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  • Writer's pictureJudith D Collins

A Stranger on the Beach


A Stranger on the Beach

ISBN: 1250202531

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: 07/23/2019

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 5 Stars + Top Books of 2019 Author Elevator Q & A From the bestselling author of It's Always the Husband comes a novel about a love triangle that begins on a fateful night... There is a stranger outside Caroline's house. Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aiden, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aiden for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aiden's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

A Stranger on the Beach is Strangers on a Train meets Fatal Attraction in Michele Campbell's edge-of your-seat story of passion and intrigue.

 
A stranger on the beach
 

MOVIE 🎬 NEWS

"Anonymous Content Wins Film Rights to Michele Campbell’s ‘A Stranger on the Beach’" (EXCLUSIVE) by VARIETY By Matt Donnelly July 22, 2019

In a competitive situation, Anonymous outbid multiple players for the thriller, which it will adapt for the big screen with in-house producers Alex Goldstone and Rosalie Swedlin.

“Stranger” has been likened to sensual thrillers like “Fatal Attraction” and “Body Heat,” as well as Caroline Kepnes’ Netflix and publishing sensation “You,” The novel follows wealthy Hamptons dweller Caroline Stark whose one-night stand with a local bartender leads to some unrequited love. As tensions escalate between Caroline and her fling, she suddenly finds herself accused of murdering her own husband. Read More

My Review

Clever, Manipulative, Engrossing!

Michele Campbell returns following She Was The Quiet One, landing on my Top Books of 2018 with A STRANGER ON THE BEACH. —A "knock-out" addictive and gripping psychological thriller!

If you are looking for an edge-of-your-seat well-written thriller, this is it! You will not be able to put down (trust me), a "must read!" On my Top Books of 2019.

Talking about a complex and a deadly love triangle! Mix in greed, revenge, mystery, sizzle, domestic suspense, psychological, legal, cop procedural, moral ethics, strong family bonds . . . and you have one killer thriller!

There was a stranger on the beach. Good-looking, smoking-hot, Brad Pitt looks. Aidan Callahan, the local bartender in his late twenties. He has a past. His past is about to come back to haunt him.

Caroline and Jason Stark somewhat of a power couple. They own the city Manhattan apartment, the cars, and now they have built a palatial beachfront home with an infinity-edge pool, and a killer view. Their daughter Hannah is away at college.

Jason is an investment banker who travels often. Caroline is beautiful and enjoys the lifestyle and is attempting to get her interior design business off the ground. Appearances are important. She did not come from money and prestige. There was always someone richer, but they moved in the right circles.

It all started with a party at their home. Things do not go as anticipated. Jason is acting weird, and Caroline thinks he is up to no good. Pretty much confirmed when he walks into the party late with a Russian mistress and an argument breaks out. No explanation. Very mysterious.

Caroline feels sorry for herself and turns to Aidan for revenge. However, a one-night fling turns into an obsession. The first night Caroline sees Aidan on the beach, her twenty-year marriage will fall apart.

However, things are not as they appear. Which character is manipulating the other?

The author holds your attention (captivating) with twists and turns, and yes, Caroline is an unreliable narrator. One minute you feel sorry for her and the next, you have no clue what she is up to. She goes back and forth with her husband, and at the same time, Aiden is persistent (hand it to him, he will not give up).

Talk about "Fatal Attraction!" Deep, intriguing, and disturbing. You will be turning the pages quickly to see how gripping thriller will end.

Cleverly crafted, this cat and mouse game turns deadly. However, the author masterfully retains details until the explosive ending. The intensity and suspense are high to the shocking final twist. An intelligent page-turner that makes you question everything I particularly "enjoyed" the last two sentences.

Trust me; you will want to clear out the time, it is worth every minute of your time! A top beach read. For fans of Kaira Rouda, Kimberly Belle, Mary Kubica, and BA Paris.

For fans of books, movies and series: Unfaithful, Dirty John, You, The Affair, The Wife Between Us, and the Woman in Cabin 10.

Q&A Elevator Interview with the author, Michele Campbell coming July 23, 2019! Get exclusive facts about the book and the author.

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for an early reading copy.

#JDCMustReadBooks @judithdcollins

Check out her other books and my reviews: She Was The Quiet One It's Always the Husband

 

Q&A With the Author

July 23

A Stranger on the Beach


 

About the Author

Michele Campbell

Michele Campbell is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor in New York City who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases. A while back, she said goodbye to her big-city legal career and moved with her husband and two children to an idyllic New England college town a lot like Belle River in IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND. Since then, she has spent her time teaching criminal and constitutional law and writing novels. She has had many close female friends, a few frenemies, and only one husband, who – to the best of her knowledge – has never tried to kill her. Read More

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