Title: A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 346 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
From bestselling author Michele Campbell comes A Stranger on the Beach, an edge-of-your seat story of passion and intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Caroline Stark’s beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish, expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family. But after a very public fight with her husband, she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her, the money is disappearing, and there’s a stranger on the beach outside her house.
As Caroline’s marriage and her carefully constructed lifestyle begin to collapse around her, she turns to Aidan, the stranger, for comfort…and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan’s infatuation with Caroline, her family, and her house becomes more and more destructive. But who is manipulating whom in this deadly game of obsession and control? Who will take the blame when someone ends up dead…and what is Caroline hiding?
Review:
A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell is a twist-filled mystery.
Caroline Stark is happily married to investment banker Jason and their daughter, Hannah, is beginning her first year of college. She is thrilled her elaborate beach house in the Hamptons is finally complete. But the night she throws an extravagant party to showcase her beautiful new home, her life as she knows it is completely upended when she learns Jason is having an affair. Despondent over the discovery, Caroline has a one-night stand with bartender Aidan Callahan. But Aidan, it appears, believes their night together is the beginning of a relationship. Will Caroline find a way to save her marriage? Or will Aidan persuade her to give him a chance?
The majority of the novel alternates between Caroline’s and Aidan’s perspectives. The pacing becomes a little sluggish as the same events are viewed through both Caroline’s and Aidan’s points of view. Following a shocking series of events after a hurricane strikes, the chapters now unfold from different perspectives as the police begin an investigation. Will Lt. Jess Messina untangle the twisted web surrounding Aidan and Caroline and uncover the truth about what happened the night of the storm?
A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell is a suspenseful mystery with a unique yet very interesting premise. Caroline and Aidan are fascinating characters but which of them is the most reliable narrator? To find out the answer this compelling question, I highly recommend readers pick up a copy of this diabolically clever mystery!
