A Stranger in the house by Shari Lapena
This post will contain spoilers. If you wish to see what books we are reading go to our Book Club page. This space is meant for discussion once you have read the book.
I really liked this book! When it first arrived, I kept putting off starting it. I just couldn’t tell if it was scary or not from the title and book cover and I just wasn’t in the mood. One day I picked it up and within the first two pages I was hooked. That night after the kids went down, I read until I finished. For me, it was a pretty quick read. My mind couldn’t be quieted, I had to know if Karen had actually killed her ex-husband. I kept going back and forth. Once I started sensing that Brigid was crazy, I really wanted to believe it was her! I was even sure at one point that she was pregnant with Tom’s child or even Karen was, while she was knitting that yellow sweater for “her friend”. Granted, this is not the BEST thriller I have ever read, but it did the trick. This would’ve been great on a plane ride or an interesting book to read while lounging at the beach.
I definitely recommend it to people who like suspenseful books like The Girl on the Train. Tell me what you thought! It’s OK if we don’t have the same opinion, that’s what makes this fun! Who did you think was the killer??? I was pretty sure Brigid did it until we found out that Karen is one really good liar and con artist. I sure hope there is a second book too!
Hope you join us next month!

Tiffany Cashion says
Just finished it…after starting it about 4 days ago. Probably would’ve finished it yesterday if we weren’t dealing with tornado warnings and scary weather on Monday. It was so good! I need a book to pretty quickly hook me and this really did the trick. I didn’t want to think Karen did it, but I did feel like she was guilty for most of the book…until Brigid said she was there and then I thought maybe she did it. I will say that from the moment we met Brigid at the hospital, I felt like something was off. I was, however, surprised to know that she was the stalker moving things in the house. The last few pages were really shocking to me too…not a battered wife—-just a deceitful thief?? I was glad to learn what actually happened to Robert that night tho. Then there’s poor Tom who is still being lied to…I really felt bad for the guy (except when he drunkenly slept with Brigid)! I’d love to see a sequel also….I’m guessing we are to assume that Brigid is pregnant at the end?
Life with C&G says
Totally agree! I really do hope there is a sequel! I was just chatting with my friend Marielle (who is almost done) and we were both saying the same about how quickly it lured us in. It’s so weird, that doesn’t always happen, but I’m glad it did. I definitely did not see Karen being a full on liar. That twist is probably what shocked me the most. I started to feel that Brigid was off pretty early though, her walking in and dropping of food INTO their house and watching them creeped me out. Still holding on hope to a sequel! There’s so much left to unfold— the whole Brigid and Tom baby thing, Karen being a legit con artist and still lying to her husband and whatever else happens 😂. I want to read some of her other books too, I’ve heard they’re good. Thanks for participating! I just started The Art of Racing in the Rain. I hear we need to get the tissues ready.