A Stranger on the Beach
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- Create Date：2021-06-22 08:51:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michele Campbell
- ISBN：1250313333
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Summary
From bestselling author Michele Campbell comes A Stranger on the Beach， an edge-of-your seat story of passion and intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very end。
Caroline Stark’s beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish， expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family。 But after a very public fight with her husband， she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her， the money is disappearing， and there’s a stranger on the beach outside her house。
As Caroline’s marriage and her carefully constructed lifestyle begin to collapse around her， she turns to Aidan， the stranger， for comfort…and revenge。 After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him， Aidan’s infatuation with Caroline， her family， and her house becomes more and more destructive。 But who is manipulating whom in this deadly game of obsession and control？ Who will take the blame when someone ends up dead…and what is Caroline hiding？
Caroline Stark’s beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish， expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family。 But after a very public fight with her husband， she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her， the money is disappearing， and there’s a stranger on the beach outside her house。
As Caroline’s marriage and her carefully constructed lifestyle begin to collapse around her， she turns to Aidan， the stranger， for comfort…and revenge。 After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him， Aidan’s infatuation with Caroline， her family， and her house becomes more and more destructive。 But who is manipulating whom in this deadly game of obsession and control？ Who will take the blame when someone ends up dead…and what is Caroline hiding？
Reviews
Jenn Ryan
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SynopsisCaroline Stark and her husband， Jason， are having trouble。 Jason has recently begun staying away from home for longer periods of time， lying about his where he is， and is claiming to spend more time "at the office。" Caroline doesn't see the upcoming divorce until it's smack dab in her face-her husband bringing his mistress to Caroline's house party。 To get back at her cheating husband， Caroline heads down to the local bar and picks up the bartender， Aidan， who she previously met down on SynopsisCaroline Stark and her husband， Jason， are having trouble。 Jason has recently begun staying away from home for longer periods of time， lying about his where he is， and is claiming to spend more time "at the office。" Caroline doesn't see the upcoming divorce until it's smack dab in her face-her husband bringing his mistress to Caroline's house party。 To get back at her cheating husband， Caroline heads down to the local bar and picks up the bartender， Aidan， who she previously met down on the beach in front of her house。 Through POV switches between Caroline and Aidan， the two embark on a strained relationship。 Caroline is attempting to fix her strained marriage with her husband， all the while being followed and stalked， quite literally， by Aidan who can't quite seem to take no for an answer。 Aidan is quickly falling head over heels for Caroline， doing anything that she asks to maintain a permanent spot in her life-and reclaim the land that the Starks own， which was previously his grandfather's property。 Through this twisting narrative， and Caroline and Aidan's vastly different perspectives， this stranger on the beach will do whatever it takes to remain in Caroline's life， even if that means murdering Jason。 My ReviewI'll admit it here first-the opening chapters of A Stranger on the Beach are hard to get through。 As a female reader， I had a hard time picturing myself in Caroline's shoes。 She sees a stranger on the beach-standing right in front of her house on not just one， but two， occasions-and she later decides to take him home from the bar instead of going straight to the cops， especially considering the number of recent burglaries in her neighborhood。 Granted， Caroline was about to start going through a messy divorce; however， I couldn't quite wrap my head around the choices that she makes throughout the opening chapters。 If I saw someone repeatedly on the beach in front of my house， I wouldn't approach them at all， much less go to his place of employment and later bring him home for sex。 Like Campbell's previous novel， It's Always the Husband， the mystery doesn't truly begin to unfold until the final 50 pages。 I did not see the ending coming， but looking back at the previous chapters and conflicting POVs， Campbell intended for this confusion， never leading you to suspect the ending （although the clues are there upon second read）。 I personally liked It's Always the Husband better， as the changes in POVs made more sense than consistently bouncing forth between Caroline and Aidan， especially in the opening chapters of the novels。 It's clear that Caroline is an unreliable narrator， but the way that Campbell writes Aidan's POV really heightens the reader's disbelief in him too。 Overall， I didn't mind A Stranger on the Beach， but it was a hard book to get myself into。 Rather， it was more of a forced read。 It would work for a leisurely beach read， but has nothing to really grab onto and isn't a particularly memorable story。 If you are going to read one of Campbell's novels， I would recommend It's Always the Husband before A Stranger on the Beach。 。。。more
