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The Stranger Kindle Edition

4.2 out of 5 stars 45,888 ratings

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES!

A secret destroys a man’s perfect life and sends him on a collision course with a deadly conspiracy in this shocking thriller from #1
New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. Their identity is unknown. Their motives are unclear. Their information is undeniable. Then they whisper a few words in your ear and disappear, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world...

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne's deception, and realizes that if he doesn't make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.

Cover Art © Netflix 2020. Used with permission.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Stranger

“Coben describes Adam’s search for the truth behind these allegations—and the identity of the person who made them—with masterly skill, springing surprises, raising stakes, seamlessly integrating other victims of the ‘stranger’ into Adam’s tale. He’s also a smooth, funny writer.”—New York Times Book Review

“This page-turner is one stranger that readers will want to meet.”—Associated Press

“Seamless storytelling at a breathtaking pace.”—
Houston Chronicle 

“Coben’s latest stand-alone is a great story for people who like to examine the ephemeral nature of those strings that bind our dreams to our reality.”—
Library Journal

The Stranger isn’t just a great thriller, it’s a stunningly effective, probative novel about one man’s search, essentially, for his own identity...Flat-out great and not to be missed.”—Providence Journal

“Another suspenseful thriller whose gripping and intricate plot is completely plausible, and chilling.”—Huffington Post

“Thoroughly entertaining.”—
Publishers Weekly

“Coben can always be relied on to generate thrills from the simplest premises, but his finest tales maintain a core of logic throughout the twists. This 100-proof nightmare ranks among his most potent.”—
Kirkus Reviews

“The startling climax reinforces the novel’s theme that the trappings of the American dream—affluence, fine home, family—don’t necessarily protect one from violence...[The Stranger] carries his trademark asset: a plot that pretty much defies readers to guess the outcome.”—The Columbus Dispatch


About the Author

Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including I Will Find You, The Match, Win, Fool Me Once, Stay Close, and The Stranger, as well as the award-winning Myron Bolitar series. Coben has more than eighty million books in print in more than forty languages worldwide, and several of his novels have been made into Netflix series. The winner of Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, he lives in New Jersey.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00NMPN46W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dutton
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 396 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0698186200
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 45,888 ratings

About the author

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Harlan Coben
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With over 80 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times author of thirty five novels including WIN, THE BOY FROM THE WOODS, RUN AWAY, FOOL ME ONCE, TELL NO ONE and the renowned Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in 46 languages around the globe.

Harlan is the creator and executive producer of several Netflix television dramas including FOOL ME ONCE, STAY CLOSE, THE STRANGER, SAFE, THE FIVE, THE INNOCENT and THE WOODS. He is also the creator and executive producer of the Prime Video series Harlan Coben’s SHELTER, based on his young adult books featuring Mickey Bolitar. Harlan was the showrunner and executive producer for two French TV mini-series, UNE CHANCE DE TROP (NO SECOND CHANCE) and JUST UN REGARD (JUST ONE LOOK). KEINE ZWEIT CHANCE, also based on Harlan’s novel, aired in Germany on Sat1.

Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE (NE LE DIS A PERSONNE) was turned into the renowned French film, directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Francois Cluzet. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in the USA, won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music.

Winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – international bestselling author Harlan Coben’s critically-acclaimed novels have been called “ingenious” (New York Times), “poignant and insightful” (Los Angeles Times), “consistently entertaining” (Houston Chronicle), “superb” (Chicago Tribune) and “must reading” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly funny” (People). After seven books Coben wanted to try something different. “I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron,” says Coben. The result was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller TELL NO ONE, which became the most decorated thriller of the year. Two books later, Bookspan, recognizing Coben’s broad international appeal, named NO SECOND CHANCE its first ever International Book of the Month in 2003 – the Main Selection in 15 different countries.

Harlan was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications including the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.

Harlan has received an eclectic variety of honors from all over the world. In Paris, he was awarded the prestigious Vermeil Medal of Honor for contributions to culture and society by the Mayor of Paris. He has won the El Premio del Novela Negra RBA in Spain, the Grand Prix de Lectrices in France, and the CWA/ITV3 Bestseller Dagger for favorite crime novelist in England. On the other end of the spectrum, Little League Baseball inducted Harlan into their Hall of Excellence in 2013, and Harlan is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame from his playing days at Amherst College.

Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
45,888 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book a compelling read that's hard to put down, with a solid suspenseful story that gets more complicated quickly and keeps readers interested from chapter one. The pacing is fast and engaging, with customers noting it's a page-turner until the end. While some customers find the characters very engaging, others mention the author attempts to cram too many characters into the story. The book's concept is fascinating, though some find it boring in spots.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

2,272 customers mention "Readability"2,015 positive257 negative

Customers find the book to be a compelling and enjoyable story that does not disappoint.

