Name: Sandra's review of The Stranger by Harlan Coben
Item: The Stranger
Rating: 3
Author: Sandra

Harlan Coben

Parents Adam and Hannah confront the shocking secret on which their marriage was built, leaving Adam to wonder whether he ever truly knew his wife at all. By the best-selling author of Missing You.

The Stranger

Sandra

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES A secret destroys a man's perfect life and sends him on a collision course with a deadly conspiracy in this shocking thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben. The stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. Their identity is unknown. Their motives are unclear. Their information is undeniable. Then they whisper a few words in your ear and disappear, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.... Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life. Then he runs into the stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne's deception, and realizes that if he doesn't make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he's stumbled into will not only ruin lives--it will end them.

The Stranger (Movie Tie-In)

I’m not going to beat around the bush. The Netflix mini-series is better than the book. Shocking! How can I say the adaptation is better? I’ve offended the all-mighty reading gods now. I’m going to burn in the 1-star book hell! But seriously, the adaptation expands the story and makes it even better. It's more complete and rounded. Also, Harlan Coben is one of the producers, which is probably why it helps to create such a great adaptation.

I read the book in two days, and that’s the best way to do it. Just grab the book whenever you can and read, read, read. It’s a story written to be consumed quickly, and I think that's what failed the first time I tried to read this book. I usually take a few days, a week or even two, to read a book, and that pacing doesn’t work with this one. The more continuous reading you do, the better. The story is still fresh in your mind, and it helps draw you in.

I really liked the small bits of conversation about relationships. How people are so involved in their own lives. How humans react to secrets when finding out or when they are created. The conversations about masculinity were also refreshing to read, and female and male characters are treated equally in the story. And after reading The Casual Vacancy, this is a book about a very nice group of people. They have their problems. They lie. They don’t get along, but at least they aren’t abusive.

One thing that later became very apparent was the resemblance to Dan Brown’s writing. But don’t be alarmed since Coben’s books are shorter. We follow the main character for the majority of the book, which is then interluded with chapters from the “villain” point of view and even other characters. When this started to happen more frequently, I lost interest in the book. I often don’t like to know more than the characters. And those are also the chapters I find less interesting in Robert Langdon’s series. So it’s not necessarily the fault of the book but instead a personal preference.

Towards the middle, the story slows down. The plot is about Corinne’s disappearance and Adam's journey to find her. Because of that, the story doesn’t have enough room to hold the suspense for the entire book and why other perspectives come in often. Adam’s story reaches a halt while the other characters are filling in details not directly related to his storyline. And when we finally go back to the main plot, the story wraps up quickly. If it wasn’t for the momentum that I set up to read it, I wouldn’t have finished it. The suspense dies a lot, and the chapters don’t pull me in to keep turning. Meanwhile, in the mini-series, there are other sub-plots happening alongside the main plot that populate the story more and directly relate to Adam’s life. So, he's always preset.

If you’ve seen the adaptation, I would advise you to skip the book. You won’t gain anything from it that the series didn’t deliver. And you’ll have less plot. If you have never seen the mini-series, then do what you’re in the mood for. If you want to do both, read the book and watch the adaptation. But never in the reverse order. It's not a bad book, but coming from the adaptation, it lacks in comparison.

Joana

I’m not going to beat around the bush. The Netflix mini-series is better than the book. Shocking! How can I say the adaptation is better? I’ve offended the all-mighty reading gods now. I’m going to burn in the 1-star book hell! But seriously, the adaptation expands the story and makes it even better. It's more complete and rounded. Also, Harlan Coben is one of the producers, which is probably why it helps to create such a great adaptation.

I read the book in two days, and that’s the best way to do it. Just grab the book whenever you can and read, read, read. It’s a story written to be consumed quickly, and I think that's what failed the first time I tried to read this book. I usually take a few days, a week or even two, to read a book, and that pacing doesn’t work with this one. The more continuous reading you do, the better. The story is still fresh in your mind, and it helps draw you in.

