The Perfect Stranger is a mystery/suspense set in western Pennsylvania. Leah is a former journalist for a newspaper in Boston who has moved to rural Pennsylvania to "start over." She's now teaching high school and living in a cabin on a lake with a roommate, Emmy. Leah and Emmy also roomed together briefly after college. Leah was forced to quit her job at the newspaper because of an accusation she made in an article she wrote. The details of that are dribbled out slowly. Meanwhile, a young woman named Bethany was found coshed in the head with a rock near Leah's house and is in a coma in the hospital. Also, Leah's roommate Emmy appears to be missing, though she's not really sure since Emmy works odd shifts and is a bit flighty. The story essentially revolves around these three young women, Leah, Emmy, and Bethany, and how their lives are related, or not, as the case may be.I thought this was a solid read, although maybe not quite as good as Miranda's first book, All the Missing Girls. The mystery unravels bit by bit and there is a creepy element with someone stalking Leah. Some of the details of earlier circumstances remain murky even at the end, so that was a little disappointing. I also thought the "romance" subplot fell flat because the characters didn't really know each other but aside from those flaws, I would recommend this one.
