'Stranded' is an amazing combination between an intense thriller-like stalker story, a sizzling romance, and a character study which, through tension and drama, brings out the worst and the best in both main characters. It is also a highly entertaining account of one Broadway actor's experience making his first movie while being stalked, and a look at a writer's career taking a slight detour as he figures out what's really important. The central event, Kendall being stranded in a car in the desert, helplessly handcuffed to the steering wheel, had me extremely nervous before I even started reading this book. Having lived in Arizona for two years, I know exactly how hot it can get out in the desert once there's no air-conditioning. The description of what Kendall goes through when it happens to him were certainly realistic enough to make me shudder.

Kendall is a very successful Broadway actor and has starred in several plays and musicals. Making a movie is new to him, but when the right offer comes along, he jumps into the new experience with both feet. The movie will require him to film several scenes locked into a car in the desert – not something that will be easy for him to do since he hates confined spaces. The initial wrangling with the director about how to play certain scenes made me laugh, but they figure out how to work together pretty quickly. The one drawback about being in LA while his partner remains in NYC is that Kendall is lonely and starts to think about their relationship. Recently, it hasn’t been as good as it used to be, and, in the manner of lonely people, he begins to doubt everything. When the stalker first appears Kendall is ready to suspect everyone, and the situation comes to a screaming crescendo when he ends up locked in his car in the desert – for real. His thoughts during the almost three days he spends in utter isolation and fear certainly felt real to me!

Johnny is a historian who decided to write books instead of going into teaching. Kendall called it teaching in a different way and I can see that work. The story is told entirely in Kendall's point of view, and it was interesting to learn about Johnny through his eyes. Initially, there was a lot of doubt, phone calls from "research assistants" seemed suspect, and as the story develops, so do Kendall's ideas abut what is going on with Johnny, and how it affects their relationship. The whole situation was as fascinating as it was scary.

I can’t say too much about the way everything develops without spoiling the surprise for you, but I will say that the suspense remains high until the very end. There are some very tense moments, let me tell you, and I stayed on the edge of my seat until the final pages. If you like stories with plenty of tension, as much from the plot as from the characters' interaction, if you enjoy reading about men managing their lives and personal relationship in stressful situations, and if you're looking for a read that is intense, hot, filled with suspense, and full of passion, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did – which is a whole lot!





NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
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Stranded," by Andrew Grey is part of our free November Tweetaways! Available for an hour.
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I read "Stranded" today, in one day!

This was a great mystery. From beginning to end, you were wondering who the bad guy was, who the good guys were, and if Johnny and Kendall were going to make it!

The characters seemed so far apart at the beginning, and I guess that makes sense seeing as they were supposed to, but to watch them come together was absolutely stunning.

Loved this, very much!! ( )