The Second Stranger
A Novel
-
-
4.3 • 30 Ratings
-
-
- $17.99
-
- $17.99
Publisher Description
An electric, locked-room suspense thriller set in the remote Scottish Highlands, where icy temperatures and a terrible blizzard prevent any ideas of escape—from a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.
One bitterly cold February night at the remote MacKinnon Hotel, Remie Yorke begins her last shift at the front desk as the snow begins to fall. She has booked a one-way flight for the next day—and she's never coming back to Scotland. Or so she thinks.
As the storm quickly invades the surrounding Highlands, the roads become impassable and the phone lines fall dead. When the icy temperatures plummet further, an injured man stumbles into the hotel lobby from the blizzard. Police Constable Don Gaines has been in a car accident on the mountain road, and Remie welcomes him to safety. Gaines tells her that the other survivor of the accident is a dangerous prisoner who is now at-large; and Gaines is sure he is heading their way.
Then a second injured visitor arrives—also introducing himself as Constable Don Gaines. Both claim to want to protect Remie and the hotel's remaining guests. Both are convincing. Remie doesn't know who to trust.
But she must endure a deadly night before dawn breaks, and if she doesn't succumb to the cold, one of these men will surely kill her first. And she has no idea why they have chosen to come to the MacKinnon Hotel . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Griffin's taut, atmospheric debut is set at a remote Scottish lodge sandwiched between two hulking mountains. On Remie Yorke's last shift as night manager of the MacKinnon Hotel before she flies to Chile to begin a new life, she hears an alarm indicating trouble at the nearby Porterfell Prison, where her inmate brother, Cameron, died a year earlier. A fierce storm sets in, cutting the phone lines, and a man appears at the hotel's door, claiming to be a police officer named Gaines who's been injured while transporting a dangerous prisoner who's now at large. Remie lets the man in and gives him shelter, but not long after, a second man appears, also claiming to be Gaines. Remie and Jai, the hotel's lone guest, can't agree on which is the legitimate policeman; each man's argument seems to consist of equal parts veracity and elaborate artifice, and they're both kept overnight at the hotel until the storm subsides. Griffin makes the most of his strong premise: while Remie does a few foolish things that stretch credibility (including leaving her safe, locked room at one point when she's sure one of her guests is a killer), well-earned shocks and expertly calibrated suspense keep the pages turning. Griffin is a mystery writer to watch.
Customer Reviews
Excellent!
Great read.
Struggled to believe parts of the story
Some good parts but had difficulty getting through the book bc of unrealistic events, decisions, etc
Good. But it could have been much better.
I think the author was trying to add to the dramatic tension. But the whole sub-plot line about the protagonist having to get away from the authorities and hide was unpersuasive and unnecessary so, as a result, an avoidable distraction. It would have been much more interesting to see how she got away with her actions without absconding. The author needed to rethink this. The protagonist