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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
3.5
This started out really great. A small, isolated hotel, with one staff member on duty and only two guests. There's a prison nearby, and it's obvious from the alarms that something has happened there. A wild snowstorm is in progress. Then, a man claiming to be a cop shows up. He's been in an accident. There's a dangerous escaped prisoner. While he goes off to try to get a radio signal because the phones are down, another man shows up. He claims to be the same cop, and that the first man is the escaped prisoner. He also has clearly been in an accident. Which is the cop? Which is the prisoner? And what's their connection to the lone staff member, who took the job to be near her prisoner brother who was recently killed in a riot? Can she trust the first guest, and where is the second guest?
The storm gets wilder. Cop 1 and Cop 2 come and go, as our narrator (the staff member) tries to figure out what's going on. The first guest continues to act in a suspicious manner, clearly harboring a secret. The second guest is still missing.
Unfortunately, the plot lost its way. The ending wasn't great, and the main character's actions were a bit baffling. The author didn't earn whatever is going on at the end.
I would try another book by the author, but this one could have been better.
This started out really great. A small, isolated hotel, with one staff member on duty and only two guests. There's a prison nearby, and it's obvious from the alarms that something has happened there. A wild snowstorm is in progress. Then, a man claiming to be a cop shows up. He's been in an accident. There's a dangerous escaped prisoner. While he goes off to try to get a radio signal because the phones are down, another man shows up. He claims to be the same cop, and that the first man is the escaped prisoner. He also has clearly been in an accident. Which is the cop? Which is the prisoner? And what's their connection to the lone staff member, who took the job to be near her prisoner brother who was recently killed in a riot? Can she trust the first guest, and where is the second guest?
The storm gets wilder. Cop 1 and Cop 2 come and go, as our narrator (the staff member) tries to figure out what's going on. The first guest continues to act in a suspicious manner, clearly harboring a secret. The second guest is still missing.
Unfortunately, the plot lost its way. The ending wasn't great, and the main character's actions were a bit baffling. The author didn't earn whatever is going on at the end.
I would try another book by the author, but this one could have been better.
Excellent atmospheric thriller with some really good twists-recommended! Hard to believe it’s the author’s first book.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed the slow suspense of The Second Stranger.
Remie York has one shift left at the Mackinnon Hotel, based in the remote Scottish highlands, and then she gets to hand in her badge, get to the airport and go on her adventures.
But then a storm closes in a different kind of adventure begins. Snow falls, temperatures drop, and an injured man knocks on the door. PC Don Gaines. He was transporting a prisoner when an accident happened and now he needs a safe space to stay while he looks for an escapee. That's all well and good but then another stranger knocks. Says he's PC Don Gaines and she needs to watch out for an escaped prisoner...
The hotel and Remie are very isolated, and you certainly feel it as you read through the pages. The author creates a nice sense of atmosphere. I say 'nice' - but it's chilly and eerie. The suspense builds slowly (maybe too slowly for some, but it worked for me) as Remie desperately tries to work out what's going on and who she can trust. Interspersed with her worries are flashbacks to times she tried to help her brother - a troubled soul who ended up involved in gangs, with an eventual death in prison. Could any of it be related, she wonders?
I never predicted what came next (and could not guess which Gaines was the real one) and found the ending satisfying. A good read.
Remie York has one shift left at the Mackinnon Hotel, based in the remote Scottish highlands, and then she gets to hand in her badge, get to the airport and go on her adventures.
But then a storm closes in a different kind of adventure begins. Snow falls, temperatures drop, and an injured man knocks on the door. PC Don Gaines. He was transporting a prisoner when an accident happened and now he needs a safe space to stay while he looks for an escapee. That's all well and good but then another stranger knocks. Says he's PC Don Gaines and she needs to watch out for an escaped prisoner...
The hotel and Remie are very isolated, and you certainly feel it as you read through the pages. The author creates a nice sense of atmosphere. I say 'nice' - but it's chilly and eerie. The suspense builds slowly (maybe too slowly for some, but it worked for me) as Remie desperately tries to work out what's going on and who she can trust. Interspersed with her worries are flashbacks to times she tried to help her brother - a troubled soul who ended up involved in gangs, with an eventual death in prison. Could any of it be related, she wonders?
I never predicted what came next (and could not guess which Gaines was the real one) and found the ending satisfying. A good read.
A page turning thriller that continuously and subtly foregrounds the inherent logical fallacies in thinking critically about a dilemma.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Second Stranger by Martin Griffin was a random audiobook I chose when I was itching to listen to something. This story takes place across the pond in Great Britian during the winter. The main character is working her last night as a hotel clerk when a large storm hits. Two men enter the hotel both claiming to be a policeman and there was another man at large who was a murderer. She must decide which of the two men was the killer.
I enjoyed listening to this story told from the hotel clerk’s perspective. It kept me interested throughout the entire book. I may have listened to it later than I should on some nights. So far, all the random audiobooks I have chosen have been very good. This is one keeps that streak going. If you like a thriller or mystery, take a read or listen to this one.