"...of believable and relatable characters set the stage for a riveting read. I found his writing to be both entertaining and thought-provoking...." Read more

"Good read" Read more

"...beginning, his multi-dimensional characters engage you and make you want to keep reading...." Read more

"...This is an easy read and intriguing, but there are many undeveloped elements to the plot: "The Stranger" and his group of ethical?..." Read more

1,673 customers mention "Suspenseful"1,234 positive439 negative

Customers find the book suspenseful, with a solid plot that gets more complicated quickly and keeps readers interested from chapter one.

"...Written by Harlan Coben, one of today’s top suspense authors, the novel Stranger provides an intriguing look into the world of truth and deceit...." Read more

"...I disagree. While this wasn't his scariest book, it was suspenseful and had all his usual turns and twists...." Read more

"...This was a twisted tale of a lot of people with a lot of secrets...." Read more

"...This is an easy read and intriguing, but there are many undeveloped elements to the plot: "The Stranger" and his group of ethical?..." Read more

592 customers mention "Pacing"446 positive146 negative

Customers enjoy the pacing of the book, finding it fast reading and well-paced, with the story holding their attention throughout. One customer notes the slow unraveling of clues, while another describes it as a real page turner from the start.

"...I absolutely could not stop reading - downloaded it at 10:00 a.m., and finished just shy of midnight...." Read more

"...Everything fell together so perfectly that it had that fantastical edge to it so I suppose that is where the reveal at the end comes in, but I was..." Read more

"This is classic Harlan Coben but not quite as good - meaning it kept me turning the pages but I found plenty to scoff at...." Read more

"...It seemed a bit too tightly crafted, as though the author had said to himself, "Hmmm . . .I read about this nifty writing technique...." Read more

108 customers mention "Page turner"108 positive0 negative

Customers describe this book as a page turner that keeps readers engaged until the end.

"I enjoyed the twists and characters in this book. Was a page turner." Read more

"This book is definitely a page turner. Not a very long read, but it's a very good story that has a lot of twists of the plot...." Read more

"...This one, while not his best, is another page turner...." Read more

"...Very good story with good twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I’m interested in seeing how they made a series from it." Read more

89 customers mention "Hooking"72 positive17 negative

Customers find the book engaging from the start, noting it grabs them during the first chapter and maintains their interest throughout.

"...It begins super strong, hooked me in the first few pages and the intensity grew, but for me it fell flat in the end." Read more

"Coben is great at keeping you hooked and reading on. The ending felt slightly forced but otherwise, I really enjoyed The Stranger." Read more

"...to read it - Coben has a knack for pulling you into the story, getting you hooked, with his easy style of writing which flows and you can actually..." Read more

"...It grabs you from page 1 and doesn't release you until the final pages...." Read more

75 customers mention "Difficulty to put down"61 positive14 negative

Customers find the book hard to put down, describing it as easy to pick up and lay down.

"...Its certainly hard to put down...." Read more

"Great read. Kept you interested from chapter one and hard to put down. A great suspense novel and a quick read." Read more

"...I really like his writing. Although this was an easy, quick read, and I give it 4 of 5 stars, I did not like or expect the ending...." Read more

"...It was a great story, well crafted, and hard to put down...." Read more

307 customers mention "Character development"206 positive101 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some finding them engaging and appreciating the view from different perspectives, while others note that the author attempted to cram too many characters into the story.

"...His development of believable and relatable characters set the stage for a riveting read...." Read more

"...From the beginning, his multi-dimensional characters engage you and make you want to keep reading...." Read more

"...On the other hand, it wasn't believable AT ALL, there were too many similar characters and none of them had much depth...." Read more

"...This book is very well-written. The characters were very relatable...." Read more

204 customers mention "Interest"121 positive83 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's interest, with some finding it fascinating and thought-provoking, while others describe it as boring in spots and say it didn't grab their attention.

"The truth will set you free! Or, will it? If someone knew your deepest darkest secrets, would the revelation set you free?..." Read more

"...iPhone without disassembling it, which probably will render it unusable permanently unless you know what you are doing and take your time...." Read more

"...The concept is amazing, but somewhere along the way too many plot lines intertwined and they didn't have enough thread to connect them which made..." Read more

"...This is not that story. And the ending....don't ask. Completely unnecessary. So all in all, I will wait for his next book...." Read more

Missing pages/chapters
3 out of 5 stars
Missing pages/chapters
I was so excited to read the book because I’ve seen the Netflix adaptation which is so good. In the middle of my reading, I noticed that something wasn’t right. I had to read over and over for a couple of times only to find out that I’m missing 33 pages. Weird, huh? It just jumped from chapter 5 to 8, just like that.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2020
    The Stranger

    “A secret destroys a man’s perfect life and sends him on a collision course with a deadly conspiracy in this shocking thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.”

