The Perfect Stranger

March 27, 2017
Fans of Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Jennifer McMahon will devour this relentlessly paced and deftly plotted thriller. A new beginning is exactly what Leah Stevens needs after a devastating incident shatters her journalism career in Boston. She is cajoled along by her former roommate, Emmy Grey, and both women find a second chance in a small Pennsylvania community. Things turn sour when a young woman with an unnerving resemblance to Leah is found, bludgeoned, near death, less than a mile from Leah’s home, and Emmy has suddenly disappeared. Leah contacts the police, but the resulting search comes up fruitless; everything she thought she knew about Emmy comes into question. With steeled certainty that Emmy is indeed real, finding her becomes imperative to maintaining Leah’s sanity, safety, and reputation. An irresistible and riveting page-turner, Miranda (All the Missing Girls) weaves several mysteries together, leading to the intricate climax. The story moves at a feverish, unfaltering pace, keeping readers just as perplexed as the characters.

March 15, 2017
After her journalism career goes up in flames, a young woman reconnects with an old friend in an attempt to start anew only to become embroiled in a series of increasingly violent crimes.Leah Stevens thought life as a reporter in Boston couldn't get better until a story on college suicides goes sideways in the worst way and she resigns before things get uglier. Floundering professionally and personally, Leah runs into her former roommate Emmy Grey, whom she hasn't seen in eight years, and after a vodka-fueled night more in line with a network television show than anything resembling real life, the pair decides to start over in western Pennsylvania. The nominally qualified Leah teaches school, and Emmy works sporadically in a fleabag motel. Soon a woman is found by the lake, beaten almost to death and bearing an unnerving resemblance to Leah. The obvious suspect is Davis Cobb, the school's basketball coach who's also fond of drunk-dialing Leah. Not wanting her past to come to light, Leah skirts the cops' questions but becomes increasingly worried when Emmy doesn't show up for days on end. Though her friend isn't always reliable, disappearing without a word is unusual, so Leah starts digging, becoming more unnerved the more she tries to piece together Emmy's life, and discovers it is built on lies. With the police skeptical of her story and Leah beginning to doubt her own sanity, Miranda (All the Missing Girls, 2016, etc.) doubles down on the tragic back story angle, to the overall detriment of an otherwise solid plot. Familiar elements shuffled around can make for an entertaining read, but in the end, the pieces will still be just that: familiar.

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February 15, 2017

Eight years ago, when journalist Leah needed a place to stay, Emmy was her salvation--a friend who took her in, listened to her, and defended her. It was a strong friendship based on trust and support--or so Leah thought. Now, when they both need a fresh start, their paths cross again. From this serendipitous meeting, the two friends decide to move to rural Pennsylvania to reconnect and renew. Then a local woman is attacked at the lake, Emmy goes missing, and all of Leah's journalistic instincts go into overdrive. As she and handsome detective Kyle Donovan start to uncover clues, it seems as if Emmy isn't who she said she was. Does she even exist? With her own past now being questioned, Leah is put on the defense and has to find Emmy in order to clear herself. VERDICT YA author Miranda, who moved into the adult market with All the Missing Girls, proves she isn't a one-hit wonder with this exciting thriller. Its twisty tale with many layers--a little romance, great writing, and an awesome story line--will keep psychological suspense fans turning the pages.[See Prepub Alert, 11/26/16.]--Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2017
An excellent second novel of psychological suspense (after All the Missing Girls, 2016) from best-selling teen author Miranda. So many young women, so many unfortunate choices. Two young women in particular, badly in need of a fresh start, leave the big city behind and relocate to western Pennsylvania. Their first misstep is renting a creepy house with sliding glass doors for a front entry, and hidden crawl spaces. One of the women goes missing, and the other finds herself hard-pressed to provide the police with any actual proof of her housemate's existence, particularly after a car is dredged out of the lake with her boyfriend's body in it, and the sudden realization that her name came from a vodka bottle. Good thing there is a handsome and understanding police officer assigned to the case, one who has made his own unfortunate choices. Highly recommended for fans of Alafair Burke, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Lutz, and for all readers who like their female characters clever and resourceful, even when their best friends become their worst nightmares.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)