A Familiar Stranger

Lillian Smith, the principal narrator of this gripping psychological thriller from bestseller Torre (The Good Lie), has a lot to worry about: her husband, Mike, is cheating on her; her high school junior son, Jacob, is becoming extremely alienated and uncommunicative; and she’s fired from her job as an obituary writer for the Los Angeles Times. Doubting that Mike will end his affair, Lillian decides to embark on an affair of her own after meeting David Laurent, the owner of a screen-printing T-shirt company who lives in Nevada but regularly visits L.A.—and to adopt the identity of a recently deceased woman with an exciting life. The trouble begins when a video of Lillian—specifically identifying her as “Jacob’s mama”—appears on TikTok showing her scantily clad and kissing David. The tension grows as flashbacks over a period of two months, amid many twists and turns, build up to the death of an unknown person. Along the way, the author skillfully reveals the characters’ many lies and secrets. Torre knows how to keep the reader guessing. Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Assoc. (Sept.)