Quick Reviews #13 | A Stranger in the House by Sheri Lapena // Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

A Stranger in the House by Sheri Lapena

Synopsis: Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good. 

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet. 

Quick Thoughts: I was expecting a lot more when I picked this up, but A Stranger in the House was such a disappointment. The writing felt really choppy, the characters weren't interesting or likable, and the plot fell really flat after the initial excitement of the mystery wore off. I am not sure if I want to read any more of Sheri Lapena's work since this is her second book, and did not seem that great. I really wanted to love this but struggled to finish it.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 

Quick Thoughts: I want to say that I did like this but I am only including it in this edition of quick reviews because I don't have much to say about it. This book was obviously hyped up because it was the newest John Green book and we haven't seen a book written by him in a while. I was excited but felt like nothing really happened in this book, and it wasn't life-changing as most people made it seem. But I can say that is most likely due to my lack of connection with the protagonist, as she suffers from anxiety and a lot of people were excited about an #ownvoices book on this topic. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as everyone else.