Title: These Cold Strangers
Author(s) Name(s): J. T. Ellison
Published in: February, 2023
Why You Might Like This Book: Read this book if you enjoy
- dark suspense,
- a sudden twist,
- psychopathic characters, and
- unsettling short fiction.
Who Should Avoid This Book: Avoid this book if you are triggered by or dislike
- death of a parent,
- death of family members,
- grief and loss,
- assault and violence, and
- survivor’s guilt.
Addison Blake has moved far away from the home and the town she grew up in after her entire family and her boyfriend were murdered when she was a young girl, when she was away from home, partying with her friends. Initially, the police, owing to the circumstances and any evidence clearly pointing to anyone else blamed her back then. Even though she is far away, she is still under medication and therapy and carries a massive survivor’s guilt. Call it fate or coincidence, but she is made to visit her past. How will that turn out?
The story begins with a shocking event from the past, and in the present, there is a young woman, Addison, who lives alone in DC and works as a columnist for the Post. Even after ten years after her family members and boyfriend were killed in her hometown, she still gets nightmares and panic attacks sometimes. It is to avoid being alone at home that she rents an office that she shares with three other freelancers.
She hears about a viral video on social media, from her co-worker and friend Leslie, that when someone was almost dying, for hours, by the side of a road, several people passed by and none of them stopped. How cruel and uncaring the world has become! But one man stops by and does everything he could, including calling the emergency, trying to help him and save him.
But here is the surprise (not really a surprise for those who have read the blurb!): she knows the man everyone in DC is suddenly talking about, the new viral sensation. This is Todd Preis; they went to the same high-school, and she even had a crush on him. Now, her friend is correct: if she chases this story, she will get a full-time job at the Post and she can secure her long-term career as a journalist, so she decides to travel back to her hometown, something she has been avoiding for a long time since that tragic, horrific event had happened.
Addison travels to Marchburg to find him and gett his piece done, but is it safe, emotionally and for her health, to go back there? When she does reach there, she meets him. Todd is surprised and excited; the two even seem to feel some kind of mutual attraction when they reconnect after all this time. But when she tells him why she has travelled this far now, he rejects the idea of an interview for her column right away. She thinks through different possibilities about her career – should she give up, should she stay there in Marburg and work on another happening case instead, all while still holding the pain that it was in this town that her whole family was brutally murdered 10 years back. Suddenly, there is an unexpected but pleasant twist, which soon turns into something dark.
Even though this is a short story and the first half is a bit dull, the suspense feels like it’s worth it. In fact, it can even be intense and heavy in the second half. Most of the story is narrated in the first-person form, by the lead character Addison. While it is not a plot twist you can’t guess, the story is still good for those who like dark fiction and shocks. Reading “These Cold Strangers” has made me want to try more of J. T. Ellison just to see how her novels will be. I will give this a 3.5-star rating.