Toni
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The conflicting narratives were interesting but everyone in this book was so unlikable。 They were caricatures of terrible people。
Daniel Peri
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I fell in love with this author for simple beach reads。 Predictable summer fun。
Cindy
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Wow！ What a good book！ This book you better pay attention to。 It switches between characters at times and if you aren’t paying attention you will have to go back and reread to follow。 It is worth the attention。 Twisted tale for sure。 Loved it！
Ken
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I’ve read some good books lately but this is the exact type of book I love。 This was definitely a page turner and the entire book flowed so well。 I loved this story
Robin
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Wow， a surprise ending I didn’t expect。 I figured out part of it early， but there was a twist you will appreciate。 Caroline has been married to Jason for over 20 years and they have a daughter in college。 She built a beautiful house on the beach when she notices a stranger outside one day。 Meeting Aidan Callahan， a local bartender with a criminal past， changes her life in many unexpected ways！
Phyllis Critchfield
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I was a little disappointed。 I enjoyed "It's Always the Husband"， so read this one by Michelle Campbell。。。it was just a slow read for me。 I was a little disappointed。 I enjoyed "It's Always the Husband"， so read this one by Michelle Campbell。。。it was just a slow read for me。 。。。more
Joellyn
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Started off a strong 5， but quickly became less。 Pretty predictable and seemed like it took a while。
Holly
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Unfortunately I do have to say I understand the many remarks here on Goodreads about the confusion of the book。 Chapters 1-14 - zoom along。。。reading wonderfully。 Then the author changes her writing pattern。 Chapter 14 is about an event at a restaurant。 Then chapter 15 is about that same event but it doesn't look the same。 Makes one wonder whether a different author picked up the writing of the novel and hadn't read the chapter before。 Perhaps a way around that would have been if the Author had p Unfortunately I do have to say I understand the many remarks here on Goodreads about the confusion of the book。 Chapters 1-14 - zoom along。。。reading wonderfully。 Then the author changes her writing pattern。 Chapter 14 is about an event at a restaurant。 Then chapter 15 is about that same event but it doesn't look the same。 Makes one wonder whether a different author picked up the writing of the novel and hadn't read the chapter before。 Perhaps a way around that would have been if the Author had placed a 'name' on the beginning of those specific chapters to say "AIDEN" or "CAROLINE" so the reader would have known we were seeing it from their eyes （versus the writing technique from before had none of that method）。 Then once over that hump we zoom along with an amazing story-line。。。。and boom round about chapter 42 we are back in the writing style change again。 I was very frustrated and going to throw down the book until I figured that out。 So there are 4 words I say with this book - - STAY WITH THE BOOK。 You won't believe the ending！！！！！！！！ Caroline Stark has been cheated on by her husband。。。。。so she goes to cry in her beer at a near-by bar。 The Adonis bar-tender sees the opportunity to save this damsel in distress。 She looks at it as a one-night stand。 His perspective - not so much - he is playing for keeps。 And it goes downhill from there。 Someone is a manipulator。 Someone appears to be insane。 Someone is treacherous。 Someone doesn't believe in quitting。 In my mind， each one of those characters truly deserved each other！ Its a true story of one-upmanship。 You think you have cut me out of your life？ Good luck with that！ I LOVED this book。 It kept me up way into the night wondering who exactly was going to win in the end。 Tag， you're it！ 。。。more
Charlotte Gunner
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An amazing read！ Really good plot， lots of twists and turns keeps you guessing what the outcome is right until the last few pages。
Megan Howdeshell
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Loved this！ Easy read that keeps you on your toes！
Jeannette Wennerstrom
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Audio and physical book。 Kinda confusing and dragged on but the end shocked me I did not see the twist with the husband coming。 Really makes me want to take a trip to the beach and walk in the sand。
Bedelia
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RTC
Lizzie
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The front cover is eye-catching， eerie and suits the storyline and plot。 It also looks a bit dark and creepy。This is the first book by Michelle Campbell that I have read and it will not be the last。 I think I may have found a new favourite author。This book is a fast-paced， page-turning thriller。 I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books by Shari Lapena and Clare Mackintosh。 The majority of books I read are crime thrillers and psychological thrillers。 I can normally guess wha The front cover is eye-catching， eerie and suits the storyline and plot。 It also looks a bit dark and creepy。This is the first book by Michelle Campbell that I have read and it will not be the last。 I think I may have found a new favourite author。This book is a fast-paced， page-turning thriller。 I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books by Shari Lapena and Clare Mackintosh。 The majority of books I read are crime thrillers and psychological thrillers。 I can normally guess what is going to happen a third of the way through the book but I was unable to with this。 I was unable to put it down and managed to red it in one sitting。 I found the characters likeable and overall just genuinely loved the plot。I’ve recommended it the all of my family and friends。 This will be the thriller of the summer！ I cannot wait to read more by this author。 。。。more
