I’m delighted to finally be able to share with you my review for the fan The Stranger Within today. I was meant to be on the blog tour for this Friday but I was away on holiday and had very dodgy WiFi so was unable to post. Huge thanks to Sarah Hardy for being so nice about everything.
The Strange Within is available now in ebook and paperback, the ebook is currently only 99p. You can purchase a copy of both here.
Book Synopsis:
Torn away from his family life, DI Denis Hamilton is urgently called into a briefing in the early hours of his weekend off. He must unravel an investigation he thought had long closed.
Putting his personal worries to one side, Hamilton and his Murder Investigation Team come up against a patient with a mental disorder hell-bent on revenge.
Comparing the present day with memories of his tragic past, can Hamilton open his mind to the difficulties of mental illness in order to catch a murderer?
And when a colleague’s life is threatened, can Hamilton unlock the truth of the stranger within before it’s too late?
My Review:
Wow I loved this book. It gripped me from the start with it’s unusual opening and the fast paced action ensured I didn’t put it down. It was one of those books I carried around with me in the, usual vain, hope that I’d get a second to read it.
The murderer in this book was one of the most unique I’ve read as, I felt sorry for her as she’d clearly had a traumatic past. Yes she was cruel, calculated and quite violent but once you read a bit of the book you realise why she is doing it.
This book helps to shine the spotlight on mental health problems and how they dealt with in the UK. It was interesting to learn how a psychiatric hospital for criminals work and to hear of the views towards this kind of care. I was a bit on the fence as to what side I was on to be honest.
The action in this book is non stop and there is always something happening that makes it a very thrilling and addictive read. The book is told from multiple points of view, the police, the kidnapped victim and the murderer which really added to my enjoyment of the book and lets you learn more about each of the characters.
This is the first book by this author I have read and I have already bought all the previous books in this series to enjoy. This book can be read as a standalone like I did as anything necessary is mentioned but I do feel I’d have had an even better (if possible) reading experience if I had read the others first.
Huge thanks to Bloodhounds books for my copy of this book via Netgalley and to Sarah Hardy for inviting me onto the blog tour. If you like addictive, gripping reads with a fantastic plot you’ll love this book. It would also make a fabulous beach read as it is almost impossible to put down!
About The Author:
Tara is a crime/psychological thriller author from London, UK. Turning 30 in 2015 propelled her to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. In the Shadows is Tara’s debut solo novel published in March 2016. She co-wrote The Caller and Web of Deceit: A DI Sally Parker novella with New York Times bestselling author, M.A Comley.
In August 2016 Tara signed a two-book contract with Bloodhound Books. The third book in the DI Hamilton series, Deadly Friendship, was published in July 2017 and the fourth is due later this year.
When she’s not writing, Tara can be found at a local Wacky Warehouse stuck in the ball-pit with her young, energetic son.
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Follow The Blog Tour:
The blog tour for The Stranger Within has now finished but please go back and find out what these other fabulous bloggers said about this book .
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Great review lovely. I haven’t read any of her books yet but she seems a great author!
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