The Stranger Diaries Elly Griffiths
2019
4/5 stars
It's difficult to explain this novel without giving away some of the surprises, so I'll be brief: When a colleague and close friend is murdered, Claire, a high school literature teacher, becomes involved in a nightmare.
Griffiths is a skilled story-teller, with prose that is both intelligent and down-to-earth. The Stranger Diaries alternates points-of-view between Claire, her daughter, and the detective in charge of the case; all three have distinct voices and are well-defined. The plot is complex, but not convoluted, and is atmospheric, gripping, and intriguing. The climax wasn't fully believable, thanks to a coincidence combined with an unexplained happening (the only thing keeping this from being a five star read), but the who and why were satisfying, and the overall experience a pleasant thrill.
On a personal note: I read it in the course of a few hours of non-stop reading: it's just that hard to put down.
