What could be more innocent than going on holiday? As a family drive along a quiet country lane on their way to the airport, they meet a stranger standing alone in the middle of the road. Steering them along another path, he tells the driver, Ben, that a tree has fallen and there's no way through. But as they make their way along the diverted route, they come across a coach blocking the road. Getting out of the car Ben goes to investigate and is horrified to find the passengers tied to their seats. Then a discarded phone starts to ring… If Ben calls the police, everyone on board will die. The caller is about to start the horrific game...
Author of world wide number 1 best selling thriller, Turn The Other Way, and International Book Award Winner for The House On Rectory Lane. Apartment Six was a number 1 new release for a month. Stranded, released October 19th, 2020 on Amazon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What authors have said about my thrillers.
Caroline Mitchell, NY Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother, The Secret Child and Truth And Lies: A great read packed with twists and turns.
John Marrs, author of The Good Samaritan and The Wronged Son: Fans of Mark Edwards will very much enjoy. Definitely a writer to look out for.
Lisa Hall, author of The Party and Between You And Me: Tense and thrilling, with an ending you won’t see coming.
Jennifer Jaynes, USA Today bestselling author of Disturbed and Malice. Great job. Well crafted, deliciously twisty and kept me glued to the pages.
L A Detwiler, USA Today bestselling author of The Widow Next Door: The author is gritty, raw and dark in his writing. He is also extremely talented. I would highly recommend this read if you love a dark thriller in the same vein as Stephen King. My book of the month.
Natasha Harding from The Sun newspaper wrote about my thriller: A spooky read that will grab your attention from the very first page.
Published by Bloodhound Books.
Reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads have said Stuart James has written some of the scariest thrillers they’ve read in years. I'm a new author recently published with Bloodhound Books. My latest thriller, Turn The Other Way, went world wide number 1 on 5 platforms and has been chosen by Barnes And Noble as one of their top Halloween reads. My other thriller, The House On Rectory Lane, has just won The International Book Award in horror fiction. Apartment Six will be available 29th January 2020. Stranded is released October 19th, 2020 on Amazon. I live in Hertfordshire and am happily married with 2 wonderful children. My twitter page is @stuartjames73 My website is stuartjamesthrillers.com
I was,after Apartment 6 and The House On Rectory Lane (recently winning Best Horror Book in the International Book Awards ) expecting good things from 'Stranded'....what I got was awesome,this is an intense,scary,plot filled,dark,twisty,turny and back again book that really doesn't let up until the very last sentence What would you do if you were on your way to the Airport and a man in uniform directs you away from the road down another road due to a fallen tree?, for Ben and his family it is the worst decision they every make as warily they follow the instructions....a short way ahead they see a bus,stranded,Ben goes to investigate...only to find all the passengers in distress and tied to their seats,even then he has no idea of the horror that is to follow,nor as a reader had I....are the passengers randomly there and kidnapped or is there more to it?,I will say no more other than to say the passengers,Ben and his family and You are in for a night you will never forget Brilliantly told with a cast of likeable and unlikeable's and a story to keep you reading the whole book in one sitting and the ending,I guarantee you a WOAHHHHH and a chill here and now Superb
This is an author that I look forward to “what is he going to write next” book. Because he delivers certain aspects of borderline horror on the edge of a thriller for me.
Let me explain what this book did for me personally. It had a huge amount of thriller, I’m sat reading wondering what’s going to happen next.
It’s in the blurb, this little family going off on holiday except they get diverted.
That diversion isn’t a pleasant one. Neither is what they find. They then become “tools” in a plot that’s so disturbing. I found the way this author writes the scenes, sets the play my mind was buzzing on any act that was going to follow.
There’s some shocking horrors and jaw dropping moments which I silently gasped at.
The way this was pulled together at the end was a WOW factor.
The reason I didn’t give it another star was simply I wasn’t scared. I wanted to be spooked. I’m not into certain horrors and I so wanted this author to make me go “OMG”
That discovery at the ending though! That was so clever!
This borderlines definitely on mental health. I think it does? What do you think? Let me know when you’ve read it!
Yes, I liked the premise, but I just did not get a sense of danger. I cannot quite put my finger on it; I did not find that anyone was truly threatened and, even when there were killings, did not get a sense of a sinister atmosphere.
At first, I felt like the story was rather far-fetched. But, this is fiction and, well, you do have to lose yourself in this setting. However, I could not believe in the remoteness of the setting and the isolation that the characters experience.
