Book Review; Secrets Of Strangers- Charity Norman

 Publication date May 2020/ Publisher Allen & Unwin

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Synopsis

A regular weekday morning veers drastically off-course for five strangers whose paths cross in a London café – their lives never to be the same again when an apparently crazed gunman holds them hostage. But there is more to the situation than first meets the eye and as the captives grapple with their own inner demons, the line between right and wrong starts to blur. Will the secrets they keep stop them from escaping with their lives?

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Review

This novel broke my heart!

When I first read the synopsis for TSOS I thought it was going to be one of those stories where all the characters had ties to eachother that would slowly be revealed.
That isn’t the case and I’m glad I was wrong, instead of throwing out cheap twists this is a story of complete strangers and the best and worst humanity has to offer.

Neil a homeless gambling addict, Abigail a lawyer struggling to conceive, Mutesi a genocide survivor and Rosie the barista each have their own traumas to tell.
The bond forged between the characters was slowly built across the novel as Sam pours out his soul to his hostages and negotiator Eliza.

The Secrets Of Strangers is told from several character perspectives via flashbacks and dialogue creating fantastic character development. I was so emotionally invested in all of their stories that the horrors some of them shared really shredded me.

The novel strikes a perfect balance of good and evil, with an outcome leaving the reader both hollow and hopeful all at once.

I read The Secrets Of Strangers in a single sitting one rainy afternoon and adored every moment.

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Author: Roxanne Michelle

Wannabe writer from a nowhere town in Somerset. Stop-starter of all projects great and small. Here to talk books and screens. View all posts by Roxanne Michelle