A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

Compelling reading. This immersive book transports you to Sark between the wars and it’s a joy to read. Echos of Agatha Christie in the detailed characterisation and the depiction of village (in this case island) life.

A charming whodunnit and a perfect summer read

Tries to do too much : Dual Timeline, Greek Chorus, Genre Mashups 2.5 rating, raised

Unfortunately this didn’t work for me. An imaginative riff on a real live ‘mystery’ of the 30’s on Sark, this really felt as if almost every idea and genre was being crammed in to service : Romance, Murder, Dysfunctional Families, Supernatural, a Greek style chorus in the first person plural voice explaining issues, witchcraft, feminism, childs view, adult’s view, it all became a bit of a mish mash for me, and I was neither gripped by ‘what happens next’ nor really engaged with the characters.

In brief : 3 teenage children in 1922 are involved in various tricks and games which go wrong, and there are skeletons in cupboards aplenty. The reader is continually ‘teased’ with various revelations to try and keep them on the edge of their seats

Some 10 years later the children are now in their 20’s and there have been various mysteries and things going on. They have come back to the island, and another mystery happens, the clothes of a man and a woman left abandoned on the shore. But no people are missing on the sparsely populated island of Sark

I also found the book jacket design most peculiar, as it didn’t really convey what I felt the writer was aiming for

I was reminded by what I felt this author was trying to do, of the writer Mary Stewart, who wrote in the ‘romantic Gothic’ territory – and this is sending me thence, to re-read

I enjoyed the book. At times it was a little confusing because of the two different time periods. The children Phyllis and Everard were easy to distinguish but the adults did not change much from one time period to the next. There were clearly mysteries about what had happened ten years previously and to the characters in more recent times. These were slowly revealed. The book ended on a positive note. I have been to Sark and I do feel that the author managed to provide the reader with a feeling of raw beauty and wildness in the writing and maybe even some lawlessness which is in keeping with the remoteness of the island.

Great sense of place and an interesting premise based on a real life mystery. I found this intriguing and enjoyable. I don’t think it really matched the description but it worked for me anyway.

I was very intrigued at the premise of this story, with elements of intrigue and mystery. It looked bound to entertain and even from the front cover, it sweeps you into the story - into mystery, suspense and drama.

It had a slow and gentle rhythm and you had to ride the waves of mysteries as the story was filled in around you. Once picked up, it’s easy to keep going but occasionally, I have to admit, I did drop out of the story for a few days and then getting back into it, I had to get back into the pace. I’m a fast paced, high action kinda girl so I need a separate mind frame for slower paced books! My own issue here and no reflection on the writing.

The split time perspectives could get a little confusing too and added a bit of a disjointed element for me so I could never get into the flow. Engagement was a little hard for me on this one!

As you read along, you feel like there’s something about to make the disappearance make sense. Clothes found on the beach without their owners and no seeming explanation for who they may have been. Ooo the plot thickens.

I did love the setting and it gave the book a whole feel of its own. I think this is all down to personal preference and it just wasn’t hitting my mood at the time!

Set on the island of Sark and based on true events.
In the 1920s a couple disappeared off one of the island’s beaches, the only things remaining, their clothes left on the beach. This book is a fictitious retelling, and featuring the lives of two teenagers, both at the time and 10 years later. The characters are carefully drawn and the writing brings the island to life on the page. Part mystery, part supernatural part of family, drama, and part romance. It’s difficult to come up with a comparable writer. The only one that springs to mind is Daphne DuMaurier.
Highly original, intense and captivating read.

I have to say straight away that this was not a book for me and I did not believe that it really matched the description given. However I did read it and have decided that it must be a marmite book as you either like it or dislike it, there seems tobe no happy medium. I always thought that Sark was an interesting place and this book did give lots of information about the island albeit from much older dates. I found that the plot was confusing and did not enthrall me at all. The story is loosley based on an event that happened back in 1933 and the story jumps between 1923 and 1933 throughut but the difference in years seemed to overlap and just added to the confusion . I will visit Sark as soon as I can and so this book has made me more intrigues about the island itself so that is a win for the author. I admit to skimming places as the newspaper articles did not add anything to me as the reader. The superstitions that the islanders live by and the frequenting of ghosts, mainly women it seems, did not add to the story and I am sure that the islanders have grown out of a lot of these since that time.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and give a review

A novel based on a real mystery, it is set in the Channel Island of Sark where the isolated inhabitants live amongst the bleak landscape and surrounded by myth. Whilst the writing is unusual I failed to engage with the narrative and did not finish.

