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Perfect Stranger
A BRAND NEW THRILLER FROM A #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR.
The morning we set out, I told myself it was the beginning of everything. A camper van we'd built with our own hands, the open road unspooling south and James at the wheel – the boy I love. The boy I'm almost certain I love...
What I didn't tell my boyfriend was the real reason I wanted to go on this road trip. Years ago, my brother Ben disappeared on a family camping trip in the woods. The man who did it has never said where he buried the body – he's in prison now, and likes to taunt the press with clues about where Ben might be. I've waited years for an answer. Now I'm going to find out for myself.
But the further south we go, the more certain I we're not alone out here. Someone has been following us since the morning we left, and they know exactly where we're headed. Which means they know about Ben. And they're getting closer...
A gripping, twisty psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Little Ghosts . Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Riley Sager.
What readers say about Gregg Dunnett's
“A complete WOW psychological thriller that made my heart skip a beat… Holy-Moly! This was intense! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I literally loved everything about this book!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Woooooo! Stop what you are doing and do yourself a favour and grab yourself a copy right now… There are some OUTSTANDING twists that I couldn’t see coming and at least one OMG moment which caught me by surprise. I absolutely LOVED this book.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“OMG! I couldn’t put it down.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This book was AMAZING! … It was creepy, intense, and full of twists and turns that I did not predict. I was hooked from the very beginning.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A fantastically dark, complex, and clever thriller. Will keep you guessing all the way to the end. Great, well-developed characters bring this to life and make it a real page-turner.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A haunting book that will stay with me for a long time and easily in the top ten books.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“RIVETING!!... What an amazingly riveting book!! I couldn’t put it down… The twists and turns were so well thought out.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Wow! Engrossing from the first chapter. I was completely hooked… When things start to be revealed I was left with my mouth hanging open.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“From page one I was hooked. The story grips you and I did not want to put it down, but at the same time I didn't want it to end because I was enjoying the story so much… I felt I was holding my breath all day yesterday while reading it.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Hands-down amazing! The pages literally turned themselves it was that good.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The morning we set out, I told myself it was the beginning of everything. A camper van we'd built with our own hands, the open road unspooling south and James at the wheel – the boy I love. The boy I'm almost certain I love...
What I didn't tell my boyfriend was the real reason I wanted to go on this road trip. Years ago, my brother Ben disappeared on a family camping trip in the woods. The man who did it has never said where he buried the body – he's in prison now, and likes to taunt the press with clues about where Ben might be. I've waited years for an answer. Now I'm going to find out for myself.
But the further south we go, the more certain I we're not alone out here. Someone has been following us since the morning we left, and they know exactly where we're headed. Which means they know about Ben. And they're getting closer...
A gripping, twisty psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Little Ghosts . Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Riley Sager.
What readers say about Gregg Dunnett's
“A complete WOW psychological thriller that made my heart skip a beat… Holy-Moly! This was intense! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I literally loved everything about this book!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Woooooo! Stop what you are doing and do yourself a favour and grab yourself a copy right now… There are some OUTSTANDING twists that I couldn’t see coming and at least one OMG moment which caught me by surprise. I absolutely LOVED this book.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“OMG! I couldn’t put it down.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This book was AMAZING! … It was creepy, intense, and full of twists and turns that I did not predict. I was hooked from the very beginning.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A fantastically dark, complex, and clever thriller. Will keep you guessing all the way to the end. Great, well-developed characters bring this to life and make it a real page-turner.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A haunting book that will stay with me for a long time and easily in the top ten books.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“RIVETING!!... What an amazingly riveting book!! I couldn’t put it down… The twists and turns were so well thought out.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Wow! Engrossing from the first chapter. I was completely hooked… When things start to be revealed I was left with my mouth hanging open.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“From page one I was hooked. The story grips you and I did not want to put it down, but at the same time I didn't want it to end because I was enjoying the story so much… I felt I was holding my breath all day yesterday while reading it.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Hands-down amazing! The pages literally turned themselves it was that good.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
387 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2026
About the author
Gregg Dunnett
35 books559 followersGregg Dunnett writes twist-packed psychological thrillers set where the land meets the sea – a habit born of years chasing waves as a windsurfing journalist and all-round beach-bum. His novels include the Amazon #1 bestsellers “The Wave at Hanging Rock” and “The Things You Find in Rockpools” (now in development for TV) and the Audible #1 hit “Little Ghosts”.
After twenty years on England’s south coast, Gregg, his partner María (who translates the books into Spanish), their two kids and a daft Labradoodle named Loki set off on another adventure – moving to Spain to draw artistic inspiration from the moody Cantabrian mountains and the wild Atlantic coast. Plus the food’s really good.
Grab two free thrillers – just search “Gregg Dunnett free books” in your browser.
After twenty years on England’s south coast, Gregg, his partner María (who translates the books into Spanish), their two kids and a daft Labradoodle named Loki set off on another adventure – moving to Spain to draw artistic inspiration from the moody Cantabrian mountains and the wild Atlantic coast. Plus the food’s really good.
Grab two free thrillers – just search “Gregg Dunnett free books” in your browser.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 28, 2026
I’m so happy that Gregg Dunnett has written a lot of books, because I can’t wait, and super excited, to read them all. I won’t say much about the storyline, as you can read the synopsis, but I’m telling y’all, this had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
Perfect Stranger is scary in a creepy, stalker kind of way. It was chilling, and at times uncomfortable. I have seen lots of movies in which a creepy guy is stalking people, in his black van/truck, but reading about it, is nail bitingly horrific, I almost felt that I was the one being stalked, with everywhere I turn, I see the same black van, with the same creepy dude. This book at times made my blood run cold, and I have to admit…I freaking loved it! I loved the idea of travelling through Europe in a camper van, and wished I had done exactly that when I was younger, though without the creepy, stalker guy, but of course, with a handsome, surfer boyfriend 🏄♂️ This book had me gripped until the very end…and that ending, man…so unexpected.
5 ⭐️
Thanks to Gregg Dunnett, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley, for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.
Available: NOW!
Perfect Stranger is scary in a creepy, stalker kind of way. It was chilling, and at times uncomfortable. I have seen lots of movies in which a creepy guy is stalking people, in his black van/truck, but reading about it, is nail bitingly horrific, I almost felt that I was the one being stalked, with everywhere I turn, I see the same black van, with the same creepy dude. This book at times made my blood run cold, and I have to admit…I freaking loved it! I loved the idea of travelling through Europe in a camper van, and wished I had done exactly that when I was younger, though without the creepy, stalker guy, but of course, with a handsome, surfer boyfriend 🏄♂️ This book had me gripped until the very end…and that ending, man…so unexpected.
5 ⭐️
Thanks to Gregg Dunnett, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley, for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.
Available: NOW!
September 10, 2026
Wow, this book blew me away! Emily and James are going on a road trip in his converted van and Emily hopes to earn money by posting their journey online. Emily's younger brother, Ben, had gone missing when he was 5 but a guy named Mathias confessed to his murder but refused to tell where he hid the body so Emily is eager to return to the campsite where he was taken. But then they meet Brandon....Nothing is as it appears and I raced through this one as there were surprises on every page!
July 21, 2026
ARC review
I feel like I’m being generous with the 3 stars I gave this book completely on the way it’s written. The story is good. The twists are good. The ending really keeps you on your toes and anxious for what will happen…..but the way this book is written just killed it for me.
I did not like either main character. Perhaps it was written vague on purpose I don’t know. You do not feel sympathy for Em, and James is just a blank page. How many times we need to mention two young people having sex I don’t know, but it seemed that was really all they had going for their relationship.
The travel is a backdrop, the plot interrupted by backstory that is both confusing and angering. I found it necessary to understand who the supporting characters were, but the way the author did it was so distracting I found myself hating the book and anger reading it just to finish. There had to have been a different way to go about it.
When the crescendo finally happens and all the characters are on deck, it’s when it all finally seems to make sense and come together. Why I had to struggle to get there I don’t know. The ending was good, intense and provocative, but I really hated the way this book was written.
I feel like I’m being generous with the 3 stars I gave this book completely on the way it’s written. The story is good. The twists are good. The ending really keeps you on your toes and anxious for what will happen…..but the way this book is written just killed it for me.
