The Stranger - Harlan Coben

[goodreads]

Title: The Stranger
Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 333
Date read: March, 2023

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.


Harlan Coben is starting to become a new favourite author. His books aren't high literature by any means, but they are so very readable, and I've yet to read one I didn't enjoy. The translation wasn't quite as tight in this one as usual, but still good enough, that I managed to forget about it after awhile, and finished the book in a day.

While the book shifts POV a few times, we mostly stay with Adam, and the shifts work well to give the reader a bit of background, while still leaving Adam in the dark. It is a suspenseful and captivating read. I'm not entirely sure how likely the ending is, but it worked within the book's universe, so didn't seem jarring in any way.