I recently got back into reading novels after watching Sharon Objects on HBO and then reading the novel, as well as Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places. This novel is slow and scattered by comparison. The main character is completely unrealistic and inept, and it’s beyond frustrating. Not in a good, “I’m invested in the character and she’s making me angry” way, but in a “no actual person is this self deluded and ridiculous” way. It’s a relatively quick read and I finished it just to see where the hell it was going. I wouldn’t recommend it unless all your other picks are unavailable.

i really enjoyed this novel but at the same time i thought it was ridiculous. It had its moments where it was just so ridiculous and then it had it moments where it was really enjoyable. I liked how the main character really grew throughout the book and i really enjoyed the ending.

I LOVED ALL THE MISSING GIRLS SO I WAS EXCITED FOR THIS ONE. UNFORTUNATELY, I WASN'T A FAN. I STUCK IT OUT HOPING IT WOULD GET BETTER, BUT THE SLOW PACE, NOT EXCITING PLOT, AND WEIRD ENDING LEFT IT A DISAPPOINTMENT. I'LL DEFINITELY CHECK OUT FUTURE BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR SINCE I LOVED ALL THE MISSING GIRLS SO MUCH.

Great investigation with fascinating characters

Leah Stevens life is a mess. Following her friend Emmy from Boston to Western Pennsylvania, making a career change from journalist to a job teaching high school in this rapidly expanding town makes her the perfect stranger. While Leah is being stalked, Emmy disappears and Det Kyle Donovan starts asking questions that Leah can't answer.

As each detail of Leah & Emmy's relationship comes to light, more darkness looms.

It always makes me sad to leave a bad review, but I had to abandon this book 100 pages in - I just couldn't go on reading. I found the plot unbelievable and the pacing tedious - definitely did not work as a beach read. :-(

It has been a while since I've read a book from cover to cover without coming up for air. The Perfect Stranger has just the right blend of mystery, predictability and timely twists to keep readers engaged.

A full review of this title can be found on my blog: http://www.letstakeashelfie.ca

Megan Miranda’s latest release, The Perfect Stranger, will make for an excellent beach read this summer. While it doesn’t have the punch of All The Missing Girls, I was still caught up in the story and characters, especially in the second half of the novel. This is a slower-paced thriller, which isn’t for everyone, but really hooked me by the halfway point. I love the quiet, sleepy Pennsylvanian town that Megan created, especially since I grew up in Pennsylvania!

There are quite a few mini-mysteries going on in this novel: what exactly happened in Leah’s past, and the strange mystery surrounding Emmy being the two biggest. While I figured out certain aspects fairly early on, other parts of the mystery definitely caught me off guard twoards the end!

Leah is an interesting character, albeit occasionally annoying, and you really get to know her as the plot progresses. She’s a strong woman that doesn’t give up, and the whole storyline brings up some interesting questions. Does the end justify the means? Can you ever really “start over” somewhere new, in a new life? Kyle, the police officer assigned to Emmy’s missing persons case, is one of the weak links in the story. He seemed to be written to be a likable, good guy….but I wasn’t a fan. I do wish his character had been flushed out a bit more. And then there is Emmy, always in the background, a big question mark that is slowly unraveled.

My absolutely favorite part of The Perfect Stranger was the last chapter! I won’t say anything to spoil the ending, but it was definitely a perfect way to end the book.

If you like mysteries/thrillers that take place in quiet, sleepy communities that hide their secrets well, you’ll probably enjoy The Perfect Stranger.

I was really into this book until so many different characters, names and plots got intertwined. It became really confusing and loose ends weren't tied up. The ending was puzzling as well.

I gave up on this after about 60 pages-boring narrator (who goes from being an incompetent reporter to an incompetent high school teacher) and plot details that were meant to create suspense, but didn't. It didn't help that, as a Boston resident, I caught two mistakes about Boston in the narrator's backstory: it's Boston "Common", not "Commons" and the Prudential Center is an office tower and shopping mall, there are no residential apartments.

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Simon & Schuster for the ebook ARC of The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda in exchange for an honest review.

Leah Stevens is a failed journalist from Boston, she has a restraining order and is being threatened by a lawsuit. She ends up running into her old friend and college roommate, Emmy Grey, who had just left a troubled relationship.
Emmy suggests that they both move to rural Pennsylvania so they can both have a fresh start. Leah ends up getting a teaching position in a high school.
Everything is going well until Leah notices one day that she hasn’t seen her roommate Emmy in a few days, so she reports her missing to the police. And as the investigation begins to unravel, it seems that Emmy never even existed. Leah needs to find out what Emmy was hiding before someone else does.
And as all this seems to be going on, a couple of people are found murdered at a nearby lake, and Leah seems to be in the midst of all of this.
Kyle Donovan is the detective on the case. And Leah begins having some relations with him.

I found this book to be a very good mystery, even though I did not read Megan Miranda's first book, The Missing Girls.
At first I found it a bit hard to get into but as I read on and I found it very hard to put down.
I rate this book 4 stars and would recommend that you read it. It is a very good mystery novel.