The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

The biggest problem with this book is that the author is trying so desperately hard to make it an edge-of-your-seat ride that it all becomes rather confused.  There are red herrings aplenty but I lost faith when we are trying to trace the true identity of Emmy Grey and it starts to look as though Bethany Jarvitz could be her real identity - in the opening scenes our heroine, Leah, is shown a photograph of the battered girl so she clearly knows it isn't Emmy.

The writing style is not clear leading to the narrative becoming muddled and contradictory.  Multiple pages are given over to overwrought emotional meanderings of the "poor me" variety as Leah tries to ratify her previous work as a Journalist in Boston and it's rather epic demise with her new role as High School teacher in a sleepy Pennsylvania town.  The characterisation is rather flat and I never felt that we had a good idea of who anyone was.  This is an intrinsic part of the plot where Emmy Grey is concerned but Kyle Donovan and Leah herself are major player sin the book and yet they are no more than words on a page.

Early attempts at tension are related to what caused Leah to lose her journalism post but by the time it is revealed I really couldn't have cared less.  To be honest I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been her incessant whining that caused it; instead it appears that it was her overarching ego and determination that she was right gosh-darnit that caused the loss of that job.  How she leapt from that to a teaching job is blurry but just about believable.  What isn't is her complete gullibility.

With a poorly executed plot, barely there characterisation and rambling, muddy narrative this has to very much go on the "could do better" pile.

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

**Review originally published January 24th, 2018**