Somehow this book was even better than the first one! I was basically on the edge of my seat and holding my breath throughout this novella. And the ending… the ending literally made my stomach hurt.

All the praise and stars for this one! It’s hard to capture such emotion, and demand so much attention with a short story but the author does just that and more with this one!

I truly hope we get a third one!

This is mindfuck, part two, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Neugebauer has such a distinct way of telling a story, one that leans fully into ambiguity and disorientation without ever losing its grip on the reader. You’re never quite sure what’s real, what’s happening, or where things are going, and somehow, that uncertainty is exactly what makes it so addictive.

I love how unapologetically strange this is. The confusion isn’t a flaw; it’s the experience. That constant sense of unease and unraveling kept me completely locked in from start to finish. More than anything, I’m excited to see this universe expanding. There’s something really compelling about the way Neugebauer builds these layered, interconnected stories, and I’m more than ready for whatever comes next. Yes, please, give me more of this beautifully chaotic, brain bending world.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Annie Neugebauer, and Shortwave Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I read the ARC in one sitting (started five minutes after receiving it and stayed up until 2am to finish it)… any more questions?

This genuinely has everything I want in a novella: fast pacing, a tight but engaging plot, and strong character voices. Paired with the constant sense of dread and unease oozing from the story, it made for such an intense and emotional reading experience.

The story is unsettling, disturbing, and definitely something that will linger long after finishing. I genuinely can’t stop picturing myself in the same situation, asking what I would do if I were Elise.

It’s safe to say I’ll be reading the first novella in this series asap (I actually ran to buy the ebook right after finishing this one) and will be waiting patiently for the third.

Such great work. I loved it and can’t wait for what’s next in the series!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Having read The Extra last year, I knew I was in for a ride with The Other. And I was not wrong.

A couple decides to get away to discuss some big life decisions. During their retreat, they meet up with another couple shockingly similar to them in every conceivable way. So who's who?

That is about all I can say without spoiling too much. I read this in one sitting, and it moved quickly, constantly surprising me around every turn. I likened this to a carnival house of mirrors in written form. It's unsettling and unpredictable, and at no point did I trust what was happening on the page. A superb read.

I was a huge fan of The Extra and the second in the Outsiders series did not disappoint. It's a terrifying concept - if there were two of your significant other, would you be able to tell them apart?

Elise and Logan have been together for fifteen years and are at a crossroads on whether to have a baby or potentially divorce if their goals are no longer aligned. When they meet another couple of similar age and appearance on the trail, they begrudgingly park their heart to heart for the night and share a campsite. In the morning they are met with their mirror images, right down to their memories and the items in their pockets.

Annie Neugebauer really is the master of paranoia. Not only are you trying to discern who's your real partner, you're also hyper aware of your own reaction in case your authencity is in doubt. It's a taught story that I devoured, desperate to know how it was going to end. And the ending... oh god!

Brilliant. I'm already looking forward to The Spare in 2027. More please!!

Oh my, this is probably one of the most unsettling things I have ever read (In the best possible way).

Logan and Elise are on a hiking trip when they meet another couple on the trail. These people resemble them slightly in an odd way and something just feels a little 'off'. I can't really say more without spoilers, but this is one of those stories that you simply cannot put down once you start.

The plot is genius and Neugebauer is a master at creating a really eerie atmosphere. This is supposed to make you uncomfortable, and it absolutely succeeds in doing just that. I only wish I didn't have to wait another year for the next installment in the 'sequence'.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shockwave publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

i am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book already. the eeriness and suspense Neugebauer creates is so satisfying it’s impossible to put her books down. i liked the tiny easter egg about the extra too (or maybe im going crazy now). I definitely felt like I was going crazy just as much as our narrators…and the ending ????? Annie pls expain

Annie Neugebauer has done it again. The Extra was one of my favorites last year and The Other is just as much of a mind-destroying, brilliant exercise in paranoia and sudden…wrongness. This book will have you so stressed out until you put it down, and maybe even a little bit after that, too. Definitely recommend this one highly.

