If you are a Simon Kernick full on fan this will be a treat
I used to be, devouring every book the day of release and then haven’t read the last few so was keen to see how I fared with this one
All the things I loved about his books are still present, the ‘in your face’ no nonsense beginning, the ending of chapters with a ‘cliff hanger’ sentence, the no let up in action and suspense, the ever changing story and the ‘race against time’ element that is in so many of his previous stories, it was reassuring to see this and easy, really easy to get back into the authors writing
This story basically is one of a man coming home to find a dead woman in his bed where his wife should be sleeping and then finds out she has been kidnapped and he has to ‘kill a stranger’ to get her back, of course there is much more to it than that, many secrets and lies and revelations as you would expect
The characters are strong, loved Diane the step mum but not so keen on either main leads, Kate especially a very dry, insular character who I didn’t care much what happened to
A good, robust ending which bought a smirk of satisfaction!
All in all a good read, I know some friends have loved this book, I would say I more than liked it

7/10
4 Stars

A cracking read. A fast paced thriller with so many twists and turns, it left me breathless! This author never disappoints. Plenty of characters , many very unlikeable, in fact all of them were unlikeable. This didn't spoil the story and plot, it added to it. I could not decide which character to believe throughout the entire book.. Finished this book yesterday and I still can't stop thinking about it. A 5 star read for me!

Kill a Stranger is my first read by Simon Kernick. A stand alone high concept thriller.

The story is told by 4 characters all in the first person. Couple, Matt and Kate, a police officer and a mysterious rich businessman. The story centres around Matt and Kate.

When Kate is kidnapped, Matt is faced with an ultimatum by the kidnappers , to Kill a stranger or lose Kate..

Kernick writes a rapid fire thriller, full of twists just when you think you have solved it , and a break neck tension right through the book.

An Enjoyable page from an author who is clearly a very good thriller writer, this one whistles along with the thrills and spills to a highly entertaining finale.

This book offered something that I dont think I have seen before. A storyline where the kidnapper makes victims do the most awful things to keep their loved ones safe.

What an eye-opener it was, that constantly had you guessing what was going to happen in the next chapter.

I loved how this story was told from different perspectives, the victim, the victims fiance, the detective and one other, which I wont tell as may give a spoiler.

Throught this book, I just didn't know who I or Matthew could trust and that provided the momentum to keep me turning the pages to find out how everything was going to end.

This is my first book from this author but I am sure I will pick up another as it was so good.

A fast paced thriller which kept me reading. There are a lot of twists and a well thought out storyline. Another really good book by Simon Kernick.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I loved the plot, the characters and the writing style. I was totally lost in the gripping, gritty and page turner book. I was totally blown away! It was one of those you wanted to find out the ending but didn't want it to end! Loved it.

I am a big fan of Simon Kernick and have been reading his books since the Tina Boyd series. Kill a stranger I think is his best one yet.
Matt was once an actor, but his career wasn’t going anywhere. So, he decides to take a break and go travelling instead. So, on his travels he meets Kate who owns a hotel in Sri Lanka. The pair they get together and plan a future together. When Kate finds out that she is pregnant, so they decide to return to the UK as there is better healthcare, until the baby arrives.
After been back after a couple of days. Matt wakes up not to find Kate in their bed but, a stranger and the woman is dead. When a phone rings that e nis attached to the body. The voice tells Matt that he needs to kill someone, or they will not see Kate alive again. Would you do anything for the person you Love? Matt will, which starts a whole heap of events to find Kate and their unborn child.
Kill a stranger is Simon Kernick at his best. This is a fast-paced action thriller told in several points of view. I loved all the twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout and the alternative chapters, it made it more exciting. If you are an avid reader of Mr Kernick’s books you will not be disappointed with this one. I highly recommend.

I have read a few of Simon Kernick’s novels before and this is the best to date.

Once again, this author gives a fast-paced, exciting story with a clever, well-structured plot throwing out many twists and turns along the way.

It begins with DCI Cameron Doyle having three murder suspects in the police station who, he believes, are all lying to him.

The novel looks at the situation from different viewpoints but mainly Matt and Kate, who are married with Kate being two months’ pregnant. They are in England, having a break from running their hotel in Sri Lanka.

Matt arrives back at the holiday cottage to find a dead woman in the bed, and it is not Kate. Kate is missing. She has been taken and her life is threatened and the kidnapper sends Matt a link to a website showing her almost being hung.

This is one of those reads which I couldn’t put down and had me fearful, disbelieving and laughing out loud in parts. The scene with the guy in a Barbour jacket and the undercover policeman had me guffawing.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Headline and Simon Kernick for my ARC in return for an honest review.

This has to be made into a film. Highly entertaining and a cracking good read. Couldn’t recommend a novel more.

