The Stranger's Bed


Fiction - Suspense
245 Pages
Reviewed on 09/10/2023
Buy on Amazon

Author Biography

Born in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Oliver Sands maintained his relative sanity by escaping into the works of fiction his parents kept in their modest bookcase. It was there he discovered his love of character and story.

He left the North with an engineering masters and a dark sense of humour, and spent some years in Galway, Dublin and London, before totally ignoring his aversion to heat and Vegemite by settling in Sydney. He returns to Ireland when he can and would like to grow old by the Atlantic.

Oliver's debut novel, 'Breeda Looney Steps Forth', was highly praised by PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "his lyrical prose consistently impresses. Tense and affecting, this is a worthy page-turner."

Oliver's second book, 'The Stranger's Bed', released in September 2023, is a gripping suspense about grief, guilt and the risks one woman will take to uncover the truth about her missing friend.

To learn more about his upcoming books and to say hello please visit OliverSandsAuthor.com

    Book Review

Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

The Stranger's Bed is a psychological thriller by Oliver Sands. It's been three months since Anna Moriarty's best friend and housemate disappeared without a trace. Plagued by grief and guilt, Anna still hasn't given up on her missing friend, even though everyone else seems to have. While on a romantic getaway with her Australian boyfriend at a remote cottage, Anna can't help feeling someone else is following her every move. Meanwhile, the house itself is as unwelcoming as it gets, and its owner, who has swapped houses with Anna, has a sadistic streak that can be disastrous to her two cats. As events become more chaotic, Anna wants to leave the place and go home until she finds something in the shack that changes everything. But she may be putting herself in even graver danger than she realizes.

The Stranger's Bed is one of those thriller stories that has your attention on lock from beginning to end. Oliver Sands infuses a potent mix of suspense, mystery, and thrills into a gripping narrative that refuses to let go of you. You feel a palpable sense of tension and dread from the first page onward as the main protagonist reels from the aftereffects of her friend's abrupt disappearance from her life. Sands does a brilliant job of putting readers directly into the character's headspace, and it gives you full access to their actions and motives. Anna is a riveting personality who you can relate to, and you can't help sympathizing with her plight. I was completely hooked by the sleuth mystery element of the plot and highly recommend this book to thriller and mystery readers.

Frank Mutuma

Anna and Ger are roommates, and things are going quite well before everything goes south. Dan is visiting from Australia, and after meeting Anna, they become partners. Is Dan hiding something from Anna? Anna has not been herself for the past three months after the disappearance of Ger, but she was determined to make their getaway weekend enjoyable, considering Dan was leaving for Australia. Through the house swap website, Dan secured a nice place, but they were shocked when they arrived. The house is a total disappointment, and there is no Mrs. Cassidy. Hopalong has been using his mother's account to lure his victims. Is Hopalong involved in Ger's disappearance? And how will Anna escape from him after he returns to find her alone? Get a copy of The Stranger's Bed by Oliver Sands to find out.

The Stranger's Bed by Oliver Sands didn't disappoint. I was hooked from the first chapter to the last. The fast-paced narration and flawlessly flowing story kept me intrigued and entertained. The twists and turns in the plotline also kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened in the subsequent chapters. Oliver also used suspense to great effect and ensured the descriptions of events and places captured the reader's imagination. The characters were also well-developed and contributed to the beauty of this wonderful work. The reader will also appreciate the easy-to-understand language, which makes it accessible. I cannot wait to read something else by this talented author.

Anne-Marie Reynolds

The Stranger's Bed by Oliver Sands is filled with suspense. Anna felt responsible for her best friend’s abduction, and the guilt was tearing her apart. Her boyfriend Dan arranged a house swap weekend. They went to a secluded cottage where Anna could relax and forget about everything. But it wasn’t to be. The property was dark, secluded, dirty, and deserted and Anna couldn’t settle down. Instinct told Anna that the owner might have something to do with her friend’s abduction. Events got out of hand and secrets surfaced as Anna struggled to maintain her grip on reality. Was she about to die at the hands of her best friend’s abductor, or was the truth a little closer to home?

The Stranger’s Bed by Oliver Sands is a thrilling tale, with plenty of twists and turns that lead you down dead ends before the truth is finally revealed. I loved the plot. It had just the right amount of tension that kept me hooked all the way through, and I virtually read it in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down. The characters were excellent, so well developed that you get inside their heads. You won’t know who to believe or who to trust, and when the truth comes out, it will surprise you. If you enjoy suspenseful stories with a touch of psychological thriller added, you will love this book. The action is non-stop, heart-pounding, and sometimes terrifying, and you’ll live every page of this story as if you were there, experiencing it for yourself. A highly recommended read if you appreciate a good spine-chiller with a unique plot.