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    The Stranger in Our Home
    The Stranger in Our Home
    The Stranger in Our Home
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Stranger in Our Home

    Written by Sophie Draper

    Narrated by Emma Pallant

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Have you been bad enough?

    When her stepmother dies unexpectedly, Caro returns to her childhood home in the rural English countryside. She hadn’t seen Elizabeth in years, but the remote farmhouse offers refuge from a bad relationship, and a chance to start again.

    But going through Elizabeth’s belongings unearths memories Caro would rather stay buried. In particular, the story her stepmother would tell her, about two little girls and the terrible thing they do.

    As heavy snow traps Caro in the village, where her neighbours stare and whisper, Caro is forced to question why Elizabeth hated her so much, and what she was hiding. But does she really want to uncover the truth?

    A haunting and twisty story about the lies we tell those closest to us, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Cass Green.

    Readers love THE STRANGER IN OUR HOME:
     
    ‘Spooky and absorbing. I was gripped from the first page’ CASS GREEN 

    ‘A remarkably, taut and chilling debut. I absolutely loved it. Brilliant writing. All the creepiness. A heart-stopping ending’ CLAIRE ALLAN

    ‘Sophie Draper is a remarkable new voice, combining beautiful writing with a gothic creepiness and a level of suspense which will keep the reader gripped to the end’ STEPHEN BOOTH

    'A brilliant, sinister debut that creeps under your skin and keeps you hooked until the shocking ending' ROZ WATKINS

    ‘Wow! This is what a horror story is supposed to be! Super spooky and absolutely wonderful in all its gothic glory’ NETGALLEY REVIEWER

    ‘The ending was amazing. Psychological fiction at its best. Five Stars’ NETGALLEY REVIEWER
     
    ‘I never use the term "jaw-dropping" but it best describes the rest of this spectacular read!’ NETGALLEY REVIEWER
     
    ‘Stands up there near to of the top of the pile with narratives like "The Woman in the Window" and of course "The Girl on the Train".’ NETGALLEY REVIEWER
     
    ‘The ending BLEW. ME. AWAY. I feel like I’m going to have a book hangover now. SO, SO GOOD’ NETGALLEY REVIEWER

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateNov 29, 2018
    ISBN9780008337513

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    Reviews for The Stranger in Our Home

    3.5/5

    19 ratings3 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      I listened to the audio version and the narrator was good, except I don’t know why one character had an American “accent.” It was a silly plot point and the accent was a mashup. The story itself is pretty predictable. Most of the story is told as memories so there isn’t much suspense until the last fourth of the book. Also, the first half is A LOT of the main character describing her feelings instead of actually doing something. It’s metaphor upon metaphor and pretty tedious. The main character is pretty hard to like because she is so weak. The point of view suddenly changes in the final chapters which is disconcerting and a lazy way of tying up the plot. Again, instead of telling the story through actions it’s retold as memories. I finished the book because I always do, but I would not read this author again.
    • 4/5
      "The flashy one or the nutcase?"

      If ever there was a wicked stepmother, it was Elizabeth, who made a point of letting Caro know she didn't belong, and tormenting her with horrid stories. That may explain why Caro's older sister Steph flew the coop when she was barely old enough. It doesn't explain why decades went by before she would ever bother with her sister again.
      Now a grown woman, Caro will uncover the reason why her childhood memories are so sparse and what secrets her own mind has hidden from her, as she heads back to her childhood home to clear it out after Elizabeth's death. The locals are less than welcoming, and a charming neighbor who rents the cottage on her property may know more about Caro's past than she does.
      This was a twisty psychological thriller with lots of suspense and a bit of romance thrown in.

      4 out of 5 stars.
      I received an advance copy for review.
    • 3/5
      I didn't love this one. My feelings about this book are actually pretty mixed. I didn't hate it but I am not really sure that I liked it either. I requested this book on NetGalley when it was listed as Can You Keep a Secret? without any details. I am a curious person by nature and I just had to know about this book that was so exciting it had to be kept secret. I don't think I would have asked for this book if I had known what the actual description was. The story opens at the funeral for Caro and Stephanie's stepmother. After the funeral, the estate needs to be settled and Caro needs a place to live so she goes to the house to sort through things. It becomes obvious almost immediately that the people in the small town her stepmother lived in do not think much of Caro. The only person that shows any kindness to Caro is the man living in the cottage on the land her stepmother's home is on, Craig. I found the bulk of the book to be really slow. There is a whole lot of action crammed into the last part of the book but for most of the book, it didn't feel like a whole lot happened. We spend a lot of time in Caro's head thinking about all the things she doesn't know and I hate to that it got old pretty fast. I did wonder if Caro would prove to be an unreliable narrator simply because she seemed so clueless about so many things. There were things that I did like about the book. Once all of the pieces came together near the end, I did find the book to be much more exciting. There were quite a few surprises that were revealed during the book's finale. I also liked the parts of the fairy tales that were worked into the story. I was really pretty interested in the story of the pear drum specifically. I think that a lot of readers might like this book more than I did. I didn't hate this book but it failed to completely grab me. While I found this book easy to set aside at times, I was curious enough about how everything would work out to keep me reading until the very end and I was satisfied with its conclusion. I received a digital review copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley.