The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

Genre: Adult mystery

Rating: 3 out of 5

Thoughts:

This mystery book jumps straight into action when one of the English teachers at the local school is found murdered in her house.

Clare Cassidy who is friends with her and also an English teacher at the same school is devastated by the news, after all they were colleagues and also very close friends. But were they as close as we think they were or is something else going on at the school?

When a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” is found on the victims body, the story takes a strange, supernatural turn.

I’m not a big fan of cozy mysteries, but this one held my attention throughout. The first 100 pages or so were a bit slow as there is a lot of repetition, as we get to read about the same incident from 2 different narrators, Clare and Inspector Harbinder Kaur. But after that the story really picks up pace. It’s not one of those books where something explosive happens at the end of every chapter. But there is enough intrigue to make you want to continue.

I was not a big fan of the characters in the book. I found them all unlikable, Clare, Georgia, Rick. Clare was a confused feminist. I was annoyed when she didn’t tell the cops who Ella was seeing as she was afraid they would judge Ella and brand her a whore for it. It’s a murder investigation lady!!!

I loved the short story ‘The Stranger’ and how it was interwoven with the story. I would recommend this book if you are a fan of atmospheric, cozy mysteries.

Thank you Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the review copy.