I applaud Lapena for her writing style. The use of short, easy sentences, all in the present tense. really help suck you into the world and dangers of the story. The book was written to pull you in and keep you engaged. Make you feel part of the events taking place.
And I gotta say, it worked.
Lapena had me believing Karen was innocent right until the end. I honestly didn't see it coming. Between Karen and Bridgit's story and everything that happened up to the end, I really couldn't tell who killed Robert but I thought I knew for sure it wasn't Karen. What a twist the ending was!
A Stranger in the House
by Shari Lapena
I will admit, though, that I wasn't expecting a "whodunnit" kind of story. I thought the whole book would be trying to figure out what happened as Karen recalled her memory after the car crash. And yes, it technically is that way, but she recalled most of her memory pretty early in the book and I was wondering what could possibly happen for the rest of the 50%.
I also was expecting more of a stalker-type story, you know, with the title being A Stranger in the House and all. And it sort of is. Just not in the way I was expecting.
I guess everything I was expecting, didn't happen, and this is a good thing! It shows skills on Lapena's part.
I was also impressed with Lapena's knowledge of the police force and lawyers and such. She other has some first-hand experience (like knowing someone) or she did her homework. It all helped make the crimes of the aftermath of said crimes more believable. I really felt like I was Karen going through this hard investigation and I felt like I was in jail alongside her.
Overall, a good, quick and easy read.
