Stroke of Suspicion

In the dim glow of a Detroit grief support room, one man's attempt to comfort becomes the spark that ignites suspicion.

His hands are impossible to ignore—large, calloused, arriving before the rest of him, flexing with quiet restraint. When he places them firmly on a grieving woman's shoulders during a meeting at St. Alder's, the embrace is steady, grounding, wordless. She breathes easier. The room watches. And then the watching turns uncomfortable. The hold lasts a beat too long. Whispers begin. "How long has he been holding her?"

What follows is a cascade of unease. A woman disappears the night after the embrace, her car found abandoned with the door unlocked. Whispers harden into accusations. The man's post-stroke behaviors—delayed speech, sensory needs, prolonged touches for self-regulation—are reframed as something sinister. His ex, ever the calm observer, voices just enough reasonable doubt to fan the flames without ever raising her voice.

As disappearances mount and the community tightens its gaze, one question lingers: Is he a threat, or is the real danger the speed with which ordinary people turn misunderstanding into fear?

A taut, atmospheric psychological suspense that dissects perception, ableism, and the fragile line between compassion and accusation, Stroke of Suspicion asks how quickly judgment can become injustice—and whether truth can survive the weight of collective suspicion.

Perfect for readers of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, The Push by Ashley Audrain, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn—those who crave introspective thrillers that unsettle through human behavior rather than blood.

Content advisory: Explores themes of neurological injury (stroke aftermath), trauma, grief, miscarriages of justice, and social fear. Intended for mature audiences. Reader discretion advised.