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thetourterdpoetdepartment's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
I found this very repetitive and very dragging for the first 60% it was the same few ideas re-worded. I loved the last 10% of the book but thought that it was rushed and finished very quickly, like you can't just write about a whole hostage in threeish chapters, with each chapter being 2-3 pages long. however, I really enjoyed the idea of combing three characters into one, but feel as though it was executed poorly. while I enjoy this authors ideas I seem to finish her work thinking it could be better.
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
4.0
How to describe a stranger? Someone you’ve yet to meet. Do they wish you ill harm or are they a person who lives along the same confines and laws as you? Strangers is three stories that interweaved with each other’s. A calming hand in a storm of pain? What do these three stories have in common – compassion, understanding an humility.
Our three main protagonists Ursula, Gareth and Alice are lost souls swimming in a sea of pain and desperation. They are jaded with life – they’ve all been handed a shitty hand of cards. Divorce and cheating, death of a loved one and caring responsibilities has these characters looking for a way out of their anger and despair at the way the world treats people like them. A lifeline is all they are looking for and it is only one Stranger away.
This was my first step into the magic world that C.L. Taylor has created. I’m hooked. Upon finishing the finishing scene of Strangers, I made a resolute promise to find her entire works and gorge upon it. The author has an almost hypnotic ability to draw her readers into her drama filled worlds and she refuses to break that contact until their breath has evaporated and their system is in shock! Reading the synopsis gave me an air of trepidation, the point of dipping your toe into an ice-cold lake – knowing it will be cold, but you need to check just in case! The narrative gave me Goosebumps from the emotion but also execution.
Alice’s life has become mundane and boring since her husband left her for another woman…yup one of those! Her life has been work and supporting her daughter, but she has been convinced into trying online dating – will a traumatic date lead her into a cagey man’s arms, what is he hiding? Ursula has a compulsion for shoplifting but just what has led her down this soul-destroying path? She has nothing and no-one – she lets a room in her landlords’ home but what does he keep locked behind his basement door? Why is his bedroom barricaded worse than Fort Knox? And Gareth, sweet, sweet Gareth. His life, his career and his ambition has been put on hold when his mum has been diagnosed with dementia. She needs him, more than his need for a relationship or career progression. Where has these mystery postcards came from that are signed off by his dad…his dad that died many years ago? Will the CCTV that he installs find the culprit?
Strangers has an air of danger lurking in every corner, everyone is a culprit. For Alice she was more or less in an environment where guys are dicks. Ursula is surrounded in a toxic society that judges people regarding their looks and body type. I felt like I could be friends with all three of the characters, I don’t know if it was the pain I wanted to soothe or the friendly demeanour, but I was rooting for them all.
Strangers is a book that I couldn’t help but devour. Although if finished it quickly, I have been unable to move onto the next as it would be a betrayal on how much headspace it took up. If tachycardia isn’t your bag, then look away now!
Our three main protagonists Ursula, Gareth and Alice are lost souls swimming in a sea of pain and desperation. They are jaded with life – they’ve all been handed a shitty hand of cards. Divorce and cheating, death of a loved one and caring responsibilities has these characters looking for a way out of their anger and despair at the way the world treats people like them. A lifeline is all they are looking for and it is only one Stranger away.
This was my first step into the magic world that C.L. Taylor has created. I’m hooked. Upon finishing the finishing scene of Strangers, I made a resolute promise to find her entire works and gorge upon it. The author has an almost hypnotic ability to draw her readers into her drama filled worlds and she refuses to break that contact until their breath has evaporated and their system is in shock! Reading the synopsis gave me an air of trepidation, the point of dipping your toe into an ice-cold lake – knowing it will be cold, but you need to check just in case! The narrative gave me Goosebumps from the emotion but also execution.
