A fast-paced domestic thriller about two women and how the choices they make to escape their perilous marriages set them on an explosive collision course.
The thriller Not So Perfect Strangers by L.S. Stratton is a race and gender bending take on Strangers on a Train, where one fateful encounter between two desperate women sets them on a twisted and deadly course.
Tasha Jenkins is ready to leave her abusive husband, but circumstances bring her right back to the place she tried to escape.
Madison Gingell wants out of her doomed marriage. When she flags down Tasha in her car one night, she sees an opportunity to help each other out of their situations.
Yet Madison has very different ideas from Tasha on how that help should play out.
Not So Perfect Strangers has the makings of an excellent Netflix or Lifetime adaptation. It has a domestic setting and situation, wild turns, a protagonist trying to do the right thing for her family while being pushed to the limits, and a scheming, truly unhinged antagonist.
At a turning point in the book, Madison hatches a plan that will have a direct and significant impact on Tasha without Tasha’s knowledge or permission. Madison’s line of thinking clearly illustrates her state of mind while commenting on conflicts of race, class, and gender:
“One of us has to take the initiative to make the sacrifice. And as I learned in the diversity and inclusion workshop organized by my women’s networking group, one of the top ten steps of becoming a good ally is to not make it about you and be willing to make sacrifices to help implement change.”
Both women are trapped due to their gender status in society, yet while Madison thinks she’s sharing the same experience, Tasha’s situation and lack of options are very different and far more dire. Citing a DEI workshop shows not only that Madison’s completely unattached from reality but is also in a higher class where she would actually be able to participate in one, whereas Tasha is underemployed. Madison refers to herself as an ally, presumably to Tasha, casting herself as someone who is doing something for someone else, for the cause, when in reality it’s a hundred percent about herself.
With a few twists I didn’t see coming, a full circle ending that reveals how the characters changed, and smart commentary on current social concerns, Not So Perfect Strangers is a fun ride for anyone who appreciates a smart yet entertaining domestic thriller.
Shannon Yvonne Moreau 