Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“In a neighbourhood full of secrets, who can you trust?”

My first five star read of 2026! What a book! 🤩 If you are in any kind of a slump and you need THAT book to hook you into reading again, I swear this is it. For an author who is so lovely and kind in real life GOD this is dark and intense! I had the pleasure of meeting Tara at the end of last year and she is one of the most wonderful people on the planet. And I’m so glad her book is amazing too (or it would be pretty awkward, wouldn’t it? 😂) SO happy to be sharing my review of The Perfect Stranger by Tara Lyons!

About the book

Ruby and Mike have built a quiet and happy life, but their lives are about to unravel—with deadly consequences. 

When Mike’s new promotion keeps him away from home, Ruby befriends the charming new neighbour Henry. Their forbidden connection ignites something Ruby has never felt before – but it also unleashes something sinister, and leaves her questioning everything she thought she ever wanted. 

Strange things start happening. Items missing, doors unlocked and a chilling note left behind. Are Ruby’s fears real, or is something far darker at play?

Trapped in a nightmare of manipulation and deceit, secrets surface and cracks in her relationships are revealed. Ruby soon realises danger isn’t always found in the shadows…

When the mask of perfection slips, how far would you go to protect yourself?

The beginning

God, this book had me hooked instantly. The prologue had me hanging onto every single word. It’s dark, it’s grim and oh boy, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how things got to this point. But I was very interested to find out as we backtrack four months earlier. I loved meeting Ruby and Mike. The detail we get about this couple in that first chapter had me feeling like I’d known them for a lifetime, especially Ruby. We learn of their joys and their struggles, their jobs and their personalities. But we also see that relationships can be very different behind closed doors, and there was a side to Mike I really didn’t like… I found these characters to be so full, so brilliantly developed. Even though there is so much to see on the surface, we also explore something much deeper. Ruby’s longing to be a mother. The tragedy of her own mother’s death. Her grandmother’s decline. How she’s terrified to be alone. She’s gone through so much. The grief, the terror and her demons still plague her. It was stunning, really. It all felt so very real and at times, very much relatable. Tara has nailed it.

“I guess you really are crazy. You must be, to do what you’ve done to me. I don’t even know who you are anymore. But there is something I do know… He’s dead because of you. Now you have to die, too.“

I think I really disliked Mike when Ruby is followed into an alleyway and panics, rushing home (and sacrificing her Chinese takeaway, sob) And yet, he doesn’t take her seriously. I felt her panic, her need to get to safety. Who was this person, and what did they want with her? Mike had accepted a promotion at work, meaning he would be away much more. She feels painfully alone, but it isn’t long before she meets new people. Her old neighbour, Patty. And… who is this? A new neighbour, Henry. Here we go. I could sense her attraction to this man, a feeling that was uncontrollable, someone she felt immense guilt about whenever she thought about him. I immediately placed him in the role of the person who followed her home that day. Could we trust him? Was he too good to be true? Oh I just LOVED this 😆 The drama, the goss. Gimme all of it! When a chapter from a different perspective comes around, someone who is stalking Ruby, watching her from afar, I started to try and make some connections. It felt very Joe Goldberg, and I will read anything like this any day of the week!

The middle

There are a couple of strange guys lurking who live in a nearby house. One of them is The Weird One, as Ruby calls him, but his nephew, Billy, is now on the scene too. She sees a dark silhouette, sometimes stood at their window, watching. Were either of these guys Ruby’s stalker? It seemed much more likely, but I had a feeling there was more to this. How bloody creepy?! The descriptions were brilliant and had me holding my breath at times. The more we see interactions between The Weird One and Ruby, the more suspicious I felt, like he was up to something. BUT, the more we see interactions between Ruby and Henry, well that was something else entirely. What a charmer, but I kept willing Ruby to be careful. She was with Mike. She was stepping into dangerous territory. There was so much unease, so much tension, so much drama and so many questions I had that needed answering, and I was completely obsessed. I could not think about anything else, only what was going on in Ruby’s life, and everything we were yet to experience. And the worst was yet to come…

“Are you starting to feel it now? That flicker of something unseen, the whisper of my breath curling in the air. I feel a tingle, Ruby, deep inside me. Our skin prickles because of each other. I know you feel me, you just don’t see me. Not yet. But you will.”

