This is a gripping thriller, which tells the story of Belinda who is charged with the manslaughter of her husband, and then is imprisoned for this. Following her release, she fakes a DBS to work at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart, where she meets Mabel, a 91 year old lady who owns the care home and is a resident. She was also a survivor of the Blitz and holds many dark secrets of her own, some of which could kill her or others if they were found out. While the trust between them grows and Belinda learns more about Mabel’s past while telling Mabel more of her story, there is someone in the room next door who knows everything that is going on and will stop at nothing to bring people to justice.

This was a phenomenal read. The story was so solid, the characters believable, and the plot was so gripping I read this within 48 hours. 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for sending me this proof copy!

3.5 stars, rounded down.
We start with Belinda who was convicted of the murder of her husband. Freed after serving 15 years, she is ready to start again and takes a job at the Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart. There she bonds with one of the residents, 98 year old Mabel, who also happens to own the home. We then go back in time to when Mabel was a young child during the war, when she was taken in by her Aunt to live at the house which would become Sunnyside. But her Aunt has leanings that, if exposed, would threaten everything.
Back in the present and it appears that what Mabel feared for a long time is about to happen. Someone is targeting her, looking for something, watching and listening to her every move. Someone currently housed in room six.
We have two main threads herein. Belinda and the downfall of her marriage to Gerald which led to her incarceration and also the estrangement from one of her daughters. We follow her in prison as she tries to struggle through and survive. There's more, but, spoilers!
The one featuring Mabel as a young child is also quite fascinating. Especially her relationship with her friend and also, later, her lover. More than that I can't say.
Quite how the two merge later is well plotted and skilfully handled. Although, that said, the majority of the book feels like two completely discreet stories and overall, it kinda feels like the both are a tad devalued or underdeveloped, sacrificing each for the other. It's also quite slow in pace initially which didn't really help. But, once things starts to become clear, start to connect, you can actually see why the author needed to include the both, you just have to trust in the process.
I've just gone back to look at my track record with this author and found this in a previous review...

"I am a big fan of this author on the whole but I do find that occasionally she doesn't quite reach the usual heady heights that I would expect. This book sadly comes into that category. Although I did manage to finish it, it was a bit of a challenge and didn't leave me as satisfied as I would have liked to have been."

And I think this also applies quite well here, especially wrt the ending which I did find to be a bit sugary for my taste. That said, I'll probably pounce on her next book as soon as I can. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book tells the story in two timescales by the protagonists, one a resident and the other a carer at Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart.
Mabel Marchmount, in the 1940’s and Belinda in present time. I thought the story a little confusing. There are twists and turns but the pace was a little slow. There is mystery, suspense and red herrings. The character development was disappointing and the writing style in alternating chapters is not a favourite.

Unfortunately this book was not for me and give 3 stars.

MY THANKS FOR NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED READING COPY OF THIS BOOK IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advanced copy of this new mystery/thriller by Jane Corry.

Mabel, an OAP, spends her retirement days recounting her days through the war and all she has to overcome.

Belinda, an ex-convict, is ready to re-build her life and move forward.

The strangers in room six has other plans…

Mabel’s character had me thoroughly invested and I couldn’t put the book down for her chapters.

Belinda’s story was less gripping and at times quite chaotic and not believable.

A good read but I don’t think the style is my favourite - 3.5 stars but rounded down

This book is twisty, tense, and full of secrets. A care home, a convicted killer, and someone watching from the shadows as the intensity and danger rises.

This is two stories in one as two women meet and share secrets.

Mabel is in her nineties, and had a painful time growing up in the building that is now her retirement home, in the midst of World War Two. Whereas Belinda has just got out of prison for killing her husband, and is desperately seeking vengeance of a sort. In the meantime, she takes a job as a carer, and ends up working with Mabel.

While they share their stories, they also hold some secrets back, fearful that some are simply too dangerous. This is before they know about the stranger in room six, a visitor to the care home, who would do just about anything to find out certain facts...

Once again, I do wonder if some readers will pick up this book thinking it's a straightforward thriller, when her books are always slower and more thoughtful than that.

I appreciated the two viewpoint stories here, though I would've liked a little more crossover. I'm also sad Belinda didn't have better legal representation! However, I enjoyed the wartime narrative and the growing relationship between Mabel and Belinda.

THE STRANGER IN ROOM SIX BY JANE CORRY
5 ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨s.
Release date set for the 19th of June 2025.
This book was a great great and I really enjoyed it.
Really great characters and really great story.
I'm really happy I found this author as can't wait to read more of her work

There were lots of twists and turns in this, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I really enjoyed this story

The Stranger in Room Six wasn't quite what I was expecting. Told over dual timelines it covers the stories of Mabel, a 99 year old woman who lost her family during the blitz and came to Devon to live with her aunt in what is now her care home, and Belinda her carer, who was convicted for the manslaughter of her husband and lied to get the job. The two women start sharing their stories but someone else is on to them.
I found it quite slow going and struggled to stick with it.

