This book is a stunning psychological thriller of the first order, according to Nelson DeMille...and who could recognize one any better?

Nothing is what it seems in this book--it all comes down to trust.

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My first time with this author. Recommended by James Patterson and Nelson Demille. Awesome, awesome,awesome book. I plan on reading every single one of his. He only has 11 out so maybe I can catch up before he gets too far ahead.

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This was the first book I have read by James Grippando. I ordered it on a whim and I'm happy to have found another writer who has written lots of books. It's a good story that kept me turning pages, with a stunning ending.
Husband and wife suspicious of each other are accused of killing her male friend who happens to be an ex-boyfriend. Lots of cool, eery stuff in this book. Loved it.

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An exciting read with a plot that will keep you guessing until the end. A likeable heroine who will involve you in the terror that keeps her from trusting even her husband. Good book.

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I enjoy medical thrillers and legal thrillers, so the idea of a psychological thriller featuring a woman doctor protagonist and her lawyer husband seemed like it would be the best of both worlds. In addition, I've enjoyed other Grippando novels, so I was sure this one would be great from start to finish.

Unfortunately, it wasn't so. Although it was overall not a bad read, with a couple of surprising trists, the book suffered most from characters that were so insufferable and obnoxious that I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for the central marriage to succeed or even for anyone to survive by the end.

[Minor spoiler alert ahead, for a plot detail revealed about 25% of the way in...]
Ironically, Kevin, the husband, turns out to be dabbling in writing a legal thriller himself, and Peyton, the main character, supports him by helping him improve the wooden dialogue of the female protagonist, telling him that a woman would never say things that his early draft had her saying. In acknowledgements at the end of the novel, Grippando says this detail came from real life, as his wife also assisted with early drafts of Lying With Strangers in the years before it was published, admonishing him when the female lead character said things a woman would never say. Unfortunately, she clearly didn't help enough. I found myself muttering, "This would only be written by a man" a number of times even before I encountered those signals that other early female readers found similar flaws.

Kevin and Peyton have a horrible marriage, and they treat each other terribly. Neither is honest, neither can communicate well, both let collossally huge problems grow, undiscussed, and their mutual passivity and unhappiness makes them difficult characters to like, let alone root for. And the character of the would-be killer, in whose voice many chapters are written, is similarly difficult to make any emotional investment in -- his evilness has a wooden quality to it, and his motivation and obsession feel only marginally plausible.

Still, lest you think I hate it, I actually read it twice. (Granted, I was desperate for something to read on a quiet night, and it was there...but if it were truly awful, I never would have re-read it.)

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An intense good suspense novel. Kept me going and wondering just who was after her. A good read.

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I just finished reading this and really enjoyed it. It was suspenseful throughout and kept me engaged. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

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A chilling psychological thriller with many twists & turns to keep you excited on each page!!!

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Great book, this author is great with suspense and twists and turns.

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