Angie Jones-Moore
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Love， love， loved this book。 A Stranger on the Beach is a page turning， gripping read。 A marriage in ruin and a bar tender paying an interest， the development that follows has so many twists， turns and complications you literally， couldn't make it up！ A worthy read that will keep your interest until the very end。 Love， love， loved this book。 A Stranger on the Beach is a page turning， gripping read。 A marriage in ruin and a bar tender paying an interest， the development that follows has so many twists， turns and complications you literally， couldn't make it up！ A worthy read that will keep your interest until the very end。 。。。more
Ashley
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This book was quite entertaining。 Again， it was dropping breadcrumbs for the reader to look one way while something big was happening another way without one knowing。 The twist wasn’t outlandish and once you went back to see the breadcrumbs， it was slightly there but not that blatant。 It helped that the characters in and of themselves had just enough of crazy to get pulled into their behaviors。 I’m not sure how I liked the ending but overall an entertaining read。
Katie Moloney
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN！！！ Literally， started at 11 PM til 2:30 AM， woke up the next day and read all day， finished at 4:57PM。 This is told from 2 points of view， and boy you don't know who to believe。 The housewife who has a one night stand and then recounts how he stalks her， and the younger bartender who slept with her and just seemed to care for her， believing she was in danger of her husband。 The first half is their separate accounts， the second are the accounts from him and then a c I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN！！！ Literally， started at 11 PM til 2:30 AM， woke up the next day and read all day， finished at 4:57PM。 This is told from 2 points of view， and boy you don't know who to believe。 The housewife who has a one night stand and then recounts how he stalks her， and the younger bartender who slept with her and just seemed to care for her， believing she was in danger of her husband。 The first half is their separate accounts， the second are the accounts from him and then a cop。 Geesh， I was wary of her from the beginning， but still wasn't sure she was the 'bad guy'。 I had about 4 different theories: She hated her husband and killed him herself and framed her lover， she and her lover concocted a plan together to get rid of her husband， she and her husband were in on it together， faking his death （the truth）， her lover just straight out killed her husband。 I wasn't sure， but was leaning towards 1-Her definitely being involved and 2-I then thought the husband was in on it because the body was never found。 I also remembered something I highlighted around 40% of the way through the book: 'I had to hand it to him。 Jason was smooth under pressure。 The guileless expression， the even tone of his voice。 Every word out of his mouth sounded so reasonable that the listener would ask themselves if they were the crazy one。 I'd taught Jason well' -This was where I realized that she might be lying to us。 I loved this book！！！ 9。5 。。。more
Erin McElwee
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Not sure what to say。 I think it’s just because I’ve had a run of just ‘OK’ books。 I need something that will grab me and pull me in to the point I can’t physically put the book down。 This book started well but it went downhill， slowly， to the point of me just wishing it would get to the juicy bits and get to the point！Was it a thriller。。。yesWas it suspenseful。。。in bitsBelievable ending。。。noI got what the author was trying to do， giving you three different view points and making you guess which Not sure what to say。 I think it’s just because I’ve had a run of just ‘OK’ books。 I need something that will grab me and pull me in to the point I can’t physically put the book down。 This book started well but it went downhill， slowly， to the point of me just wishing it would get to the juicy bits and get to the point！Was it a thriller。。。yesWas it suspenseful。。。in bitsBelievable ending。。。noI got what the author was trying to do， giving you three different view points and making you guess which one was the reliable character。 Granted I couldn’t put my finger on what the specific twist was， but I knew realistically who was going to be the dodgy character in all of this。 And as for the twist。 So far fetched to the point that it didn’t grip me。 Perhaps might make a good TV show？ I just felt it was thrown in at the end when it could’ve been made more of and had a harder hitting novel。 Hmm， average three stars ⭐️ 。。。more
Jenny Schrader
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3。5
Suzi
