Tuesday Intro: The Stranger by Saskia Sarginson

Once again I’m linking up again with Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea who hosts a post every Tuesday for people to share the first chapter / paragraph of the book they are reading, or thinking of reading soon. In really enjoy these tasters when I read them on other blogs so wanted to join in.

This week, I’m reading The Stranger by Saskia Sarginson, which I got a review copy of last week and needs reviewing by next week (it’s due out 23rd March if memory serves).  I have only read one other book by Sarginson, Without You but I really enjoyed it so am looking forward to this one.  Here’s what it’s about…

We all have our secrets. Eleanor Rathmell has kept one her whole life. But when her husband dies and a stranger arrives at her door, her safe life in the idyllic English village she’s chosen as her home begins to topple.

Everyone is suspicious of this stranger, except for Eleanor. But her trust in him will put her life in danger, because nothing is as it seems; not her dead husband, the man who claims to love her, or the inscrutable outsider to whom she’s opened her home and her heart.

And here’s how it starts…

Prologue

You were born just before Christmas. After all that hate, there you were. Being you. Staking your claim.  I thought I’d see him inside you. But there was no trace of his features in your small face. You were a stranger to me, a terrifying wonder. We cried all the time. You howling in earnest, and me seeping water silently without really knowing why. It was while you slept that I dared to marvel at you: your spiky lashes wet with tears, the way your toes curled in the palm of my hand, and the smell of your flaky scalp under the surprise of your thick, dark hair.  As I pressed my lips to your neck, I felt the tug of my womb contracting, a pain that connected us, a reminder that you were still a part of me.

What do you think – I have to say I like it but do you, and would you keep reading?

Emma

Buy now: Amazon UK / Amazon US