Alice’s life has become mundane and boring since her husband left her for another woman…yup one of those! Her life has been work and supporting her daughter, but she has been convinced into trying online dating – will a traumatic date lead her into a cagey man’s arms, what is he hiding? Ursula has a compulsion for shoplifting but just what has led her down this soul-destroying path? She has nothing and no-one – she lets a room in her landlords’ home but what does he keep locked behind his basement door? Why is his bedroom barricaded worse than Fort Knox? And Gareth, sweet, sweet Gareth. His life, his career and his ambition has been put on hold when his mum has been diagnosed with dementia. She needs him, more than his need for a relationship or career progression. Where has these mystery postcards came from that are signed off by his dad…his dad that died many years ago? Will the CCTV that he installs find the culprit?
Strangers has an air of danger lurking in every corner, everyone is a culprit. For Alice she was more or less in an environment where guys are dicks. Ursula is surrounded in a toxic society that judges people regarding their looks and body type. I felt like I could be friends with all three of the characters, I don’t know if it was the pain I wanted to soothe or the friendly demeanour, but I was rooting for them all.
Strangers is a book that I couldn’t help but devour. Although if finished it quickly, I have been unable to move onto the next as it would be a betrayal on how much headspace it took up. If tachycardia isn’t your bag, then look away now!
k_west1984's review against another edition
4.0
I'd give this book 3.5 stars just because i didn't really like the ending.
septimusmith's review against another edition
3.0
Strangers is a novel about three seemingly unrelated and unlikeable characters: Alice, Gareth and Ursula. Each one of them battling their imperfect lives. The plot is full of twists which lead to nowhere. The ending is not what I've been expecting from it, and the whole book has disappointed me a lot.
allie010's review against another edition
2.0
So disappointed.
I read Sleep last year by the same author and really enjoyed it but this one just fell flat. I didn't really care for any of the characters and it was all a bit melodramatic - I can enjoy a shallow story if it's gripping but this isn't even that. Such a shame.
I read Sleep last year by the same author and really enjoyed it but this one just fell flat. I didn't really care for any of the characters and it was all a bit melodramatic - I can enjoy a shallow story if it's gripping but this isn't even that. Such a shame.
c_am's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
weemargaret's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stephh's review against another edition
3.0
After reading The Missing earlier this year, I was really hoping that the predictability of 'whodunnit' in C. L. Taylor's books was a one-off, but I'm not so sure any more? I enjoyed the writing of both books, and pretty much cast off the culprit as being way too obvious, so there was still a little bit of suspense, but I can't help feeling disappointed with it.
Strangers is told from the viewpoints of three different characters. Ursula's got a kleptomaniac habit that gets her kicked out of her flatshare, so she's looking for a new place to live. Gareth's trying to look after his mum who has been receiving mysterious postcards that she can't remember because of her dementia. Alice is on the lookout for a new man, but worries she's being stalked. The three characters' lives intersect in ways you wouldn't expect. At the same time, a number of men are being killed in their town, and each main character wonders what's happening.
I really did enjoy most of the book. I liked the different perspectives and I think they were written well. It just all sort of went downhill for me at the end - I felt that some of the conclusions to the questions you'd been asking were a bit of a cop out, and the main conclusion just fell a bit flat for me. However, if you enjoyed C L Taylor's other books, I think you'd like this.
I gave this three stars
Strangers is told from the viewpoints of three different characters. Ursula's got a kleptomaniac habit that gets her kicked out of her flatshare, so she's looking for a new place to live. Gareth's trying to look after his mum who has been receiving mysterious postcards that she can't remember because of her dementia. Alice is on the lookout for a new man, but worries she's being stalked. The three characters' lives intersect in ways you wouldn't expect. At the same time, a number of men are being killed in their town, and each main character wonders what's happening.
I really did enjoy most of the book. I liked the different perspectives and I think they were written well. It just all sort of went downhill for me at the end - I felt that some of the conclusions to the questions you'd been asking were a bit of a cop out, and the main conclusion just fell a bit flat for me. However, if you enjoyed C L Taylor's other books, I think you'd like this.
I gave this three stars
melreads11's review against another edition
3.0
This was really good to start with. But the ending and how it came together wasn’t as good as I expected. It was just ok.
romana159's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25