However, James is the master of twists and turns: this is definitely the strength of this narrative. I loved how the characters eventually connected together and the unexpected ending was brilliant. I definitely did not see it coming! Whilst I was a little frustrated by the attention paid to Stephen and his friend, particularly with the woman in white, I gradually grew to appreciate the necessity of establishing this as part of the plot.
The characters are all rather varied, but with a sordid background. I wish Jack had more of a moral backbone; I tend to dislike characters that do not feel they are capable of owning up to their mistakes. However, I did find Ben and his family rather “sappy”. All the comments about Ben being a hero and him and his wife’s discussions about their brave daughter were, if I’m being honest, just too much. It felt rather out of place in such a sinister setting, especially when the coach passengers were supposed to be fearful for their lives. Instead, it made it seem like the family were out on a jolly taking on some voluntary charity work!
This is a decent book but I did not find it thrilling enough. James has masterfully created unexpected twists and turns in his narrative that heightened my enjoyment. Despite this, there were enough niggles in the story that I could not fully engross myself in the plot and, although gasping at the closing pages, was left feeling a little lack-lustre by the end.
With thanks to Bloodhound books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
5☆ An Unputdownable, Twisted, Dark, Heart Pounding Thriller.
STRANDED a Fast Paced, Action Packed, Twisty, Tense, Heart Racing, Gripping Thriller that will have you on your edge of your seat the whole way through!
What would you do if you were driving down the road and see a stranded coach blocking a deserted road?....would you get out to help, see what was going on?.... or would you turn round and drive off?
Well unfortunately for Ben and his family he stopped to help....worst mistake of his life!.... things are about to get a whole lot sinister.... If only Ben Turned the car round when he had the chance!
Why is there a coach full of people bound and gagged to their seats?... who are these people?... can Ben save them? or was Ben meant to be on the coach with those people? Why is the Mystery Caller intent on playing sick and twisted games with the passengers on the bus?...Who is he and what does he want? I guess your just going to have to read STRANDED to find out!
My oh my was this one hell of a ride, from the minute I picked up this book I was hooked. It was sinister, eerie, enthralling and oh so twisted. I loved that you got snippets of back stories from the passengers. It made it all the more juicy as to why they deserved to be kidnapped and tied and bound to the coach with a 50/50 chance of survival.
The plot was superbly plotted, the characters cleverly developed and enough suspense to keep you glued to the very end! Stuart James has written yet another fantastic thriller and he is fast becoming one of my Must Read Authors.
Thank you to Sarah at BOTBS Tours for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
You can Find this Review and all my Other Reviews on My Blog :-
Stranded is the latest standalone thriller from Stuart James and has a rollicking, dark vigilante storyline which has your pulse pounding throughout. Ben, Laura and their daughter Millie are heading to Gatwick airport for a much-needed week-long family holiday. They are booked on a flight to Barcelona, Spain and are excited at the prospect of some chilled out family time. They decide to drive the scenic route on the way there rather than taking the stressful motorway. On a country lane they head down they discover a lone man standing in the middle of the road wearing a high visibility jacket; he informs them that a tree has fallen on the road ahead and suggests an alternative route for them to take. As they begin to travel along the road to which they were diverted they happen upon what appears to be a broken-down coach blocking the path of the single-vehicle lane. After waiting to see if it would move, Ben exits the car to see what the problem is. On the coach, he discovers passengers who have their hands and feet bound, their mouths gagged and had been tethered to their seats. The terrified driver informs him that he had been ordered to pick up the passengers by a man who then managed to stop the coach and take specific people with him. Then a phone rings. Ben answers. Let the games begin...
This is a completely riveting read from the first word to the last and I enjoyed it a lot more than some of James’s previous thrillers despite them all being good; this one, however, was mindblowing. Rather than just being a thriller, this is verging on horror and I loved every second of it. It's a game of cat and mouse with a vigilante who believes he is ridding the world of some terrible people which blurs the lines between good and evil, black and white and is thought-provoking for that very reason. As we learn the passenger's backstories it becomes evident why they were targeted, but is it okay, in this situation, for the vigilante to stoop to their level by playing with their lives? There is so much suspense that I found myself having to place the book down to take a breath before continuing and that is something I rarely do being a seasoned reader of both thrillers and horror. It's compulsive, creepy and full of intrigue right to the shocking end and the desolate rural location where this takes place, with no one else around, makes this an even scarier read. This is one hell of a chilling and sinister tale and it has you on edge throughout wondering if Ben can save those who were taken. It's also superbly written and full of twists you are unlikely to guess. Amazing!
