S is for Stranger by Louise Stone

S is for Stranger by Louise Stone
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Sophie’s husband Paul has custody of their daughter after their relationship ended due to Sophie struggling with alcoholism. During one of Sophie’s days to visit her daughter they go to a fair where Sophie sees a stranger talking to her daughter. Getting a bit upset she lectures her not to talk with strangers but when her back is turned for only a few seconds Amy disappears.

Sophie fears with the disappearance of her daughter that it has something to do with her past. Her best friend had died on the anniversary of the same day years before and Sophie had always believed it was murder even though it was ruled a suicide. Not knowing who to trust or who to turn to Sophie only wants to find her little girl.

S is for Stranger is described as a gripping psychological thriller which in a way it was. Any parent is going to cringe at the subject of what is probably the worst fear of a child being taken so it definitely turned in a page turner wanting to know where little Amy was and what had happened to her.

However, a part of me was rather frustrated with the entire read. We find early on that Sophie has suffered from hallucinations along with being an alcoholic. It was hard to connect with the story when the main character doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t and for someone who likes to follow along and try to figure out what will happen it’s tough to do when you can’t trust what is going on.

In the end I had a feeling I knew where the story would go and I do believe that is what turned out but the ending in the book was also a bit confusing. I felt that it really should have been a bit more clearly written at that point after following a confused character throughout the read.

Overall, 3.5 stars for this one. I think some will love it and I did find myself engaged wanting to find out what happened but wasn’t a huge fan of the main character’s perspective either.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.