Talking to Strangers

by Anne Cassidy

Caroline, aged 10, is missing and was last seen climbing into a black car with a stranger. Maggie consequently sees menace everywhere. Her new neighbour is very suspicious - he's got a black car, and she saw him bury a child's belongings.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Death, Abuse

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book, i guess with it's subject matter it was bound to be a bit depressing but it kept me engaged, i also think that although the book was short it was a good short if you catch my meaning, it got to the points that people wanted to read and gave a good solid ending.

[K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content warnings: disappearance of a child, death of a child (in the past), grief, institutionalisation, child sexual abuse, incest, abduction of a child, murder

Oh boy. I picked this up on a whim because I've read Looking For JJ twice and really enjoyed it, so I figured it was about time I checked out something else by Cassidy. I was about half way through and absolutely horrified by the content in this when it occurred to me to check the publication date and discovered this came out in 1994 and IT SHOWS.

The way this handled child molestation was extremely dated and the level of depth that it went into through Maggie's flashbacks was honestly awful. Add in a ten year old girl who smokes like a chimney, some weirdly clinical romantic scenes, and Maggie unintentionally traumatising the man next door, and this was honestly a shitshow.

That being said, it WAS a very fast paced story, so I guess that's something? Would not recommend though.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

* I totally did not think, even for one minute, that the abductor /killer would by Amy;s brother John! He seemed like such a wimp, I would never have guessed that he would kill his sister's best friend!
* It was interesting to see how Maggie's mum's pregnancy affected the household. Maggie felt left out, her father worried, and her mum just tried to carry on as normal as much as she could.
* I wasn't really invested in the whole 'next-door neighbour did it' theory, although the wall of photos was a bit weird.
* It was sad that Maggie's best friend was away for the summer.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young Caroline disappears from her housing estate one afternoon, causing panic within the community. Maggie is the last person to have seen her alive, climbing into a dark car. Left to spend the summer alone whilst her best friend abroad, Maggie attempts to investigate the abduction with the help of a local boy, and quickly becomes suspicious of her new, mysterious neighbour. I found Maggie’s emerging memories of her own previous brush with a predator (the subtly creepy Material Man) to be more interesting and gave a better sense of her voice, than the whodunit plot, seemed slightly predictable.

[Read With Tarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:

Scandal hits a small-town community when little Caroline Mitchell goes missing. Maggie suspects that her new neighbour has something to do with it but is he really behind Caroline’s disappearance or could it be someone Maggie least suspects?

My Thoughts:

This is a nice, compact mystery for teenagers to solve.

My Rating: * * *

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[Gurpreet Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talking to Strangers by Anne Cassidy.

It was a good story but a pretty messed up one. It's my first book of the author.

I liked the plot and as it was a short book it was to the point and not that detailed but it was gripping. The children in it were much matured for their actual age. The ending was not what I expected or even guessed, it was a bit of a shock. It shows how the troubled childhood can really affect the mentality of a child and what he/she could become in future if not guided properly.

[Hamidreza · Rating 2 out of 5]

they lie and we can't detect 😬

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cassidy favourite

[Cc Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, easy-to-read Young Adult Novel. The characters were easy to understand, and the story was short and straight to the point. Overall I enjoyed this book.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice, relaxing, I kinda like it. I didn't expect the way it ended though, I was kinda shocked because i thought the murderer will be someone who we didn't met on earlier. I just couldn't imagine someone from the main characters to be the killer. It's nothing special, it's short but relaxing. I recommend.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat memorable read about a girl that's abducted and the struggle her family and friends go through. Very similar, however, to other books written about this same topic in that if you read 3 or more and go back to them in a few years, you will most likely mix up facts.

[Tabitha Munyaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it not what i was expecting!!

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was soooo good so many twists and turn i couldn't put it down. Read it in like two days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeff Tonks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard fare from author Anne Cassidy. Not bad for an untaxing read but not one of the author's better stories.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book at all. It felt rushed, it lacked the suspense usually found in crime stories and the characters were poorly developed.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved it

[Sarah-may · Rating 3 out of 5]

an okay book, good twists