THE TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
THE RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
‘Utterly bewitching … a pitch-perfect modern Gothic’ AJ FINN, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
‘Compelling, intelligent and increasingly mesmerising’ PETER JAMES
‘At once a homage to the Gothic thriller, and a re-imagining, it is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense. I loved this book! And you will too’ LOUISE PENNY
A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?
Clare Cassidy is no stranger to tales of murder. As a literature teacher specialising in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a short course on them every year. Then Clare’s life and work collide tragically when one of her colleagues is found dead, a line from an R.M. Holland story by her body. The investigating police detective is convinced the writer’s works somehow hold the key to the case.
Not knowing who to trust, and afraid that the killer is someone she knows, Clare confides her darkest suspicions and fears about the case to her journal. Then one day she notices some other writing in the diary. Writing that isn’t hers…
THE RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
‘Utterly bewitching … a pitch-perfect modern Gothic’ AJ FINN, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
‘Compelling, intelligent and increasingly mesmerising’ PETER JAMES
‘At once a homage to the Gothic thriller, and a re-imagining, it is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense. I loved this book! And you will too’ LOUISE PENNY
A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?
Clare Cassidy is no stranger to tales of murder. As a literature teacher specialising in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a short course on them every year. Then Clare’s life and work collide tragically when one of her colleagues is found dead, a line from an R.M. Holland story by her body. The investigating police detective is convinced the writer’s works somehow hold the key to the case.
Not knowing who to trust, and afraid that the killer is someone she knows, Clare confides her darkest suspicions and fears about the case to her journal. Then one day she notices some other writing in the diary. Writing that isn’t hers…
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Reviews
Great on character and suspense
My heart is still pounding after finishing Elly Griffiths' The Stranger Diaries. As with her other books, this is fiercely intelligent, warm, human and at times, funny. The Stranger Diaries picks up where the great Gothic thrillers of the past leave off. At once a homage to that great literary form, and a re-imagining, it is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense. I loved this book! And you will too
Utterly bewitching. This atmospheric, intricate thriller, a pitch-perfect modern Gothic, chilled my blood and warmed my heart. As unforgettable as it is original
A deviously plotted modern-day tale that's rooted in a flesh-creeping Victorian past. Elly Griffiths' clever and original murder mystery plays deliciously on the nerves and kept me guessing until the end
Elly Griffiths writes with a sharp, smart eye and great elegance. This novel is compelling, intelligent and increasingly mesmerising
The perfect page-turner for foggy, wintry evenings
This clever and entertaining novel has much to say about female rivalry, mothers and daughters, and the creation of fiction itself