I did not like either main character. Perhaps it was written vague on purpose I don’t know. You do not feel sympathy for Em, and James is just a blank page. How many times we need to mention two young people having sex I don’t know, but it seemed that was really all they had going for their relationship.
The travel is a backdrop, the plot interrupted by backstory that is both confusing and angering. I found it necessary to understand who the supporting characters were, but the way the author did it was so distracting I found myself hating the book and anger reading it just to finish. There had to have been a different way to go about it.
When the crescendo finally happens and all the characters are on deck, it’s when it all finally seems to make sense and come together. Why I had to struggle to get there I don’t know. The ending was good, intense and provocative, but I really hated the way this book was written.
September 2, 2026
Perfect Stranger had me suspicious of basically everyone by the end.
Years ago, Em went on a family camping trip with her parents and younger brother, Ben.
Only three of them came home.
Ben disappeared during the trip and was never seen again. A man believed to be responsible is now in prison, but Ben's body has never been found. Instead of giving the family answers, he's spent years cruelly taunting them and playing games about where Ben might be buried.
Eventually, Em had enough.
She wants answers and if nobody else can give them to her, she's going to look for them herself.
Conveniently, Em and her boyfriend James are about to embark on a road trip around Europe in the camper van they've lovingly renovated themselves. They're also vlogging the journey, hoping followers and views might bring in enough money to make traveling a little easier.
Cute camper van.
European road trip.
Surfing.
Vlogging.
Secret investigation into your missing brother's murder.
You know. Normal holiday activities...
Things become considerably less cute when a stranger driving a black van starts appearing at several of their stops.
At first, there are reasonable explanations. He and James get along particularly well because they both love surfing, and since Em is still learning, James and their new friend sometimes tackle the bigger waves together.
Except he keeps appearing.
Again.
And again.
And eventually the coincidences stop feeling particularly coincidental.
The stranger becomes increasingly unsettling, Em begins questioning exactly who this man is and why he keeps following them, and what started as a fun European road trip becomes something considerably more dangerous.
And then Em's parents enter the picture.
Well.
Things take A TURN.
This was where Perfect Stranger really started throwing revelations at me. We learn more about James, more about our increasingly concerning Stranger Danger™, and the story definitely didn't evolve in the direction I expected.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery, particularly once I realized there was much more happening underneath the road-trip story than I'd originally assumed. There were several developments I genuinely didn't see coming.
Unfortunately, I never formed as strong an emotional connection with the characters as I wanted to.
And I REALLY wanted to.
The European road-trip setting was one of the things that originally made me excited about this book, and with a mystery involving a missing younger brother, I expected to become very emotionally invested in Em's search for answers. Instead, I often felt like I was watching everything happen from a slight distance.
I also struggled with the parallel storyline set in the past involving the military. It does eventually connect to the present-day story and serves a purpose, but for quite a while it felt strangely separate from everything else, almost like I'd temporarily wandered into another book. Even once I understood why it was there, I couldn't help thinking there might have been another way to establish that history and reach a similar outcome while making the two sides of the story feel more naturally connected.
Still, the mystery itself kept me curious, the stranger added a wonderfully uncomfortable layer to the road trip, and some of the later revelations definitely caught me off guard.
Overall, Perfect Stranger was an interesting and suspenseful thriller with plenty of secrets hiding underneath what initially looks like a European camper-van adventure. I just wish I'd connected more strongly with the characters and that the past and present storylines had felt a little more cohesive.
And perhaps the most important lesson here:
If you're traveling around Europe and the same mysterious black van keeps appearing everywhere you go...
Maybe don't invite the driver to become your new surfing buddy.
Just a thought...
3.5⭐
Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
Years ago, Em went on a family camping trip with her parents and younger brother, Ben.
Only three of them came home.
Ben disappeared during the trip and was never seen again. A man believed to be responsible is now in prison, but Ben's body has never been found. Instead of giving the family answers, he's spent years cruelly taunting them and playing games about where Ben might be buried.
Eventually, Em had enough.
She wants answers and if nobody else can give them to her, she's going to look for them herself.
Conveniently, Em and her boyfriend James are about to embark on a road trip around Europe in the camper van they've lovingly renovated themselves. They're also vlogging the journey, hoping followers and views might bring in enough money to make traveling a little easier.
Cute camper van.
European road trip.
Surfing.
Vlogging.
Secret investigation into your missing brother's murder.
You know. Normal holiday activities...
Things become considerably less cute when a stranger driving a black van starts appearing at several of their stops.
At first, there are reasonable explanations. He and James get along particularly well because they both love surfing, and since Em is still learning, James and their new friend sometimes tackle the bigger waves together.
Except he keeps appearing.
Again.
And again.
And eventually the coincidences stop feeling particularly coincidental.
The stranger becomes increasingly unsettling, Em begins questioning exactly who this man is and why he keeps following them, and what started as a fun European road trip becomes something considerably more dangerous.
And then Em's parents enter the picture.
Well.
Things take A TURN.
This was where Perfect Stranger really started throwing revelations at me. We learn more about James, more about our increasingly concerning Stranger Danger™, and the story definitely didn't evolve in the direction I expected.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery, particularly once I realized there was much more happening underneath the road-trip story than I'd originally assumed. There were several developments I genuinely didn't see coming.
Unfortunately, I never formed as strong an emotional connection with the characters as I wanted to.
And I REALLY wanted to.
The European road-trip setting was one of the things that originally made me excited about this book, and with a mystery involving a missing younger brother, I expected to become very emotionally invested in Em's search for answers. Instead, I often felt like I was watching everything happen from a slight distance.
I also struggled with the parallel storyline set in the past involving the military. It does eventually connect to the present-day story and serves a purpose, but for quite a while it felt strangely separate from everything else, almost like I'd temporarily wandered into another book. Even once I understood why it was there, I couldn't help thinking there might have been another way to establish that history and reach a similar outcome while making the two sides of the story feel more naturally connected.
Still, the mystery itself kept me curious, the stranger added a wonderfully uncomfortable layer to the road trip, and some of the later revelations definitely caught me off guard.
Overall, Perfect Stranger was an interesting and suspenseful thriller with plenty of secrets hiding underneath what initially looks like a European camper-van adventure. I just wish I'd connected more strongly with the characters and that the past and present storylines had felt a little more cohesive.
And perhaps the most important lesson here:
If you're traveling around Europe and the same mysterious black van keeps appearing everywhere you go...
Maybe don't invite the driver to become your new surfing buddy.
Just a thought...
3.5⭐
Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
August 19, 2026
This was such a gripping and twisty psychological thriller! From the very beginning, I was pulled into Louise’s story and the mystery surrounding her brother Ben’s disappearance.
Louise sets off on a road trip with her boyfriend James in the camper van they built themselves. What James doesn’t know is that Louise has a hidden reason for the journey. Years ago, her brother Ben vanished during a family camping trip, and although the man responsible is now in prison, he has never revealed where Ben’s body is.
Determined to finally uncover the truth, Louise follows the clues — but things quickly become unsettling when she realises they may not be alone. Someone has been following them, and whoever it is seems to know exactly where they’re going and why.
I loved the sense of tension and paranoia throughout this book. There’s a constant feeling that something isn’t quite right, and with every twist I found myself questioning who could be trusted. The road-trip setting also added a brilliant feeling of isolation, making the story even more atmospheric and suspenseful.
There were plenty of secrets, twists and moments that had me desperately wanting to know what would happen next. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the story threw another surprise at me.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers packed with mystery, secrets and plenty of twists, this is definitely one to pick up. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Riley Sager!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Louise sets off on a road trip with her boyfriend James in the camper van they built themselves. What James doesn’t know is that Louise has a hidden reason for the journey. Years ago, her brother Ben vanished during a family camping trip, and although the man responsible is now in prison, he has never revealed where Ben’s body is.
Determined to finally uncover the truth, Louise follows the clues — but things quickly become unsettling when she realises they may not be alone. Someone has been following them, and whoever it is seems to know exactly where they’re going and why.
I loved the sense of tension and paranoia throughout this book. There’s a constant feeling that something isn’t quite right, and with every twist I found myself questioning who could be trusted. The road-trip setting also added a brilliant feeling of isolation, making the story even more atmospheric and suspenseful.
There were plenty of secrets, twists and moments that had me desperately wanting to know what would happen next. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the story threw another surprise at me.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers packed with mystery, secrets and plenty of twists, this is definitely one to pick up. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Riley Sager!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
July 17, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm publishing for the ARC.
