Twenty Years a Stranger blurb

Is it possible for anyone to really know another person?

That is the question Grace King must ask herself when she receives an email informing her that the man she has been married to for the last twenty years is an accomplished con-man, leading multiple lives with at least four different women. Worse still, she learns he has children with these women, but Daniel always told Grace he didn’t want children…

In a split second, Grace’s world is torn apart. She is forced to face up to the fact that her marriage is a sham and the enviable lifestyle she enjoyed with Daniel was all based on lies and deceit. With Daniel suddenly threatening to go bankrupt, Grace decides to turn amateur detective in an attempt to salvage anything she can from her old life and avoid financial as well as emotional ruin, but can she cope with what she finds out?  

As increasingly disturbing secrets about Daniel emerge, events spiral out of control and Grace begins to see just how far he is prepared to go to protect those secrets. A dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues, but it is clear there can only ever be one winner. Pushed to breaking point, Grace is about to discover what she is truly capable of.

Everyone has choices and those choices always have consequences.

Content warnings for Twenty Years a Stranger:

• Stillbirth or loss of a baby
• Abuse and domestic violence
• Suicide

My thoughts on Twenty Years a Stranger

Twenty Years a Stranger is the debut novel by Deborah Twelves, a dark thriller based on real events from the author’s life. It largely follows Grace, married to Daniel, and two of the women he’s been engaging in long-term affairs with. When the truth comes out about his multiple lives, the women he’s been involved with have to decide how to handle the revelation. And Daniel has to figure out how far he’s prepared to go to sustain the life he’s constructed for himself.

I was gifted a copy of Twenty Years a Stranger in exchange for an unbiased review as part of the damp pebbles blog tour.

The characters feel very distinctive

While Grace is clearly the protagonist, we spend a lot of time with two of Daniel’s ‘other women’. Lorraine, who was just divorced when she came across an elusive stranger on a dating app. And Jane, recently widowed, who knew Daniel was married from pretty early on and set out to ‘win’ him anyway. All three women have very distinct characterisation throughout the story, which I appreciated.

None of them are particularly sympathetic; the novel presents an extensive look at the most unpleasant parts of everybody’s personality. At the same time, you can’t help but feel for them – particularly Grace – as they learn the full extent of the lies they’ve been told. Despite that, it’s hard to really root for anybody in the novel, and not just due to their personalities.

The writing style made it hard to get too invested

There was a definite emphasis on telling over showing in the narrative. This allowed for the covering of long periods of time in just a few paragraphs. On the other hand, it made it hard to feel attached to the characters or plot at some points. I wanted to see the build-up to a tense conversation! I wanted to read how Grace broached the difficult subject, see the change in Daniel’s expression as his mood turned. What that looked like in the book was: “Daniel did not react well when I confronted him about what Frieda had told me and predictably turned the tables on me about snooping behind his back.”

It was a very efficient way of telling the story, which obviously has its advantages! But I think it sacrificed a lot of the tension and emotional investment that we could have otherwise had.

The relationships were the most interesting element of Twenty Years a Stranger

I enjoyed some of the fun friendships that we got to see throughout the book. There were also some interesting moments indicating some of the more subtle ways that abuse can play out in a relationship, which I thought made for compelling reading. There were also some interesting interactions between the women Daniel had been messing around with. I’d have liked to see more of this, honestly – since the women were so individual and intriguing!

A messy story, neatly told

Twenty Years a Stranger manages to take a deeply untidy situation and tell it very neatly. It’s interesting to watch the situation unfold from a range of perspectives, despite largely following Grace as she tries to navigate her husband’s deception. Full of highly distinctive characters, the story unfolds through twists and turns. Providing a compelling portrait of a relationship with a pathological liar, Twenty Years a Stranger may not be an easy read, but it’s certainly an intriguing one.

If you’d like to know more, you can check out this interview between Alison Pierse and Deborah Twelves:

And if you’re interested in buying Twenty Years a Stranger, you can find it here:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/36JHKTQ
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3ns1P83