The stranger diaries

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Average Rating
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
2019.
Language
English

Description

International Bestseller Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel "This lively whodunit keeps you guessing until the end."People“Utterly bewitching…As unforgettable as it is original.”A.J. Finn“Goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting…I loved this book!”Louise PennyDeath lies between the lines when the events of a dark story start coming true in this haunting modern gothic mystery, perfect for fans of Magpie Murders and The Lake House. Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favorite literature. To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:Hallo Clare. You don’t know me.Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?

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Contributors
Feathers, Sarah Narrator
Griffiths, Elly Author
Vasan, Anjana Narrator
Wane, Esther Narrator
Wincott, Andrew Narrator
ISBN
9781328577856
9781328576088
9781980026341

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* In a departure from her acclaimed Ruth Galloway and Magic Men mystery series, Griffiths has gifted readers with a gripping homage to the gothic novel. Clare Cassidy teaches a course on the fictional eighteenth-century writer R. M. Holland, author of the grim but beloved story, The Stranger. Her colleague and good friend is murdered and a line from the story is left by the body. Someone has begun writing in her diary, starting off with an ominous Hallo Clare. You don't know me. Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White opens This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure. Like Collins, who wove his tale with multiple voices, Griffiths uses three different narrators here, none of whom is entirely reliable. This is an entrancing literary tour de force in which Shakespeare's line, Hell is empty, from The Tempest, cleverly connects past and present. Georgette Heyer fans will relish this, as will readers who enjoyed Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale (2006) and Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders (2017).--Jane Murphy Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Library Journal Review

High school English teacher Clare Cassidy specializes in the work of gothic writer R.M. Holland. When one of her colleagues is murdered, a line from Holland's most famous work, The Stranger, is found on her body, and the police are certain the killer is someone Clare knows. As she struggles to make sense of the events surrounding the murder, Clare pours out her heart into her diary, but when she visits an earlier volume to check on the date of a work trip, she's shocked to find a note in unfamiliar handwriting in the margins: "Hallo, Clare. You don't know me." Unsure whether she has a stalker, a ghost, or suffered a break from reality, Clare struggles to keep it together for her teenage daughter-until the next murder. VERDICT Griffiths's ("Ruth Galloway" and "Magic Men" series) first stand-alone novel is a modern gothic that updates and plays with genre conventions to great effect. Highly recommended for fans of British mysteries and classic whodunits. [See Prepub Alert, 9/10/18.]-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

A secondary school English department in West Sussex is turned upside down by a series of bookish killings.Clare Cassidy is heading into middle age with just her teenage daughter, her faithful dog, her diary, and her teaching job to occupy her time. The most exciting part of her life may be the biography she hopes to write of R.M. Holland, a writer of gothic tales who once lived in the school where she works. But when one of her colleagues in the English department at Talgarth High is found murdered with a line from "The Stranger," the very same Holland story that has long obsessed Clare, left on a Post-it next to her body, she quickly realizes the murderer must be someone who knows an awful lot about her. This suspicion is confirmed when, the day before Halloween, Clare discovers that someone else has left her a note in her own diary. As the violence escalates, Clare and the police must figure out why the killer seems so fixated on Clareand what a supernaturally tinged tale more than a hundred years old has to do with the quiet lives of small-town Brits. Griffiths alternates points of view among Clare, her 15-year-old daughter, Georgie, and DS Harbinder Kaur, the queer policewoman in charge of the murder investigation. Thrown into the mix are excerpts from "The Stranger," itself a delicious homage to writers like M.R. James. Though all these ingredients occasionally cause some structural unwieldiness, Griffiths (The Vanishing Box, 2018, etc.) hits a sweet spot for readers who love British mysteries and who are looking for something to satisfy an itch once Broadchurch has been binged and Wilkie Collins reread.Griffiths, who is known for the Magic Men mysteries and the Ruth Galloway series, has written her first stand-alone novel with immensely pleasurable results. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* In a departure from her acclaimed Ruth Galloway and Magic Men mystery series, Griffiths has gifted readers with a gripping homage to the gothic novel. Clare Cassidy teaches a course on the fictional eighteenth-century writer R. M. Holland, author of the grim but beloved story, "The Stranger." Her colleague and good friend is murdered and a line from the story is left by the body. Someone has begun writing in her diary, starting off with an ominous "Hallo Clare. You don't know me." Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White opens "This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure." Like Collins, who wove his tale with multiple voices, Griffiths uses three different narrators here, none of whom is entirely reliable. This is an entrancing literary tour de force in which Shakespeare's line, "Hell is empty," from The Tempest, cleverly connects past and present. Georgette Heyer fans will relish this, as will readers who enjoyed Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale (2006) and Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders (2017). Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

High school English teacher Clare Cassidy is understandably upset when a good friend and colleague is found dead but truly undone to learn that a line from "The Stranger," a celebrated story by her beloved Gothic writer R.M. Holland, has been left with the body. To steady herself, she starts keeping a diary, only to find someone else's handwriting amid her words, offering the threatening observation, "Hallo Clare. You don't know me." Sounds like Griffiths is out to show why she's a CWA Dagger in the Library Award winner.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.
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Library Journal Reviews

High school English teacher Clare Cassidy specializes in the work of gothic writer R.M. Holland. When one of her colleagues is murdered, a line from Holland's most famous work, The Stranger, is found on her body, and the police are certain the killer is someone Clare knows. As she struggles to make sense of the events surrounding the murder, Clare pours out her heart into her diary, but when she visits an earlier volume to check on the date of a work trip, she's shocked to find a note in unfamiliar handwriting in the margins: "Hallo, Clare. You don't know me." Unsure whether she has a stalker, a ghost, or suffered a break from reality, Clare struggles to keep it together for her teenage daughter—until the next murder. VERDICT Griffiths's ("Ruth Galloway" and "Magic Men" series) first stand-alone novel is a modern gothic that updates and plays with genre conventions to great effect. Highly recommended for fans of British mysteries and classic whodunits. [See Prepub Alert, 9/10/18.]—Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2019 Library Journal.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

In the wake of a divorce, Clare Cassidy, the heroine of this gripping standalone from Mary Higgins Clark Award winner Griffiths (the Ruth Galloway mysteries), accepts a job teaching English at Talgarth High, whose West Sussex campus includes the home of Victorian writer R.M. Holland, best known for his chilling story "The Stranger." Five years later, Clare and her 15-year-old daughter, Georgia, have settled into local life, and Clare has started work on a Holland biography. Then colleagues begin dying in violent ways reminiscent of "The Stranger," and Clare discovers mysterious notes written in her personal diaries. Alternating among the voices of Clare, Georgia, and Det. Sgt. Harbinder Kaur, who investigates the killings, Griffiths weaves a tale replete with ghosts, the occult, forbidden desire, and murder. Excerpts from "The Stranger" build the eerie atmosphere, though the tale's denouement and the killer's identity may disappoint some readers. Still, aficionados of such gothic classics as Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, which the killer may have read, will find this a satisfying novel for a rainy night. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit. (Mar.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly.
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