Books are everywhere in this story, from protagonist Clare’s profession (she’s an English teacher who specializes in Gothic literature) to the almost mythic figure of R.M. What is it about crime novels about books that is just so irresistible? I can’t get enough of mysteries that involve the literary world-and if this describes your reading preferences too, THE STRANGER DIARIES is a must-read. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:Ĭlare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favorite literature.

But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. Masterfully blurring the lines between reality and fiction, Elly Griffiths has crafted an exceptional bookish mystery that is both an ode to Gothic literature and an effective work of Gothic suspense unto itself.Ĭlare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. In THE STRANGER DIARIES, Griffiths masterfully blends Gothic influence with modern-day suspense sensibility, and the result is effortless, spine-tingling, page-turning fun. Could life be imitating art? As Clare ventures into the dark heart of the goings on at her place of employment, it begins to appear that this work of fiction is playing out in the real world-to deadly end. When one of Clare’s closest colleagues is found murdered, Clare is grief-stricken-but things take an ominous turn when a clue is discovered on the corpse that tie the gruesome crime to the work of a Gothic writer who happens to be one of Clare’s favorites. Following Clare Cassidy, a teacher who specializes in Gothic literature, THE STRANGER DIARIES takes readers into a bookish mystery with sinister undertones.

Layered and immersive, atmospheric and authentic, this brilliant twist on Gothic suspense will captivate the reader. Griffiths’ exceptional standalone THE STRANGER DIARIES is a spring 2019 must-read.

How is this the first time I’ve read a book by Elly Griffiths? There’s no other way to say it: I’ve been missing out. The Verdict: a superb, modern take on Gothic suspense

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