The Stranger I Knew is a wonderful novella, a psychological YA mystery with a twist you do not see coming. It reminds me a bit of Dennis Lehane’s books; it’s a story where nothing is what it seems and as a reader you start to question what is real and what is just a dream, and if you can even trust the narrator at all. It’s so clever and brilliant and will keep you hooked all the way to the end!

Find out more about the book and the author here: Bound to Writing

I am so honored to be part of the Not Like Everyone Else Blog Tour and so happy and excited to be able to spread the word about my fellow author and friend, Jenn Garey’s new release: Not Like Everyone Else! This book is such an addictive mystery that will keep you hooked and wildly guessing all the way to the very end!

Wow! I was not at all prepared for the intensity, suspense and shocking plot twists, my heart is still racing from reading this book! 

Not Like Everything Else is an addictive mystery story that keeps you at the edge of your seat all the way until the unexpected end. It’s something of a psychological thriller with multiple stories and two, very different, POVs. It’s a book that gives you the chills and makes your heart ache for the main character Ryan. While reading I felt like I wanted to hug Ryan and protect her from all the bad things in the world, at the same time as I wanted to kick a certain somebody’s ass.

In the book we get to follow teenager Ryan, who has dissociative amnesia and who has recently escaped from an abusive relationship. Throughout the story, you get glimpses to the things Ryan has experienced, but the author is so skilled in her writing of the story that you are never quite sure what has really happened and what Ryan just believes has happened. There were even times when I almost doubted that Ryan had been abused or if she’d been the abuser in her last relationship…
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What really makes this book so special is the second POV, besides Ryan, which belongs to the murderer. ​These cold-blooded monologues really creeped me out and made me so eager to find out who he or she was. They also added to the fast pace of this book and made it totally unputdownable. I had such an urge to identify this cruel and sick person, but I was so fooled! I thought I had it all figured out several times, but every time I was proven wrong. Honestly, I never once suspected the person it turned out to be, to be the one having done those wicked, evil things. A fun fact is that the author actually did not know herself who the killer was until the end, which very well explains why it was so difficult to guess it right…

Besides Ryan and her ex boyfriend, Corey, the other main characters are Elliot and Harper.

**Minor spoiler alert: It made me so happy when Ryan found Elliot and dared to follow her feelings, despite how badly her last relationship had ended. The romance was so cute and low-key, I really liked that and how realistic it felt. **

The only thing I didn’t really like in this book was the friendship between Ryan and Harper. Mostly because I didn’t really like Harper. And neither did Ryan I think, it felt more like they hang out with each other because they were both alone that summer, than because they really enjoyed it. But Harper did stand up for Ryan in a wonderful way in the end, so I guess I eventually took to liking her a bit more after all…

And the ending… oh my gosh! The last part of the book was so intense and the ending so shocking! For real. I did not see it coming at all. It almost made me want to re-read the book right away, to see how the author could fool me so completely…

​Overall, I love this book! It’s a great, addictive and creepy (in a good way!) mystery that will keep you on your toes and keep you hooked and wildly guessing all the way to the very end. 4.5 glowing stars!

Find out more about Jennifer and her books on her amazing blog: Bound to Writing