Not So Perfect Strangers: A Thriller

by L.S. Stratton

One fateful encounter upends the lives of two women in this tense domestic thriller, a modern spin on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train that flips the script on race and gender politics.
 
“I’m a big believer that women should help each other, Tasha,” she says. “Don’t you think?”

Tasha Jenkins has finally found the courage to leave her abusive husband. Taking her teenage son with her, Tasha checks into a hotel the night before their flight out of D.C. and out of Kordell Jenkins’s life forever. But escaping isn’t so easy, and Tasha soon finds herself driving back to her own personal hell. As she is leaving, a white woman pounds on her car window, begging to be let in. Behind the woman, an angry man is in pursuit. Tasha makes a split-second decision that will alter the course of her she lets her in and takes off. 
 
Tasha and Madison Gingell may have very different everyday realities, but what they have in common is marriages they need out of. The two women want to help each other, but they have very different ideas of what that means . . .
 
They are on a collision course that will end in the case files of the D.C. MPD homicide unit. Unraveling the truth of what really happened may be impossible—and futile. Because what has the truth ever done for women like Tasha and Madison? Master of psychological suspense L. S. Stratton has written a gripping murder mystery about two perfect strangers whose lives become dangerously entangled, a must-read for fans of crime thriller books.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Adult, Suspense

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2023

About the author

L.S. Stratton is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author and former crime newspaper reporter who has written more than a dozen books under different pen names in just about every genre from thrillers to romance to historical fiction. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, their daughter, and their tuxedo cat.

Reviews

[Lit with Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Union Square & Co. for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

3.5 rounded up to a 4

Writing: 3/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: 3/5

SYNOPSIS

Strangers on a Train with a modern twist: Tasha Jenkins is stuck in an abusive relationship with her husband, unable to abandon her teenage son. Madison Gingell is a politician's trophy wife with a few screws loose. Both want their mans gone. So when they fatefully meet, Madison proposes they can solve each other's problems and get away with it.

MY OPINION

I did a happy twerk when I got this baddie in the mail (the cover is gorg btw), because I was super keen to read a thriller by a BIPOC author that takes on race and gender politics. It's always a gamble, but I believe this one paid off... mostly. I know some readers are averse to reading political thrillers, but fear not, this is not your standard "Ted Talk" approach.

The differences between Tasha (African American) and Madison's (unspecified Caucasian) environments are illustrated subtly; more showing, less telling. The author doesn't go all Lessons In Chemistry and or The Last Housewife by concocting OTT social situations to make a point. My brain is honestly mush right now, but I liked how L.S. Stratton compared and contrasted Tasha and Madison's lives without having them both in the same scene. For example, the most "obvious" route would be to have them both in Louis Vuitton, where Madison is doted over, and Tasha is accused of stealing. But instead, Stratton takes us through their own individual lives and shows how their race and gender can either be barriers or open doors. Big kudos for this.

I also appreciated how Stratton demonstrated the role of religion in each of their lives. Tasha is a devout believer, despite her less than favourable circumstances. And Madison has yeeted God out the window after her traumatic childhood. Again, this was done without any "agenda." You could look at Tasha and think: without your stringent religious beliefs, you would've had more courage to move tf on. And you could look at Madison and think: gwurl you need to repent ASAP. Stratton shows you how trauma can lead you toward or away from God; there's no framework for coping.

Now, I don't wanna get into some spoilies, so I'll just say, the end-ish part kinda lost me. I got a lil emotional with the drama between Tasha and her son, but that felt swept to the side at the end. Also, Stratton needs to chill with the exclamation marks. It wasn't like Gillian McAllister in Wrong Place, Wrong Time, but it was damn near close LOL. But I'll lay the blame on the editor... it's their job to say aht aht.

All in all, if you're looking for a thriller with a social commentary take that's not Ted Talk preachy, give this one a whirl.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: unique spin on Strangers on a Train, well-executed theme and messaging without banging us over the head with it

Cons: got a lil questionable at some parts

[Maditales · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Thought this was gonna be like gone girl. It wasn’t

[Sydney Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was solid, if a teeeny bit predictable. Loved the short chapters, the tension between the MCs, and the end actually threw me off which I didn’t expect!

[Rachel the Page-Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book, then soon realized that I read a similar book last year…then soon realized I was wrong! I won’t name the book lest it spoil this one, but that book was very dramatic, and very slow. I liked it, but it didn’t stick with me. THIS book is dramatic, but also darkly humorous, thrilling, thoughtful and completely different once you get past the premiere premise.