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Not really sure what to say about this book :/ I enjoyed the story line etc but the way it was written really confused me， for example bits get replayed from someone else's point of view， it took a while to get used to。 I was quite surprised by the ending though。 Not really sure what to say about this book :/ I enjoyed the story line etc but the way it was written really confused me， for example bits get replayed from someone else's point of view， it took a while to get used to。 I was quite surprised by the ending though。 。。。more
Kelly Webb-Abbott
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This book was an incredible read。 I never saw the end coming。 I felt sympathy for the main character Caroline almost to the very end。Highly recommend this book！
Amber
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Gripping book， couldn't put it down。 Gripping book， couldn't put it down。 。。。more
Abigail Wright
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Absolutely fab！ Kept me hooked from the first chapter！ Loved the short chapters and twists too！ Will definately read more by this author！
Bex
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A very generous 3 stars。 This felt like two separate books and honestly- the stalking storyline was far more interesting than what we ended up with
Selina Lewis
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An awesome read， lots of twists and turns。
Claire
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I was looking for a page-turning， guilty pleasure， and this book delivered。 Nope， it's not deep， it didn't challenge my understanding of the world， and the plot is far-fetched。 But I knew that going in。 It's a beach read。 （Duh。 "Beach" is literally in the title）。 Some sexy scenes， a little "lifestyle porn" involving wealthy people summering on the East Coast， and a scramble to figure out "who-dunnit" all the way to the end。 Fast paced and entertaining。 If that's your cup of tea， or in this case， I was looking for a page-turning， guilty pleasure， and this book delivered。 Nope， it's not deep， it didn't challenge my understanding of the world， and the plot is far-fetched。 But I knew that going in。 It's a beach read。 （Duh。 "Beach" is literally in the title）。 Some sexy scenes， a little "lifestyle porn" involving wealthy people summering on the East Coast， and a scramble to figure out "who-dunnit" all the way to the end。 Fast paced and entertaining。 If that's your cup of tea， or in this case， your vodka tonic， I'd recommend it。 。。。more
CristaNoelle
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A banger， unputdownable！
Sara Garcia
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was pretty irresponsible as far as the narration。 The alternating perspectives between two characters conflict so much that the reader goes the whole book knowing half of what they are reading is not true， which is okay， but when the unreliable narrator is finally revealed， they never become the narrator again and thus never have to answer to the reader as far as why all of their narration has been a lie throughout the book。
Anthony
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Michele Campbell （2019） A STRANGER ON THE BEACH London。 HQ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 out of 5 stars The sleeve reads， "Caroline Stark's beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish， expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family。 But after a very public fight with her husband， she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her， the money is disappearing， and there's a stranger on the beach outside her house。 As Caroline's marriage and her Michele Campbell （2019） A STRANGER ON THE BEACH London。 HQ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 out of 5 stars The sleeve reads， "Caroline Stark's beach house was supposed to be her crowning achievement: a lavish， expensive space to showcase what she thought was her perfect family。 But after a very public fight with her husband， she realizes things may not be as perfect as they seem: her husband is lying to her， the money is disappearing， and there's a stranger on the beach outside her house。 As Caroline's marriage and her carefully constructed lifestyle begin to collapse around her， she turns to Aidan， the stranger， for comfort。。。and revenge。 After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him， Aidan's infatuation with Caroline， her family， and her house becomes more and more destructive。 But who is manipulating whom in this deadly game of obsession and control？ Who will take the blame when someone ends up dead。。。and what is Caroline hiding？" On par with Michele Campbell's previous books， "It's Always The Husband" and "She Was The Quiet One" which I loved and kept you guessing right up til the very last page。 Heavy on the suspense。 Heavy on the looming doom。 A total unputdownable。 #MicheleCampbell #AStrangerOnTheBeach #MicheleCampbellAStrangerOnTheBeach #Book #Books #Read #Reads #Reading #BookShelf #Library #Review #Reviews #BookReview #BookReviews #GoodReads 。。。more
Carrie
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When I first started reading it really pulled me in， but after reading a little more I found myself confused。It was a multi prospective that a just could not keep up with。 The main person Caroline was a bit ditsy and unreliable。Though it had great bones for a great read， it just was not all there。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Stranger on the Beach
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Stranger on the Beach&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft