Book Review: Perfect Stranger by Gregg Dunnett

Solid Thriller. This is one of those mysterious road trip thrillers where things start out clearly "off"... and turn rather explosive indeed. For those new to Dunnett, this is a pretty solid introduction, as it really does show off everything you really need to know - and that I've come to deeply enjoy across several books now. (Including having The Lies, the conclusion of his Detective Erica Sands series, to read here in the coming weeks before its release in just over a month!)

Here, we get a standalone thriller that jaunts through Europe a bit even as it mostly stays within one general region - we get a bit of an alternate (not really dual) timeline going that provides some critical backstory that meets up with the main story earlier than many such timelines do, though admittedly the initial jump to this aspect of the story can feel a bit jarring. Stick with it though, because that timeline will keep you on the edge of your seat within itself... and sets up a wildly explosive story when it joins up with our actual primary tale.

This tale isn't for the faint of heart though. Spice level is up around jalapeno at least, with our young couple very much into each other and not exactly timid about it. If a bit of under clothes touching gives you the vapors... this story is going to knock you slap out. On the flip side, if you need erotica to think a story is sexy enough, this is going to be more like an Indian tasting British food... it aint gonna be anywhere near spicy enough for you. But beyond the spice level itself, this is a story that goes into certain related areas that will make most quite uncomfortable indeed (and should!), and that some really won't be able to handle at all. But that's about as close a warning as I can get here without diving into spoiler territory.

Still, truly an excellent road trip mystery, one that builds well and is quite complex and layered. Dunnett truly does an excellent job weaving this tale together, and the end result really is quite a fun read indeed... even with the aforementioned quite difficult subject matter included.

Very much recommended.

This review of Perfect Stranger by Gregg Dunnett was originally written on August 26, 2026.