Recently graduated couple Emily and James decided to do up a camper van and use it to have a holiday adventure travelling across to France and Spain documenting their journey on social media, but Emily wishes to find out what truly happened to her brother Ben all those years ago.
The story moves very quickly, reeling you in and not letting go, there’s multiple twists that I absolutely was not expecting.
I had some trouble with reading this as it wasn’t always apparent if it was something the character thought about saying or actually said. I also wasn’t overly fond of the two MC’s - not for anything specific, but then maybe I was supposed to be? This didn’t detract (much) from the story and I will definitely be investigating this authors back catalogue.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Solid thriller from Dunnett as we follow a couple who are taking a modified van/truck on a travel adventure and learn of their connections to a child's disappearance several years earlier. Secrets are revealed in very interesting ways, and a twist pops up that was not expected. Takes a bit longer than necessary to really get going but once it does it moves along nicely, and the ending is satisfying. Dunnett can almost always be counted on for a sold read and go check out his Rockpool series for the best evidence of that. Well-written as usual. A worthy entry in the genre. 3.5 stars bumped to 4 for the writing and general likability of the story and characters. Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
WOW! This had me questioning EVERYTHING! I went into this book expecting a good psychological thriller, but this had me second-guessing myself so many times that I finally gave up and just held on for the ride.
I really liked the constant feeling that something was just…off. The tension kept building, the questions kept piling up, and every time I thought I was starting to put the pieces together, another piece would come along and make me rethink the whole thing. I loved that I couldn't just settle into one theory and stay there. The further I got, the more invested I became in figuring out what was really going on. There were some “Oh, I didn’t see that coming!” moments.
Dunnett did a great job of creating a creeping, uneasy feeling where I knew something was coming, I just didn't know what or from where. The atmosphere, the paranoia, the secrets, the uncertainty…it all worked for me. And those twists? Yep. They got me.
I really liked the constant feeling that something was just…off. The tension kept building, the questions kept piling up, and every time I thought I was starting to put the pieces together, another piece would come along and make me rethink the whole thing. I loved that I couldn't just settle into one theory and stay there. The further I got, the more invested I became in figuring out what was really going on. There were some “Oh, I didn’t see that coming!” moments.
Dunnett did a great job of creating a creeping, uneasy feeling where I knew something was coming, I just didn't know what or from where. The atmosphere, the paranoia, the secrets, the uncertainty…it all worked for me. And those twists? Yep. They got me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Perfect Stranger is the kind of psychological thriller that makes you question how well you can ever truly know another person. When a camping trip masked as a way to learn what happened to Ben years ago turns into a bone chilling experience on learning what happened to him, as the reader you get sucked right in the action and forget about everything else.
What starts with an intriguing premise quickly develops into a tense, unsettling story filled with secrets, suspicion, and that constant feeling that something just isn't quite right. Gregg Dunnett does a great job of giving you just enough information to start forming theories… only to make you doubt them a few pages later.
One of my favourite things about this book was the atmosphere. There’s a quiet sense of unease running underneath the story, and the tension builds gradually rather than relying entirely on huge shocking moments. I kept trying to figure out who I could trust and what was really happening — and, naturally, I changed my mind more than once.
There were moments when I wanted to shake the caracters thru the book, moments when I sympathized with them, and others when I was immediately suspicious of absolutely everyone. Basically, exactly what I want and need from a psychological thriller.
The pacing does take its time in places, but in the end it is all worth it. The twists and reveals made me rethink some of my earlier assumptions, and I really enjoyed watching the bigger picture come together.
Overall, Perfect Stranger is an addictive, twisty psychological thriller about secrets, trust, and the unsettling realization that the person standing right beside you might still be a complete stranger.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
• Psychological thrillers
• Unreliable characters
• Secrets & hidden motives
• Suspicion and paranoia
• “Who can I actually trust?” vibes
• Slow-building tension
• Twists and reveals
A suspenseful read that kept me guessing — because apparently trusting fictional people is a mistake I will continue making every single time I open a book.
Perfect Stranger is the kind of psychological thriller that makes you question how well you can ever truly know another person. When a camping trip masked as a way to learn what happened to Ben years ago turns into a bone chilling experience on learning what happened to him, as the reader you get sucked right in the action and forget about everything else.
What starts with an intriguing premise quickly develops into a tense, unsettling story filled with secrets, suspicion, and that constant feeling that something just isn't quite right. Gregg Dunnett does a great job of giving you just enough information to start forming theories… only to make you doubt them a few pages later.
One of my favourite things about this book was the atmosphere. There’s a quiet sense of unease running underneath the story, and the tension builds gradually rather than relying entirely on huge shocking moments. I kept trying to figure out who I could trust and what was really happening — and, naturally, I changed my mind more than once.
There were moments when I wanted to shake the caracters thru the book, moments when I sympathized with them, and others when I was immediately suspicious of absolutely everyone. Basically, exactly what I want and need from a psychological thriller.
The pacing does take its time in places, but in the end it is all worth it. The twists and reveals made me rethink some of my earlier assumptions, and I really enjoyed watching the bigger picture come together.
Overall, Perfect Stranger is an addictive, twisty psychological thriller about secrets, trust, and the unsettling realization that the person standing right beside you might still be a complete stranger.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
• Psychological thrillers
• Unreliable characters
• Secrets & hidden motives
• Suspicion and paranoia
• “Who can I actually trust?” vibes
• Slow-building tension
• Twists and reveals
A suspenseful read that kept me guessing — because apparently trusting fictional people is a mistake I will continue making every single time I open a book.
August 26, 2026
Solid Thriller. This is one of those mysterious road trip thrillers where things start out clearly "off"... and turn rather explosive indeed. For those new to Dunnett, this is a pretty solid introduction, as it really does show off everything you really need to know - and that I've come to deeply enjoy across several books now. (Including having The Lies, the conclusion of his Detective Erica Sands series, to read here in the coming weeks before its release in just over a month!)
Here, we get a standalone thriller that jaunts through Europe a bit even as it mostly stays within one general region - we get a bit of an alternate (not really dual) timeline going that provides some critical backstory that meets up with the main story earlier than many such timelines do, though admittedly the initial jump to this aspect of the story can feel a bit jarring. Stick with it though, because that timeline will keep you on the edge of your seat within itself... and sets up a wildly explosive story when it joins up with our actual primary tale.
This tale isn't for the faint of heart though. Spice level is up around jalapeno at least, with our young couple very much into each other and not exactly timid about it. If a bit of under clothes touching gives you the vapors... this story is going to knock you slap out. On the flip side, if you need erotica to think a story is sexy enough, this is going to be more like an Indian tasting British food... it aint gonna be anywhere near spicy enough for you. But beyond the spice level itself, this is a story that goes into certain related areas that will make most quite uncomfortable indeed (and should!), and that some really won't be able to handle at all. But that's about as close a warning as I can get here without diving into spoiler territory.
Still, truly an excellent road trip mystery, one that builds well and is quite complex and layered. Dunnett truly does an excellent job weaving this tale together, and the end result really is quite a fun read indeed... even with the aforementioned quite difficult subject matter included.
Very much recommended.
Here, we get a standalone thriller that jaunts through Europe a bit even as it mostly stays within one general region - we get a bit of an alternate (not really dual) timeline going that provides some critical backstory that meets up with the main story earlier than many such timelines do, though admittedly the initial jump to this aspect of the story can feel a bit jarring. Stick with it though, because that timeline will keep you on the edge of your seat within itself... and sets up a wildly explosive story when it joins up with our actual primary tale.
This tale isn't for the faint of heart though. Spice level is up around jalapeno at least, with our young couple very much into each other and not exactly timid about it. If a bit of under clothes touching gives you the vapors... this story is going to knock you slap out. On the flip side, if you need erotica to think a story is sexy enough, this is going to be more like an Indian tasting British food... it aint gonna be anywhere near spicy enough for you. But beyond the spice level itself, this is a story that goes into certain related areas that will make most quite uncomfortable indeed (and should!), and that some really won't be able to handle at all. But that's about as close a warning as I can get here without diving into spoiler territory.
Still, truly an excellent road trip mystery, one that builds well and is quite complex and layered. Dunnett truly does an excellent job weaving this tale together, and the end result really is quite a fun read indeed... even with the aforementioned quite difficult subject matter included.
