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by James Grippando

Peyton Shields had always wanted to be a doctor, and now, thanks to her relentless drive, stellar academic credentials, and a mountain of debt to Harvard Medical School, she’s a first-year resident at a major Boston children’s hospital. The hours are impossibly long, but it’s the life she wants, complete with a husband who’s an up-and-coming young lawyer.

But a late-night drive home in a heavy snowstorm changes everything. A car coming straight at her forces her off the road and into a frozen pond. Peyton knows she’d be dead if a stranger hadn’t pulled her from the wreckage before vanishing into the darkness.

In an instant her wonderful life has turned dark. No one believes her claims that the "accident" was deliberate—not even her husband. Without explanation, he has become distant and bitter, calling her paranoid and accusing her of having an affair with a former lover.

Yet the terror has only begun, for a series of strange, increasingly dangerous events begin to plague Peyton, moving her closer to a faceless and very deadly enemy who seems to know her every move.

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

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2007

About the author

The first thing you should know about bestselling author James Grippando is that he is no longer clueless—or so they say, after “A James Grippando Novel” was a clue for #38 Across in the New York Times crossword puzzle. James is the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction and a New York Times bestselling author with more than 30 novels to his credit, including the popular series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. His latest, "Goodbye Girl" (HarperCollins 2024), is the 18th in the Swyteck series. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 28 languages. As an adjunct professor he teaches "The Law & Lawyers in Modern Literature" at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms, where he specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law, representing clients who have won more than 40 Tony Awards. He writes in south Florida with Atlas at his side, a faithful golden retriever who has no idea he’s a dog.
Series:
* Jack Swyteck

Reviews

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I can't say it wasn't suspenseful. I read to the end to determine if a) I had pegged the right culprit from the start (I had), and b) the characters with all this supposed intellect could continue to behave as stupidly as they began (they could; they did). In order to resolve those mysteries, I slogged through it but almost cried in frustration for this story to just end already. It went on and on, and when it finally did end, all I could think was, "That's it? I hung in there for that?" I would leave it at one star for overall "ugh" factor except I believe there's a valuable lesson in the story: communicate with the people in your life! If the idiot characters had even once been on the same page, so to speak, a great deal of unnecessary trauma could have been avoided (mine as well as theirs).

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got about halfway through this book and had to stop. I was getting more and more annoyed with Peyton and her husband, both making assumptions, not trusting the other, making stupid decisions. I have enjoyed a novel by this author in the past, but this one just is no longer worth my time. Too many other books waiting.

[Sanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* Laikam neesmu tiesas procesu fane. Man tas drusku par garu izvērtās. Bet kopumā spriedzi uztur, vienu brīdi nesaproti kurš kuram ko melo. Gaidīju kādu dubulto (vai vēlams trīskāršo) personību :D Nesagaidīju.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay thriller but there were many things that annoyed me.
The author insists to the reader that the main character, Peyton, is quite a catch. She's beautiful, smart, beautiful, successful, beautiful, driven, and oh yeah, beautiful. What the author never explains is why such a woman would stay married to a complete asshat. Her husband had no redeeming qualities that I could see, yet we're supposed to believe she'd fight that hard for the marriage?
I didn't guess who the bad guy was, but that's because it was completely illogical. I won't give it away, but if you figured it out, congrats and you must have a very low opinion of all people.
In the acknowledgments, the author effusively thanks his editor. I don't know why because the editing in this book is horrible. It's not just typos, though they are plentiful. It's also plot points and a wonky timeline. I'll just give one example. Peyton gets into a car accident at the beginning of the book. Much is made of her facial injuries and whether scars will mar her beauty, which we're told by several characters would be a shame. So does that happen? Is she disfigured? I have no idea because that plot point was completely dropped. It's never mentioned again.
This was the first book I've read by this author and it will be the last.

[Sylvia Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

When someone is out to get you but you don't know who it is. Lots of twist and turns
Who can you trust
Your family your husband your lawyer or your friend

[Susan]

Fluffy book--am I to believe that two highly educated people could find themselves in a situation such as this one? No communication between husband and wife and complete misunderstanding regarding each other and their friends and family. And poor police work and the couple eventually hiring a husband and wife law office.

May try another book by this author but if it is as silly as this one, I will not continue to read.

[Brbljivica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muž koji je ljubomoran, uhoda, saobraćajna nezgoda koja nije bila nezgoda, ubijeni muškarci kojima se baš ona dopadne...
ko je psihopata i ubica?
Knjiga stvarno drži pažnju, malo me cela priča podsetila na “Ti”.
Da je kraj bio bolji, definitivno bih dala 5 zvezdica, ovako 4.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was routine and the nuances improbable. Unmemorable characters. LIke many books crafted by outline, this one gets all wrapped up in the last few pages. Trite. An unrewarding read.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok thriller with some problems. I'm not sorry I read it, but I'm not recommending. Just too many times where "Why would anyone do/say/believe something so stupid" came up.