Tasha is a Black mother, wife and punching bag. She works hard - not only at her job, but at raising her son, Ghalen, to turn out to be the opposite of his father. The book starts with her leaving her abusive husband…but when Ghalen went back to his father, Tasha decided to follow him back to her silent prison.

As she’s getting ready to drive back home and get the beating of a lifetime, Madison enters her life. Tasha’s just trying to turn out of a parking lot when Madison - rich, white, beautiful - comes banging on her car window, begging for help. Tasha can see Madison’s angry husband behind her, so she unlocks her car to let Madison in, changing her life forever.

These two women now have a bond, and the book goes through their relationship from the past to the present, as a criminal mystery is revealed. There was the thoughtful subject of domestic violence, but this book was a heart-racing psychological thriller that ended with me in complete shock. I had a couple of ideas of how this would end, but I was dead (haha) wrong.

This whole book was a 4+ star read, but the ending and this being a debut has me bumping that up to five stars. This had thoughtfully-written characters, a bit of dark humor, and a lot of big surprises. It had just about everything, and I completely enjoyed it.

(Thank you to Union Square & Co., L.S. Stratton, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 28, 2023.)

[aeryn rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Going into this blind, I didn't know what I was expecting. But I had a good time reading this nonetheless! It's not every day that I find a thriller that keeps my attention the entire time but this did just that. Yes, I had a good time, but this definitely still had it's issues.

First off, I do wanna say that this had a very interesting and gripping plot. There was always something happening and whatever was happening was pretty interesting. However, there were so many times when something would happen and the author would turn something COMPLETELY unrelated to race....into an issue about race. I just kinda found myself thinking...what does race have to do with anything related to this scenario? It would seriously come out of the blue and I would sit here like ???

The beginning was pretty slow and the writing was a bit clunky, but overall, I had a pretty good time. I also want to mention that for a thriller, this was also pretty slow paced. It was only 300 pages but still felt like it was taking AGESSS to read it. It also wasn't a book with a crazy plot twist at the end. The whole book is practically one big plot twist on its own.

This definitely wasn't a masterpiece, but if you're looking for more of a slower thriller that's very character driven, this wouldn't be a bad option! I would lightly recommend this book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Continuing to tackle my older TBR one book at a time 💚💜

[Greta Samuelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasha and Madison live in very different worlds.

Tasha lives with her abusive husband and her teenaged son. She has tried to leave (unsuccessfully), and is trying to ride this hell out until her son graduates high school later this year.
Madison is the wife of a very rich man and spends her time making sure she still looks young and beautiful to be sure he doesn’t trade her in for a newer, younger wife.

One night, Tasha has tried to leave again and is on her way back home because she cannot leave her son behind- a beautiful woman dressed to the nine’s runs towards her car as she is leaving a parking garage wanting to get into the car with her and there is a man in a tux chasing after her. She lets Tasha into her car…and into her life.

The story quickly turns into a fast paced, twisty ride. You won’t be able to guess what will happen next or who to trust.

The description says that author L.S. Stratton wrote this as a spin on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (a movie I’ve never seen) but I love how Stratton weaved in the differences and inequities of gender, class and race to this story.

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by Hitchcock’s ‘Strangers on a Train,’ L.S. Stratton’s novel follows two women who need to escape their marriage and the murderous consequences of their accidental meeting. I sat back gobsmacked at how a chance encounter set off a domino effect of events.

Stratton uses her characters’ predicaments to explore feminism, race relations and fate.

While I didn’t approve of (1) some of the behaviour nor the unnecessary inclusion of it and (2) the manner in which racism was presented, I did appreciate the tension, the ominous cover, and the twisty, propulsive thriller. It drove home the danger of making choices while we are upset and ‘going off half-cocked.’ It also had me thinking about the dangers of offering help to a stranger. I may forget their names, but I won’t forget the encounter between Madison Gingell and Tasha Jenkins for quite some time.

I was gifted this copy by Union Square & Co and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[Kaylah · Rating 4 out of 5]

super solid! I don’t read many domestic thrillers but enjoyed this one. I LOVE SCORNED WOMEN!!!!!!!! I will always support women’s wrongs. definitely recommend for a fun, multi-POV thriller!