This is another fast paced thriller by this excellent author. Told from several different viewpoints “Kill A Stranger”is a story of kidnap and murder.
When Matt returns home after a night out he finds his pregnant fiancée, Kate, missing and an unexpected surprise in his house. When the kidnappers ask him to commit murder, will Matt be able to do this to save the life of Kate and his unborn child?
The chapters alternate between Matts’s story, Kate’s and the police detective who has arrested them.
It is obvious that someone is lying but as both Kate and Matt are giving their evidence in the first person it is very difficult to tell which of them is telling the truth and incredibly hard to know who to trust.
This is a tale of lies and family secrets and also a tale of violence which examines how far a person is prepared to go to protect the one they love.
Even Cameron Doyle, the police detective cannot work out what has really happened! There are so many twists in this adrenaline fuelled plot that it is impossible for the reader to form any judgments on innocence or guilt although I must say that I really didn’t warm to any of the characters who all seemed to have many unlikeable traits and were thoroughly untrustworthy. I did feel some sympathy for Matt but even he had his own secrets.
I don’t want to reveal too much about the story as it will spoil it for future readers! Suffice it to say that I recommend it to anyone who enjoys twisty action packed thrillers which are highly entertaining.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me gripped from the start. It's a very fast paced psychological thriller, with so many twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end

I loved reading the early Simon Kernick novels especially the Tina Boyd series and he quickly became one of my favourite authors. However more recently I have found some of his recent novels a bit hit and miss and thankfully this was back to his better work. Fast paced thriller with great characters and a tried and tested plot. Would you kill a stranger to save someone you love. Heard that plot before maybe but nevertheless Simon Kernick's writing will hook you and you will find it difficult to put it down.

This book gave me the desire to read the few Simon Kernick thrillers I am yet to read. Good fast paced thriller.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Headline for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

That was twisty and then some! Fast from the off, this never lets up. A dead woman in a bed, a fiance kidnapped, someone else has to die....and that was only the first chapter! There's some seriously fast plotting and atmosphere here and the book rattles on furiously and never lets up.

The characters are shrouded in darkness and mystery so you never know who is telling the truth . Until the end. oh my

A thriller worthy of the name.

5

This is absolute classic Kernick at his stone cold best - I loved it!

I have absolutely loved his writing style since the first book and I remember being a few pages in and thinking - this guy is different!

If you've never read a Simon Kernick book before then you are in for a treat but I offer you some advice first... get a good supply of tea and biscuits, turn off your phone, get comfortable - go!

Kill A Stranger has a pretty tried and tested premise - would you kill someone to save the one you love? However, in the hands of Kernick it becomes a relentless adrenaline rush running full pelt towards the conclusion.

I don't know if you are a fan of Family Guy? But for me, reading a Simon Kernick novel is the equivalent of when Cleveland is in the bath and the front of the house collapses - leaving him naked in the bath upstairs as it inevitably slides towards a sudden drop to the ground while he shouts 'no no no no no no no no!'

The genius of this book (much like many of his others) is that is takes place over a really short period of time so you are living things step by step with the characters. There is a lot of manipulation involved, emotionally charged snippets, much bending of the truth and as always a sucker punch surprise.

Absolutely brilliant, had me from the first couple of lines - I loved it!

Another absolutely brilliant story from the mind of Simon Kernick.

How far would you go for someone you love? Would you risk your life for them? Would you kill for them? Questions that have you wondering what you would do in the same situation as Matt who is just trying to save his pregnant fiancee Kate who’s been kidnapped.

This is a real cat and mouse story written from multiple perspectives that have you guessing and double guessing who’s telling the truth as the book unfolds. It’s a very clever, very well written suspense thriller that really does have some shocking cliff-hanging chapters urging you to read on having made an audible gasp at what you just read. Just when you think you’ve worked out what’s going on Mr Kernick hits you with another twist that blows your theories clean out of the water putting you back to square one.

As a huge fan of the author I found this book refreshingly different to most of his others but just as brilliant and an absolute joy to read. With his usual fast pace story this really is one to add to your ‘to read’ list with a surprise ending that makes the journey you had getting to it well worth while.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I adored this book, it was everything I wanted in a fast paced crime thriller!
I loved the development of the characters and the variety of relationships that existed within the book, I liked the storyline and how it really fills you with a sense of dread wondering what on earth you’d do in these circumstances to save the person you loved the most in the world!
I really enjoyed the alternating chapters giving various perspectives of what the characters are going through and experiencing, whilst still being really easy to follow and understand. It was written very well and became absolutely addictive to read as it ramped up towards the end! I had no idea about the twist at the end, so I really couldn’t have asked for more! Definitely a recommended read for me.

Wowser!! This is one superbly written fast paced psychological thriller, with that many twists and turns your head will be spinning. I could not put this book down, it’s totally engrossing, gripping you from the first page until the very last where the final twist will surprise you.

Matt is 33 when he realises he is never going to make it as an actor, when one night something happens to him which makes him re evaluate his life. He decides to travel, it’s whilst he is Sri Lanka that he meets Kate a co-owner of a hotel, they are now engaged and expecting a baby. But how much does Matt really know about Kate? she has never really told him much about herself. They have now come back to the UK whilst Kate is pregnant with the intention of going back to the Sri Lanka and the business once the baby has been born.