    So first off, this book BROKE MY DAMN HEART! I don’t get super upset or rattled over a book but this one, sent me into of overdrive emotions. Poor Adam and Poor Corinne!

    The book follows the lives of Adam, his wife Corinne, and their two sons. One day, in a bar “the stranger”‘approaches Adam and tells him a pretty damning secret about his wife. He takes
    Some time to think and research and finds out the secret is true and feels it could derail their marriage and their lives. When he confront her, she doesn’t deny it but begins to act very strange and then takes off and tells Adam via text that she will return in a few days when she’s ready. That part of the book sort of irked me because marriage is about communication and if Corinne had just taken the time to explain, a lot of heart break could of been avoided.

    While you become devoted to these characters, you also find out that the stranger works for a group of unveiling secrets to families to help change the world.

    This is my first book by this author and will
    Not be my last. I held off watching the Netflix series until the book was complete because the books are always better than the productions.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2025
    My guy, Harlan. I’ve had a little break from him but I’m trying to make it through all his books especially those with shows. This was a twisted tale of a lot of people with a lot of secrets. I really liked how most of the storylines seemed independent of each other but all tied together in the end. Moral of this story, never get comfortable that your secrets are safe.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2015
    THE STRANGER (Pub. 2015) by Harlan Coben is one of this author's best stories yet. I absolutely could not stop reading - downloaded it at 10:00 a.m., and finished just shy of midnight.

    Coben is well known for his highly tangled plots that explode like an old-school golf ball when peeled back, and THE STRANGER does just that. Layer by layer, this story brings one surprising twist after the next.

    What starts out as a domestic thriller quickly evolves into a mind-blowingly plausible high-tech scenario, and you just can't help sit back and admire Coben for dreaming up the axis of this plot.

    Adam Price is a near-middle-aged attorney, living the American dream, with his wife and two sons, until a stranger whispers a few short sentences that quickly begin to unravel his world. But what Adam can't possibly know is, the stranger is running around unraveling many lives, in the guise of sharing secrets that loved ones are keeping from one another. And some of those secrets are deadly.

    Coben does a fantastic job of drawing the main characters in a way that quickly invests readers in their outcomes, and you can't help but root for the good guys in a big way. The twists and surprises keep rolling right up until the last page, with the final who-done-it close to impossible to see coming.

    I've read Coben's entire oeuvre, and THE STRANGER easily lands in my Top Three favorites he's written. The only disappointment in this story is the ending -- it's so spellbinding, reading the last page is a sad thing, knowing I have to wait months for another story from this author.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2015
    Adam Price is a tool. I don't mean that he is not likable; I mean he's a writing device used to advance a storyline.

    In Harlan Coben's latest novel, the titular stranger shakes attorney and father of two Adam's world by divulging a secret Price's wife Corinne has been keeping. When Adam confronts Corinne with what he has learned, she disappears, leaving a only a text message, "YOU TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS. DON'T TRY TO CONTACT ME. IT WILL BE OKAY."

    Adam begins searching for Corinne while slowly piecing together the reality of his wife's life. He discovers the stranger also has revealed devastating information to Heidi Dann, a middle-aged woman with a family in Beachwood, Ohio, and Michaela Siegel, a medical student in New York City. When Dann is murdered, Adam's fears intensify.

    When I started the opening chapter of, The Stranger, I got that happy feeling I get whenever I read Harlan Coben's books. I was hooked the first time I read Deal Breaker and I have been fortunate enough to attend several of Coben's book signings. I can report he is clever and funny in person, as well as in print. Unfortunately, while the voice was the same, I could not manage the emotional connection I feel with Coben's prior novels.

    I have heard Coben say that, when he starts writing, he knows the beginning and the end, but he does not know what the path will be from point A to Point B and he does not generally write an outline upfront. Nevertheless, in 2014, Harlan Coben's Missing You gave me pause. It seemed a bit too tightly crafted, as though the author had said to himself, "Hmmm . . .I read about this nifty writing technique. Let's experiment with it." With The Stranger, Coben delivers another novel that feels as though it were written for homework assigned in a creative writing class. Even if he truly does not know the route he will follow, I suspect Coben consciously chooses his means of travel.

