Elizabeth Klehfoth | ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS

Plot (via Goodreads):

In the last day of summer, Grace Fairchild, the beautiful young wife of real estate mogul Allister Calloway, vanished from the family’s lake house without a trace, leaving behind her seven-year old daughter, Charlie, and a slew of unanswered questions.

Years later, seventeen-year-old Charlie still struggles with the dark legacy of her family name and the mystery surrounding her mother. Determined to finally let go of the past, she throws herself into life at Knollwood, the prestigious New Englandschool she attends. Charlie quickly becomes friends with Knollwood’s “it” crowd.

Charlie has also been tapped by the A’s—the school’s elite secret society well known for terrorizing the faculty, administration, and their enemies. To become a member of the A’s, Charlie must play The Game, a semester-long, diabolical high-stakes scavenger hunt that will jeopardize her friendships, her reputation, even her place at Knollwood.

As the dark events of past and present converge, Charlie begins to fear that she may not survive the terrible truth about her family, her school, and her own life.

Review:

ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS is a paragon of the perfect summer read. Klehfoth has a voice that dazzles, intrigues, and intimidates. Her writing is razor-sharp and sensational. The plot to this novel is spectacular and inviting. Combine that with  dangerously well-written characters, a gorgeous setting, and a novel that teeters on the brink of different genres and you have one hell of a winner in my eyes.

This novel is like Cruel Intentions meets Pretty Little Liars meets Gillian Flynn. I absolutely loved the back and forth between different family members of the Calloway family and how the storylines (twenty years apart) blended together so smoothly as this read continued. Similar to the writing style of Flynn, Klehfoth's characters were mostly unlikeable and not to be trusted - just how I like them. I loved every aspect of this storyline. It has drama, a bit of comedy, and a gorgeous cold case mystery. Not only that, but the boarding school setting just adds so much to this novel, then you have the glitz of the city, the ominous setting in a house by the sea...I mean, come on; this novel was meant to be devoured piece by piece. And did I ever. 

I loved the characters in this novel. They were ruthless, genius, and terrifyingly entertaining. I loved how Charlie Calloway wasn't your cookie-cutter sweetheart who hasn't done a thing wrong her entire life. She was strong, unapologetic, and imperfectly lovable all at the same time. Bravo to Klehfoth for not writing a female protagonist that requires saving, a shoulder to cry on, or assistance in getting to the bottom of this multi-layered novel. My only downfall was that throughout the novel between Charlie's classmates, friends, family, and friends of the family, it was hard to keep track of all of the characters between her perspective and other characters perspectives as well. Granted, Klehfoth does a great job of weeding out the ones that are mention-only by the second part, but it was a little intimidating at first.

I cannot say enough great things about this novel. I was completely immersed and this is easily one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in my hands in a long time. Thank you so much to Elizabeth Klehfoth for combining so many beautiful things in a book that I love and cramming it into a 400+ novel that has not one word wasted throughout. 

Special thanks to William Morrow for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5