One thing about reading murder mysteries is that they leave your heart racing, and that is almost exactly how Shari Lapena made me feel while reading this novel.
In addition to my passion for murder mystery novels, this book captivated me from the opening chapter all the way to the conclusion.
Who is the killer? What exactly happened? are the very first questions I like to ask myself when I open a murder mystery novel. The complexity of figuring out the villain amongst a sea of 'innocent' people is always thrilling.
This is the first book I have read by Shari Lapena, and I must confess she added just the right dose of suspense to keep me invested.
About The Book
"A stranger in the house" revolves around a murder/crime mystery tale that unfolds in a quiet neighborhood. The novel begins with Karen, a book keeping housewife–who was supposed to be making dinner–getting into a brutal accident, where her car is damaged, and she is severely injured.
When at the start of the novel, her husband comes home to a half finished dinner, and everything belonging to his wife eerily still in place, I just knew I was in for somewhat of a thrilling ride.
With the accident, and Karen suddenly developing amnesia, Detective Rasbach, the assigned homicide detective must find a way to link the homely, educated housewife to a crime scene involving a car crash, and when a dead body becomes involved, the stakes become higher. He has to find a way to connect Karen to the murder.
However, a flashback reveals the Karen, is in fact not the dull, plain-Jane housewife we believe her to be. She has previously lived under a different identity as the wife to the man murdered and the fear of her cover being blown by a random caller might have led her to committing murder.
The dots are complicated to connect, and something about Karen's past might be the solution to unravelling this mystery.
Then there's Brigid, Karen and Tom's neighbor who is friends with Karen, but secretly in love with her husband Tom. Taking advantage of the investigation on Karen, she sleeps with Tom, and just might be pregnant for him.
And it turns out that Karen might not be the only one hiding secrets, and that in fact Tom and Brigid might have skeletons in their cupboards as well. Apparently, in this novel, everyone is a stranger with secrets. Secrets they can kill to hide.
Things get messy, as Karen and Brigid become prime suspects in the murder of Robert–Karen’s ex-husband–and readers are left in suspense as to who the real murderer is.
Honestly, you have to give it to Shari Lapena. Just when you think you know how the plot eventually plays out, there's a little surprise waiting for you in subsequent pages.
My favorite character in the novel has to be Karen, or rather, her previous identity Georgina. She is undoubtedly the villain in the story, but you have to give it up to her for being smart and manipulative enough to get herself out of trouble.
‘A stranger in the house’ might look like any other murder mystery, but what sets it apart is Karen's claims about domestic violence in her previous life.
Not only was she never a domestic violence victim, turns out she is something worse, and you might have to read the novel to find out just how bad of a villain she was. This sheds a bad light on domestic violence victims and takes credence away from most of their stories. However, I love that she came off as feisty, ambitious and strong; the kind of woman from whom men need to be protected.
Karen, and other female characters in this novel, are however a far cry from what the male characters are, especially Tom. Not only is he flawed and gullible, I found his character a bit irritating. His unjustified consent to Brigid's sexual advances to supposedly ‘save’ Karen gave off the vibe of a man who had no self-control and couldn't handle situations without necessarily trading something in return for it.
Another male character I could not stand was Detective Rasbach. He was a far cry of what I would expect from a detective in a murder mystery. I found it a little bit disappointing that he wasn't able to find out who really killed Robert.
My Opinions
The plot was superbly emotionally driven, and I found it a little bit disappointing, that none of the characters, except my obvious favorite, Karen, had depths.
I want to be able to know what makes characters become who they are and even possibly have little flashbacks of them after the novel, and that is one thing I believe the author failed to achieve.
Aside from those obvious flaws, I believe Shari Lapena did a great job with this novel. The concept and storyline is great, and the plot is simply fantastic.
Whilst not every novel is expected to be a masterpiece, some of them are meant to keep the readers turning the pages till the very end. 'A stranger in the house' might not have the peculiar explosive characteristics of a murder mystery novel, but it is a worthy read.
Recommendation.
Do I recommend? For fans of psychological thrillers and crime novels; yes. Because they will find themselves thoroughly engrossed in this captivating tale of secrets, lies, and betrayal.
Images are screenshots from my e-library.
Love🤍