I struggled to finish this book, it took me more than a week, which is a very bad thing for a thriller. I had very high expectations from Stuart James books after reading the glowing reviews.
The humour was forced and it fell flat. Ben asks the driver 'what's your story?', His response - 'I am five foot four, 39'. Was that supposed to be funny ?
The writing style is grating. Sample this, Ben and Laura are both in the coach looking at the passengers and Ben tells her how the passengers are seated. This was a strange conversation, as if Laura was not present there.
I usually don't have qualms about spelling and grammatical errors, as English is not my first language and I am not an expert. However, some sentences like 'Stephen was sat alone. Our son and daughter in law were sat directly behind us. They have been sat in the same position for hours' was too much for me. This might be an acceptable form of speech but it looked weird to me. I kept going back re-reading those sentences, as it was the first time I have come across phrases like this, it was distracting.
The author failed to create a tense atmosphere. It felt like they were in a game and the characters were not real (like Jumanji) The way they communicated felt scripted and I couldn't feel sorry for any of them. I have other books by Stuart James on my TBR but I will go slow.
Creepy!! Eerie!! Horrifying!! Macabre!! BUT SO MUCH FUN.
Strength to strength this author went leaving awe behind. That was Stuart James who was brilliant in this book. A story with an eerie atmosphere was this where fear coated my skin, leaving me looking behind even when I read the book with my back to the wall. There was something so atmospheric about the book that I sank into its arms.
The story began innocuously with a family going for a vacation when a small diversion forced them into a situation with a coach in front, its passengers tied and gagged, and a puppeteer who wanted to play. LET THE GAME BEGIN!!
With such a premise, how could I not read the book at one go? The first twinge of suspense was felt when Ben’s car was diverted and he came up to the coach. Then it was simply a journey of emotions where fear was predominant. The story was like a roller coaster ride with highs and lows, both leaving a feeling in dread in the stomach.
The writing was topnotch, trust Stuart to infuse creepiness into his words where I couldn’t finish reading this book in one place. There was too much energy in me, built up as I turned pages.
The scenes were tightly plotted, the characters were linked but the link was revealed slowly over the pages. Some clever plotting on the part of the author showing his wicked synapses. He took an ordinary vacation and made it something that I would forever be wary to undertake.
Twists hit me hard and even when I thought I knew everything there was to know, the author sucker punched me with a new one. Whew!! The book ravaged my insides. It took me a good half-hour to calm down, for the adrenaline to fall back to normal limits.
One brilliant edge of the seat kinda thriller/horror. Take your pick!! The author was too evil!!
When Ben and his family decide to go on vacation, they didn't realize just what would happen when he decided to take the back roads to the airport.
As they drive down a quiet lane, a man appears in front of them. He tells the driver that a tree is down up ahead and they need to detour. As they head in the direction the stranger indicated, they run across a coach which is blocking the road. His wife notices that the tires are all flat ... like they been punctured by a knife.
When Ben investigates what he finds is horrifying. There are five passengers still on board. All of them are tied to their seats with gags across their mouths.
Preparing to call the police, another phone rings in the coach. Someone is watching them ... what the caller says is they are going to play a game. If Ben calls the police, everyone on board will die.
So what does Ben decide? Obey the voice on the phone ... maybe stalling long enough to find a way to get out with all the passengers safe? Or will he grab his wife and daughter and make a run for it? No matter which way he turns, it means someone will die. And just who is behind the scenes?
Lots of action not only keeps the reader riveted to the story, but sometimes forgetting to take a breath. Well drawn characters make their way through lots of twists and turns ... much like riding a roller coaster. It's an intricate plot and it's un-put-downable. The ending was surprising and down right eerie.
Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the digital copy of this crime fiction thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Stuart has done it once again. What an absolute corker. It is that good that it is fighting for top spot against 'The House on Rectory Lane'.
The talent that Mr James has in writing his books, is just astounding to me. He manages to build this suspense from the very first page and just draws you into the story without you knowing it. One minute your starting the book, and the next, you are finishing it and it feels like you just started.
The storyline that is created in The Stranded is very creepy and twisted that you almost can't believe something like this could happen. But the way the story is told makes it more believable by the page.
I loved learning about all the different characters, what they did and how they all link together. Absolutely brilliant book and i can't wait for the next one.
Stuarts books never fail to disappoint so I was extremely excited for this one. Just by reading the blurb I could tell it was going to be another fantastic and creepy read!
