Secret Strangers

by Thomas Tessier

While baby-sitting, Heidi Luckner and her boyfriend discover scandalous sex photographs and decide to exploit them for personal gain, with horrifying results.

Genres: Horror, Novels, Fiction, Thriller

245 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Thomas Tessier grew up in Connecticut and attended University College, Dublin. He is the author of several acclaimed novels of terror and suspense, plays, poems, and short stories. His novel Fog Heart received the International Horror Guild's Award for Best Novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist, and was cited by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of the Year. He lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heidi's father vanished. When she discovers an envelope full of sex pictures while babysitting a story full of blackmail and murder begins. Is Heidi's father dead? How does the blackmailing scheme start and how ill it end? Did Karen Bell commit suicide? What about the mysterious man Jellico? Thomas Tessier comes up with a very compelling tale of mystery and murder. With a very psychological view on the characters, this author acts a kind of Richard Laymon the serious way. Really enjoyed this old school nail biter and can highly recommend it!

[Karl]

This slipcased hardcover edition is numbered 52 of 250 copies printed and is signed by Thomas Tessier.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tessier is one of the more disturbing of horror writers in the business. To me, this falls more into the noir camp than horror. Teenager Heidi, discovers some very nasty photographs while snooping in the bedroom of a yuppie couple she's babysitting for. Heidi and boyfriend decide a little blackmail is in order and bring a curtain of violence and fear down on everyone. I don't know why this isn't more available.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thriller. This is the 3rd book I read by Tessier. This story is full of twists and turns. It is also about the secrets people keep, and the lengths of which they will go to keep them from getting out. I was lucky to find a S/L copy at a bookstore for cheap.

[Solim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a 5 star except for the last 2 chapters. Aside that, this book is really messed up! Some people will struggle or just give up getting through it. I will try more from this author because the writing was great!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

High school senior Heidi Luckner's father disappeared without a trace a year ago, leaving her family in dire straits. The money is running out, and Heidi's mother needs to sell the house and move. But Heidi doesn't want things to change, and when she finds a cache of incriminating photos while snooping at a neighbor's house, she sees an opportunity. Cue the train wreck...

Like Tessier's Rapture, Secret Strangers is the story of a more or less sympathetic protagonist's descent into the dark depths of her self. This hard-boiled crime novel isn't my favorite of this author's but it is one that kept me turning the pages.