Strangers by C.L. Taylor
Strangers by C.L. Taylor is a fast-paced thriller about the secrets of three apparently unrelated people. Events culminate in a situation where the central characters must rely on each other for survival. The book centres on the trials and tribulations of the three main characters – Ursula, Gareth and Alice. The lives of the three strangers intersect in the local shopping mall, where Ursula is a heart-broken shoplifter, Gareth is a lonely security guard with a sick mother and Alice is a shop manager and single mother looking for love.
The book is set in Bristol, England and begins with various social media posts discussing the urban legend of the Harbourside Murderer. The individual stories of the three main characters are interspersed with further social media posts when Bristol residents start to go missing, a development which provokes alarm in the community. Alice also attracts the attentions of a stalker when she starts seeing someone new, and the book starts to take a sinister turn.
The book is well-written and kept me on the edge of my seat, making me want to know what happens next. I have read previous novels by the same author, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. One by one, other characters central to the lives of the main characters are introduced. Alice thinks she has a stalker, Ursula moves into a new house and Gareth becomes a suspect when another Bristol resident disappears. Unbeknownst to the characters, these events are related and lead to the suspenseful climax where each character fights for their lives.
The ending of the book ties up all loose ends neatly and the reader also finds out what happened to the missing Bristol residents. The author included several red herrings and introduced characters that in hindsight did seem a bit superfluous. Overall, the book is a great read and recommended for lovers of thrillers with quirky characters. I found the book in the large print section of Greater Dandenong Libraries.
Kristen (Work Placement Student)
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