Book Review: Not So Perfect Strangers by L.S. Stratton

I am so pleased to be welcoming L.S. Stratton to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Not So Perfect Strangers. 

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 life: 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?

*****

Madison and Tasha meet by chance. Tasha wants to leave her abusive husband and Madison has found out her husband might be having an affair.

A plan is hatched. Both husbands must die but will both women follow through with it?

Warning- a few spoilers ahead!

To use the word enjoy to describe how I feel about this book would feel strange considering the themes it explores – domestic violence, child abuse, revenge, affairs, murder.
Compelling would be a better way to put it I think.

Madison is a VERY complicated character and my sympathy for her and the empathy I felt was a bit of a rollercoaster. She has a very intricate history which involves abuse from a parent. This is enough to give anyone a skewed view of the world. It doesn’t excuse her actions but it at least gave me an understanding of them.

Tasha comes from a large family but feels abandoned by her mother- sent away to, in her opinion, fend for herself. She marries young, has a son and then finds herself in a prison of her husband’s making.

Even though they both had their reasons for hating their husbands, it was interesting to see how different these women were. There was a sense of entitlement and a sharpness to Madison that Tasha didn’t have. I felt that Tasha showed more courage when it was needed. That’s not to say that Madison didn’t have her reasons and her struggles. It was just an interesting contrast.

The beginning of this novel immediately creates a cliff hanger, meaning I needed to keep reading. For me, I was engrossed in this book from the first page.

There is a lot of build up but it all helps to build the tension and suspense as I tried to figure out how they got from point A to point B. I feel the story develops well.

Not So Perfect Strangers is a great modern take of Strangers on a Train.

It has drama and mystery. It’s about doing the right thing and it is a good study at how the experiences of our childhood/relationships with our parents can shape our perceptions, behaviours and the feelings toward our place in the world.

(Thanks to Union Square Publishing and Midas PR for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.)

About L.S. Stratton –

L.S. Stratton is a NAACP Image Award-nominated author and former crime newspaper reporter who has written more than a dozen books under different pen names in just about every genre from thrillers to romance to historical fiction.

She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, their daughter, and their tuxedo cat.

Her latest book, Not So Perfect Strangers, a thriller, was chosen as Barnes & Noble April Mystery/Thriller of the Month pick and as one of Amazon’s April Mystery/Thriller Editor’s Picks.

Say hello via Twitter and Instagram. 

Not So Perfect Strangers was released on 22nd June Union Square and Co. Publishers. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes and Noble and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.