Most books include various locations, whether it be a house, then a cafe, a beach, a church, you get my drift. So when I read the blurb I was very interested to see how he had written a whole story from a coach. Every chapter was a page turner and I loved learning the back stories for each of the passengers. It definitely met every expectation for me.
Stuart is very good at turning something so simple, into something sinister. After finishing his books, I am always left questioning things I wouldn't normally doubt. In this case, a broken down vehicle!! If you haven't read a book by Stuart James yet, I cannot recommend his books enough. They always have me on the edge of my seat!
I finish this book and my jaw just dropped! I mean wow! What the actual hell. Speechless completely speechless.
This story is a chilling one, one where you can’t see any hope and one that will play on your mind. You know by now I don’t really talk about the plot of a book because I don’t want to ruin anyone’s reading adventure, and it’s completely true here. I don’t want to ruin anything here. It is a book where there is so much going on, it’s the thick of night, it’s raining, the perfect setting to scare you especially driving down lanes you shouldn’t. It is no wonder I hate driving down the lanes, daytime, nighttime, anytime!!!
The setting is its own character. It adds to your fears, it maximises all your own inner turmoils about what you would do. I mean what is the right thing to do. What would you do in the situation?
I do love the butterfly effect of the whole book. As we meet the coach passengers, we learn their stories and it opens our eyes to the links and wowzers! It was epic and well shocking. I mean you wouldn’t expect anything less from a Stuart James book, would you!! When the final link slotted in with the passengers well #sorrynotsorry I think it changed my mind on everything.
The caller was chilling, the backstory was one that pulled the heartstrings but only if you could learn to differentiate the two. With a full circle in the book, it just made me speechless.
Stuart just knows plays on your humanity. He works with a scenario of “what would you do?” I know what I would do, but not sure that it’s a favourable answer. Stuart has sucked me into his world, he has taken me on to a journey that I don’t think I was ready to go on. It is a dark depraved soul in this story, it is a heartbreaking story at the end but does it all justify the means? Despite all the goriness it gives you something to think about. Another winner in my eyes!!
The title of this book is way better, but I kept wanting to call this book ‘An ordinary man’, which is what Ben is. An ordinary family man on his way to the airport with his wife and daughter. He’s wary of motorways – imagining a worst-case scenario delay, meaning they might miss their flight. The worst-case scenario he and his family encounter is beyond the comprehension of any balanced human being. His car is redirected, a road closure, he’s told. The apprehension is skin-tingling as he follows the remote country track to the middle of nowhere – and smack into the middle of a waking nightmare. He comes to a stop behind a broken-down coach. Boarding it, he finds the passengers strapped to their seats. This is the ‘what would you do?’ moment. The book is strongly good versus evil. Who will win when the games begin, and the captor decides he must dish out punishments to fit the crimes. You will have to read it to the last full stop to reach the satisfying but disturbing conclusion. But beware, the road is full of dark twists – and someone might just be watching every move you make. A fabulously gripping read, full of psychological torment, I loved it. Highly recommended.
Not too bad. The flow of the story was quick which I really liked. The characters were interesting. But, I didn’t really feel scared or shocked by the violence and cruelty of the story. I wanted something more.
However, the twists are absolutely clever. I kinda expected the ending.
I have only recently found this author and my god I'm so happy I have. I read Apartment Six and The House on Rectory Lane within days and this one I couldn't put down either.
I swear I had ants in my pants when I was reading this book, I couldn't sit still. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins from start to finish and I was thinking what the hell is going to happen next!!!!!!
Oh-my-freaking-G! Stuart James, once again you turned me into Miss Marple, I thought 'yep, I have this nailed, it was definitely so and so' but, they turned up dead! This happened time and time again. Stuart, you my friend definitely know how to play out a very twisted plot. Their lives/stories interlock in the most unexpected ways and they don't even know it, but one person knows and he won't stop until he gets his ungodly plan played out.
But who knows everything about the stranded people's lives, playing judge and juror for all their wrongdoings? And will anyone make it out alive? If they do will life ever seem real normal again?
Without a doubt this is one of those stories where the less you know before going in the better!
This is such a hard review to write as there is so much I want to say but can’t as it would give to much away. What I will say is that nothing is straight forward as it seems. There were so many questions running through my head when Ben and his family come across the coach with passengers in it. Why had the coach come to a halt in the middle of nowhere? Who and why were the people tied up on board? Over the course of the story we get to find out and holy moly, what an absolute thrill fest of a ride!
