Hungry for Love, Ready to Drown

When I need a new book to read, I generally go to my library’s website and see what I have on my TBR list, and what from that list is available to check out. Sometimes I put a lot of thought into it, and other times I’ll just grab something that sounds okay. Such was the case with The Stranger Game, and it was just about exactly what I thought it might be–okay.

When she was 11, Nico’s older sister Sarah, who was 15 at the time, disappeared one day from their local park. No trace of her was ever found, and Nico and her parents spent the next four years searching for any clues they could find to her whereabouts–flying around the country any time a young blonde girl, dead or alive is found who could possibly be Sarah. When Nico is 15, suddenly Sarah is found and returned to them, although she remembers almost nothing about what happened during her four years away, and about her childhood before that. The family assumes she was subjected to horrific abuse, and they never press the issue of her amnesia.

Sarah is brought back into the family fold and they attempt to adjust to their new reality, as a family of four once again. But Sarah is different than she was when she left, and Nico finds it hard to adjust to her “new” sister.

To go any further into the plot would involve spoilers, but any description you read of this book will compare it Gone Girl, so you know right away you’re dealing with an unreliable narrator and a twisty plot. I enjoyed The Stranger Game for its escapist value. It was the sort of book that’s perfect to read on your lunch hour, and as I got further into it I did find it hard to put down. On the other hand, all these post-Gone Girl books are so similar. When you KNOW you’re dealing with an unreliable narrator, it kind of tends to take away from the suspense. Still, if you’re looking for something to occupy you while you’re getting an oil change or waiting at the airport for a flight, this is exactly the kind of book you want.

CBR10 Bingo: Brain Candy