The Stranger She Knew

‘Cutting between past and present, Stopps has written a tense page-turning thriller that is also a powerful study of old age and disability’ The Times

‘I devoured Hello, My Name is May…May is a brilliant character. Spiky and very funny, and the setting of the care home is superbly realised…a masterful feat of storytelling’ Tim Pears, author of The West Country trilogy

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They wrote it on the wall above my bed. Hello, it said, my name is May. Please talk to me.

May has been moved to a care home after her stroke. She can’t communicate, all her words are kept inside. If she tries to point, her arms swing in wild directions, if she tries to talk, strange noises come out of her mouth.

May is sharp, quick, and funny, but only her daughter Jenny sees this, and Jackie, a new friend at the home who cares enough to look and listen closely.

When May discovers that someone very familiar, from long ago, is living in the room opposite hers she is haunted by scenes from her earlier life, when she was a prisoner of her husband’s unpredictable rages. Bill, the man in the opposite room seems so much like her husband, though almost a lifetime has passed, and May’s eyesight isn’t what it was.

As Bill charms his way through the nursing home, he focuses his romantic attention on Jackie, while all May can do is watch. She is determined to protect Jackie and keep herself safe, but what can she do in her vulnerable, silent state?

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‘A masterpiece of tension . . . An expert exploration of ageing, and mental health, and what happens to our faculties as we get older . . . Highly recommended’

‘A lovely book and one I found hard to put down . . . a recommended read’

‘I dived in without knowing much about the story and I ended up loving it. It was one the best reads’

‘I wasn't able to put it down once I started it and I certainly wasn't expecting the ending. I shall be recommending this book’