‘Stranger’ has a strong plot

SDLqA Stranger in the House: a Novel” (Pamela Dorman Books, Viking), by Shari Lapena

In her second thriller, Shari Lapena poses the question: How well do you know your spouse? It’s not exactly a new story device, but Lapena’s fresh approach makes it seem original in “A Stranger in the House.”

While the novel is plot-heavy, the characters are more sketches than fully fleshed-out people. No character is likable or worth rooting for, but the redemption is that Lapena makes them interesting, keeping the reader invested in what happens next.

Karen Krupp is left with a bad concussion after crashing her car into a pole while fleeing from an abandoned restaurant in a sketchy neighborhood in upstate New York. She claims she has no memory of what happened.

Police surmise Karen may have something to do with a man found shot to death in the empty restaurant. Karen’s husband, Tom, is at a loss at what to believe. Karen’s accident is out of character for his normally calm, organized wife. Tom begins to wonder how well he knows Karen.

Lapena keeps the well-developed twists churning, with each a surprise notch in this ever-evolving plot, and she continues this skillful storytelling until the stunning twist at the end.

– Oline H. Cogdill, Associated Press