I really liked the small bits of conversation about relationships. How people are so involved in their own lives. How humans react to secrets when finding out or when they are created. The conversations about masculinity were also refreshing to read, and female and male characters are treated equally in the story. And after reading The Casual Vacancy, this is a book about a very nice group of people. They have their problems. They lie. They don’t get along, but at least they aren’t abusive.

One thing that later became very apparent was the resemblance to Dan Brown’s writing. But don’t be alarmed since Coben’s books are shorter. We follow the main character for the majority of the book, which is then interluded with chapters from the “villain” point of view and even other characters. When this started to happen more frequently, I lost interest in the book. I often don’t like to know more than the characters. And those are also the chapters I find less interesting in Robert Langdon’s series. So it’s not necessarily the fault of the book but instead a personal preference.

Towards the middle, the story slows down. The plot is about Corinne’s disappearance and Adam's journey to find her. Because of that, the story doesn’t have enough room to hold the suspense for the entire book and why other perspectives come in often. Adam’s story reaches a halt while the other characters are filling in details not directly related to his storyline. And when we finally go back to the main plot, the story wraps up quickly. If it wasn’t for the momentum that I set up to read it, I wouldn’t have finished it. The suspense dies a lot, and the chapters don’t pull me in to keep turning. Meanwhile, in the mini-series, there are other sub-plots happening alongside the main plot that populate the story more and directly relate to Adam’s life. So, he's always preset.

If you’ve seen the adaptation, I would advise you to skip the book. You won’t gain anything from it that the series didn’t deliver. And you’ll have less plot. If you have never seen the mini-series, then do what you’re in the mood for. If you want to do both, read the book and watch the adaptation. But never in the reverse order. It's not a bad book, but coming from the adaptation, it lacks in comparison.

Annalissa Powner 

Wow... Just wow! It took me a little while to get really into The Stranger, probably because I'm not he biggest fan of multiple points of few when reading a mystery, but that aside this was one of the few times for me it made the book so much better. The Stranger was like waves, some big would hit you then slowly build again to another puzzle piece and just when you thought you knew what was up BAMB another wave. I have to say I can understand the strangers point of view, I can see the idea and why it appealed, I also think it's a horrible thing to do. In the end though I would never have guessed that would be how it ended, I was a tiny bit let down because I felt it should have been some big secret from someone's past come back to truly bite them, but then again the ending was somewhat worse. Just goes to show no one is every truly "living the dream" the way we think they are.

"The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world." --Amazon.com.

Victoria

Nope. Just... nope. Everyone in this book is an idiot and annoying. The only one I liked didn't even get more than a chapter so that sucks but ugh, I hated this. I expected more from you, Coben. I really did.

Sonja H

Die Geschichte begann sehr ungewöhnlich und mysteriös, wurde jedoch leider früher als erwartet in einem wesentlichen Aspekt aufgelöst und das nicht sehr überzeugend. Es liefen Handlungsstränge zusammen, die nicht wirklich zueinander passten und aufgrund der Charakterbeschreibung einer Figur konnte ich auch die Gründe für ihr Handeln nicht nachvollziehen. 
Alles in allem ist es zwar ein spannendes Buch, aber bei Weitem nicht so gut durchdacht wie "Fool me Once".

Megan Oiler 

3.5

It was fast paced, kept me engaged, but I just kept waiting for something huge. And it never came. I guess I just expected more. Overall, a mixture between good and meh for me.

Lauren Segers 

Meh. A woman leaves her family without explanation after a bombshell is dropped on her husband. The husband takes on the role of detective and uncovers the truth but the truth was...a little boring? Sorry, but the story had me in the beginning, expecting some wild and crazy twists and turns, but all I got from it was a kiddie roller coaster ride.

KADY BURNS

Amelie

Gabrielle Braden

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world. Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life. Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corrine, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corrine's deception, and realizes that if he doesn't make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he's stumbled into will not only ruin lives - it will end them...

Sandra &
The Stranger by Harlan Coben

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Sandra &The Stranger by Harlan Coben

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Sandra &
The Stranger by Harlan Coben