Valentine’s Day is a day celebrated by couples around the world. But this one particular Valentine’s Day, Jen witnesses the most horrific act to happen to a couple – one murdering the other and then killing themself. I can’t imagine seeing that any day of the year let alone one associated with love.

From the title and blurb, I’d assumed the story would be told by my five strangers but no, I had just two narrators – Jen and Bex. As the story swaps between the two friends, I began to feel unsettled in the narrative. I thought I could trust them both in what they were telling me but seeds of doubt crept in from nowhere dropped as if Adamson was sowing them.

As I read, things from Jen’s past were hinted at which got my imagination working. Why had she been sacked? Why had she lied? What happened between her and Laurence? I needed to get some answers to my questions. Bex seemed to know more than she was letting on, many things went unsaid between the pair, with just hints as to what had happened and what I hoped would be revealed to me.

Five Strangers may be about what these five individuals witnessed but it is so much more. It’s the lengths someone goes for love and affection. As the saying goes, nothing is quite as it seems as Five Strangers proves. This is a book that keeps giving with its twists right to the end. I’ve got a couple of books by Adamson’s alter-ego which I’ll be interested to see how those differ to this unsettling thriller.

A story that leaves you questioning.... can you truly trust your own memory after all?.
The aftermath of witnessing a murder, Jen is just one of the five who finds themselves questioning what truly happened.
This story had me completely captivated. The way in which the story unfolds and the intricate lives of the individuals within the pages makes it a thrilling tale full of twists and turns along the way.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

This is a page turning, thrilling read that keeps you guessing until the final pages. Will read by this author in future.

Five Strangers is a psychological thriller following the aftermath of a violent incident witnessed by five people. Jen, a journalist is waiting for her friend Bex when the event unfolds and uses her skills to investigate what led up to it. She is currently unemployed after losing her job and is living with a friend after the end of her relationship with Laurence.
It is quite clear that not everything is as it seems with several of the characters, and I found the plot to be quite farcical at times. It did not keep my attention due to the slightly ridiculous nature of the storyline..

🌟An intriguing, unique storyline that sounded that up my street.
🌟The beginning of the novel was brilliant and I so wanted to loved it.
🌟There was a gasp moment just before the end that totally got me.

BUT isn't really plausible so you have to suspend a lot of belief if you going to really enjoy this one.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of “Five Strangers” for an honest review.

E.V Adamson is a new author to me but I was intrigued by the premise for this book..
I found the first half of the book very suspenseful, and I thought there was a good twist at the end.
Unfortunately I didn’t like the characters involved and I found myself skimming through the later past of the story to get the book finished.
An average read for me sadly.

Can you believe your own memories? When Jen Hunter witnesses a horrific murder-suicide on Hampstead Heath one February alongside four strangers, she is compelled to find out what really happened that day. They all saw Daniel kill his girlfriend, Vicky – but can they trust their own memories?
As the lives of the Parliament Hill witnesses begin to unravel, one thing becomes clear: there is more to what happened that day on the heath.
Twisting and turning by the page, this was a well crafted story questioning one of the fundamental ways in which criminals are caught, eye witness accounts. Can we believe what we think we saw?

A dark, clever and psychologically thrilling novel! The characterisation is very well done and the plotting is fantastic, I liked the way the novel was written and how it made me want to devour it in one sitting. I’ve never read anything by this author before but would not hesitate to pick up another book, definitely surprised me and the twists were fab!

Really good read, the story line keeps you thinking of how it's going to end. Nice size chapters following the two main characters.
Would recommend this book.

A really good read. Gripping and full of twists and turns. The ending was brilliant. Didn't expect it at all! Looking forward to reading more from the author.

Disturbing and twisted!
Not exactly shocking in the story arc but it is terrifying at how manipulative some relationships can be. The main relationship here is completely realistic and laid out well, there are other supporting relationships and bonds that are also toxic. The writing in this story felt the pace was a little slow for my liking and I am sure took away from my enjoyment but is still worth a read.
It is if nothing else very interesting to see how witnesses remember, can be interlinked but also how the individual can deal with what they have witnessed.

