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Goodnight Stranger

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Lydia and Lucas Moore are in their late twenties when a stranger enters their small world on Wolf Island. Lydia, the responsible sister, has cared for her pathologically shy brother, Lucas, ever since their mom’s death a decade before. They live together, comfortable yet confined, in their family house by the sea, shadowed by events from their childhood.

When Lydia sees the stranger step off the ferry, she feels an immediate connection to him. Lucas is convinced the man, Cole Anthony, is the reincarnation of their baby brother, who died when they were young. Cole knows their mannerisms, their home, the topography of the island—what else could that mean? Though Lydia is doubtful, she can’t deny she is drawn to his magnetism, his energy, and his warmth.

To discover the truth about Cole, Lydia must finally face her anxiety about leaving the island and summon the strength to challenge Cole’s grip on her family’s past and her brother. A deliciously alluring read, Goodnight Stranger is a story of choices and regrets, courage and loneliness, and the ways we hold on to those we love.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2019

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About the author

Miciah Bay Gault

4 books63 followers

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5 stars
167 (18%)
4 stars
302 (32%)
3 stars
311 (33%)
2 stars
107 (11%)
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36 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 171 reviews
Profile Image for Sana.
316 reviews163 followers
December 17, 2024
کتاب شب‌به خیر غریبه از اون دسته کتابهاست که نمیشه گفت خوبه و نه بد.
داستان درباره‌ی سه قُل هست که قل سومی فوت می‌کنه و فقط لیدیا و لوکاس می‌مونن.
که تنها در جزیره‌ای زندگی می‌کنند.
راوی داستان لیدیا هست.
لیدیا در آرزوی این که یک روزی بتونه جزیره را ترک کند و زندگی نو را آغاز کند اما بخاطر برادرش نمیتونه دست به چنین کاری بزند.
لیدیا مارو با خانواده اش آشنا می‌کند از برادری که فوت کرده از پدر و مادرش ، مردم جزیره...
تااینکه یک روز لیدیا با یک غریبه روبه رو میشه.
واز اینجا به بعد لیدیا به رازهایی که سال‌هاست نهفته ست پی میبره و سعی می‌کند حقیقت را آشکار کند.
نویسنده خیلی سعی کرده کتابی رازآلود و عاشقانه بنویسید و تقریبا هم موفق شده اما برای من جدید نبود.
و جالب اینجاست اخرای کتاب متوجه شدم هدف نویسنده از این کتابه چی هست،چون همین که تموم شد.
اخرای کتاب از نویسنده مصاحبه اومده و همون اول هم گفت هدفش از نوشتن این کتاب چی بود.
چندسال پیش کتابی از نشر کوله پشتی خوندم مشابه این بود.
عنوان کتاب پشت درهای بسته بود اونموقع که خوندم دوسش داشتم و موضوع کتاب برام جدید و جذاب بود.
اما الان از خوندن چنین کتابایی لذت نمی‌برم و به یک بار خوندن اکتفا می‌کنم.
تعریف این کتاب رو از یک بلاگر در یوتیوب دیدم و دوست داشتم بخونم اما اثری نیست که شمارو شگفت زده کنه.
نمیگم ارزش خوندن نداره ولی نخونید هم چیزی از دست نمیدید.
Profile Image for Barbara .
1,858 reviews1,547 followers
November 9, 2019
4.5 stars: It’s difficult to put “Goodnight Stranger” into a specific genre. It’s a slow burn thriller, that is dark and almost noir-like. It’s a domestic story of stunted people, developmentally arrested due to tragedy. It’s a story of allowing a specific event to define you for the rest of your life.

Lydia, the narrator, begins by informing the reader that Baby B was a brother who died when he was a few weeks old. Lydia, her brother Lucas, and Baby B were triplets. Both Lucas and Lydia were raised knowing that they lost a brother when they were all infants. It’s Lydia’s mother who drummed into her children that Baby B was out there somewhere, in spirit, and will return to them in the future. That alone is a bit creepy. Poor Lucas is plagued with social anxiety (a result of his mother (nurture) or just nature?). Lucas can’t talk to people, barely leaves the house, and cannot function in society. Lucas has been looking for Baby B his entire life.

Lydia works at an information booth of the tiny and isolated island they live on. It’s near Martha’s Vineyard and is a remote vacation spot. One day a young man comes off the ferry and Lydia immediately notice him. It’s in his walk, his mannerisms, his aura. He reminds Lydia of her mother.

This stranger, Cole, infiltrates Lydia and Lucas’s life. The more Lydia knows of him, the darker he seems to her. Author Miciah Gault poetically and lyrically writes a thriller that grabs the reader. What are Cole’s intentions? Why is he there? How does he know so much about their history and family?

As with all thrillers, the plot really can’t be divulged without spoiler alerts. It’s rare to find a literary thriller such as this one. It’s an unsettling read with plots twists and some unforeseen turns. I highly recommend it.

Profile Image for Gelareh Askari.
75 reviews63 followers
June 22, 2024
مگه تمام میشد حالا؟ کتابش مناسب مخاطبان آموت و کوله پشتی بود. چقدر ناراحت شدم که بیدگل چنین اثر نازلی رو منتشر کرده
Profile Image for Mehrnaz.
206 reviews23 followers
March 27, 2025
کتاب رو صوتی گوش دادم و باید بگم از نظر خوانش و انتخاب موسیقی ها قابل قبول بود
خود داستان اما با اینکه شروع خوبی داشت و در ادامه هم جالب شد برای من پایان جالبی نداشت با توجه به چیزی که خونده بودم و روند داستان توقع پایان جذابتر و پیچیده تری داشتم
Profile Image for Valerie Best.
134 reviews32 followers
May 30, 2019
This book kind of came out of nowhere for me. In the best way possible.
Lydia is one of a set of triplets, living with her only living sibling, Lucas, on remote Wolf Island (located--fictionally?--next to Martha's Vineyard). The island itself is a metaphor for the isolation of Lydia and Lucas, living alone in a rambling beach-side house. They are isolated from the world on their island, from the island in their house, and from each other in their own worlds.
Lucas is pathologically shy and avoids all contact with other people, leaving Lydia feeling trapped. Their parents gone, she worries Lucas might actually starve to death if she ever left--making her deep desire to leave a real problem.
Ever-present in their lives and in the story is Baby B, or Colin, their lost brother, who died as an infant. Their mother never got over his loss and he stays a specter, long after she dies.
So, it's pretty weird when Cole Anthony shows up. There are weird things about his arrival, like how Lydia seems drawn to him the moment he steps off the ferry. The way he looks around the island like he knows the place. But weirdest of all is how Lucas reacts to him. Like he's found an old friend. Or--as Lucas is convinced he is--their long-lost brother.
This is a true thriller and builds slowly, sprinkling seeds all along the way that Bay Gault deftly harvests as she ramps toward the ending. It's tense, readers. Real tense. Cole is someone, even Lydia can't deny that, but he knows too much. How their mother sat on the dock to meditate, where Lucas like to skip stones, and worse, he knows they need someone or something, and he's arrived without a past, intending to fill that need. He and Lucas team up against Lydia, who works frantically to uncover the truth about Cole, and their mother, and kinda everyone else.
Lydia's a fascinating character, pulled by contradictory motivations (aren't we all) throughout the course of this story. If I had any beefs with the book it might be that these kind of slow her down (it also diverts into memory maybe a bit too often, but only slightly), but she knows how to pick up the pace when the moment calls for it.
It's got a great, unexpected but well-earned ending, the language is rich and visceral, and there's such a strong sense of place I could feel my hair frizzing in the ocean breeze.
It's a rare treat, to read a book as beautiful as it is exciting, but something tells me Miciah Bay Gault is a rare author.
Profile Image for Julie (JuJu).
1,178 reviews224 followers
August 24, 2021
Not at all what I expected from this mystery/thriller with such an amazing cover. It has supernatural undertones that remind me of Jennifer McMahon, who I love! Nothing over the top, just enough to keep readers gripped. Are they real or imagined? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

This mysterious debut centers around the Moore triplets and an unusual stranger that enmeshes himself into their lives. Lydia and Lucas were triplets at birth, but their brother died at just a few months old. The two of them are all that’s left of their family and they live together in their childhood home, on Wolf Island. Lydia keeps everything running smoothly. She more or less “mothers” Lucas, as he is a little odd, very socially awkward and dependent on Lydia. She wants to leave the island but stayed after their mother passed and now feels stuck in this situation.

Their brother, Colin, has always had a strong presence in their lives, even though they never knew him. When a stranger comes onto the island and gets overly involved in their lives, Lucas is convinced he’s the reincarnation of Colin. Cole knows things he shouldn’t know and has memories he shouldn’t have.

At first, there is sexual tension between Lydia and Cole. He has pulled Lucas out of his shell and Lydia has never seen him happier. But Cole is immersing himself into their lives like he belongs there and intends to remain. Lydia begins to see a disturbing side of Cole and wonders why he’s so secretive about his past.

This is the second novel I’ve read recently which mentioned the poem “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Sincere thanks to Park Row Books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My Rating: 4 ⭐️’s
Published: July 30th 2019 by Park Row
Pages: 304
Recommend: Yes

#GoodnightStranger #BookReviewer #InExchangeForReview #ARC #JustFinished #MustRead #PsychologicalThriller #AudioBook #FamilySuspense #InstagramableCover #IslandLife

After publication, my reviews can be found at Amazon, Twitter, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, NetGalley, and Edelweiss

@miciahbay @parkrowbooks
Profile Image for Sara.
158 reviews57 followers
April 11, 2025
گاهی وقتا آدم به جای اینکه راهشو بره، پشت یه در وایمیسه و زیر چشمی فقط به راه خیره می‌شه. لیدیا دقیقاً همین بود. دختری که دلش می‌خواست از گذشته، از تردید، از خودش فرار کنه… ولی نمی‌تونست. انگار یه چیزی همیشه عقب نگهش می‌داشت، یه طناب سفت و محکم از ترس، دلبستگی، خاطرات که بدنش رو محکم در آغوش گرفته بود.

و اما لوکاس. برادری مرموز، ساکت، گاهی مهربون، گاهی خیلی دور… و همیشه یه‌جور غیرقابل‌اعتماد. انگار حضورش یه سایه‌ای با خودش می‌آورد. واقعیت اینه که لوکاس خیلی بیشتر از اون‌چه باید، توی حاشیه موند. شخصیتش عمق نداشت، فقط نقش یه محرک رو بازی می‌کرد برای هل دادن لیدیا به سمت تصمیم گرفتن. نه گذشته‌اش، نه انگیزه‌هاش، هیچ‌کدوم قابل لمس نبود حس می‌کردم یه جسم بی‌جونه!

در کل، «شب‌به‌خیر غریبه» درباره رهایی نیست، درباره روند رسیدن به رهاییه. شاید درد بکشی تا به آخرش برسی، ولی در پایان به آرامش می‌رسی.

و این سوال تا ابد ذهن منو رها نمی‌کنه: اگه همه چیو ول کنی و بزاری بری ممکنه رها و آزاد بشی؟
Profile Image for Niloo N.
266 reviews481 followers
May 24, 2024
بدون اغراق یکی از بهترین «رمان»هایی بود که تو زندگی‌ام خوندم. خط داستانی واقعاً درست پیش رفت و در کنار اون هم متن و ترجمه عالی!
بعد از مدت‌ها یه کتاب تونست میخکوبم کنه و لذت بردم ازش.

“ما از چیزهایی که ترس‌هایمان را فریاد می‌زنند بیزاریم، و البته بعضی اوقات، و برخلاف میلمان، قدردانشان هستیم.”

“خواهر لوکاس بودن به من یاد داده بود که گاهی وقت‌ها بهتر است بگذاری آدم‌ها راهشان را بگیرند و بروند. آنها برمی‌گردند، هروقت که پیاده‌روی افکارشان را پاک و گوشهٔ دنجی از ذهنشان را برای بخشش و آتش‌بس خالی کند، برمی‌گردند.”

Profile Image for Erin Khar.
Author 3 books146 followers
May 29, 2019
I devoured Miciah Bay Gault's captivating debut novel, Goodnight Stranger. I couldn't put it down. It is at once suspenseful and moving and visceral and human. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. Don't sleep on this. It's a perfect read.
Profile Image for Cher 'N Books .
978 reviews398 followers
January 21, 2020
2 stars - Meh. Just ok.

