Review: All These Perfect Strangers - Aoife Clifford

 

Review: All These Perfect Strangers - Aoife Clifford - March 2016

Before I discovered and opened this book, I thought I would enjoy it as the cover gave off an eerie mystery thriller feel to it and as I opened the page , I first discovered that the book was set in the late 80's/ early 90's and that it was in fact a New Adult version and the writing style reminded me of the British Teen Author Anne Cassidy whom I loved growing up as she wrote books with edgy topics and murders and one of my favourite is called Looking for JJ - which was about a child who murdered another and went into juvie and came out with a different name, a new identity. One thing that these books always show us readers though is that no matter how hard you try to distance yourself from your past life - you can never ever get a clean slate and escape it as it will always find a way to inch itself and be revealed in your new life. All These Perfect Strangers features Penelope aka Penn Sheppard. When she was fifteen/sixteen - she was out with her best friend Tracey and her friend killed a cop - the two girls were arrested but Penn was released and Tracey from what I gathered ended up killing herself.  What followed was a few years’ visits with the local shrink Frank. Now two years later, Penn is headed to college and has been awarded a bursary scholarship. She is hoping for a nice clean slate. Though it seems after a few months on campus that death likes to follow Penn as not one, nor two but three deaths happen on campus to people she knew including a close friend called Rachel and if Penn isn't careful , then she may be the next one to end up in the ground as her permanent residence.  As this was written with the influence I found of British novels  I have to admit for myself personally I found the book to be quite slow and detailed. Then again, I find when it comes to mysteries and thrillers I am more partial to the American writing style due to their fast-paced writing.  All these Perfect Strangers is a cross between Anne Cassidy's writing and in the same tradition as far as theme goes with Kimberly McCreight's Reconstructing Amelia.