What a fantastic book, I read this in a day! I just couldn’t put it down.
Mabel and Belinda, two very different women meet in Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart; Belinda works there and Mabel is a resident. They take it in turns to tell their stories, Belinda killed her husband, Mabel survived the blitz which killed her Mother and sister.
An intriguing story of survival and love, I was totally engrossed. I highly recommend this book.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

I really enjoyed both POV’s in this book.

There was heartache, danger and surprises in both Mabel and Belinda’s stories.

I enjoyed the way we hear the stories as if they are happening in real time and then we are up to the present day where the stories pick back up but being narrated through conversations.

This book felt less thriller for me and more drama as although there were tense and some surprising moments along the way, this felt more about history and moments that change us and the lives of these two women and how they came to be involved

There was a surprising reveal in the final chapter which I honestly had not seen coming!

I loved the authors note at the end and how we hear about the research that was done and some facts from historians she spoke to.

This is the first Jane Corry book I have read even though I had a couple on my shelf already! I found her writing really captivated me and I couldn’t wait to read on and find out about the characters stories.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and published for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Dual storyline’s come together through an unexpected relationship between two women. The stories are very different but very compelling. The author has a knack for credible dialogue, even when the plot itself stretches imagination, and I enjoyed how she managed the various secondary relationships and linkages, especially those within the prison context.

This story is told by different characters over different timelines. Belinda Wall is released from prison after serving 15 years for killing her husband Gerald. Mabel Marchmont is the elderly owner of the Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart and she is a resident there as well. This story begins when Belinda is employed as a carer and she becomes close with Mabel shortly afterwards. They begin a friendship where they listen to each other talking about their past lives. I loved how they interacted with each other. It was emotional, full of twists and turns, gripping, lies and secrets! It was well written and that ending was so unexpected.

'The Stranger in Room 6', like some other Jane Corry books, is written in dual stories running alongside one another. It's a well written, and well researched novel centering around the lives of Mabel and Belinda. It is a fairly long book but it certainly kept my interest and kept me page turning to uncover the truth. I liked it and am happy to recommend it. Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for an early e-read.

I really liked it! But it felt more like drama than thriller.

I loved the historical part and memory lanes of both main characters which were written very well - made you feel for them.

The thrillery ending seemed a little bit underwhelming that's why i can't put this in the thriller category, but it still was very interesting and kept my attention from page 1 and til the end

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Quite a lot of themes in this thriller, also enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes while having your feet up with this book :)

But seriously, what I quite enjoyed about The Stranger in Room Six was the fact that things are not always black and white. The feeling of things being grey as in confusing or having the feeling that there are two sides two a story that can both be compelling, characters who are charming and kind on the one hand, yet cruel and disappointing on the other.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

The woman in Room 6 is keeping a close eye on Mabel and her carer Belinda, who having lied to get a job at the nursing home where Mabel resides, becomes fast friends with the 99 year old woman with a deeply fascinating past.
Jane Corry is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I haven’t read a book of hers yet that I just really enjoy and can’t put down.
Her latest is a mash up of a thriller and historical fiction and I was completely gripped the whole way through. Both women’s stories were so profound and interesting but I absolutely fell in love with Mabel and had story. I highly highly recommend!

Back in the war years, a young Mabel was in the shelter with their maid, while the bombers flew overhead. Her mother had refused to come to the shelter, needing to feed Mabel's little sister, Annabel. Mabel's Papa was away fighting for the British. But the bombs obliterated Mabel's home, taking her mother and sister with them - the only thing Mabel had left was Annabel's doll, lying in the rubble. When Aunt Clarissa took Mabel to the country to live with her, Mabel couldn't work out why her aunt didn't like her. The life she had following her losses was different to everything she'd ever imagined - heartache and loss; her only friends, maid Frannie and Cook.

Belinda couldn't believe what she was hearing! Confronting her husband, Gerald, was the worse thing she could have done while she was angry, and fifteen years in prison was the proof of that. Now, finally out and a changed person, she applied for a position in the Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart, caring for the elderly. Belinda had learned to be a Listener while in prison, and it set her well for Sunnyside. When she became a carer for an almost 99 year old - Mabel Marchmont - she gradually came to love the old lady. But trouble was hiding in plain sight - Room 6 had an unseen resident who wasn't there for care...

The Stranger in Room Six is my second read by Jane Corry and it was exceptional! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't this well written, gritty, tense and electric historical mystery! Set in two time frames, well blended with no jumping around, Mabel's and Belinda's stories resonated with me. I couldn't put it down when it was time to sleep, so continued until it was finished!! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Random House UK for my digital ARC to read and review.

I usually likeJane Corry's books but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me this time.
I struggled with the stories between the two women and the and one being from an elderly lady reminiscing about the war. Sorry this book was just not for me. I still look forward to the next offering.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.











!

Alternating between Belinda and Mabel POV, we are treated to multiple timelines throughout their lives. I kept waiting for their stories to merge and at times found myself struggling to stay focussed as some parts did drag at times. The last 25% of the book was exciting and had me invested however I do think maybe the author tried to pack too much into this book.