Kate had lost her mum to cancer when she was just 17, she had never met her father and begged her mum to tell her his name at least before she passed away. One night someone killed Kate’s boyfriend and Kate suffered severe head injuries leaving her in a coma for 3 weeks, the killer was never caught, Kate claims to have some amnesia leading upto and just after the incident. Matt knows non of this. She did start to build a relationship with her father Sir Hugo Roper after this happened. He had helped her set herself up in Sri Lanka.

Sir Hugo Roper is not just Kate’s dad, but he is a very wealthy man the CEO of Peregrine Homes, he is dying of cancer only has a short time to live. He has lost one daughter after she fell off a roof after taking drugs, he has disowned his son, and he doesn’t like his stepson. DCI believes that Roper has had some very dodgy dealings over the years including people going missing but there is nothing he can prove.

DCI Cameron Doyle is in charge of the case and interviews the three, he knows they are all lying but his hands are tied as to who he can charge for what from the evidence he has.

Matt has been out with his mates, he arrives home late expecting Kate to be asleep in their bed, but he gets a shock, and Kate is not there. Kate has been kidnapped. Matt is contacted and has very strict instructions he must follow if he is to see Kate again. How far would you go to save the person you loved?

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good crime thriller, psychological thriller, you will not regret it. Simon Kernick has written and plotted a brilliant story.

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

One Cop who is convinced that one of them is lying

Three suspects who may or may not be telling the truth

A string of murders

Three statements

A complex case packed with twists and turns, lies, deception, secrets, danger, betrayals and with fingers that reached back into the past.

This fast paced thriller is narrated from the perspectives of the three suspects Matt, Kate and Sir Hugh Roper and also the detective in charge of trying to separate the truth from the lies DCI Cameron Doyle. In Matt's chapters we follow his desperate search to find his fiance Kate after he returns home after a night out and discovers that she is missing. According to Matt after her disappearance, he found himself being pursued by a very nasty character who insisted that Matt knew where Kate was and if he didnt start telling the truth then Matt was going to have to lose a kneecap or two. He also insisted that during his search he was forced into doing things that were against his nature and caused him to feel disgusted and ashamed of himself. His story did sound rather implausible and very much like a script for a very bad cop show, so was he telling the truth or were his acting skills better that he was ever given credit for? In Kate's chapters we learnt about the terrible ordeal that she was subjected to whilst she was missing. She also took the reader through events in her past as she tried to figure out who would want to kidnap her and why? We learnt that Kate had a very troubled past and that people who she interacted with had a very bad habit of winding up dead. But how much of her statement was actually true? Matt and Kate's parts of the story were fast paced, intense and gripping and were my favourite parts of the story. The third suspect Sir Hugh Roper was a aging business man who was used to getting his own way no matter what the cost and didn't care who got hurt in the process. He was a very ruthless and not very likeable character but how did he fit into Matt and Kate's story. In DCI Cameron Doyle's chapters we witnessed his interrogations of the suspects, learned about his thoughts and suspicions and his theories about their statements and the case. He seemed like a likeable, trustworthy character but fans of Simon Kernick's books know that his police officers can very often have a dark side to their character's. So was Doyle who he appeared to be or was he harbouring secrets of his own?

Wow....just wow, this is a fast paced, page turner that has more twists and turns than a roller coaster. As with all of Simon Kernick's incredible thrillers, it is extremely well written, has a cast of well rounded and believable, diverse characters and a plot that hooks you in, keeps you guessing and frantically turning the pages. Many of the chapters ended in a cliff hanger giving the reader a very bad case of just one more chapter syndrome. I love Simon Kernick's books and think that he is a very talented author who has definitely excelled himself with this latest incredible thriller. I would love to watch a film or mini series adaptation of this book. Worth far more than five stars and very very highly recommended..

I've been a great fan of Simon Kernick for several years. He never wastes time getting to the action,no slow build up in his books,and as well as zipping along at 100 mph he enjoys constantly turning the reader's perceptions of what's happening on their head..

Kill A Stranger is his latest and it doesn't disappoint. It begins with DCI Cameron Doyle musing on the 3 murder suspects he has in custody, Matt Walters,his pregnant partner Kate White and her father Sir Hugh Roper,all of whom his experience tells him are lying.

The story is told from the point of view of the various characters, beginning with Matt when he returns from a night out to find Kate gone and the dead body of a female stranger in their bed. While examining the body Matt sees that she has a phone in her hand,which rings and the caller turns out to be Kate's kidnapper.

From then on it's classic Kernick as Matt has to comply with the kidnapper's demands to get Kate back. The action and twists come thick and fast as all 3 main characters tell their part of the story and it becomes obvious that things are very much not as they seem,none of them are particularly pleasant or trustworthy characters and my main thought on finishing the book was that they all deserved each other.

It's usual for thrillers these day to proclaim, "you won't believe the twist at the end". Not here,there's one in almost every chapter and it's massively entertaining . There are more Red Herrings here than in the hold of a Russian Trawler.
If you're already a Simon Kernick fan you'll love this, if you haven't read any of his books before this will be a treat, read it and you'll want more.