The premise of this was right up my street, and the introduction hooked me immediately!
But then it lost me for a while. To the point I DNF'd it, and then came back to it a few weeks later and tried again. Because I wanted to love it!
This time I managed to finish it, and I'm glad I did, because the ending was great. I think it was a combination of unlikeable characters (surely on purpose, but still hard to root for anyone), several characters with different backgrounds that made it hard to follow at times, and the middle part being a little slower paced.
This made it a rather frustrating read, but a solid thriller. I'm glad many readers enjoyed it too.

Intriguing and unusual storyline had me very interested to read this book.

5 strangers on Hampstead Heath witness a shocking murder suicide of a boyfriend and girlfriend.

One of the five is Jen Hunter; a journalist who has recently lost both her job writing a weekly column of her life and her boyfriend. She is supposed to be meeting her friend, Bex, who is running late when she witnesses the tragedy. Bex arrives just after the event in time to console her friend and take her home. What a caring friend .... but appearances can be deceptive. Bex has had a difficult upbringing and Jen is unaware of her past. At the same time, Jen has not been truthful about her own past. So much for best friends. How much do we really know about people we think we know well?

Jen begins to doubt what she actually saw and begins tracking the other witnesses down to get their description of what happened that day.

So we have the two main characters telling the story from their perspectives, with their own secrets and lies gradually being revealed throughout the book.

Definitely kept me turning the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a review copy in return for an honest review.

I felt that Five Strangers by E.V. Adamson (a pseudonym for journalist-biographer-detective novelist Andrew Wilson) was based on a really interesting premise, but ultimately fell a little short of my expectations.
On an unseasonably sunny Valentine's Day in London, several couples and individuals converge separately on the Parliament Hill Viewpoint on Hampstead Heath, enjoying the sun and the panoramic view of the city skyline.
Sitting on the various park benches set out on the brow of the hill are disgraced (and now unemployed) journalist Jen Hunter, who's waiting for her friend Bex to arrive, hedge fund manager Jamie Blackwood, his partner Alex Hughes and their dog, Ayesha Ahmed, a young doctor on her lunch break and Labour MP Julia Jones, who's stopped to take a brief break from jogging. The titular five strangers are horrified as they witness the exchange between a young couple occupying another bench turn from romantic to deadly, as a violent argument breaks out and the young man, Daniel Oliver, attacks his girlfriend Victoria Da Silva with a broken champagne bottle. Jen and Jamie attempt to disarm Daniel and calm the situation, while Ayesha steps in to provide first aid.
Having been recently "let go" from her position as a columnist at a major London newspaper, Jen is at a loose end professionally and personally. With the encouragement of her aging but glamorous landlady, Penelope Frasier - herself a former hack - she sees an opportunity to leverage her unique perspective into an article she can sell to a newspaper for some much-needed income. Jen makes contact with and begins interviewing each of her fellow witnesses, probing their recollections of the pivotal events on the Heath and how the reverberations of their shared traumatic experience has affected each of them in their day-to-day lives. However, the more she learns, the more she begins to question the narrative of what she and the other bystanders actually witnessed that day on the Heath - could there be more to the story than she thought, and how might the events connect to her own personal life?
This struck me as a great premise for a novel investigating the ripples caused acts of violence and the - often undocumented - longer-term trauma experienced by random bystanders and good samaritans. The vagaries of eyewitness testimony and recollection are well-known, providing intriguing fodder for a mystery. In the early stages of reading, I had also anticipated a redemptive storyline for journalist Jen, the nature of whose personal and professional transgressions are gradually revealed over the course of the story.
However, Five Strangers actually turned out to be more a psychological thriller, with alternating unreliable narrators in Jen and Bex and a plot that I felt was more convoluted than intricate. We're drip-fed tantalising details from the long history of the two women's intense but dysfunctional friendship. Jen's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and ill-considered as she chases down yet-to-be identified witnesses who fled the scene and learns crucial information about the nature of Victoria and Daniel's relationship. Meanwhile, the reader begins to question Bex's role in enabling or encouraging Jen's fragile mental state. I found it hard to accept these characters as successful professional women aged in their early 40s, as their personal preoccupations and histrionic behaviour seemed more fitting to women at least fifteen years younger, even allowing for complex psychology.
That said, it was an action-packed, if pretty crazy, ride to the final reveal and an entertaining read for those willing to suspend their disbelief a little. I'm yet to read any of Andrew Wilson's series featuring author Agatha Christie as a sleuth, however I assume that Five Strangers is quite a departure from the style he employs in those books. On that basis, I can understand the reasoning behind the use of a nom de plume.
I can't see any real scope for this novel to spawn a series itself, but I would love to read more of the supporting character Penelope Frasier. She'd make a great amateur sleuth, with all those old journalistic contacts, her ability to spot male fides, not to mention her capacious Hampstead home as a setting for putting witnesses at their ease...
I'd recommend Five Strangers to readers who are comfortable with unreliable female characters / narrators and tangled narratives with lots of unexpected twists and turns.
My thanks to author E.V. Adamson (Andrew Wilson), publisher HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley UK for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I loved the synopsis of this book but found it to be a mixed read for me. It was a well plotted novel that had me gripped for parts of it. However I found it increasingly unrealistic and unbelievable and the writing was stilted at times and just didn't flow well.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review Five Strangers.

