to be connected. It is a compulsive and fascinating read and when all is revealed you will be shocked. A really superb read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I've only read one other book by C.L. Taylor and that was a bit of a miss for me. However, I don't like to write an author off completely until I've read at least two or three of their books as not every book is going to be liked by every reader. So I went in with no real expectations of STRANGERS...and yet, I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it.

The story begins at the end with Alice, Ursula and Gareth standing over a dead body giving the reader no real clue as to how they got there. Closely followed by the clever use of Twitter relating to the mysterious disappearances of men around the River Avon in Bristol. Back pedal to a week earlier where we proceed to learn the individual stories of the three characters. All three are suffering a type of loss and are complete strangers to each other, hence the title.

Alice is a single mum and has recently started dating again after the collapse of her marriage. Ursula is lonely, grieving for her fiance whom she believes she is to blame for his death and has a habit of taking things that don't belong to her to ease her pain. Gareth is a security officer of the shopping centre where Alice works and is grieving the loss of his mother, who has dementia, as he knew her. All three are linked to the Mead shopping centre. Alice works there, Ursula frequents there as a shoplifter and Gareth works security there.

With the encouragement of her daughter, Alice has taken the plunge and has swiped right to meet Michael in a local pub. He is late and she is about to give up when he staggers in, drunk and abusive. After a drink not feeling safe, Alice attempts to escape but Michael corners her as she steps out of the ladies and becomes abusive. She flees as a stranger comes to her rescue...and her fate is sealed.

Ursula has been living with her best friend Charlotte since university but after one too many light fingered moments, she is forced to move out. Desperate and with nowhere to go, she finds a room to rent sharing the house with the landlord who appears to have serious OCD issues. He informs her she has free reign of most of the house but the basement is out of bounds and the radio that sits in the kitchen playing remains on that station and at that volume. No re-tuning and no adjusting the volume. That is non-negotiable. When Ursula ponders the items in the bathroom the next morning, she swipes his nailbrush and slips it into her pocket. Surprisingly, she receives a terse text from him later in the day demanding she return it and refrain from using his personal belongings in the future. A trip to Alice's store to lift a random item of clothing should make her feel better about that.

But her landlord Ed is not the only one she crosses paths with. One of the addresses on her courier round has her feeling suspicious and fearing for the woman and child seemingly imprisoned inside. Should she call the police? Or help them escape?

Gareth lives alone with his mother, who is in the middle stages of dementia, grieving the loss of the woman she once was. He has carers come in every day to see to her needs while he is at work. Gareth is a security officer at the Mead shopping centre where Alice works and Ursula "shops". From his vantage point in the control room, he sees the stranger chasing after Alice and he sees the tall Amazonian woman shopping in her store. But that's not all he sees. One day an elderly man wanders into view and from where he sits, Gareth is sure it is his father who disappeared some twenty years ago, believed to be dead. Of course, that isn't helped when he sees a recent postcard addressed to his aged mother from his father. Could his father really be alive after all these years? And if so, why get in touch now? When he sees the man on the camera, despite knowing the control room must be manned at all times, he leaves his post to confront the man. But when he gets there, he has vanished. Gareth returns to his post to find another of the security officers smirking knowingly and blackmails him for his silence.

And then there are the mysterious disappearances of men from Bristol, last seen alongside the River Avon. How are these connected to these three people? And then Liam, the colleague who blackmailed Gareth, fails to appear for his shift and no one has seen him.

But Gareth's nightmare is about become worse when he returns home on the Friday to find his mother has disappeared. He checks his CCTV he recently installed to try and capture who was sending his mother postcards from his dead father, and he sees his mother leave the house with her best handbag and her best coat. Where was she going? Who was she going to meet?

When the police come knocking on Gareth's door, he thinks they are there for his mother...but they are there to arrest him for questioning into Liam's disappearance.

The main theme I felt in STRANGERS is loneliness. Each character has a semblance of loneliness and you can feel it in each of them with their need to connect with someone or something palpable. As each of their stories unfold, you can start to see connections to them all. But how does that final piece come together with the rest of the story?

I liked each of the characters in their own way although the one I felt least connected to was Alice. I really felt for Ursula - her loneliness was palpable and her story heartbreaking. And I felt Gareth's pain in having a parent with dementia and watching the person you know and love slowly disappear. Although my dad is not as advanced as Gareth's mum is, it is still devastating to witness and I could feel that heartbreak.

The Twitter conversations were a clever addition, giving the tale another twist as the reader ponders how the disappearances are connected to the rest of the story.

I wouldn't say STRANGERS was predictable, although at times it was, on the whole it was a guessing game thrill ride that keeps you intrigued from start to finish. Though the reader may suspect certain characters from time to time, nothing is made clear until the final curtain.

STRANGERS is cleverly written and compelling from the beginning, with a final twist at the very end you won't see coming.

I thoroughly recommend.

I would like to thank #CLTaylor, #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #Strangers in exchange for an honest review.

