From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

A Familiar Stranger

A.R. Torre

Start date: November 13, 2022

Finish date: November 16, 2022

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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* September 2025 Buddy Reads
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last updated Sep 04, 2025 07:25AM

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What Members Thought

Nov 19, 2022 Diana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, mystery, turning-pages-buddy-read, favorites-of-2022

4.5 stars

A Familiar Stranger is a well-executed suspenseful story that had so many twists and turns, and I loved it. I thought I knew what to expect from this author, but I was so wrong.

I wouldn’t consider this a romance, it’s definitely a psychological thriller revolving around a couple, Mike and Lillian. Honestly, I struggled with liking either character, but the story itself kept me intrigued. Of course, I had my guesses, but I was completely wrong.

I highly recommend this one and if you do re ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2022 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
This was exactly the book I needed at the perfect time! I’m staying on a beach vacation in Mauritius and headed back to California next week and this was the perfect beach read! It had everything you could possible hope for from a psychological thriller! Unreliable narrators, cheating spouses, and laundering money against the backdrop of a sunny California beach town. I loved never being able to predict where the story was headed and was surprised u ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2023 Julie rated it liked it

As someone who loves a good thriller, I couldn’t help but think that A.R. Torre could continue with her streak of penning a novel that intrigues me to the end. Torre is known for creating epic twists and turns in truly unique story plots. I am a huge fan of The Girl in 6E & Black Lies!! Both provided epic writing that was too engaging to put down.

I put off reading A Familiar Stranger due to the ‘let down’ in reading books Torre published since writing Love, Chloe. There has been a great ‘discon As someone who loves a good thriller, I couldn’t help but think that A.R. Torre could continue with her streak of penning a novel that intrigues me to the end. Torre is known for creating epic twists and turns in truly unique story plots. I am a huge fan of The Girl in 6E & Black Lies!! Both provided epic writing that was too engaging to put down.

I put off reading A Familiar Stranger due to the ‘let down’ in reading books Torre published since writing Love, Chloe. There has been a great ‘disconnect’ that was missing when reading that I was sorely missing. I wanted to make sure I was in a great head space to take in every nuance of A Familiar Stranger. In doing so, I felt I could absorb all the twists and turns. I wanted to feel that pull that I have come to know so well with novels written by Torre.

Diving into A Familiar Stranger, I found myself immersed into the life of Lillian Smith. As an obituary writer, Lillian leads a not-so-typical life. Lillian is a wife and mother, but finds parts of her life a bit boring. Then Lillian crosses paths with David and her life takes on a new excitement. Then we reach a pivotal moment in Lillian’s life. Then the book begins to unravel at each turn.

The addition of narration in Mike and Lenny’s point of view made the story more chaotic and less ‘revealing’. I was so invested in Lillian until that ‘one’ moment where life ‘changed’ (Can you tell I am trying my best not to divulge the plot?). The secondary characters play pivotal roles and then seem to ‘vanish’ from the story. Mike, Jacob and David all end up with story lines that ….STOP. Their plot lines aren’t open-ended like you would expect from a novel that will have a sequel. Their story literally stops mid plot and leaves you asking ‘well….what happened?’.

As a reader, I feel robbed for lack of a better word. I became entirely invested in Lillian only to have the second half of the book turn into a chaotic mess. The ending was left unfinished in a way that completely turned me off from the entire premise of the novel. After closing that last chapter, I felt my time was completely wasted on a set of characters that left a lot of questions without providing very many answers.

My rating flip-flopped on this book. I couldn’t make up my mind if I was going to rate the novel a 2-star or 3-star read. Due to the fact I found the first half of the book engaging, I decided to give props for the creativity for the first half of the book and rate A Familiar Stranger a solid 3-star read. ...more

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Nov 15, 2022 Stacie rated it really liked it

Shelves: tpam-br, kindle-unlimited, audiobook, mystery-thriller-suspense, marriage-troubles

4 1/2 " Mind Bendy" Stars!

This was a really good psychological thriller. A.R Torre kept my mind bending from beginning to end. I thought I knew the bad guy... but I was wrong. lol! I struggled with liking either of the main characters. I'm sure that was intentional, but there's a good little unexpected twist that made this a super delightful read. Happy reading! ...more

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Sep 12, 2022 Maureen Mayer rated it liked it

I love A.R. Torre’s books, but this one just wasn’t for me. While it was a well-paced and quick read, it wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped it would be. I found it a bit anti-climactic (even the scenes that should have been climactic), and the characters weren’t memorable or even likable for that matter. They all had flaws but no redeeming qualities, except maybe Lillian to a degree.

Now the second half of the book felt like a completely different story. I was surprised by some of the revelations, ...more

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