    I am going to put The Stranger away on a high shelf and, when Harlan Coben's next novel is published, I will rush to read it, hoping to find a renewal of the originality, humor, and artlessness I grew to love in his books. If that means some time before a new book is published, so be it. Another truly good Harlan Coben novel would be worth the wait.
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2025
    Good read

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Arlene
    5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating.
    Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2024
    I have always liked Harlan Coven novels. This was not a new book. It was brought back and although I had read it before bought it anyway. Enjoyed the second read as I had forgotten a lot of the story. It was really interesting and kept me wanting to get to the end. A good book.
  • Lynda Kelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Back To His Old Standard
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2019
    Wow !! I just looked back over prior reviews and I've not given this author a 5* review in 5 years and that has mostly been because the presentation has been so appalling !! It seems he's possibly got hold of a better editor or proofreader as at last this story is back up to his proper standard. I think this was it for me.....I bought 4 of his books all on sale and 3 were full of mistakes and if this one had been as well, we were finished !! So I'm happy he redeemed himself this time and our relationship prevails.
    I've seen reviews slating this book but I greatly enjoyed the story and flew through it. It was pacy and puzzling and I just needed to know what was going to happen next. In the odd place I did get a little confused till it all started to be revealed towards the end. So I flicked back a couple of times to get it all right in my head. Though I am admittedly still a tad baffled about Johanna's ending.......I can't really get that right in my head.
    I liked Rinsky a great deal and would really like to have learned more about what him and his cronies are doing with their cold cases now they're retired. That would be a great story in itself.
    It has some amusing lines that are usual in his stories but I REALLY liked the Butterface mention. However, my reaction upon reading this line was "Just.....why ?"........he wrote "Pure hyperbole. But if hyper-bole couldn't feel free......" then I spotted a few apostrophe mistakes here and there, NewYork needed a space, he added another needless hyphen to Beach-wood (but only once) then we had, "Adam opened the car door behind him and slid him into the backseat" which was fine English but he didn't slide anyone into the backseat, he climbed in himself !!
    That was all of the errors, though, so a massive improvement making it so much more of a pleasure to read him again at last !
    One person found this helpful
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  • Majnubhai
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome thriller, absolute page turner.
    Reviewed in India on June 24, 2021
    Look, anyone who is reading this, you might be a bit confused by some 'mixed' comments on the quality of the book but believe me, there are a lot of superfluous wannabe critics, especially on the internet.
    Unless someone is an absolute connoisseur at the art of reading and absorbing thrillers, i don't believe that people easily guessed the ending of the book.
    This book is definitely extremely enjoyable. It made me go through a lot of emotions. The characters seem very real and so we can empathize with many of them easily. Perhaps that is also what saddens me, that like in real life, the book doesn't show any miracles for any character and can easily be something over which people might get very sad or emotionally tired. All in all, a great thriller and made me excited to further read other Coben books.
    Customer image
    Majnubhai
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Awesome thriller, absolute page turner.

    Reviewed in India on June 24, 2021
    Look, anyone who is reading this, you might be a bit confused by some 'mixed' comments on the quality of the book but believe me, there are a lot of superfluous wannabe critics, especially on the internet.
    Unless someone is an absolute connoisseur at the art of reading and absorbing thrillers, i don't believe that people easily guessed the ending of the book.
    This book is definitely extremely enjoyable. It made me go through a lot of emotions. The characters seem very real and so we can empathize with many of them easily. Perhaps that is also what saddens me, that like in real life, the book doesn't show any miracles for any character and can easily be something over which people might get very sad or emotionally tired. All in all, a great thriller and made me excited to further read other Coben books.
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    Customer image
  • Chris
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and different plot
    Reviewed in Germany on March 14, 2022
    I very much enjoyed this book since it was also written like a psychological thriller. You wonder what the characters will do next and you try to find clues while reading. it was hard to put down at times. Very well done.
    I am buying the German version for a friend now.
  • LabijoseBooks
    5.0 out of 5 stars No es Myron Bolitar, pero está muy bien.
    Reviewed in Spain on November 12, 2016
    Pues a pesar de las muchas críticas negativas que he leído sobre esta novela, a mí me ha gustado. Vale, no es una de sus mejores. Particularmente echo de menos su serie sobre Myron Bolitar, aunque veo que, tras cinco años, acaba de publicar una nueva entrega, “Fool me once” se llama. Tendré que leerla.
    En la que estoy reseñando, Adam Price vive una vida tranquila con su familia en New Jersey. Todo se viene abajo en el momento en que un desconocido se le acerca y le susurra una información sobre su mujer que hará que todo su mundo se desmorone. Aún incrédulo, se ve obligado a preguntarle a ella sobre la verosimilitud del soplo, lo que desembocará en su posterior desaparición (la de su mujer) y un consiguiente caos del que no está dispuesto a salir sin respuestas.
    Unos capítulos más y descubriremos que Price no será el único que verá su vida desmoronarse. Que el subsodicho “extraño” se dedica a revelar secretos inconfesables a otras personas, causando daños familiares catastróficos. ¿Quién es este personaje y qué gana con ello?
    Novela típica de giros, muy al estilo de Harlan Coben. Te garantiza una lectura trepidante, con algunas reflexiones sobre el estilo de vida americano con las que estoy bastante de acuerdo. Los diálogos son uno de sus puntos fuertes, y la trama no pierde interés hasta el desenlace. En definitiva, buscaba un buen thriller, y “The stranger” no me ha decepcionado.
    Report

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