A great book to read with a very intriguing plot line, with very good characters that have been written well.. It did seem to take an age before the 3 separate storylines came together but when it did, it was worth the wait.

Strangers is a compelling page-turner. Short snappy chapters focus on three richly-drawn characters as they go about their daily lives, each having been dealt a less than ideal hand in the game of life. I soon began to care deeply for each of them and for other supporting characters in their lives. As you would expect if you have read anything by C L Taylor before, there are plenty of twists and turns and cliff-hanger moments skilfully woven into the clever plot. The three characters are eventually thrown together in a nail-biting finale and then loose ends are tied up beautifully. A very satisfying read.

4.5 stars.
Having read Sleep, by the same author, I was really excited to start reading Strangers.
This was a brilliant, engaging book, that had me eager to read more.
The pacing was great and I loved that even though the three central characters were very different and lived completely separate lives, they were brought together by the shopping centre and what was going on there.
And for me, having the central theme be one of loneliness made it even easier to relate to the three characters.
Whilst I really enjoy having the narrative shift to different characters with each chapter, I did find that I wanted to keep reading, even more so, to get to Ursula's chapters.
She was my favourite character, as deep down she was a caring person, even though she had her flaws.
It also has a strong ending that tied up a lot of loose ends and it was a twist that I wasn't disappointed by.
I will definitely be reading more from this author, as she is quickly becoming a go-to for me. And I can't wait to see what she does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this book - C.L. Taylor has done it again! I always look forward to reading her books- they're consistent, excellently written and have intense and suspenseful plots! Full review to come on my blog!

A tense, well-crafted read that kept me turning the pages until the end! Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC,

This novel is a neat little intrigue with an even neater twist at the end. I appreciated a lighter mystery after my last novel, one that has just the right touch of suspense to keep me reading when I should really have been heading to bed.

This book focuses a lot on its characters’ personal development and I really liked that all of them were flawed. I loved them through their faults, from mass-texting someone you love to stuffing your face with burgers when you’re having a really bad day (and then low-key hate yourself for it).

I appreciated the guessing game. Honestly, I’m relieved that this book allowed me to really get lost into the story with a slow burn type of book. Thanks for the good story, C.L. Taylor! I didn’t see the end coming at all, which was nice, too.

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

thank CL Taylor for another awesome read! I loved getting to know all the characters as if they were their own story.. We were brought into their lives and every character was deeply introduced and presented with details on details! Everything came together in the perfect CL Taylor way! i loved the ending!!!!
thank you for my free ARc in exchange for my honest review.

Ooh another great read from C L Taylor! Great cast of characters, Ursula, Alice and Gareth are vivid and completely believable and really loved the Bristol setting. Gripped from start to the whirlwind edge of your seat finish! Brilliant!

I have been waiting to read Strangers since I interviewed Cally last year as part of the Exeter Literary Festival and she gave us a very brief outline of her work in progress.

The book begins with a shocking murder but you know nothing about who or why it has happened. The book then introduces the reader to the three main characters, Gareth a security guard at a local shopping mall and lives at home with his Mum who is suffering from dementia, he is having a hard time at work and at home and doesn’t really know where to turn.

Secondly, Ursula who has lost the love of her life and now her home, evicted by her friend for stealing she is forced to take a room in the home of Edward, who is very strange and Ursula thinks that he is hiding something.

Finally Alice, she is a single Mum who is just starting to look for love. She works in a clothes shop in the mall and tries internet dating but this goes very wrong and she meets Simon due to the outcome but he is also hiding something and Alice starts to receive threatening messages warning her off Simon.

Also at the same time in Bristol, where the book is set, men have started to disappear and the local social media start to discuss a harbour side killer do they exist or do the disappearances have a less shocking explanation ?

This is such a great book, I would have read in one sitting if I had the chance it is so suspenseful and shocking which I love in a thriller. All the characters are really down on their luck and lonely and without giving too much away they are all brought together in a shocking conclusion which will change their lives forever.

Cally is the queen of suspense, she writes in such a way that I am on edge to find out what will happen next and I never guess, which I love in a thriller. This book also has a cracking twist that I definitely did not see coming at all.

If you have read Cally’s other books you will love this one and if you haven’t then you are in for a treat !

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

Another great thriller from C L Taylor. Apparently disparate people are linked in a thriller with lots of twists and turns. A clothes store in a Shopping Centre seems to be the focus but what is the truth? Brilliant conclusion with a final twist in the tail

Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before, three complete strangers two secrets and one terrifying event

Ursula, Gareth and Alice are the three main characters in this book and they all have interesting story-lines, each come with a whole host of issue and flaws and I love hearing from each of the characters. Ursula is my favourite, character she is easy to relate and my heart aches for her. Hearing from each POV makes it a really easy fast pace story that, at the beginning, you have no idea how it is going to come together and then BAM it collides in such a spectacular way. The author achieved the impossible and brought a smart, nail biting, thrilling story that you cannot put it down!

I was captivated and highly recommend this thought provoking

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It's a stunning read that I would give a solid 4.5/5 stars!