It’s also noted that in Victorian ghost stories things happen in threes, so after the second death, readers are waiting for the next body to drop. After a couple of solid scares and another death, Clare is more or less at her wits’ end. The ultimate reveal of the killer was a surprise and, to me, that’s the true sign of a master plotter. The suspect pool is actually rather small, but in true Golden Age style, Griffiths manages to make each suspect and character interesting and suspicious all at once. The back-and-forth narration, which sometimes also includes Georgia (Clare’s daughter), really ratchets up the tension. As a reader, you really have to put your mind to work to try and figure out who has the more valid point of view. Holland’s life, and the creepiness of his preserved study-and it all goes down like butter.ĭetective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur, a fierce young Indian woman who is investigating the case, also has a voice in this tale and readers get to see that Kaur suspects Clare of the crimes. There are ghost stories inside of ghost stories, creepy notes left for Clare in her journal, fog, spookily isolated homes (Clare’s specifically), the mystery of R.M. Thus begins a spooky murder mystery that Griffiths, a lover of Victorian fiction and specifically Wilkie Collins, imbues with the hint of a gothic. After class, Clare gets the terrible news that her colleague and fellow teacher Ella has been killed. Holland, once lived in the “old” part of Clare’s school where his study is still kept intact. The story centers on Clare Cassidy, a divorced mom who teaches at a high school in a British town.Īs the book opens, it’s Halloween and Clare is taking her class through a reading of a well-known ghost story, “The Stranger.” The author of the story, R.M. The same voice that brings Ruth to life-the funny, intelligent, eminently readable voice of Griffiths-is also on full display in this wonderful novel. Those of you who love Elly Griffith’s series character Ruth Galloway, snuggle up-you’re going to love the standalone novel The Stranger Diaries every bit as much.
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