I was surprised to see so much emotion in the book here, especially as we finally learn the truth about what happened to Ruby’s mother. I was tearing up in parts it was so impactful, yet the author tackles all of it with such care. It’s so deep. And it explains why Ruby is the way she is. She is such a wonderful character with so many layers and at times, I saw a bit of myself in her. As time goes on, weird things start to happen. Someone has been inside her house. She finds doors unlocked. Her personal items go missing, and are then returned. The air smells different. And the paranoia sets in. She is constantly on edge and she is absolutely not okay. The way this was communicated to us was so effective, almost like I could feel it all too. I felt the need to double check the door was locked. To peep around the curtain at night to see if anyone was lurking outside. Toying with the idea of keeping a light on. That’s the effect this book had on me and it was glorious! I always had the urge to read another chapter, and there was such a wonderful sense of urgency, especially in the second half. Just perfect.

The end

The way Ruby’s unease and worries affect her relationships with others was super important and really cleverly written. It was pushing her and Mike apart, yet pulling her and Henry together. Because he’s the one she can rely on. The one who is always there when she needs reassurance. I really wanted Henry to be a good guy, but I was constantly suspecting him, and also everybody else! I couldn’t fully trust anyone which was such a huge reason why I couldn’t put this book down. As I reached the final few chapters, the tension was off the scale. I had theories. I was looking more closely at everyone, and I still couldn’t settle on someone specific being the cause of all Ruby’s panic. She uncovers secrets. She takes her Gran’s advice on board. She does morally wrong things, but because she wants to. She thinks about her life more, who deserves to be in it, and who doesn’t. The build up for what was to come was truly exceptional and it was going in a totally different way to what I expected. I was starting to understand who wasn’t to be trusted, who she needed to get away from…

“I can’t just keep watching, Ruby. Maybe it’s time for me to step out of the shadows.”

We see the true colours of certain characters and I just knew a reveal was imminent. The twists, man. I think I had my mouth open in shock, in horror, and in pure WTF-ness throughout that entire ending! Oh my god. It’s so chaotic, it’s super sad in parts and so bloody traumatic. My feelings were all over the place. The rage I felt, the hopelessness, the fear, the surprise, was all shared with Ruby, and my god I admired her strength. There were also some bittersweet moments, some of which made me tear up, which I never expect in a thriller! Every question I had, every little detail I wanted to see wrapped up, was wrapped up in the most satisfying of ways. And of course I went back to the beginning and reread the prologue! I did not predict that outcome after reading it the first time. Utter perfection. The epilogue was also such a fantastic ending for the book, and ever since that last page, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it all. After this, I am so desperate to read everything Tara has ever written, and I will instantly buy anything she writes in the future! 🤩

Overall thoughts

The Perfect Stranger is such an all-consuming psychological thriller that had me reading and reading and reading. I thought about it constantly and completely raced through it! Ruby and Mike live a quiet life, satisfied with their easygoing routine. But when Mike accepts a promotion at work and is away for days at a time, things change for Ruby. Not only does she suffer intense loneliness, but strange things start to happen. Someone is going in her house. Someone is messing with her, she’s sure of it. When she starts to meet her neighbours, her life changes in good ways and bad. How well can you really know the people you share a street with?

Ruby’s paranoia, her fear of being watched starts to control her life and oh my god it was everything. That consistent unnerving feeling I had, the deep character development, the messy relationships, the emotional depth, all of it was so cleverly and brilliantly written. I suspected everyone at one point or another and I adored the direction it took. It’s such an addictive, twisty, chilling read you won’t want to part with, but there’s a serious, thought-provoking side too that will tug at your heart. Thriller lovers, put Tara on your radar! 👏

Content warnings: death, mentions of suicide, miscarriage

Huge thanks to lovely Tara for sending me a special signed copy of the book! I am super grateful. You can grab your own copy of The Perfect Stranger right now on Amazon or wherever you buy you books. Make sure you’re following Tara on Instagram for more updates!

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