The Secrets of Strangers – Book Review

Author: Charity Norman

Genre:

My rating: ★★★★★

Release Date: Published 3rd March, 2020 by Allen & Unwin
Format: Paperback, 352 pages

What did I think?

I have given Norman’s The Secrets of Strangers five stars – it probably would have been a 4.5 if there were such a score. The Story takes off right at the start as you accustom yourself to the different perspectives and wonder where the story will take you and where lives will converge. Then, boom, it keeps going.

I’ve been busy and I’ve also been under the weather, otherwise I might have finished this in a day or two. I’m pretty sure the book would have read itself! 😛

My one gripe with this story was personal. For me, some of it was unpleasant and difficult to read and deal with. The story involves (SPOILER – you can read this on Goodreads). Fiction is good at taking us into someone else’s life so we can experience things without ‘really’ experiencing them – and I think The Secrets of Strangers did a great job of this.

But pleasant it was not. For anyone who’s read the book, I found it amusing that the high drama scenes at the cafe were much easier for me to cope with than the backstory scenes!

Norman did a good job of creating her band of odd characters, but then I always enjoy people with differences coming together, and I was held in suspense right through the book. I couldn’t guess how several characters would turn out, nor how the book would end.

This is a story of love, lies, abuse, violence, crime, mental illness, family, support, forgiveness and so much loss. It was a terrific novel, compelling, and heartbreaking at times. It kept me on my toes the whole way through and (surprisingly) left me feeling hopeful after.

Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for my copy of the book in return for an honest review, and to the author, Charity Norman.