Fiction Addict

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Literary

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Publication Date: September 2009

Reviewed by Shaun Stevenson

I will admit I didn’t know where The Familiar Stranger was going to take me. After reading the plot synopsis on the back, I kept thinking, “Hmm… is this going to really grab me… or is it just going to play out like a Christian soap opera?” Thankfully, it didn’t take me very long before I realized that new author Christina Berry had put together some very suspenseful ideas with Melody Carlson-esque characters. And I definitely couldn’t stop reading.

The plot opens out simply enough: typical all-American family: Craig’s a dentist; Denise is a home maker caring for their two sons. They go to church, they have a nice house, and of course the marriage has its rocky moments. But then Denise gets a phone call during church saying that there’s been a terrible accident. Her husband is in the hospital and in a coma. The family rushes to his side, and that’s when things start twisting: Craig’s lost his memory completely. And as they start to figure out his life from the ground up, they both start discovering that their typical all-American family is not quite what they all thought it was…

The writing is pretty crisp and things move along at just about the right speed — Berry gives us enough mystery to keep us wanting to figure it out, and enough of the raw emotions to keep pages turning. Actually, that’s the one place Berry really shines: in the emotions. The characters are fully formed, and the pain that Craig and Denise work through as they re-discover their lives feels real. And with some truly creepy plot twists, there’s enough to keep things interesting.

The only thing I was really worried about going in was the unique story structure. Each chapter is split into scenes from His point of view and Her point of view — sometimes the same time period being covered by both of them to give us both sides of an exchange. At first, I thought I was going to be confused or annoyed reading the book that way — but after the first chapter I got used to it, and actually found myself enjoying the uniqueness of the whole idea.

Overall, The Familiar Stranger is definitely a strong debut from Berry. And if she keeps writing such vulnerable characters dealing with such real heartaches, she will be an author to keep an eye on in the future.