Stranded is one phenomenal thriller that left me reeling so many times. Countless twists and turns meant I had to keep taking short breathers to take in the shock of what I had just read but yet desperate to carry on to see what other horrors awaited me and boy are there plenty. The author just kept on delivering, right up until the very last page. A cross between horror/psychological thriller, this is a story you will want to read with the lights on. Be prepared to have nightmares!
My thanks to Bloodhound books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
Thrilling from the start, this one was quite a ride just like his previous book. I liked the premise as it was unique. It can however happen to anyone in reality and so pondering on what a person's reactions would be in this situation was a part of my reading experience. I think, based on the previous book, I expected a little more towards the end but over all it was a good read.
First, I want to thank Stuart James, Bloodhound Books and BOTBSPublicity for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
Recently, I was asked out of all the 174 books I have read and reviewed this year which one was my favorite. Now, there have been some incredible books and so many talented authors-but-Stuart James’s Stranded blew me out of the water!! This is a must to be put on your TBR list! You will thank me later!
Stuart definitely has a gift for writing in this genre. He shares a very deep, meaningful, powerful message with his readers that makes you think about your actions. The way that he put that into the storyline the way he did shed a light to the madness of the character.
Stranded was the perfect name for this book as was the cover design. Kudos to the graphic artist who designed it. That cover and the description of the book got me hooked!
All the people on the stranded coach had their own story to tell. Each of them connected in one way or another why they were on the bus.
What I loved about this book was it was extremely fast paced! If you blinked you would miss something! It was intense, suspenseful, shocking, mind blowing, heartbreaking, and scary at times!
Stuarts brought out all the stops on the character’s emotions in this book! He paid attention to detail and had great descriptions! I could feel the fear within the characters!
This would make an excellent series on Netflix!
Even though the very end was shocking I thought it was comical and ironic!
After reading previous books by this author I was really looking forward to reading this story. Stranded blew my expectations as I absolutely loved this story.
I’m not gonna go into the storyline as I think you need to feel this story yourself. It’s so creepy it makes a great Halloween read.
Stranded is a well written story that I couldn’t read fast enough. The twists and turns kept on coming.
This is my favourite read of this authors so far and I loved all I’ve read so far.
If I did a list of top favourite books of the year this would be one of them and I read quite a lot. Can’t wait to read more from this author.
This is a gripping, edgy thriller. Ben, Laura and Milly are on their way to Gatwick for a family holiday when on one of the back roads, a man diverts them. They then come across a coach blocking the road and when they check inside, they find a number of passengers tied to their seats. What follows is a sick twisted game thought out by one man who sees it as his job to exact revenge on others. Admittedly a few of the passengers have committed a crime, and we do find out who has done what, but it’s not this man’s place to punish them. Ben and his wife get tangled up in this and soon lives are lost when people try and escape. This is a completely different thriller and a very original concept which I really liked. This one had me hooked throughout as I was desparate to know if anyone would get out alive. A great read. Thanks to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to read this book.
Ben, his wife and daughter are headed to Gatwick Airport in London to start a sunny Barcelona holiday. Instead they are told to detour off the road they are on because of a fallen tree across the road ahead.
When they turn onto this detour they find a bus with bound and gagged prisoners, a phone rings, and their nightmare starts.
This was a creepy, atmospheric thriller with a psychopath playing deadly games. It dragged in a couple of spots but most of the story was downright chilling.
I especially liked the ending twist. I highly recommend if you like psychological thrillers.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I rated this three stars, even though I often found myself wishing the book was over, because it wasn't a terrible book. I found myself audibly gasping at some parts, and I was particularly drawn in to the flashback scenes. I must say, the way the characters lives were intertwined was really clever.
However, I found most of the characters insufferable, but I think that was the author's intention. It is hard to sympathise and hope for the survival of these people, especially Jack and Lydia, after the things they have done. The only people I managed to find sympathy for was Mary and Nigel. I also found it very hard to believe that a teenage girl would leave her phone behind in a car when exiting the vehicle after being glued to it practically the whole car ride.
The whole story was just a little too unbelievable. In the end, did I care who survived? No. I found myself rooting for nobody.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A family on their way to the airport stumble across a bus blocking the road. It’s filled with people tied to their seats. As the family investigates, a phone on the bus rings, and the instructions begin. I enjoyed the unusual structure of this book, and the way the various characters’ backstories are revealed. There’s a definite “horror movie” vibe, where you have a very sick individual toying with other people’s lives as part of an elaborate “game”. And, as in many horror movies, some of the characters make some pretty awful decisions! You know with Stuart James you can rely on some nasty twists right up to the end.