A very good psychological read.
The plot is great.
This is a real page turner.
Plenty of twists and turns.
Thanks NetGalley.

This is a novel that reads like a cross between Single White Female and Agatha Christie's 'Five Little Pigs'-this is not surprising given that author E.V Adamson is also known as A.N Wilson, and writes mysteries where Christie is the detective.
The Bystander Effect is in full force here, where on Valentine's Day, five people previously unknown to each other witness a brutal murder/suicide.
The narration is split between witness, Jen, and her best friend, Bex.
Jen is trying to put her life together after a broken engagement, a lost job as a journalist for using less than salubrious methods of gaining information, and a subsequent breakdown.
Already on shaky ground, she turns up to meet her ex-fiancee, hoping to put the past behind them.
He, Laurence,never arrives, what does is a tremendously shocking and traumatic experience that binds Jen, a junior doctor, a MP, a man walking his dog with his boyfriend, and a jogger, for life.
Jen, currently living with an ex-employer, journalistic matriarch Penny, thinks this is the perfect opportunity to relaunch her career. encouraged by Penny, she tracks down and interviews each eye witness to piece together what exactly happened that day.
No one person remembers it in exactly the same way, and as more details emerge about the man and woman whose lives were lost, each of them has to face up to the fact that what they saw was perhaps not what they thought they saw.
As Bex becomes increasingly concerned that her long time friend is heading for another breakdown as her obsession builds and Jen is caught between 2 women who have her best interests at heart-or do they?
I have to admit to not always being able follow what was going on, there were some inconsistencies I couldn't quite fit together neatly, but I really enjoyed it overall.
It looks at a very human emotion, fear, and the reflex which pushes us into flight or fight reactions.
After, when we try to piece things together, the gaps are filled in by experiences or atttitudes we were unaware we held. For example, the jogger who was yelled to to come and rescue the young woman attacked by her boyfriend, he accelerates his speed and runs away.
There are very good reasons for him doing this, however, and it is the central concept of this novel that seeing, is not always believing.

When five strangers witness a savage murder suicide in a park, Jen writes an article for the paper. She wants to discover what led to the crime and whether she can find the missing witnesses. She wants to write a follow up piece on how the crime affected them all on a personal level.
You can feel the tension throughout the book. wondering whether one of them knows more than they have shared and whether there is a reason 2 people fled the scene. We are drip fed more detail about the strangers lives and possible connections with other people.
Jen is a troubled soul and we wonder whether she is in danger- and from whom. Should she be investigating this crime?

Five strangers unwittingly becoming witnesses to a murder-suicide which ties them together forever to find out what really happened that day. Such an interesting plot, right?

I got an eARC through Netgalley and it was +800 pages, lol I should have known before signing up. But even for a chunker, I went through it in a matter of days. Starts off very gripping and kept me turning the pages till the very end. But that's mostly because of the writing than the story. The writing is super, flows very easily, and I did not find a lull at all, considering what a chunker it was. The story on the other hand though got very unrealistic and predictable towards the end, the characters are all so unrealistically stupid lol. But that said, the descriptions of stalking and obsessive behavior were spot on and kinda chilling, I loved that dark vibe of it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for the eARC. All opinions are my own.