Very much recommended.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Perfect Stranger starts with a tense and atmospheric set up and I wanted the rest of the novel to match the opening paragraph but it never quite got there.
Set mainly in the present day, we follow James and Emily as they travel around Europe in their converted van. Emily has an ulterior motive for the trip – her brother was kidnapped from a French campsite as a child and his body has never been found despite the convicted killer promising to reveal the location on a specific date. As they document the trip on various social media outlets, the campaign to find the truth ramps up. It isn’t long before they realise they are being followed by the mysterious Brandon.
There is also what seems like an unrelated thread of a group of NATO soldiers which is told through the flashbacks of Sean. It’s not clear how this relates to the main plot but as the story progress it is soon explained how those characters tie in and the author manages to cleverly match the two together.
The first half of the book is a pacey psychological thriller but I did find the flashbacks slowed down the pace a lot and my mind very quickly started to wander. The various coastal settings add a nice sense of isolation, and the main plot keeps the pages turning.
Some of the character logic feels unnaturally forced to push the plot forward, making it very hard to stay fully invested in their fate. While there are plenty of twist and surprises, I felt the ultimate fate was a bit convenient.
Having said that I enjoyed the author’s clean writing style in the parts where I was fully engaged in the story rather than in the middle where the writing seemed a lot slower and laborious. Even though the payoff didn’t quite live up to the initial promise I still think this is a great read for a weekend or beach trip and I would definitely pick up another book by Gregg.
Perfect Stranger starts with a tense and atmospheric set up and I wanted the rest of the novel to match the opening paragraph but it never quite got there.
Set mainly in the present day, we follow James and Emily as they travel around Europe in their converted van. Emily has an ulterior motive for the trip – her brother was kidnapped from a French campsite as a child and his body has never been found despite the convicted killer promising to reveal the location on a specific date. As they document the trip on various social media outlets, the campaign to find the truth ramps up. It isn’t long before they realise they are being followed by the mysterious Brandon.
There is also what seems like an unrelated thread of a group of NATO soldiers which is told through the flashbacks of Sean. It’s not clear how this relates to the main plot but as the story progress it is soon explained how those characters tie in and the author manages to cleverly match the two together.
The first half of the book is a pacey psychological thriller but I did find the flashbacks slowed down the pace a lot and my mind very quickly started to wander. The various coastal settings add a nice sense of isolation, and the main plot keeps the pages turning.
Some of the character logic feels unnaturally forced to push the plot forward, making it very hard to stay fully invested in their fate. While there are plenty of twist and surprises, I felt the ultimate fate was a bit convenient.
Having said that I enjoyed the author’s clean writing style in the parts where I was fully engaged in the story rather than in the middle where the writing seemed a lot slower and laborious. Even though the payoff didn’t quite live up to the initial promise I still think this is a great read for a weekend or beach trip and I would definitely pick up another book by Gregg.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC Review
Perfect Stranger by Gregg Dunnett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I picked this up expecting a road-trip thriller and ended up traveling through a dark, twist-filled chase where every mile felt more dangerous than the last.
Emily and her boyfriend, James, set off across Europe in a camper van, sharing their van-life adventure online. But Emily isn’t traveling for the views. She’s searching for answers about her brother, Ben, who disappeared years ago on a camping trip. The man responsible has never revealed where Ben’s body is buried, and Emily is convinced this journey will finally uncover the truth.
Then someone starts following them.
What I loved most was the atmosphere. The author transforms beautiful forests, quiet campgrounds, and endless highways into places that feel genuinely unsettling. The farther Emily and James travel, the more the tension builds, and I constantly felt like someone was lurking just out of sight.
The multiple POVs kept me questioning everyone, and every twist pulled me deeper into the mystery. Just when I thought I knew where the story was headed, another surprise sent me in a completely different direction.
If you’re looking for a thriller that blends emotional depth with relentless suspense, this one delivers. Dark, atmospheric, and impossible to put down, it’s the kind of book that makes you think twice before hitting the road.
If you love:
🚐 Road-trip thrillers
🌲 Creepy forests & isolated settings
🔎 Cold cases and buried secrets
😱 The feeling of being watched
🖤 Twists that keep you guessing
…don’t let this one pass you by.
Perfect Stranger is available on August 19, 2026.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Perfect Stranger by Gregg Dunnett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I picked this up expecting a road-trip thriller and ended up traveling through a dark, twist-filled chase where every mile felt more dangerous than the last.
Emily and her boyfriend, James, set off across Europe in a camper van, sharing their van-life adventure online. But Emily isn’t traveling for the views. She’s searching for answers about her brother, Ben, who disappeared years ago on a camping trip. The man responsible has never revealed where Ben’s body is buried, and Emily is convinced this journey will finally uncover the truth.
Then someone starts following them.
What I loved most was the atmosphere. The author transforms beautiful forests, quiet campgrounds, and endless highways into places that feel genuinely unsettling. The farther Emily and James travel, the more the tension builds, and I constantly felt like someone was lurking just out of sight.
The multiple POVs kept me questioning everyone, and every twist pulled me deeper into the mystery. Just when I thought I knew where the story was headed, another surprise sent me in a completely different direction.
If you’re looking for a thriller that blends emotional depth with relentless suspense, this one delivers. Dark, atmospheric, and impossible to put down, it’s the kind of book that makes you think twice before hitting the road.
If you love:
🚐 Road-trip thrillers
🌲 Creepy forests & isolated settings
🔎 Cold cases and buried secrets
😱 The feeling of being watched
🖤 Twists that keep you guessing
…don’t let this one pass you by.
Perfect Stranger is available on August 19, 2026.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
If you like van camping trips and military operations, then this is the book for you. For everyone else who doesn’t particularly enjoy that combination, probably not so much. Emily and James are traveling in a van around Europe and posting videos on social media. Emily has a specific destination in mind related to her past, but she doesn’t tell James about it until they’re already on the trip. Great communication, right? And he doesn’t even mind.
Her brother Ben was kidnapped years ago on a camping trip, and she wants to revisit the place. Only because his body was never found and she somehow thinks this will get her some answers. But as they travel, they keep meeting up with the same fellow camper, and they start to worry that he might be following them. But what would he want with the two of them? Is it related to Ben’s kidnapping, or does he have something more sinister in mind?
The narrative is split between several characters, always in a jarring first-person perspective that sounds like they are literally narrating themselves as they go. Instead of a character saying, ‘Her exaggerated reaction…’ the character would say ‘I thought her reaction was a bit exaggerated, but I didn’t want to upset her further, so I let her continue on.’ It was really off-putting.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and I had figured out the twists, so it was just a matter of how it would all come together in the end. The military aspect is spoiler-related, but it just didn’t mesh right with the tone of Emily & James’s portion. It was so serious and dramatic, and I would have preferred them each as their own story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the free advanced reading copy of this book.
Her brother Ben was kidnapped years ago on a camping trip, and she wants to revisit the place. Only because his body was never found and she somehow thinks this will get her some answers. But as they travel, they keep meeting up with the same fellow camper, and they start to worry that he might be following them. But what would he want with the two of them? Is it related to Ben’s kidnapping, or does he have something more sinister in mind?
The narrative is split between several characters, always in a jarring first-person perspective that sounds like they are literally narrating themselves as they go. Instead of a character saying, ‘Her exaggerated reaction…’ the character would say ‘I thought her reaction was a bit exaggerated, but I didn’t want to upset her further, so I let her continue on.’ It was really off-putting.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and I had figured out the twists, so it was just a matter of how it would all come together in the end. The military aspect is spoiler-related, but it just didn’t mesh right with the tone of Emily & James’s portion. It was so serious and dramatic, and I would have preferred them each as their own story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the free advanced reading copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Gregg Dunnett is one of my go-to authors, so I was SUPER excited for this one. Sadly, it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
Emily and James set out on the adventure of a lifetime - traveling south in a hand-built camper van while documenting their journey for a quickly growing social media following. From the beginning, though, they’re both questioning whether the other is even the right person for them. The vibes are off, yet somehow the trip still goes on.
Soon, James realizes Emily has another reason for wanting to make the journey. She’s looking for answers about the disappearance of her little brother, Ben, who vanished from a campground in France years ago. Someone is already in prison for the crime and claimed to know where Ben’s body is, but there’s no proof, and Emily needs to know what really happened to her brother.