Annie Neugebauer’s The Outsider is a tense, unnerving psychological thriller. A couple on a hiking retreat meets their doppelgangers—and everything they thought they knew about each other is put to the test. Sharp, atmospheric, and quietly terrifying, this installment in the Outsiders Sequence kept me on edge until the last page. A must-read for fans of eerie, twisty suspense.

I was trapped in an elevator for 2 hours today.

Luckily, I had just been approved for this Netgalley this afternoon and had just enough reception - a single bar(!) - to get the novella loaded into my Kobo app, while I waited for rescue.

The time flew by. I was a fan of the first novella (though you could definitely read this independently, or out of order) but this one grabbed me by the neck and didn't let go.

Elsie and Logan are taking a 4-day out and back hike to try and reconnect. After 16 years of marriage, they have come to a breaking point and are both unsure about what comes next. When they meet uncannily similar strangers on the trail, their marital issues are brought into a stark light.

Fast-paced, paranoid and ( especially for me as a child-free woman) nightmarish.

Can't recommend it enough. Please read it so we can yell about it together, thanks.

I really enjoyed The Extra so I was very excited to be approved for an ARC of The Other—and it didn't disappoint. The vibes are excellent; the feelings of paranoia and creeping dread sink in right from the start. Bouncing between Elise's and Logan's POVs worked really well, too. Seeing them both struggle to identify one another, and the stress in seeing them both be wrong at times, added an extra layer of creepiness. And as a childfree woman who got divorced over that very issue, their struggles as a couple really resonated with me.

Honestly, I'm just bummed I have to wait a year for The Spare, the third book in this "sequence," to come out.

4/5 stars.

This book was a nightmare filled roller coaster but in the BEST way possible.


Hubby and I clearly need to work out some ways on how to identify each other if we ever cross paths with our doppelgängers.


5 ⭐️

I’ve never really had the desire to become a hiker, or go camping, but if I did, Annie Neugebauer has killed it with The Outsiders Sequence.

The Other is a brilliant follow up to her first installment. Like with The Extra, Annie Neugebauer crafts an incredibly tense and paranoia filled narrative that leave you on the edge of your seat. It masterfully infuses a terrifying paranormal element into the broader, more banal fears of how well can you really know your partner, especially in the face of new challenges, and how do you cope with new versions of someone as they evolve and changed with time.

I think with a dual pov, doppelganger story it could become muddled and confusing to keep track of who is who, and what's happening, but The Other stays clear and focused through the end... or, maybe it doesn't!?!?

I can't wait for the third installment in 2027!

A masterclass in paranoia! Truly a triumph in claustrophobic storytelling. Building on an idea first touched upon casually in "The Extra," "The Other" reads as a complete standalone novella (with several Easter Eggs for those in the know). The aforementioned idea has to do with encountering someone while on a hike, and returning home with them as if they have always been part of your life. "The Other" revolves around a married couple on the edge about starting a family, who, while on a hike, end up literally meeting themselves! Who's gonna come back home?

Annie Neugebauer infuses doppelganger horror with new energy and cutting edge narrative suspense, providing an intense look at marriage, trust, and commitment. She's asking what does it mean to really know someone, and she comes up with simple and grounded answers. This doesn't prevent her though from ending the story on an emotionally ambiguous note - and if you've read "The Extra," a real shocker. Highly recommend!

4.5 ⭐ rounded up

You and your partner head out on the trail to have The Talk about your marriage. You meet another couple and share a campsite for the night. You wake up the next morning to find that the other couple looks exactly like you. Same face. Same memories. Same things in your pockets. And now neither of you knows which one is real. Who is the other?

Where The Extra had me reeling, The Other has me absolutely spiraling. Annie Neugebauer is a pro at creating claustrophobic, anxiety-inducing situations. Every time you think you have a gotcha moment, the doppelgangers are one step ahead of you. After all, how can you prove you’re you when they look like you and know everything you do? It’s uncanny valley at its finest, but it’s not just that; it’s the completely inescapable scenarios, where the characters are not just stuck logically and ethically (would you really be able to leave your partner behind if you weren’t 100% sure? And how could you be 100% sure?), they’re also stuck in the middle of nowhere. No cell service, no one around. Just them. And the other.