[Shawnaci Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️

- This is one of my favorite thrillers that I’ve read this year! Not only was it written by a Black author, but it also really leans into so many fears that many of us in the Black community have!! It’s giving Get Out vibes and I truly had no idea how it would end. I audibly gasped multiple times while reading this book!!
- It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but once it started moving I was hooked. I feel like this book was written with US in mind and really exploits so many of the fears we already have on a daily basis which makes the thriller that much more gripping!! I assumed so many things with this book and every guess I had was literally wrong. I loved the pov of the writing and how it went between the past & future so you were never quite sure what was going to happen.
- This would be SUCH a great book for a book club because it really digs into the themes of race, gender, and religion but in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re in a college class. It’s a really quick read and I couldn’t put it down!!

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

not perfect but a good time, I love when everyone’s crazy 🥰

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Grief this book had me so infuriated and in a tailspin! 😖

Not So Perfect Strangers had me hooked from the get go!
This was a modern spin on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train' with themes of race, religion and gender without feeling like a lecture and being suffocated by it.
The more I kept reading the more I wanted to slap the piss out of Maddison.
I found my self shouting at Tasha too at times, like woman 'STAND UP'!
At one point I thought I knew where the story was heading and I was going to lose my utter s*** if that had transpired but I was thrown off track and howled like a hyena at the reveal at the end! 😏
I would highly recommend giving this book a read and I cant wait to read more from Ms Stratton.

[Janaya Kabamba · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the plot but I was just so weirded out by the entire book to be fair. I appreciate the race issue was a main element of the plot but I just found it really weird that Tasha was always refered to as "the black woman:.Madison was never the "white woman", she was the lady!..... and it was mainly the characters who were non white that had their race mentioned.... for example when Madison friend gets caught in a compromising situation with a gardener.... who was latino! Shock horror!! Apparently black women say "girl" constantly when chatting to friends and have bad grammar... but when they're thinking or talking to anyone else then they speak in perfect English and have perfect grammar. And white women are refered to as the "lady".... but at no point in the book is the black woman ever refered to as the "lady" or even the black lady. The black teenage son doesn't see anything wrong with his dad abusing his mother..... I also wouldn't have thought "popping off" was black vernacular? And black vernacular isn't a thing, it's african American vernacular English (aave) because not all black people use the same terms that a number of African Americans do but yes, aave is a language in its own right. I'm honestly thought this book was written by a white person and went to the extent of googling because it was so biased and full of micro aggressions but lo and beyond, its actually written by a black woman. Just do better. Its stereotypical, it's lazy, it's not delivering the message you hoped it'd deliver

[Kurryreads (Kerry) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2SEB9Nr/

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

This book was a Lifetime movie....and I mean that as a compliment.

Not So Perfect Strangers is a reimagining of the Hitchcock classic movie Strangers on a Train but make it campy. The "heroes" of our story are Tasha Jenkins a Black woman who is struggling to make ends meet and is married to an abusive husband and Madison Gingell a rich white woman who is a psycho. After an unexpected meeting Madison suggests that she and Tasha murder each others husbands. From there things spin out of control and the fun begins.

I liked this book but I didn't love it. I was pulled in from chapter one but at the mid way make things kind of slowed down and I wondered where this story was going. The ending in my opinion saved it but I don't know if everyone will feel that way. The ending is batshit crazy so I liked it but if you want a down to earth ending...this book might not be for you.

I had never heard of LS Stratton but I'll probably pick up more of her books in the future.

[Lee (Books With Lee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun time! Kept me hooked from start to finish. Kept trying to find ways to abandon life’s responsibilities to finish it 🤷🏾‍♀️

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

This one pulled me in with an interesting premise and kept me reading with the combination of well developed characters and a plot that went in mostly unexpected directions. Two women who want out of their marriages and while they both want to help each other, their definition of help is very different. I don’t want to say anything else about the plot, because again this had some pretty solid surprises. But went deeper than that too, the author also explored race and religion and trauma in super interesting ways so this wasn’t just a twisty read, it definitely had some depth as well. I enjoyed it overall, I did want a tiny bit more in the end but it was still worth the read for me for sure.

[Autumn Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

God this book was terrible. Probably the most boring book I’ve ever read. All the characters are annoying and unlikeable, and frankly I wouldn’t have cared if all of them died. They were all caricatures of personalities the author failed to write correctly. Do not waste your time.

[Krissy (books_and_biceps9155) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you @shellystrattonbooks for my advance copy and being so darn friendly! I did a happy dance when I got this in the mail and literally read it right away! I must mention the beautiful cover and the excellent use of color! So eye catching!