The story is told through the POVs of Emily, James, and a few other characters, including Sean, a former military man. And to be honest, when I got to Sean’s first chapter, I genuinely felt like I had started reading an entirely different book. It does tie into the main story, but the whole military subplot felt unnecessary to me and really pulled me out of the story.
There are some great twists and a (kind of) shocking ending, but the disconnect between Emily and James combined with the military subplot just didn’t hit for me.
That being said, Dunnett is SO good at building tension and creating absolutely wild twists, and both of those things were perfectly executed in Perfect Stranger. This one may not have been my favorite of his, but I’ll absolutely keep picking up whatever he writes next.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC!
Emily and James set out on the adventure of a lifetime - traveling south in a hand-built camper van while documenting their journey for a quickly growing social media following. From the beginning, though, they’re both questioning whether the other is even the right person for them. The vibes are off, yet somehow the trip still goes on.
Soon, James realizes Emily has another reason for wanting to make the journey. She’s looking for answers about the disappearance of her little brother, Ben, who vanished from a campground in France years ago. Someone is already in prison for the crime and claimed to know where Ben’s body is, but there’s no proof, and Emily needs to know what really happened to her brother.
The story is told through the POVs of Emily, James, and a few other characters, including Sean, a former military man. And to be honest, when I got to Sean’s first chapter, I genuinely felt like I had started reading an entirely different book. It does tie into the main story, but the whole military subplot felt unnecessary to me and really pulled me out of the story.
There are some great twists and a (kind of) shocking ending, but the disconnect between Emily and James combined with the military subplot just didn’t hit for me.
That being said, Dunnett is SO good at building tension and creating absolutely wild twists, and both of those things were perfectly executed in Perfect Stranger. This one may not have been my favorite of his, but I’ll absolutely keep picking up whatever he writes next.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was my very first book by Gregg Dunnett, and it most certainly will not be my last! I have been in a massive reading slump lately, but I devoured this in just two days because I simply could not put it down. I’m honestly shocked to see the average rating sitting around 3.8 stars right now, because this was an absolute 5 star masterpiece for me.
This is exactly the kind of psychological thriller that wraps you in a constant sense of unease from the very first page. The story masterfully juggles two seemingly unrelated threads. On one hand, we follow a young couple setting out in a campervan on a road trip across Europe, though we soon learn that one of them is secretly using the trip to hunt for answers about her brother's disappearance years before. On the other hand, we are introduced to a pair of soldiers in the army.
It is obvious right away that these two distinct storylines are going to collide at some point, but Dunnett does a phenomenal job of keeping you in the dark. I had so many wild theories about where the story was going and how the soldiers tied into the couple's journey.
About halfway through the book, the pieces finally start coming together, and it becomes clear how the narratives connect. Yet, even with that massive midway revelation, I still couldn't work out exactly how the story was going to end. It kept me guessing right up until the final pages.
If you love psychological thrillers that build slow tension, make you work to connect the dots, and constantly pull the rug out from under you, this is brilliant. A highly addictive and twist packed read that entirely cured my reading slump. I cannot wait to dive into more of Dunnett's work.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
This is exactly the kind of psychological thriller that wraps you in a constant sense of unease from the very first page. The story masterfully juggles two seemingly unrelated threads. On one hand, we follow a young couple setting out in a campervan on a road trip across Europe, though we soon learn that one of them is secretly using the trip to hunt for answers about her brother's disappearance years before. On the other hand, we are introduced to a pair of soldiers in the army.
It is obvious right away that these two distinct storylines are going to collide at some point, but Dunnett does a phenomenal job of keeping you in the dark. I had so many wild theories about where the story was going and how the soldiers tied into the couple's journey.
About halfway through the book, the pieces finally start coming together, and it becomes clear how the narratives connect. Yet, even with that massive midway revelation, I still couldn't work out exactly how the story was going to end. It kept me guessing right up until the final pages.
If you love psychological thrillers that build slow tension, make you work to connect the dots, and constantly pull the rug out from under you, this is brilliant. A highly addictive and twist packed read that entirely cured my reading slump. I cannot wait to dive into more of Dunnett's work.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
August 29, 2026
As a consistent thriller reader, the description of this book drew me in and had me captivated. I’ve never read any of Gregg Dunnett’s book before so I was excited to dive in. I felt like we start off kind of slow but the pace picks up once we get a few chapters in. Emily and James are a young, early 20’s British couple setting off on an adventure living the #vanlife in their custom built camper, traveling around France and Spain while documenting their experiences. While James is laid back, passive and kind of boring in my opinion, he is quite chill with their content consisting of surfing footage, “how to” cooking videos on the road, and again, just being chill. Emily, however is way more overbearing in her need to gain followers for their socials. Not only for financial gain but also because she decides to use their platform to continue the search for her missing and presumed dead brother, Ben.
I felt the relationship between these two characters was “off” from the moment that we meet them in the beginning. There never really seemed to be a genuine connection or like they had much in common. It was almost like James knew so much about Emily yet there were blank spaces about James that Emily didn’t know? Their interactions with one another on the road were weird and maybe it’s be because they’re young and I am reading this as a 42 year old woman lol, but they both just seemed very immature in how they handled certain situations.
I enjoyed the atmospheric writing and it was creepy at moments. The different POV’s was interesting, esp when the Military portion comes in at first with Sean-I had NO idea where that was going in the story, but it all ends up making sense.
I did see a few of the “twists” coming but it didn’t ruin the story for me as they played out nicely.
Overall, it was an entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it.
*Thank you to Storm Publishing for sending me this eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. :)
I felt the relationship between these two characters was “off” from the moment that we meet them in the beginning. There never really seemed to be a genuine connection or like they had much in common. It was almost like James knew so much about Emily yet there were blank spaces about James that Emily didn’t know? Their interactions with one another on the road were weird and maybe it’s be because they’re young and I am reading this as a 42 year old woman lol, but they both just seemed very immature in how they handled certain situations.
I enjoyed the atmospheric writing and it was creepy at moments. The different POV’s was interesting, esp when the Military portion comes in at first with Sean-I had NO idea where that was going in the story, but it all ends up making sense.
I did see a few of the “twists” coming but it didn’t ruin the story for me as they played out nicely.
Overall, it was an entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it.
*Thank you to Storm Publishing for sending me this eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. :)
September 6, 2026
When Nothing Is Quite What It Seems
This book is a deep, dark and, in many ways, disturbing psychological thriller. It is very much in the Gregg Dunnett style that I have grown to love. His books are always beautifully written and carefully crafted, with believable and realistic characters that draw you into the story. He keeps his narratives current and relevant, taking inspiration from the people and scenes he observes in everyday life and combining these with his incredible imagination to create compelling stories.
The book begins with two seemingly separate plots, and at first it is almost impossible to imagine how they could possibly come together. Then, gradually, things start to make sense. Even though the connection seems strange, it somehow doesn’t feel entirely unexpected. As the story unfolds, there is an increasing sense that something deeply unsettling is going on. I found myself being drawn into a particular line of reasoning as I navigated the many twists and turns of the plot, constantly questioning where the story was heading.
Dunnett’s descriptive writing brings the reader right into the heart of the action, making it easy to become completely absorbed in what is happening. And then comes the revelation at the end. I genuinely did not see it coming. It was a complete shock and, for me, a brilliant twist. I did feel that the ending was a little abrupt, but, having said that, perhaps there was no other way to bring the story to a close after such a dramatic reveal.
This book was a brilliant concept, and I loved the way Gregg Dunnett once again shares his incredible imagination with his readers. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, gripping and unpredictable psychological mystery.
This book is a deep, dark and, in many ways, disturbing psychological thriller. It is very much in the Gregg Dunnett style that I have grown to love. His books are always beautifully written and carefully crafted, with believable and realistic characters that draw you into the story. He keeps his narratives current and relevant, taking inspiration from the people and scenes he observes in everyday life and combining these with his incredible imagination to create compelling stories.
The book begins with two seemingly separate plots, and at first it is almost impossible to imagine how they could possibly come together. Then, gradually, things start to make sense. Even though the connection seems strange, it somehow doesn’t feel entirely unexpected. As the story unfolds, there is an increasing sense that something deeply unsettling is going on. I found myself being drawn into a particular line of reasoning as I navigated the many twists and turns of the plot, constantly questioning where the story was heading.
