by C. L. Taylor
‘Have some respect.’
‘Respect?’ His face twisted into a sneer. ‘For you? I could fucking flatten you. Piss off back to the old folks’ home you waste of space.’
Larry’s pulse quickened. ‘Come here and say that.’
‘Nah.’ The young bloke waved a dismissive hand through the air and turned to go. ‘I don’t fight old men.’
Larry ran at him and pushed him hard in the chest, the force enough to knock him clean off his feet. His arms windmilled desperately as he fell and then splash; the river swallowed him whole. Larry rushed to the edge of the path and watched him flailing around in the dark water, gasping and spluttering as his coat billowed around him, pressing up round his head. There was a moment – a good two or three seconds – when Larry considered diving in after him. Nah. He shook his head decisively. Fuck him. If he was such a big man he could get himself out.
That night he slept better than he had in months.
His second victim didn’t see the shove coming. Larry had trailed him for a while after spotting him arguing with a girl on the steps of the amphitheatre where he’d called her all sorts of horrible names. She’d run off crying and the bloke – a miserable excuse for a man – had set off for a wander, a bottle of vodka in his hand. After he disappeared under the water, Larry didn’t stick around.
He decided not to do it again. To get away with it once was lucky, twice was a fluke, but then he heard that little weasel, Liam Dunford, blackmailing Gareth and the injustice of it all made his blood boil. He was only popping up to the changing room to get something out of his bag. Alice didn’t like him sharing the shop changing room with the sales girls. She said it made some of them feel uncomfortable. Larry wasn’t bothered. He thought the world had gone unisex mad and besides, he likes the camaraderie of being around the other security guards even if the only thing he has in common with most of them is the job. He was rounding the first set of stairs when he heard Liam’s whiny demands. Horrible little runt. He knew Gareth’s mum wasn’t well, they all did, and there he was, blackmailing the bloke, trying to steal his hard-earned cash.
Now Larry allows himself a brief little smile of satisfaction as the gap closes between him and the drunk singing and stumbling towards him. It turns out he might have decided how to spend his retirement after all.
Reading Group Questions
At certain times of the book, we see the response to events on social media in the form of Twitter posts. What do you think this adds to the novel? Do you like it?
Strangers focuses on three main characters – Alice, Ursula, and Gareth. Who did you feel most connected to, and why?
Towards the start of the book, Alice has an unpleasant date with Michael. Do you think she handles this interaction in the best way? How did this scene make you feel?
Whereas many crime books focus on the idea that a crime is always committed by someone you know, this novel focuses on the notion that strangers are the ones to watch out for. Do you agree with this? Which idea is most frightening to you – the idea of being hurt by a stranger, or by somebody close to you?
What did you think of the way things ended for Joan? Are you glad her story ended where it did?
How important do you think the shopping centre setting is as a pivotal place in the novel? Why do you think the author chose a shopping centre for this key scene?
Ed behaves badly in this book – but how far does what happened in the past go towards excusing what he does?
The central theme of the book is loneliness. How successfully do you think the author explored this theme?
Do you think Ursula was right to get involved in Nikki’s situation? Why do you think she responded the way she did?
Acknowledgements
Strangers is set in Bristol and, while a lot of the locations are actual places, some have been invented to suit the plot. The Meads is a fictional shopping centre. It was named by Johanet Sloan who won a competition on my Facebook author page. Thank you to the readers who offered their surnames for some of the characters in this book, and to my Twitter followers who let me use their handles. The conversations they have in this book are fictional and don’t reflect their personalities or views.
Strangers wouldn’t be the book it is without input from my amazing editor Helen Huthwaite. She pushes me to make my books the best they can be, responds to my emails with lightning speed and never, ever drops the ball. She’s also a genuinely lovely person. A huge thank you to Phoebe Morgan for stepping into Helen’s shoes as she goes on maternity leave. My book couldn’t be in safer hands and I couldn’t ask for a nicer person to work with.
Grateful thanks as always to my superstar agent Madeleine Milburn who has been with me every step of the way over the last eleven years of my career and continues to be the best agent on the planet. And a big thank you to Hayley Steed and Liane-Louise Smith for working their magic with TV options and foreign rights.
If you’ve read about this book in a magazine or heard me talk about it at an event or on the radio that’s down to the high priestess of publicity, Sabah Khan. Thank you for your PR voodoo (I still can’t believe you got me on The Sara Cox Show!). A huge thank you to marketing maestros Hannah O’Brien and Ellie Pilcher for their innovation, creativity and hard work. Big smooches to Anna Derkacz for making me laugh over boozy lunches (and being a sales superstar) and to everyone at Avon and HarperCollins who work so hard on my books. Thanks also to John Rickards for doing a superb job on the copyedits. For anyone looking for a freelance editor/copyeditor John is your man!
I would have struggled to research this book without the following people who answered my endless questions: Tony Kent and Neil White for legal expertise, Stuart Gibbon for police procedural help, and Scott James who talked me through his experience of working as a security guard.
My family and friends are the people who keep me going when doubt sets in, deadlines loom and my stress levels rise. Big love to my parents Jenny and Reg Taylor who have supported me every step of the way (and foist my books onto everyone they know), my sister Bec Taylor who is my biggest cheerleader and my brother Dave Taylor who shares each and every one of my social media posts. Lots of love to Lou Foley, Sami, Frazer and Oliver Eaton, Sophie, Rose and Mia Taylor, Ana Hall, James Loach, Angela Hall, and Steve and Guinevere Hall. And ALL my love to Chris and Seth – my little family and my everything.
Thank you and kitty kisses to Rowan Coleman, Julie Cohen, Kate Harrison, Tamsyn Murray and Miranda Dickinson for holding my hand every step of the way. Drunken fist bumps to my criminally good friends for entertaining me and making me laugh. Massive hugs to the friends who support and put up with me, you know who you are.
Finally, a huge thank you to the publishers, booksellers, retailers, reviewers, book bloggers, librarians and readers who acquire, stock, recommend, lend, borrow and buy my books. I am hugely grateful.
And thank YOU for choosing to read my book. I hope you enjoyed it.
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About the Author
C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.
By the same author:
The Accident
The Lie
The Missing
The Escape
The Fear
Sleep
For Young Adults
The Treatment
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