Five Strangers

By: E. V. Adamson

Narrated by: Sarah Paul, Chloe Massey

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Five strangers witness a brutal murder in broad daylight - but can they truly believe what they saw?

With its grassy hills and breathtaking city views, London’s Hampstead Heath is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with friends and loved ones - and on an unseasonably warm Valentine’s Day, the lawns are especially full. So when an aggressive lovers’ quarrel breaks out, there is an audience of park goers nearby to hear the shouts traded back and forth, and to watch as the violence escalates suddenly to murder, then suicide.

For the five strangers who observed the gruesome act, the memory of the gore is unshakable. But one of them - disgraced journalist Jen Hunter - is compelled to question the truth of what she thought she saw. Are the facts of the case plain as day, or were they obscured, in the moment, by the glaring sunlight?

As she mounts an obsessive investigation for a seemingly impossible alternative, the lives of the other witnesses begin to unravel, each in its own particular way. Soon one thing becomes clear: the crime they witnessed was more terrible, more twisted, and more far-reaching than they ever could have imagined.

©2021 E. V. Adamson (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Good... BUT...

This is a dark but original psychological thriller, although I was never trying to guess or figure anything out, and that is a key point of interest for me.
The biggest reason I only gave it 3 stars is that it is just too far fetched!
I like the way every part and every person is interwoven, and the narration was 5 stars all the way, I just couldn't get past the unrealistic factor.

Worth it but Weird

In a genre full of wannabes and look-alikes, I would say this is actually a true psychological thriller. There is a slow build up to terror that you can feel coming almost from the start. There are just enough hints coming from just enough directions to keep you guessing.

The down-side is that this storyline is pretty out there, and there isn’t a lot of depth or character development. However, more may have diluted the overall suspicious and mysterious energy.

Excellent mystery

I was hesitant to get this book based on the reviews but so glad I went ahead to listen! Great story, great twist, and worth the read!

Just ridiculous

That's the only word I can come up with to describe this. The premise was interesting, the actual book was horrendous. The incident they all watch is right at the beginning and very disturbing. The narrator doesn't seem to even attempt to differentiate between characters. She was borderline monotone.

Then the woman that calls herself a "journalist" is an awful woman that writes a column that's all about herself.

Then, one message on Twitter and she starts jumping to conclusions on everything. Because it's fiction the author can make it be truth. In reality, it wouldn't come close.

through the whole story Jen acts like the biggest idiot imaginable. Thinks blocking on Twitter makes somebody go away forever. Seemed shocked that they could create more. The worst book I've endured in a very long time.