Dunnett’s descriptive writing brings the reader right into the heart of the action, making it easy to become completely absorbed in what is happening. And then comes the revelation at the end. I genuinely did not see it coming. It was a complete shock and, for me, a brilliant twist. I did feel that the ending was a little abrupt, but, having said that, perhaps there was no other way to bring the story to a close after such a dramatic reveal.
This book was a brilliant concept, and I loved the way Gregg Dunnett once again shares his incredible imagination with his readers. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, gripping and unpredictable psychological mystery.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Perfect Stranger is a slow‑building, nerve‑tightening thriller that turns a simple road trip into something far more unsettling. What begins as a hopeful escape—two young people in a camper van they built themselves—quickly shifts into a journey shadowed by old grief and new danger.
The emotional core hits hard. The narrator’s quiet desperation to uncover the truth about her brother’s disappearance gives the story real weight, and the contrast between her private mission and the carefree façade she shows her boyfriend adds a compelling tension. The open road should feel freeing, but here it becomes claustrophobic, every mile stretching the unease a little thinner.
The creeping sense of being followed is handled beautifully. It’s subtle at first—small moments, odd coincidences—and then it sharpens into something genuinely chilling. The further south they travel, the more the atmosphere thickens, until the landscape itself feels like it’s closing in. The story plays with isolation in a clever way: wide highways, empty woods, and the unsettling knowledge that someone out there knows exactly where they’re headed.
What stands out most is the blend of emotional vulnerability and suspense. The narrator’s grief, guilt, and determination make her easy to root for, even when her choices become risky. The tension builds steadily, and by the final stretch, the book becomes impossible to put down.
A gripping, atmospheric thriller that turns a road trip into a hunt for truth—and a race against someone who knows far too much. Dark, moody, and quietly devastating in all the right ways.
With thanks to Gregg Dunnett, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
The emotional core hits hard. The narrator’s quiet desperation to uncover the truth about her brother’s disappearance gives the story real weight, and the contrast between her private mission and the carefree façade she shows her boyfriend adds a compelling tension. The open road should feel freeing, but here it becomes claustrophobic, every mile stretching the unease a little thinner.
The creeping sense of being followed is handled beautifully. It’s subtle at first—small moments, odd coincidences—and then it sharpens into something genuinely chilling. The further south they travel, the more the atmosphere thickens, until the landscape itself feels like it’s closing in. The story plays with isolation in a clever way: wide highways, empty woods, and the unsettling knowledge that someone out there knows exactly where they’re headed.
What stands out most is the blend of emotional vulnerability and suspense. The narrator’s grief, guilt, and determination make her easy to root for, even when her choices become risky. The tension builds steadily, and by the final stretch, the book becomes impossible to put down.
A gripping, atmospheric thriller that turns a road trip into a hunt for truth—and a race against someone who knows far too much. Dark, moody, and quietly devastating in all the right ways.
With thanks to Gregg Dunnett, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
September 5, 2026
Overall, I really enjoyed the plot of this book and was pleasantly surprised by the twists.
Perfect Stranger is about Em and her boyfriend, James, who decide to go on a road trip in a camper van while documenting their travels online to help support them along the trip. Em secretly wants to go on this road trip because she's trying to revisit the spot where her brother was taken as a child. Her brother was never found, but his kidnapper admitted he took him but hasn't disclosed the location of where his body is.
While they're traveling, they end up meeting another traveler who seems nice enough, but then he seems to keep randomly showing up in the same places, which can't quite be a coincidence. Em is convinced they're being stalked by this man, but James isn't convinced.
The book then also goes back to the past and follows along with some soldiers who find themselves in a bad situation. This part of the storyline was interesting because I wasn't sure how it would tie into the present, but it eventually all comes together.
While Em and James are traveling, there's a lot of what I felt like was unnecessary explanations of sex and just a relationship that didn't really seem to connect overall. James wasn't really a well-rounded character in my opinion either. But overall, I did enjoy the story that brought together quite a few different plot lines. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all come together in the end. I also think the ending was sort of abrupt, but overall the plot still was good enough that I could overlook some of the things I didn't love about it.
Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.
Perfect Stranger is about Em and her boyfriend, James, who decide to go on a road trip in a camper van while documenting their travels online to help support them along the trip. Em secretly wants to go on this road trip because she's trying to revisit the spot where her brother was taken as a child. Her brother was never found, but his kidnapper admitted he took him but hasn't disclosed the location of where his body is.
While they're traveling, they end up meeting another traveler who seems nice enough, but then he seems to keep randomly showing up in the same places, which can't quite be a coincidence. Em is convinced they're being stalked by this man, but James isn't convinced.
The book then also goes back to the past and follows along with some soldiers who find themselves in a bad situation. This part of the storyline was interesting because I wasn't sure how it would tie into the present, but it eventually all comes together.
While Em and James are traveling, there's a lot of what I felt like was unnecessary explanations of sex and just a relationship that didn't really seem to connect overall. James wasn't really a well-rounded character in my opinion either. But overall, I did enjoy the story that brought together quite a few different plot lines. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all come together in the end. I also think the ending was sort of abrupt, but overall the plot still was good enough that I could overlook some of the things I didn't love about it.
Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Emily sets out in a camper van with her boyfriend, James, to tour parts of Europe. She doesn't tell James that her real reason for wanting to make the trip into France is to find out exactly what happened to her brother, years ago, when he was taken and presumably killed, though his body was never found. They are making a travel blog as they go, attempting to earn money to support their trip. However, Em soon realizes that someone may be using their travel details to stalk them, so she has to tell James the truth about her brother, and that she's not sure that the man incarcerated is actually the person responsible for the crime against her brother.
I kept reading this book, well past the two-thirds point, trying to decide if I liked it or not. The two main characters are not very likeable, and their relationship seems to be built on nothing but sex, with little emotional attachment nor support for one another. The back-and-forth viewpoints didn't give the reader much additional insight and seemed distracting. The third main character, the "stalker", also wasn't very likeable and had a lot of gaps in his story. The book improved a little toward the surprising end, which was completely out of the blue with no previous framework laid. I like to look back and see where the author has laid stepping stones toward the villain, but those were absent here, making the conclusion somewhat dissatisfying.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
I kept reading this book, well past the two-thirds point, trying to decide if I liked it or not. The two main characters are not very likeable, and their relationship seems to be built on nothing but sex, with little emotional attachment nor support for one another. The back-and-forth viewpoints didn't give the reader much additional insight and seemed distracting. The third main character, the "stalker", also wasn't very likeable and had a lot of gaps in his story. The book improved a little toward the surprising end, which was completely out of the blue with no previous framework laid. I like to look back and see where the author has laid stepping stones toward the villain, but those were absent here, making the conclusion somewhat dissatisfying.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm a huge fan of this author and have loved every book of his I've read so far, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The plot itself was strong, with a road trip south in a hand-built campervan concealing a much darker purpose: Emily's search for answers about her brother Ben, who disappeared years ago on a family camping trip, with the man responsible refusing to reveal where the body is buried. The twists landed well, and the ending was very well executed.
I really enjoyed the road trip element of the story, having done a couple of European road trips myself in a motorhome, and I could relate to how unsettling it would feel to suspect someone was following or watching you. That added a real edge of tension throughout.
The story is told through multiple points of view, mostly Emily and James, with a few other characters joining later, plus a timeline set in the past narrated by Sean, a man serving in the military. This strand didn't really fit for me though; even once the twist tied it back to the present day story, it still felt unnecessary, almost like it belonged in a completely different book.
Where it fell short overall was the connection between Emily and James. Beyond a lot of physical intimacy, they didn't seem to actually like each other or share much common ground, and combined with the military subplot, the whole thing felt fairly implausible. So despite good twists and a strong ending, it just didn't quite come together for me as a whole.
3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
I really enjoyed the road trip element of the story, having done a couple of European road trips myself in a motorhome, and I could relate to how unsettling it would feel to suspect someone was following or watching you. That added a real edge of tension throughout.
The story is told through multiple points of view, mostly Emily and James, with a few other characters joining later, plus a timeline set in the past narrated by Sean, a man serving in the military. This strand didn't really fit for me though; even once the twist tied it back to the present day story, it still felt unnecessary, almost like it belonged in a completely different book.
