The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

This was such a fun, absorbing Gothic thriller!

Clare Cassidy is an English teacher obsessed with a famous gothic short story, "The Stranger." She's trying to write a book about the author's life, and even teaches at the school where he once lived. But her life quickly begins to parallel the events in "The Stranger" with a shocking murder, and DS Harbinder Kaur is pulled into her world. Harbinder has her own feelings about the case and the school, as she was a student there years before. Clare's teenage daughter, Georgia, is a current student, and she has her own take about what's happening at Talgarth High.

I loved the juxtaposition of the current day murder mystery with the "The Stranger," pages of the short story teased out throughout the entirety of the book. I also really enjoyed reading about Clare, Harbinder, and Georgia, three completely different women who find themselves swept into the mystery. I read a lot of gritty, violent, psychological thrillers, and it was nice that this book managed to be creepy without having a lot of overt violence or traumatic scenes. 

It was my first introduction to Elly Griffiths' writing, and I'm excited to read more of her mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.