The Stranger Diaries
CBC Books | | Posted: June 19, 2019 6:48 PM | Last Updated: June 19, 2019
Elly Griffiths
Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare's colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland's most famous story, The Stranger, left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favourite literature.
To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:
Hallo Clare. You don't know me.
Clare becomes more certain than ever: The Stranger has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time? (From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
From the book
'If you'll permit me,' said the Stranger, 'I'd like to tell you a story. After all, it's a long journey and, by the looks of those skies, we're not going to be leaving this carriage for some time. So, why not pass the thours with some story-telling? The perfect thing for a late October evening.
'Are you quite comfortable there? Don't worry about Herbert. He won't hurt you. It's just this weather that makes him nervous. Now, where was I? What about some brandy to keep the chill out? You don't mind a hip flask, do you?
'Well, this is a story that actually happened. Those are the best kind, don't you think? Better still, it happened to me when I was a young man. About your age.
From The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths ©2019. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.