Review: 5 Total Strangers ~ Natalie D. Richards

                                     Image from Goodreads. Click on the cover to read more about the book.

Format: E-book/Audiobook Combination

Pages: 302

Running Time: 7h:56m

My Rating: 2 stars (ope)

Publication Date: October 6th, 2020

Here's a review that I originally posted on Goodreads because I'm a slacker and just recently decided to get back into posting reviews on my blog again like the professional reader I am...

Ahem.

For sure spoilers ahead so if you're planning on reading the book then.....

thou shall not continue reading the review.

This kind of book is way way outside of my comfort reading genres. I like to feel warm and fuzzy when reading, not stressed and paranoid.

"Kait why the heckity heck are you reading this then?!?! Makes no sense."

Well I'm glad you asked. It's for work. Like, for realsies. And I like to try to read outside my comfort zone on occasion, but man oh man.

So let's talk about it. First, why the H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS are you getting in the car with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR complete strangers (I really don't understand how she thought they knew each other). And on a super sketchy, blizzardy night?! You've clearly never driven in that kind of weather. Bad bad idea.... Like the whole story was literally a sequence of reeealllly dumb decisions, one right after another.

But I digress.

I called who the bad person was from the beginning. Even when sketchy things were happening and trying to divert your attention towards someone else, I was like nah *name redacted for spoilers* is pretty sus. Guess my Nancy Drew and Diagnosis Murder binging when I was younger actually paid off.

And the guy in the yellow hat?? Huh? Am I missing something? I don't think so, at least not according to the reddit thread I was reading where a bunch of people were discussing the same things. How the heck did he keep finding them? In that blizzard? And not only was he finding them, he was there BEFORE they were. And what of the smell that she described. The "Popular in Pennsylvania cleaner" is that all it was? Was there something bigger?? Kayla literally just walks away. Do they find her? Does she freeze to death? Something worse? And despite the fact that it was Josh The Gaslighter's fault, Breckin still ran over someone and probs killed him. What happens there? I understand that this is just a book, but I need answers and gaps filled.

I didn't hate it, I guess, it just isn't my thing. But if you like YA and thrillers, this would be a good one to read.

Did It Make Me Cry? No, but it made me want to scream with frustration. UGH.