This is described as modern spin of Hitchcocks Strangers On A Train with race and gender politics all wrapped up in a domestic thriller. Umm hello?! Here for it! The story is told from two POVs (Madison and Tasha) as well as dual timelines (Before and Now) I felt like this kept the pace and the story flowing.

I really appreciated the well-developed characters and their backgrounds. You got to know all the susp-I mean characters and their motives. I enjoyed how Stratton showed the difference of class/race and faith with both women and how that played a part in their decisions. The commentary on race is done so well and isn’t agenda ridden. It is seamless and truthful.

I really enjoyed the twists and the way this one played out. There were quite a few! I did not suspect the ending and as you know by now-that’s quite challenging as I read so many thrillers (especially domestic suspense) and it is hard to be unique sometimes. I won’t forget this one though. It was unique, twisty and realistic if not a tad bit nutty.

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! It’s devilishly good! Such a fun read. And a twist that will leave your jaw on the ground. The writing draws you in but the plot keeps you turning the pages.

Madison and Tasha, two women from two different worlds happen to meet while Madison is running away from her husband after an event and gets into Tasha’s vehicle. Tasha’s life will never be the same after this night.

Madison is your perfect psychopath while Tasha just wants to escape her abusive husband and find true love. Too bad for Tasha that she is now caught in Madison’s web, because Madison always gets what she wants.

I especially liked how this author calls out some hard truths when it comes to race and dealing with the police. If Tasha had done less than Madison she would have already been arrested, while Madison was free to run her game. Hopefully, in this lifetime, these type of situations will be a thing of the past.

Great book! Will def be reading more from this author. Fully enjoyed this ride.

[Katrina (Catching up on Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooo, this one was so good! It follows two very different women who both want out of their relationships. Tasha is desperate to escape her abusive marriage, and when she offers a ride to Madison, who’s also trying to leave her own marriage and their chance meeting takes a dark turn. What starts as a coincidence quickly spirals into a twisted pact that ties their lives together in unexpected ways.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not So Perfect Strangers is a retelling of Strangers on a Train. Two women have a chance meeting one night. Both women are looking to escape their spouses, and one of them suggests they kill each other’s husbands.

Told using dual points of view, the reader gets both women’s perspectives on their lives and what they think of each other. Not So Perfect Strangers is a fun, dark, and twisty thriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Tara Selby · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up - This was such a well crafted thriller and it blew me away! Very suspenseful throughout and it has some great twists and turns. I also really appreciated the balance of plot and solid character development, which can be hard to find in a thriller.

[riahreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow Madison is insane !!!! I didn’t expect that ending ! such a great fast paced thriller !

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fast paced story.

A thriller drama about two women in unhappy marriages one facing abuse and one facing adultery.

Tasha gives a ride to Madison who appears to be running away from her spouse and it leads to a whole chain of events that turns Tashas life upside down. But what would you do to obtain freedom and happiness you think you deserve?

I really love the representation the author showed about how it is for someone in an abusive relationship. It's not all black and white and the mental challenges it takes to leave the relationship. It not only affects the person in it but those around it. There is also discussion on the double standards of black women who are in domestic abusive relationships as well as dealing with law enforcement and everyday life.

[Daijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

actual rating: 5/5 stars

this is bingeable, has so much depth, nuance, and commentary, and it has classic domestic thriller twists. what more could you ask for?

[RonniesBookNook · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

“I’m a big believer that women should help each other, Tasha,” she says. “Don’t you think?”

Tasha has given a ride to a woman, who seems to be running from her husband. And that was probably the worst thing she could have done. From that night, this book takes you on a roller coaster ride of craziness! Not one likeable character to be found. Tasha drove me nuts with all her stuttering and meekness. Had she handled things a lil better where her son, Kordell, & Madison was concerned, things might have been different. It was definitely entertaining, but not great.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story delves into issues of sexism, racism, and domestic abuse. But it also asks an age-old question: What are the consequences of helping a stranger? A good deed is twisted into something sinister . . . Or something well deserved?

This was a pretty good thriller. So many great twists.

[Rae | My Cousin’s Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

I enjoyed the overall story but Tasha made me angry throughout the book - she wasn't rational at all when dealing with Madison.

Everyone is this book is NUTS and it had a pretty good plot twist!

[Kiarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[K~Terror · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️ | I couldn’t put this book down.