When Nico Walker's older sister mysteriously disappears, her parents, family, and friends are devastated. But Nico can never admit what she herself feels: relief at finally being free of Sarah's daily cruelties.
Then the best and worst thing happens: four years later, after dozens of false leads, Sarah is found.
But this girl is much changed from the one Nico knew. She's thin and drawn, where Sarah had been golden and athletic; timid and unsure, instead of brash and competitive; and strangest of all, sweet and kind, when she had once been mean and abusive. Sarah's retrograde amnesia has caused her to forget almost everything about her life, from small things like the plots of her favorite books and her tennis game to the more critical—where she's been the last four years and what happened at the park on the fateful day she vanished. Despite the happy ending, the dark details of that day continue to haunt Nico, and it becomes clear that more than one person knows the true story of what happened to Sarah. . . .
This book is completely a mystery, but also not even a mystery.
I've Wikipedia hopped enough to know how this story was going to end. Still, the suspense and the atmosphere was enough to keep me reading, and the snippets of Sarah's story made me feel even more engrossed in the story. this was a book that could have felt pushy or cluttered or messy but it was so completely clear and well written.
I loved the emotions through this book. Nico is broken and guilty at the way she feels and Sarah is mysterious but their relationship grows and they get this bond that it sort of makes your heart hurt when answers start coming in and the story stitches itself together.
And despite the fact that this is a book which covers some pretty heavy topics, it never felt overly forced or limiting. This isn't an issue book, trying to make some statement that comes across as convoluted or overly flowered up, this is a suspenseful mystery book that keeps readers guessing even when they know where it's going.
Overall, The Stranger Game was a suspenseful and emotional read that kept me gripped all the way through. Cylin Busby has impressed me before, now she is impressing me again.
Book released 25th October 2016 by Balzer and Bray
Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review
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