A dark (but not gory) mystery that is extremely slow to unfold and above all things, strange. I was interested enough to keep reading until the end but there were no passages that I desired to highlight. I honestly believe I will remember the general premise for a while due to its oddity, but otherwise, it was an ok, but forgettable read.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: Baby B was our brother, and he’d been dead all our lives.
Profile Image for Leah Angstman.
Author 18 books151 followers
July 22, 2019
An exciting, crisp, and well-paced story about regrets, choices, and letting go.
Profile Image for Daniel.
Author 8 books127 followers
January 9, 2019
This is my favorite new book coming out in 2019. Gault is a singularly talented writer and a major new talent. I can't speak highly enough of this book. Read it.
11.4k reviews196 followers
July 29, 2019
Lydia and Lucas live together in a ramshackle house on (fictitious) Wolf Island, the smaller, less well endowed neighbor of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Their mother died 10 years ago, Lucas has anxiety issues, and Lydia, well Lydia came back to the island before completing a single semester at Brown to care for their mother and hasn't left since. They are the two remaining children of a set of triplets, the dead one being Baby B, whose existence, life, and death comes into question when Cole appears on the Island. Cole winds his way into both their hearts but most especially to Lucas, who comes to believe strongly that he is Baby B. Lydia is less convinced and sets out to find out who Cole really is. This gets seriously creepy in spots- Gault has a good way of ramping up tensions. Lydia is a very sympathetic character; she's someone who has lived along the margins and been paralyzed by her own inertia but the need to protect Lucas from Cole catapults her into action. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a well done, nicely plotted thriller with a number of twists I didn't see coming. A satisfying read.
Profile Image for Kathleen Maloney.
12 reviews1 follower
February 1, 2020
It’s a totally ridiculous book. A stranger comes to town. And dominates this woman. Two days after meeting. He moves into her house uninvited. Now he’s going to own the house by taking a mortgage out on the house. So unrealistic this book is in such a waste of time.
Profile Image for Kristi Lamont.
2,190 reviews76 followers
February 15, 2020
This book is like somebody tried to bake a cake using ingredients from the movies Pacific Heights and Cape Fear and the TV show This Is Us but forgot to include a coagulant.
Profile Image for Dawn Hogue.
Author 8 books12 followers
January 17, 2020
Some fine writing from an emerging star. Excellent sense of place. Taut and compelling at the end.
Profile Image for Caryn.
1,074 reviews77 followers
February 4, 2024
I appreciated the mystery to this novel but I’m still left with more questions than answers, as there are storylines left unsolved. The writing is impressive for a debut.
Profile Image for Videoclimber(AKA)MTsLilSis.
959 reviews52 followers
October 30, 2019
Lucas and Lydia are very hard to like. They make a lot of strange decisions and almost seem backward. By the end, the book has turned into a mystery. The book was trying hard but didn't know which lane to stay in. When your favorite character is the villain it's hard to love the book.
This moved slowly and was frustrating at times.

*Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.
Profile Image for Cora.
819 reviews
August 12, 2019
This had such a slow, steady ramping up of tension that I was ready to scream by the last quarter of the book (in a good way). Masterful.
Profile Image for Lee Woodruff.
Author 29 books237 followers
August 8, 2019
Twins Lydia and Lucas have lived their entire lives on a small island off Cape Cod. Their lives have been over-shadowed by the knowledge that their triplet brother died shortly after birth. Part emotional journey, part ghost story, this debut novel has garnered critical acclaim from the likes of George Saunders. Lydia dreams of resuming her college education, that ended when her mother died, but she worries that her extremely shy brother, Cole, would flounder. When a charming stranger arrives on the island, the twins both feel an eerie connection and Cole believes he may be a reincarnation of their dead triplet. Lydia is worried that darker things may be at play.
83 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2019
Goodnight Stranger is a story of choices, responsibilities, and regrets. This is her debut novel, and it kept me turning the pages. Lydia is one of a set of triplets, living with her only living sibling, Lucas, when a stranger comes into their lives. Lydia is drawn to him and Lucas thinks he may be his dead brother. How does this stranger know so much about them? It is suspenseful and moving. A very good read.
Profile Image for reading is my hustle.
1,681 reviews348 followers
February 15, 2025
Baby B was our brother, and he’d been dead all our lives...