Where it fell short overall was the connection between Emily and James. Beyond a lot of physical intimacy, they didn't seem to actually like each other or share much common ground, and combined with the military subplot, the whole thing felt fairly implausible. So despite good twists and a strong ending, it just didn't quite come together for me as a whole.
3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
September 15, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.
Perfect Stranger follows Emily and James, a couple traveling across Europe in a van while trying to build an audience as travel influencers. To attract more followers, Emily shares the story of her brother's disappearance from a French campsite when she was a child. Although a man confessed to the crime and remains in prison, many people believe he was wrongly convicted. Along the way, Emily and James befriend another van traveler, only to become increasingly unsettled when he keeps appearing wherever they go.
The premise had a lot of potential, but the story quickly became overloaded with twists, subplots, and increasingly improbable connections. What starts as a mystery involving a missing child and a suspicious fellow traveler expands into questions about wrongful imprisonment, secret identities, military and NATO-related storylines, and revelations linking multiple characters in ways that felt too convenient to be believable. By the end, it seemed like every character was somehow connected to Emily's brother's disappearance. New twists kept being introduced before previous ones had a chance to land, making the story feel more chaotic than suspenseful. I honestly struggled to summarize the plot because there was simply so much going on.
While I appreciated the ambition and Dunnett's willingness to take the story in unexpected directions, the sheer number of twists pushed the book beyond the point of credibility for me.
Perfect Stranger follows Emily and James, a couple traveling across Europe in a van while trying to build an audience as travel influencers. To attract more followers, Emily shares the story of her brother's disappearance from a French campsite when she was a child. Although a man confessed to the crime and remains in prison, many people believe he was wrongly convicted. Along the way, Emily and James befriend another van traveler, only to become increasingly unsettled when he keeps appearing wherever they go.
The premise had a lot of potential, but the story quickly became overloaded with twists, subplots, and increasingly improbable connections. What starts as a mystery involving a missing child and a suspicious fellow traveler expands into questions about wrongful imprisonment, secret identities, military and NATO-related storylines, and revelations linking multiple characters in ways that felt too convenient to be believable. By the end, it seemed like every character was somehow connected to Emily's brother's disappearance. New twists kept being introduced before previous ones had a chance to land, making the story feel more chaotic than suspenseful. I honestly struggled to summarize the plot because there was simply so much going on.
While I appreciated the ambition and Dunnett's willingness to take the story in unexpected directions, the sheer number of twists pushed the book beyond the point of credibility for me.
August 25, 2026
The Perfect Stranger is a fast paced psychological thriller. This story is so well written, I was at the edge of my seat sometimes.
Emily and James are doing a camper road trip and are documenting the whole thing through live streams and posts. They will be nearby the area where Emily's little brother went missing from years ago and she decides to dedicate the trip to him and visit the last place he was seen. Even though the man that committed the crime is supposedly behind bars, Emily has always felt like something was strange about the whole case. While on their trip they, they make a new friend. He tells them that the man behind bars is innocent and the real killer is still out there. But this man has been super creepy and giving off weird vibes the entire time. Emily suspects he is following them, but after he tells them what he knows, they don't know what to believe anymore.
The plot in this story keeps you sucked in. You will never know who to suspect and who's telling the truth. James did make me angry at times. He just seemed to unsure of what he wanted the entire story. He also never seemed to believe anything Emily was saying, even when she had proof. But Emily did come through to me as a strong character. She just trusted her intuition and knew something was off.
All in all this was a great story and I do recommend giving this one a read if you're looking for a psychological thriller.
Emily and James are doing a camper road trip and are documenting the whole thing through live streams and posts. They will be nearby the area where Emily's little brother went missing from years ago and she decides to dedicate the trip to him and visit the last place he was seen. Even though the man that committed the crime is supposedly behind bars, Emily has always felt like something was strange about the whole case. While on their trip they, they make a new friend. He tells them that the man behind bars is innocent and the real killer is still out there. But this man has been super creepy and giving off weird vibes the entire time. Emily suspects he is following them, but after he tells them what he knows, they don't know what to believe anymore.
The plot in this story keeps you sucked in. You will never know who to suspect and who's telling the truth. James did make me angry at times. He just seemed to unsure of what he wanted the entire story. He also never seemed to believe anything Emily was saying, even when she had proof. But Emily did come through to me as a strong character. She just trusted her intuition and knew something was off.
All in all this was a great story and I do recommend giving this one a read if you're looking for a psychological thriller.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Emily and her boyfriend, James, are going on a road trip to France and Spain. They have only been together a short time, and they both keep secrets from each other. Emily isn't telling James why she wants to visit a particular place. James is keeping secrets, too. Then they meet a man on a beach. They surf together and enjoy themselves. But somehow, he begins to show up everywhere they go. Emily becomes suspicious of his intentions. She finds something hidden in her van. Things begin to take a darker turn.
This book is an easy read. The writing is good, but the story lacks tension, has some plot holes, and all the characters act oddly. We read pages and pages about Emily learning to surf and James surfing with the guy they met. It takes a long time to get to the point of the story. Emily is not a very likeable character, and James is a blank space. They lie to each other all the time. The mysterious stranger tells a weird story and everyone is on board with him. I found all of this very strange and implausible. For me, the story just does not ring plausible. I did not see the twist at the end coming. But it was also weird.
This is the second book of this author's that I have read. I liked the previous one, and I'm willing to give this author another chance. But this one just didn't work for me.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is an easy read. The writing is good, but the story lacks tension, has some plot holes, and all the characters act oddly. We read pages and pages about Emily learning to surf and James surfing with the guy they met. It takes a long time to get to the point of the story. Emily is not a very likeable character, and James is a blank space. They lie to each other all the time. The mysterious stranger tells a weird story and everyone is on board with him. I found all of this very strange and implausible. For me, the story just does not ring plausible. I did not see the twist at the end coming. But it was also weird.
This is the second book of this author's that I have read. I liked the previous one, and I'm willing to give this author another chance. But this one just didn't work for me.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley, I had the opportunity to read this book before its release.
The author was new to me, but the genre is exactly what I love to read. And what a fantastic story this was! The writing is smooth and immersive, and I often felt as if I was right there with the characters. The beautiful locations were described so vividly that I could picture them clearly in my mind.
The story is told from three different perspectives. James and Emily's chapters alternate in the present as they tell the story of their road trip in their converted van. Then there's Sean, whose story begins in the past and gradually catches up with the present.
I really enjoyed the characters and found them believable and relatable. The tension builds slowly throughout the story, and just when you think you know where things are going, you're hit with a huge plot twist. And when you think you've finally figured everything out, there's another twist!
By the end, everything falls into place and all the questions are answered. I really appreciated that, as there's nothing worse than finishing a thriller with a bunch of unanswered questions.
If you're a thriller fan, you definitely need to read this one. Gregg Dunnett is now firmly on my list of authors to watch, and he's definitely earned a place in my top 10!
The author was new to me, but the genre is exactly what I love to read. And what a fantastic story this was! The writing is smooth and immersive, and I often felt as if I was right there with the characters. The beautiful locations were described so vividly that I could picture them clearly in my mind.
The story is told from three different perspectives. James and Emily's chapters alternate in the present as they tell the story of their road trip in their converted van. Then there's Sean, whose story begins in the past and gradually catches up with the present.
I really enjoyed the characters and found them believable and relatable. The tension builds slowly throughout the story, and just when you think you know where things are going, you're hit with a huge plot twist. And when you think you've finally figured everything out, there's another twist!
By the end, everything falls into place and all the questions are answered. I really appreciated that, as there's nothing worse than finishing a thriller with a bunch of unanswered questions.
If you're a thriller fan, you definitely need to read this one. Gregg Dunnett is now firmly on my list of authors to watch, and he's definitely earned a place in my top 10!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Emily and James have refurbished a camper van and plan a summer tour of France and Spain. They are influencers and hope to kick start their new venture. Emily’s brother Ben was abducted and murdered on holiday in Europe when she was eight, and she suggests reliving the memory through their journey . The killer has been caught and is currently in prison with a long sentence. The body has never been found and although he has promised to reveal the location that has never happened.
When the couple are joined by an older man named Brandon, they see him as just another traveller making his way through Europe, but the fact he always seems to appear at locations they have travelled to begins to make them suspicious. Who is he, and why is he following them?