We need to talk about that ending!!!! I’m deceased!!! The ending of The Extra was a complete cliffhanger, which may work for some people, but I need a conclusion. “Careful what you wish for,” said Annie Neugebauer, and wrote an ending I did NOT see coming. I feel like I should have, but I had no idea where it was going until it was already happening. This ending was completely satisfying and completely unexpected (and completely anxiety-inducing, but what else is new).

This book is mercifully short. I like a short read, but usually for different reasons. By the time you hit the final stretch, your nervous system will be grateful the book isn’t longer.

My only complaint, and the reason I took off half a star, is the pacing of the first half. The synopsis promises doppelgangers and identity crises, and that’s all true, but the confusion around who’s who doesn’t actually start until about halfway through. The setup is fine! The hiking atmosphere is good (I’m learning I really enjoy these camping/hiking settings, or maybe Neugebauer is just that good), and the characters are established well enough. But it’s a long time to spend on something that I already knew was coming. Once the tension starts, the second half flies by.

Annie Neugebauer’s stories scare the crap out of me.


You don’t need to read The Extra before this one but honesty, peak experience to read them in order.

Logan and Elsie go camping and meet another couple. The story seems simple but it’s slippery and had me questioning everything. The settings by is sublime and the ending is perfection.

This is slow burning, psychological horror at its finest!

Highly recommend.

This was such a quick, unsettling read in the best way. There’s something about doppelgänger stories that just gets under your skin, and this one executed it so well. The constant uncertainty of who’s real and who’s not had me hooked the entire time.

I flew through it in one sitting and couldn’t stop thinking about what I would do in that situation. It somehow makes an impossible concept feel believable, which made it even creepier.

A couple looking to save their troubled marriage heads out on a backpacking trip only to meet a strange other couple that looks just like them. The motivations of this other couple aren’t clear, but Estelle and Logan must dredge their deep knowledge of each other to determine who’s who.

I had a BLAST with this novella. It’s so quick and so wild - I literally couldn’t stop reading and finished it in one sitting. The entire time, I kept asking myself what I would do in that same situation: how would I be able to differentiate my husband if his doppelganger were trying to convince me he was an imposter? Something so implausible was made to feel truly possible, and I found the premise terrifying.

There was also an element of the supernatural, or something beyond the couple’s world that was informing the situation, and that gave some insight without completely taking over the plot.

Overall, this novella is fast-paced (you could knock it out in an evening) and will leave you just as delightfully confused as the couple themselves. Highly recommend!!

An emotionally strained couple on a camping trip make an unexpected discovery when they encounter… themselves…. a couple of exact replicas of themselves, down to their clothing and the contents of their pockets. People are quickly mixed up with one another, and confusion ensues.

This book features one of my absolute favorite horror subgenres, Doppelganger Horror. The story is told in a split narrative, between the two "real" members of the couple, as they try to identify each other and plan their next course of action. The characters were realistic, likeable, flawed; I was rooting for them the whole time. The ending was completely unexpected - you will have to read it yourself to believe it. This was an absolute psychological roller coaster ride, and I loved every minute of it.

If you have not read The Extra, the first book in the Outsiders Sequence, you will still have no trouble following along on this one, as the storylines are standalone. However, I do recommend that you check out The Extra as it has a similar eerie vibe and very unique story arc. I am looking forward to the final book in this sequence and reading more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Annie Neugebauer, and Shortwave Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Elise and Logan are at a turning point in their relationship after 15 years of marriage. They embark on a multi-day hike to get clarity on whether they will agree to have kids or go their separate ways. While hiking they meet their doppelgangers on the trail and there is something very unsettling about the other couple.

While the doppelganger theme is very familiar, this story still felt fresh. I was glued to it and finished in just over an hour. It evoked feelings of fear, doubt, and anxiety to name a few. The ending is wild, but I think I have worked out what happened although not why. I haven’t yet read the first book in the series, but I plan to read them all!

Thanks to NetGalley and Shortwave Publishing for the ARC!

the way i flew through this in one sitting... i enjoyed reading The Extra earlier this year so i was so excited and very thankful to the publisher and netgalley for this advanced reader copy.

my only complaint was that i wish this book was longer but i was so midfucked that i didn't notice i reached the end... and what was that ending btw 😭

already looking forward to The Spare next year!!!