Book-Review-A-Stranger-in-the-House

A Stranger in the House

by

Shari Lapena 

A Stranger in the House was my first of Shari Lapena works and will not be my last.

Tom and Karen Krupp are happily married; almost newlyweds. Life is good until….the day Karen receives a phone call from her past.    The next thing Karen knows is she is in a hospital bed with no idea what happened or how she arrived.  She claims to have amnesia!  Prior to arriving at the hospital, she had been speeding through a seedy part of town before crashing her car, at speed.

Upon arriving home from the hospital, Karen notices things are out of place; not exactly where she left them.  She even goes as far as photographing rooms before leaving and every time she returns things have been moved.  There is someone entering their house and poking through their belongings whilst no one is home.  Who is it that is entering their home?  Could it be Bridgett; Karen’s best friend? 

Gradually Karen’s amnesia is slowly replaced by memories after her crash.  As the police begin questioning her about a murder not far from the scene of her crash it soon becomes apparent that Tom has secrets. Karen has secrets. Tom and Bridgett have secrets.

There is a twist near the end that will keep you guessing.  I read A Stranger in the House in 2020 and have just completed the audio version and have again rated it as a four-star book.

I rated

A Stranger in the House

as a

four-star read

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

A Stranger in the House

an average of 3.67 stars

from 101,550 ratings

and 8,984 reviews

****

A Stranger in the House

can be purchased online at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 

Book-Review-The-End-of-Her

The End Of Her

by

Shari Lapena 

 

The End Of Her is my second of Shari Lapena’s novels and I still have several I plan to read.

Patrick and Stephanie are happily married and parents of young colicky twins.  They are both sleep-deprived, especially Stephanie, however, they are coping, just, when along comes Erica one of Patrick’s old flames.  Patrick and Erica had an affair just prior to the death of Patrick’s first wife.  She died of carbon monoxide poisoning.  A death ruled as accidental by the coroner of the time.  Erica’s arrival casts some doubt on that finding, suggesting that Patrick is a murderer.

All the while Patrick protests his innocence and that Erica is only trying to blackmail him and Stephanie who recently has inherited millions of dollars.  Contrary to Erica, Patrick also claims the affair was nothing more than a couple of one night stands.

A new inquest into the death of Patrick’s first wife again finds he has no case to answer.  However, is he to be arrested and sent to trial for murder?  How many people has Erica blackmailed over the years?  Will she get away with it?  The question is who is telling the truth.  Is it Erica, Patrick or both?

I thoroughly enjoyed The End Of Her and did not come anywhere near picking the ending.

I rated

The End of Her

as a solid

four-star read

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

The End of Her

an average of 3.79 stars

from 43,821 ratings

and 4,329 reviews

***

The End of Her

can be purchased online at

Fishpond, Booktopia and Amazon