This is a well written story which gives the reader a continual feeling of unease as Emily and James’ tour progresses. Who is Brandon? Has he picked up on their daily vlogs? Is that how he knows where they are? And why the interest?
The story is written on two time lines: 1999 and present day. It explains who Brandon might be, and why he is following the couple. But, of course, there is a twist, (one of many) and a chilling climax before the story ends.
Recommended.
I would like to thank Storm Publishing, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of Perfect Stranger in exchange for an honest review.
When the couple are joined by an older man named Brandon, they see him as just another traveller making his way through Europe, but the fact he always seems to appear at locations they have travelled to begins to make them suspicious. Who is he, and why is he following them?
This is a well written story which gives the reader a continual feeling of unease as Emily and James’ tour progresses. Who is Brandon? Has he picked up on their daily vlogs? Is that how he knows where they are? And why the interest?
The story is written on two time lines: 1999 and present day. It explains who Brandon might be, and why he is following the couple. But, of course, there is a twist, (one of many) and a chilling climax before the story ends.
Recommended.
I would like to thank Storm Publishing, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of Perfect Stranger in exchange for an honest review.
August 28, 2026
Perfect Stranger
by Gregg Dunnett
Pub Date: Aug 19 2026
Perfect Stranger is a profoundly moving exploration of grief, obsession, and the lengths a sister will go to for closure. While the book delivers fantastic suspense, its true beating heart is the devastating emotional weight of Emily’s fifteen-year search for her missing little brother, Ben.
The author weaves Emily's deep-seated past trauma into the immediate, high-stakes danger of the present. Her secret mission to trace the final footsteps of her brother’s abductor infuses every single mile of her European road trip with a quiet, agonizing ache. You don't just read about her sorrow—you feel the suffocating pressure of her desperation and the heavy burden of carrying a secret from the man she loves.
As a mysterious camper van begins stalking them from the shadows, the psychological tension reaches a fever pitch. The brilliance of this novel lies in how Emily’s vulnerability acts as a lightning rod for suspense; her raw emotional exhaustion makes the looming threat feel incredibly intimate and terrifying. It is a beautifully written, emotionally charging thriller that pairs relentless dread with a poignant, unforgettable search for truth.
Thank you #StormPublishing #PerfectStranger #NetGalley for providing me an E-ARC of this fantastic book.
by Gregg Dunnett
Pub Date: Aug 19 2026
Perfect Stranger is a profoundly moving exploration of grief, obsession, and the lengths a sister will go to for closure. While the book delivers fantastic suspense, its true beating heart is the devastating emotional weight of Emily’s fifteen-year search for her missing little brother, Ben.
The author weaves Emily's deep-seated past trauma into the immediate, high-stakes danger of the present. Her secret mission to trace the final footsteps of her brother’s abductor infuses every single mile of her European road trip with a quiet, agonizing ache. You don't just read about her sorrow—you feel the suffocating pressure of her desperation and the heavy burden of carrying a secret from the man she loves.
As a mysterious camper van begins stalking them from the shadows, the psychological tension reaches a fever pitch. The brilliance of this novel lies in how Emily’s vulnerability acts as a lightning rod for suspense; her raw emotional exhaustion makes the looming threat feel incredibly intimate and terrifying. It is a beautifully written, emotionally charging thriller that pairs relentless dread with a poignant, unforgettable search for truth.
Thank you #StormPublishing #PerfectStranger #NetGalley for providing me an E-ARC of this fantastic book.
August 25, 2026
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Louise and her boyfriend James decide to go on a road trip with the camper van that they build themself. But here’s the thing: James doesn’t know that for Louise, this is not just a fun trip, but a journey to reveal her brother's murder. Years ago, her brother Ben disappeared on a family camping trip. Even though the guy who did it is locked up, he never said where Ben is buried. So now, Louise is determined to find the answers.
I got hooked on the story literally from page one. The thrill and tension are already there. As I read this book, I got haunted by that constant feeling like something’s just off. The road trip part made it even better, all that open space but feeling totally isolated. So atmospheric I was practically holding my breath half the time!
The only thing that disappointed me is that I think the author dumps too much unnecessary information here, and these make the story feel slow. Honestly, at that point I lost interest in the story, but I determined to finish it.
Overall, this is a worth-reading thriller. If you’re into psychological thrillers with all the secrets, twists, and mystery that keep you up all night, you need to pick this one up!
Louise and her boyfriend James decide to go on a road trip with the camper van that they build themself. But here’s the thing: James doesn’t know that for Louise, this is not just a fun trip, but a journey to reveal her brother's murder. Years ago, her brother Ben disappeared on a family camping trip. Even though the guy who did it is locked up, he never said where Ben is buried. So now, Louise is determined to find the answers.
I got hooked on the story literally from page one. The thrill and tension are already there. As I read this book, I got haunted by that constant feeling like something’s just off. The road trip part made it even better, all that open space but feeling totally isolated. So atmospheric I was practically holding my breath half the time!
The only thing that disappointed me is that I think the author dumps too much unnecessary information here, and these make the story feel slow. Honestly, at that point I lost interest in the story, but I determined to finish it.
Overall, this is a worth-reading thriller. If you’re into psychological thrillers with all the secrets, twists, and mystery that keep you up all night, you need to pick this one up!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Perfect Stranger was a gripping psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end. What starts as a carefree camper van adventure through Europe quickly transforms into a tense, twist-filled mystery packed with secrets, danger, and unexpected revelations.
I especially enjoyed how the suspense steadily built throughout the story. Just when I thought I had figured out where it was heading, another twist completely changed my perspective. The multiple timelines and shifting viewpoints gradually came together in a satisfying way, leading to an intense finale that had me racing through the final chapters.
The European road trip setting added a unique backdrop to the mystery, and the emotional stakes surrounding Emily's search for answers gave the story even more depth. By the time all the pieces fell into place, I couldn't look away.
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers filled with suspense, hidden secrets, and plenty of surprises, Perfect Stranger is definitely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Gregg Dunnett for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
I especially enjoyed how the suspense steadily built throughout the story. Just when I thought I had figured out where it was heading, another twist completely changed my perspective. The multiple timelines and shifting viewpoints gradually came together in a satisfying way, leading to an intense finale that had me racing through the final chapters.
The European road trip setting added a unique backdrop to the mystery, and the emotional stakes surrounding Emily's search for answers gave the story even more depth. By the time all the pieces fell into place, I couldn't look away.
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers filled with suspense, hidden secrets, and plenty of surprises, Perfect Stranger is definitely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Gregg Dunnett for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Perfect Stranger by Gregg Dunnett is a tense, atmospheric, and twist-filled psychological mystery that turns a carefree European road trip into a dangerous web of secrets and unexpected revelations.
The plot kicks off with what should be an idyllic camper van adventure through Europe, only to quickly spiral into an anxious, multi-perspective puzzle. Narrated through several distinct character viewpoints—including the somewhat flat and unlikable duo of James and Emily—the narrative setup continuously builds tension against beautifully described French and Spanish coastal backdrops. While certain plot developments get a bit confusing along the way, the underlying danger and rich atmospheric settings keep the reader invested in the unravelling mystery.
With solid overall storytelling and well-timed suspense, the book maintains a captivating momentum straight through to its high-stakes conclusion. The final twist lands with impressive force, delivering an anxious, edge-of-your-seat payoff that pulls all the chaotic threads together into a genuinely satisfying ending. Balancing a few character flaws with relentless atmospheric dread, it earns 4 adventurous, twist-filled stars.
The plot kicks off with what should be an idyllic camper van adventure through Europe, only to quickly spiral into an anxious, multi-perspective puzzle. Narrated through several distinct character viewpoints—including the somewhat flat and unlikable duo of James and Emily—the narrative setup continuously builds tension against beautifully described French and Spanish coastal backdrops. While certain plot developments get a bit confusing along the way, the underlying danger and rich atmospheric settings keep the reader invested in the unravelling mystery.
With solid overall storytelling and well-timed suspense, the book maintains a captivating momentum straight through to its high-stakes conclusion. The final twist lands with impressive force, delivering an anxious, edge-of-your-seat payoff that pulls all the chaotic threads together into a genuinely satisfying ending. Balancing a few character flaws with relentless atmospheric dread, it earns 4 adventurous, twist-filled stars.
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