Social media was hyping this book but I didn’t really love it because it was a little too far fetched for me. By the end, the plot was entertaining enough to make it not too much of a chore and there was some interest to see how everything was connected and resolved itself. A few of the characters were the highlight but the plot progression was just eh for me.
I read this for my book club and had it not been for that I wouldn't have finished it. The book is really quite far fetched and worse poorly written. I won't be rushing to read any more books by this author.
Stuart James does it again with this absolutley creepy book. Hard to put down. Fantastic all the way through but what an ending!! His mind is wickedly crazy you have to love everything he writes.
Excuse me a minute while I pick my dropped lower jaw up off the floor and re-attach it to my face. Holy freaking moly, what have I just read??
Ben, his wife Laura and daughter Milly thought that all they had to look forward to that night was a departure from the airport for a long-awaited holiday. Ben thought he was doing the safe thing by taking back roads to the airport, to avoid the risk of getting caught up in a motorway delay. But a man in a high-vis jacket diverts him onto a country lane, claiming that there is a fallen tree ahead.
Next thing, Ben comes across an unlit coach, blocking the road. All the passengers on board are gagged and tied to their seats ...
Then a discarded phone rings. And the abductor's sick and twisted games start ...
So begins my first book by Stuart James, which continues just as it started. It's fast-paced, tense and never lets up.
There were two aspects to this book that really stood out for me. First, the writing is wonderfully atmospheric. I could sense the total darkness, feel the stress, smell the fear of each character and breath the damp of the derelict cottage in which some parts of the story take place. And secondly, the back stories of multiple different characters are so cleverly woven together that the whole story is ... well, I hesitate to use the word believable. But only because, even though I read the book and felt like I was watching each event unfold, I don't really want to believe that such a sequence of things could actually happen.
I only really had one slight problem. At eight-tenths in, I wasn't quite as scared as I had been half-expecting that I would be. Oh, for sure I was gripped, hooked, thrilled. I'd go so far as to say tense. I absolutely didn't want to put the book down. I was compelled to read one more chapter, and then another. But, even though it's not really the same genre of book, I found myself thinking back to reading the astonishing The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean, where I turned each page with baited breath, terrified of what I might read next. I didn't do that here. And, whilst I acknowledge that this is entirely a personal thing, it's for that reason alone that this book drops maybe half a star from a maximum.
That ending, though. Wow. I'm gasping all over again as I think about it. Actually, I'm going to have to stop now, because I can feel my jaw dropping all over again ...
An ingeniously plotted thriller, jam-packed with suspense and twists that you will not see coming!
Where do I start with telling you how fantastic this book was? This story has all the qualities of a gripping thriller and a scary horror combined. I think this is the first book ever that has made me scared to turn out the lights and had me saying ‘what the actual ****’ at the end of each chapter!
Ben is about to go on a much-needed holiday with his wife Laura and their daughter Milly. As they are heading to the airport, they find themselves having to follow a diversion due to a fallen tree. Concerned they’ll be late for their flight, they soon realise that this is the least of their worries when they come across a coach that is blocking their way. Curious as to why the coach isn’t moving, Ben decides to investigate. It is here that he finds several people gagged and tied to their seats! Laura and Milly join him to try and help the passengers, but then a phone starts to ring, and this is where the caller’s sick games begin!
I don’t want to say any more about the actual story as I don’t want to give anything away. I can’t get over how clever the plot is in this book, I’m in awe of how Stuart has managed to make this story work and connect the way it does! All I kept thinking whilst I was reading it was how great this book would be as a film.
Ben is the main character but everyone else seems to have their own story and you get to know them all well. Was I rooting for all of them? Maybe not, but I loved reading about them.
I would say this book is perfect for fans of any horror books and films and definitely not for the faint-hearted! With Halloween upon us, I highly recommend this one if you are looking for a Spooktacular read! It reminded me of films like Saw, so I would love to see this story on the big screen! This was my first book by Stuart James, and I am now so excited that I have his previous books still to read!
Thank you so much to the author Stuart James and Bloodhound Books for my ARC of this book.
Once I picked this book up I couldn't put it down . I was gripped from the start. An innocent family going on holiday are diverted on their journey. What happens from there is a nightmare . This nightmare is a gripping, nerve wracking and very thrilling plot. I had no idea what how it was going to end and that was why I read it in one sitting. In my opinion, Stranded is very much like Linwood Barclay books in the same way that an ordinary innocent person is plunged into an extraordinary situation. If you love Linwood Barclay books then you will certainly enjoy this one.