[Mohammed omran · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed. I enjoyed reading this book so much and I get to the ending and am left FLAT! Total waste of time, it's as though two authors wrote two different parts. The momentum was there. The character development in place, solid storyline and BINGO - ending is uneventful.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why are characters portrayed as so dumb? "I should call the police, but..." How silly. "I have a cordless phone, I'm expecting a call, but rather than take the phone to the tub I'm going to keep getting out to answer it. Oh no, no power! Now I can't call the police. What's that sound? Oh, that's just my cell phone. Too bad I didn't call the police while my power was on, now I'll have to face all bad guys on my own. No one loves me or believes me. Oh, that's right, I only accuse people and not tell anyone what's going on." And so on, and so on...
In the end a good twist and sort of exciting conclusion but continued stupidity by main characters.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like giving such a low rating to a book but had no choice with this one. First, the narrator's style was jarringly melodramatic; ordinary sentences delivered with sneering sarcasm or "aha, now I've got you!" inflections. The husband -wife main characters' bickering is very annoying. Their inability to discuss even routine matters without spiraling into indignant huffs fills lots of space but holds up the story. The resolution is the best part of the book but is too little, too late.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first James Grippando thriller and it definitely won't be my last!

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook. Too long, too repetitive. I skipped to the end after listening to half of the book and didn't feel like I had missed a thing.

[Carol Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the reviews which weren’t always good before the book and was surprised how good the book was. The ending was a surprise which I love.

[Debra Chapoton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best of James Grippando! I really enjoyed this novel. A young married doctor is stalked, but her stalker is too clever for detection, yet crazy enough to fall prey to cyber lies. The twists and turns are numerous. There is murder, blackmail and more danger. The doctor and her husband go on trial for the death of her ex-boyfriend who may or may not have been the stalker (no spoilers here). The courtroom scenes rival anything by Grisham or your favorite legal thriller author. The relationship between husband and wife is tenuous and they grow suspicious of one another. Their lawyers (a husband-wife team) add an interesting layer to the story. This is a great book club read. In fact there are 10 reading group questions at the end that got me thinking some more. Highly recommended.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thriller is set in Boston and involves some pretty scarry stuff happening to the lead character, Peyton. She is a resident in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital. Her husband is a lawyer in an old new england firm.

Someone is trying to kill Peyton and she is also being framed for the murder of a former lover. Her husband is an unsupportive idiot. Her mother is overbearing - and her father is barely in the story.

I got sick of the characters before the story was over - otherwise it was pretty good.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I actually listened to it on CD. Lots of detail with a very interesting plot.

[Valleri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it. For a wife who was a physician, and a husband who was an attorney, these people were bloody stupid!

[Tonya Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book. This book was everything a reader of suspense loves. Deception, revenge, & murders
Who can you trust? Who can you believe, and who will believe your story?
A great book.

[Alaknanda Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the complete review here.

Usually just one psycho is enough to land us in a confused mess in a psychological thriller. Like in Gone Girl. Well, in ‘Lying With Strangers’ we have two!
This thriller by James Grippando is so gripping, I completed the over 400 page book in a single day!

We have a very attractive and successful young woman, well on the road to becoming a doctor, Peyton; and her husband-hotshot lawyer and budding author, Kevin starring. Then there’s also a crazy stalker, an ex-lover, lots of lawyers, prosecutors, media, and lies upon lies upon lies.

Peyton’s ex-lover is killed, and no one knows who killed him. In a grilling trial in which the jury and both Peyton’s and Kevin’s lawyers are out for the publicity the case can give them, the couple are forced to admit truths to themselves and to each other they otherwise would have glossed over. Details of drunken sex emerge, and the dirty laundry of their personal lives is washed on primetime television, where everyone has an opinion about what might have happened, and none of them match the couple’s version.

There’s everything it takes to test a relationship to its very foundations, everything it takes to keep loving and keep trusting. Like fighting the attackers surrounding you-back to back. Like the line-‘Either we both go down together, or we both come out of it’.

Peyton manages to come across as somewhat of a goody-two-shoes. Another of my contentions was the way the story dragged on for about the first 100 pages, where the stalker has fetaured a lot. Later, when the court cases are filed and the hearings begin, the story gets much more engrossing. There are also many points in the book where I felt like ‘Why would he/she do/believe/say that ?’. There are several places where I thought ‘Why don’t they just talk it out instead of assuming and jumping to conclusions?’. But I guess I didn’t mind those parts so much in my eagerness to know what happens next. As with other thrillers, the reader is kept more in the loop than the main characters all along. However here the reader guesses the plot quite easily.