This is a rather unusual story, set in a rather unusual place. I think a lot of people have been fascinated about t the small Channel Island, where there are no cars and they have unusual rules.
The story is written in a rather complicated way, in that it goes backwards and forwards in time which I did find rather confusing, one minute someone is dead and then they are playing cards!
However, I did enjoy it and felt very sorry for some of the characters. The sort of book that makes you want to go and visit the places mentioned. It certainly opened my eyes to parts of the island that I had never heard of.
Nice book

Big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this in return for an honest review.

I did DNF this at 18% as it was not going to be my thing, so sorry to the author, but I know some people are going to absolutely love it!

Inspired by a real-life mystery when clothing of a man and a woman were found on a Sark beach in the 1930s, the novel is fluently written and, with its large cast of islanders, has a similar feel to Under Milk Wood.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

The Stranger's Companion is a historical mystery and gothic thriller which is inspired by real events in Sark, a small island, part of the British Channel Islands, in 1933. The clothes of a man and a woman was found neatly folded on the edge of a cliff, but no one knew whom they belong to. And that's how this story also begins.

Throughout the story we are brought to two alternate timelines, the past is around the 1923, while the present is in the 1933. The main event, the mysterious two clothes without the owners, is happening in the present. They are first found by Everard Hyde. A girl called Phyllis Carrey is interested in the case, and writes reports for local newspaper.

Phyllis has just returned to the island after being out of it for some time. From the beginning, we get a feeling of mystery surrounding Phyllis and Everard - who has also just returned from a kind of exile. They seem to be anxious of meeting each other. Little by little the mystery unfolded along the story, as well as the mystery of the missing persons whose clothes were found by Everard.

The main attraction of this book is the writing style. I love how the writer put some "excerpts", either from tourist information guide, or from the news containing updates on the investigation, to open the chapters. They provide a refreshing touch to the otherwise rather gloomy story with superstitious, ghost hunting, seance, and of course, murder.

This book includes a story loosely based on real event which happened around 1933 when a pile of clothes was found on a beach in Sark. However, what is more significant about this writing, is the descriptions of the island and the real and imagined lives of the folk who live there, i have been to Sark, spending a week, not so much 'on holiday' but actually living as the residents do, using a bike to get around and taking a torch with me to watch a play in the Monseigneur's gardens. It was a magical time and this book brings back many memories. As for the story, well its there or there about but also something and nothing. Note there are very few actually beaches on Sark so it is not common place to have found clothes lying on the shore anyway!

I loved it!
Based on true events, The Stranger's Companion takes you back in the beginning of the 20th century to the island of Sark (I've been lucky enough to have visited the island and can highly recommend it). It all starts with a mystery of two missing people, but it turns out that there is a lot more going on the small island, that we get to witness. We follow two timelines that are 12 years apart and we get to know the characters quite well. I loved that the author really put her time into painting the picture of the island for us, so that we can truly feel like we are there.
The beginning was a bit slow for me, but after around the 30% mark things really picked up. I also didn't really care for some of the overly explained things, that had no connection with the story itself, but for me it is something that I can easily ignore (or just skim over).

The Stranger's Companion is a historical mystery set on the island of Sark, inspired by a real-life crime. The story starts in 1933 with the discovery of two piles of clothing found by the beach and the mystery surrounding them.

The contents of the book include “excerpts” from a tourist information guide to Sark and updates to the investigation all weaved in between stories of the islands residents and ghosts hauntings. Theres also time hops between the past and the present with regard to Phyll and Everard's relationship as children and the mischief they got up to!

A lovely easy and truly enjoyable read which made me delve more into Sark.