The Good Stranger by Dete Meserve

This is the best “feel good” novel I have read in a long time. It's a mystery unlike any I have ever read before. Rather than finding a killer, this novel features Kate on the trail of a mysterious person doing good for others anonymously.

This is the first Kate Bradley novel I have read but it reads well on its own. I'm going to read the earlier novels, I liked this one so much. Kate is newly arrived in Manhattan from Los Angeles, going from a regional television outlet to a national one. I like how we get to see the flavor of Manhattan and the workings of the media outlet.

When anonymous nice acts are being done, Kate is on the job, getting the story and trying to find the good person. I like this discussions about motive. Why would someone be doing those acts? Is it some gimmick, some promotional push that will be publicized in the end? I also like the debate about covering the story. Do television news watchers want stories of hope or stories of corruption and disaster?

And perhaps the ultimate question is whether being made aware of acts of kindness will change people. Could acts of kindness change others to be kind too? And what about the references to Romans 8:28? Do all things really work for good?

I really enjoyed this well crafted novel. I found Kate an engaging character and I loved the plot. There are book club questions included so this would be a wonderful choice for a reading group.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Dete Meserve is the award-winning, bestselling author of three novels in the Kate Bradley Mystery series and a fourth stand alone mystery novel. Her first non-fiction book, Random Acts of Kindness, co-authored with journalist Rachel Greco, was published in March 2019. Her first novel, Good Sam, was produced as a feature film for Netflix Original Film and was released in May 2019. When she is not writing, she is a film and television producer in Los Angeles and a partner and CEO of Wind Dancer Films. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children and a cat. You can find out more at https://detemeserve.com/ .

Lake Union Publishing, 283 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)