banger of a first sentence. i spent the rest of this novel being frustrated with characters who refused to do what i wanted them to do.
Profile Image for Aylin Hnb.
21 reviews2 followers
January 7, 2025
چیزی که توی این کتاب خیلی دوست داشتم شخصیت پردازی کتاب بود. برای پایان بندی انتظار پایان بهتری رو داشتم. در کل کتاب خوبی بود❄️
Profile Image for Samira.
12 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2025
سفر به جزیره ای خاص و جادویی با راوی‌ای که در ابتدا قادر نبودم دیدگاهشو درک کنم و حتی در پایان هم سخت بود
اما همیشه یه جایی اتفاقا میوفتن تا فرد بتونه قدم بزنه و در مسیر فردیتش قدم برداره و واقعیت هارو ببینه و با ترس هاش و گذشته اش رو به رو بشه.
Profile Image for Mahtab Aramesh.
234 reviews7 followers
March 13, 2025
کتاب روون و خوش خوانیه . ترجمه و شخصیت پردازی خوبی داره خصوصا لیدیا. فضاسازیشم عالیه . ولی پایان بندی کتاب تو ذوقم زد . ماهیت اون غریبه برای من خیلی نو نبود و تو کتابی که الان یادم نمیاد، مشابهش رو خونده بودم یا حداقل از یه جایی به بعد میشه حدس زد به کجا میرسه.
958 reviews5 followers
August 1, 2019
This was sort of a strange book. Was it a mystery? Sort of. Was it concerning supernatural? Not really though it seemed to be trying to. Was it romance? In a weird way I guess. It just seemed like all these themes thrown together to see which one would stick. I didn't hate the book - but didn't love it either. I think it's one of those books where you had to be in the right mood to fully enjoy it - - and I guess I wasn't.
Profile Image for Valerie Best.
134 reviews32 followers
December 2, 2023
This book kind of came out of nowhere for me. In the best way possible.

Lydia is one of a set of triplets, living with her only living sibling, Lucas, on remote Wolf Island (located—fictionally—next to Martha's Vineyard). The island itself is a metaphor for the isolation of Lydia and Lucas, living alone in a rambling beachside house. They are isolated from the world on their island, from the island in their house, and from each other in their own worlds.

Lucas is pathologically shy and avoids all contact with other people, leaving Lydia feeling trapped. Their parents gone, she worries Lucas might actually starve to death if she ever left—making her deep desire to leave a real problem.

Ever-present in their lives and in the story is Baby B, or Colin, their lost brother, who died as an infant. Their mother never got over his loss and he stays a specter.

So it's pretty odd when Cole Anthony shows up. It’s just weird how Lydia seems drawn to him the moment he steps off the ferry, and the way he looks around the island like he knows the place. Weirdest of all is how Lucas reacts to him. Like he's found an old friend. Or—as Lucas is convinced he is—their long-lost brother.

A true thriller, this builds slowly, sprinkling seeds all along the way that Bay Gault deftly harvests as she ramps toward the ending. It's tense. Real tense. Cole is someone, even Lydia can't deny that, but he knows too much. How their mother sat on the dock to meditate, where Lucas like to skip stones, and worse, he knows they need someone or something, and he's arrived without a past, intending to fill that need. He and Lucas team up against Lydia, who works frantically to uncover the truth about Cole, and their mother, and kinda everyone else.

Lydia's a fascinating character, pulled by contradictory motivations (aren't we all) through the course of this story. If I had any beefs with the book it might be that these kind of slow her down, but she knows how to pick up the pace when the moment calls for it.

It's got a great, unexpected but well-earned ending, the language is rich and visceral, and there's such a strong sense of place I could feel my hair frizzing in the ocean breeze.

It's a rare treat, to read a book as beautiful as it is exciting, but something tells me Miciah Bay Gault is a rare author.
Profile Image for Brooke Nuzie.
316 reviews3 followers
July 29, 2019
This psychological thriller definitely messes with the mind. Though the beginning is a bit rushed and jumps directly into the plot, once it’s going it’s tough to put down. You just need to find out who Cole is! The author does a good job of talking about loss and grief, and combining that with creepy twists and turns. *Thank you Park Row Books for this ARC*
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