Road trips seem better suited for a comical story of family bonding than a YA thriller such as Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards. For Mira Hayes, Christmas isn’t the happy time of year it might have been, with news of her mother’s divorce that was kept from her and the weight of an aunt’s passing heavy on her mind. Mira is determined to be there for her mother, so when her connecting flight is canceled due to a harsh blizzard, how could she refuse the offer of a free ride?
But then the weather and the car ride reveal themselves to be worse than she thought. Riding with four college students, it’s quickly apparent that each has their own secrets. The only challenge is deciphering which are red herrings. After the big reveal, however, some of the secrets were answered vaguely at best, the existence of some characters seemingly added just to add suspects in the back of readers’ minds.
Though Mira doesn’t discover this until the end, Richards begins writing letters in between chapters. Addressed to Mira, they’re from a mysterious, unknown sender showing signs of a dangerous obsession with her. They’re intriguing additions that make more sense as the story progresses.
On the other hand, the sender’s identity (though not immediately obvious) wasn’t the most climactic, potentially due to the limited number of suspects. Although some readers found the pacing to be perfect, the beginning focused on setting the story up and starting to spread confusion, only to resolve the conflict fairly quickly.
Richards’ Five Total Strangers was easily captivating for those who don’t mind frequent ‘petty’ arguments or predictability, put less of a priority on a connection with the characters, and don’t mind the usage of very convenient scenarios and plot devices that decrease believability. In short, the plot makes an intriguing story as long as readers take their personal tastes into consideration.
