The duo is back with a new buddy read! This was a great one to start with because we both ended up loving it.
NOT SO PERFECT STRANGERS – LS Stratton (Released March 28th, 2023)
Book Description:
One fateful encounter upends the lives of two women in this tense domestic thriller, a modern spin on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train that flips the script on race and gender politics.
“I’m a big believer that women should help each other, Tasha,” she says. “Don’t you think?”
Tasha Jenkins has finally found the courage to leave her abusive husband. Taking her teenage son with her, Tasha checks into a hotel the night before their flight out of D.C. and out of Kordell Jenkins’s life forever. But escaping isn’t so easy, and Tasha soon finds herself driving back to her own personal hell. As she is leaving, a white woman pounds on her car window, begging to be let in. Behind the woman, an angry man is in pursuit. Tasha makes a split-second decision that will alter the course of her she lets her in and takes off.
Tasha and Madison Gingell may have very different everyday realities, but what they have in common is marriages they need out of. The two women want to help each other, but they have very different ideas of what that means . . .
They are on a collision course that will end in the case files of the D.C. MPD homicide unit. Unraveling the truth of what really happened may be impossible‒and futile. Because what has the truth ever done for women like Tasha and Madison?
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
This was thrilling from start to finish! It’s been such a long time since I’ve read a book cover to cover in a day. It seems that a lot of thrillers lately have been falling into the more domestic suspense genre and aren’t as addictive as I’d want them to be. Well, here’s the next binge worthy read, NOT SO PERFECT STRANGERS by LS Stratton was exaxtly what I needed.
A chance encounter turns into a Strangers On A Train arrangement and I couldn’t put this down! There’s something about that concept (Strangers meeting and killing someone for the other) that I’ve always loved because there are so many possibilities and I was anxious to see how the author would have the events unold. That ending?? Wasn’t expecting it to go in the direction that it did and I think I loved it. Madison was cold and calculating and I kinda loved it. You were rooting for Tasha from the beginning and I loved seeing how the author unraveled everything.
Chandra’s Thoughts: 4/5 stars
Need a bingeable popcorn thriller that will not only hurt your neck from the twists contained but also provide some depth by touching on misogyny, race, the police and maybe not helping your fellow human at your own demise. Ahem. In all seriousness though, what a fun read! And so perfect for this stormy, beautiful rainy weekend.
As someone who reads a shit ton of thrillers, this plot was nothing new, but as avid readers we know we come across similar plot lines a lot throughout our readership. The fun is in the delivery and Stratton is delicious in her story telling. While I am tickled that there were twisty little nuggets that I wasn’t expecting, I was still a tad bit underwhelmed with the ending. Perhaps it was just one too many things spinning my head. However, I did not want to put the book down. I was invested. I was always on Tasha’s side but Madison had me equally enamored – even in all her sociopathic ways. I do love to hate on a character and am impressed with her tenacity. lol
Can’t wait to read whatever else Stratton brings to the table and will certainly be checking out her backlist.
Jessicamap Reviews 