[Luis Minski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intenso thriller psicológico, de lectura fácil y llevadera, y ritmo atrapante, con sus buenas dosis de suspenso, e interesantes personajes, En manos de un extraño tiene como principal protagonista a Peyton Shields, una joven pediatra bostoniana cuya vida se ve afectada dramáticamente, - y su equilibrio, y su confianza en quienes la rodean comienzan a desmoronarse - cuando un hombre obsesionado con ella empieza con un acoso que pronto incluye actos criminales, al mismo tiempo que parece resquebrajarse su matrimonio.
Así, pasan a sucederse una serie de situaciones de peligro creciente, donde, entre complicaciones de la vida conyugal y laboral, secretos, "meteduras de pata", miedos y desconfianzas, bajo una atmósfera opresiva, se llega al crimen.
También asistimos a algo que ya es todo un subgénero en la novelística policial, y que siempre es efectivo: el ámbito de la justicia, con las declaraciones de los testigos, y el accionar no siempre limpio de fiscales y abogados defensores.
Por último, otro recurso que aparece está vinculado a introducir ficción dentro de la ficción, ya que el esposo de Peyton está escribiendo una novela policial, cuyas situaciones parecen asemejarse a su propia historia.
En síntesis, una apasionante novela que, desde ya, recomendamos.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...

[Shane McLennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peyton Shields a pediatric intern is being stalked. She is run off the road and suspects it was no accident. But no one believes her, not even her husband Kevin Stokes, lawyer wanting to be a writer. ( Spoiler)The stalker kidnaps Peyton’s old boyfriend Gary who works at the hospital. He wants a ransom or he will kill Gary. Peyton does not deliver so the stalker drugs her and sets her up as the possible killer with her overdosing on pills and Gary dead in her trunk. Peyton and her husband Kevin must both get lawyers as they are both accused of the killing. Peyton’s mother has been chatting with the killer by cyberspace because she doesn’t like Kevin. The killer has been listening to her and tries to kill Kevin, but he lives. The stalker goes to the hospital kills a security guard and gets his shirt. Then goes to the hospital room confronts both Peyton and Kevin, but Peyton manages to get the rooms guards gun and shoots the stalker. Happy ending

[Jacqueline M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first read of a book by this author. I was annoyed through and through with Peyton. She is intelligent but distressingly naive, about almost anything that does not involve her pediatric internship. I was equally annoyed with her husband Kevin, who is an adulterer and liar that can easily accuse his wife of the things he is guilty of, while never admitting to his own failings, and being unable to believe her when she is trying to tell him the truth. He is so enmeshed in his own web of lies that he seems unable to believe that someone else is more capable of telling the truth than he is. The book is aptly named since literally every person in the book seems to be lying to someone or multiple someones. I don't recall ordering this book from the library but I slogged my way through it, just because I like to finish what I start, not because it was a compelling read.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - it's hard for men to write believable women characters, and Grippando did his best. But are we really supposed to believe Peyton didn't have a SINGLE friend to knock some sense into her? She spoke to no one about the crazy trauma happening in her life?

I love a third act twist as much as anyone else, but around 70% I predicted the screen name mystery and the AHA! moment Peyton had fell a little flat for me. We spent the whole book hearing about how smart Peyton is, so I expected her to be clever enough to figure out the traitor.

I also love reading books from ages ago because it's like opening a time capsule. When else besides 2006 are you ever going to see queen Bey referenced by first and last name as if you wouldn't know who she is LMAO

Also - No one thought to check an IP address in the early 2000s?

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

finished 28th ay 2025 good read three stars i liked it no less no more sixth story from grippando james all recent and this one is like the others...less than 200 reviews for a story published...a number of years ago. readers are missing out. i've enjoyed all six stories from grippando and have another open and ready to go. maybe instead of a whole month of grooming of children for pedophiles we have a month for writers worth reading who aren't read much now. yeah, like that will happen.

anyway, entertaining story with a female lead, relatively new doctor, children's doctor...and a psycho stalker as well as a twist. some court room drama. some marital problems. a murder or two or three.

[chels marieantoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought I predicted part of the ending pretty early on, this book was still full of twists that kept me turning pages and guessing. I can’t say I really liked ANY of the characters- I felt like a lot of their problems stemmed from their own conclusion jumping and personality flaws, but this book was incredibly well written with interesting details for visualization. I’ll definitely be picking up more books by this author.

[Wide Eyes, Big Ears! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know it’s going to work out, but Grippando has a way of digging his main characters into holes so deep, I start to worry they won’t ever get out! A doctor is targeted by a stalker who jeopardises her marriage, career, and her freedom. Always gripping and fast-paced. Apart from giving the stalker almost god-like powers and knowledge, the only other gripe was when the main character would know the right thing to do but not do it, thereby making things worse. It happened too many times.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have liked everything Grippando has written: interesting, clever, suspenseful, and thought-provoking. This was not my favorite, but nevertheless, it was most entertaining. It's an entirely plausible tale of a busy couple in both of whom is planted the seed of infidelity. Add a cyberstalker and a sociopathic parent, and we've got murder, mayhem, deception, and mistrust. In the end, in spite of the lying, the good guys win.