Devan Zimmerman

I went on a camping trip to a new place I had yet to explore at the beginning of the month, and nothing beats lounging by the campfire (preferably in a hammock) reading a good book. I was on the trip over Independence Day and didn’t even realize it was the 4th. I mean, I was in the woods.

In addition to continuing my Game of Thrones reading journey (which I started earlier this year but am only a little over halfway through the second book in the series), July was primarily taken up by Shari Lapena. I prefer to read fiction novels and love a good thriller, and Shari’s novels seemed a good choice for a summer read.

I started off with A Stranger in the House and it was…alright. As I got further into the plot and story line, it was rather predictable, though there were one twist I wasn’t expecting towards the end. This was one of those “quick reads” that I tend to gravitate towards in the summer, as it is only a little over 300 pages long. While the characters are adults, the writing had somewhat of a YA vibe. Not the best book I’ve ever read, but not the worst either. Overall rating: 7/10.

A good friend of mine lent me The Couple Next Door after I shared that I had read A Stranger in the House. I actually liked this novel way more than I did the prior. I don’t have children, but I fathom that the plot of this story is every parents worst nightmare. Your sitter cancels last minute and you are to attend a dinner party next door that you can’t cancel, but you also can’t bring your child with you because it’s a “no kids allowed” zone. You and your partner alternate checking on your kid every 30 minutes and when it’s your turn, you discover your child has been kidnapped. Chaos ensues.

First off, I don’t care how much I want to be friends with my neighbors; if they won’t let me bring my kid along for a dinner party when my sitter cancels, but insist I be there for the party, do I really want to be friends with them? Probably not. Second, who actually leaves their baby unattended like that in this day and age? The world is a crazy place. Those points aside, I was incensed as I read this, but was also pleasantly surprised with the number of twists and turns present. Another quick read with a whopping 321 pages, I finished this within 2 days. Overall rating: 8.5/10