[Review] The Perfect Stranger - Megan Miranda

Summary: Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own? (Pub Date: Apr 04, 2017)


Honest review based on an ARC offered through Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

After losing her job, Leah finds again an old friend and the two move to rural Pennsylvanian to start over. Some months later, however, a girl very similar to Leah is found severely hurt near their house and her friend goes missing. Maybe the threatening emails and a possible stalker had something to do with it?

This was a 3.5.

I really enjoyed All the Missing Girls but mostly because the backward storytelling had me gripped to the book. Considering this one goes the normal way, I wasn't expecting the author to keep me so excited again. Gladly, she did.

It's true that I didn't care enough about the characters. And Leah being so weird contributed. I did get she had suffered a severe blow when she lost her job but I didn't get how that would stop you from going to the police for things if your life may be on the line. It was like she had this filter that never allowed her to absorb just how terrible the situation was. This made me anxious for her and anything that went wrong with her instead of pitying I'd think of how she deserved it. Not a good way to treat the main character, is it?

On the other had, the story compensated any issues I had with the main character. The plot twists weren't the punch-in-the-stomach kind, the conclusion wasn't stellar but the rhythm was good—and that is very important in a thriller. Even without the backward story device, the author kept me interested until the very end.

Talking about the conclusion, it wasn't surprising but it wasn't so predictable. I thought it was possible from the beginning but I wasn't sure until it was already time the reader suspected. Also, I liked how Miranda tied up all the parts of the mystery.

Not something stellar, nothing that special, but I good thriller nonetheless. If you don't have problems with characters being weird beyond logic, go ahead and have a good time!

Rating: 4 out of 5.