Shelf Discovery Challenge Report: Stranger With My Face by Lois Duncan

Have you ever been haunted by the feeling that someone is spying on you, lurking around your house and yard, even entering your bedroom? Are your friends plotting against you when they say they've seen you do things you know you haven't done? What's going on — and does Laurie really want to find out?

This was actually the creepiest Lois Duncan book that I read for the Shelf Discovery challenge. More so than all the other books (except maybe A Gift of Magic but that one wasn't scary at all) this book uses supernatural elements that make things unexplainable. Without spoiling the story, Laurie's double creates a lot of trouble for her especially when she discovers the truth about her identity and her past. She's not sure what on earth other people are seeing but soon becomes suspicious as she starts to feel a presence she can't explain. It's quite spooky as it involves elements such as mind control and taking over other's bodies. It's really quite a good read that will tingle the spine.

What drove me a bit nuts at times was the fact that people were getting mad because they thought they saw her when she said she wasn't there. Interestingly, all the people who thought they saw Laurie never actually talked to her, so I saw no reason as to why they should get mad at her. Just because you think you saw something, even if it was with your own eyes, can't be proven unless you have more concrete evidence. What I found interesting is that the book ends rather abruptly, in fact in the middle of a sentence. I personally am not sure if that meant the Laurie, as the narrator was just trailing off for dramatic effect or if something happened to her to cut her off. Either way, it's an ending that grabs your attention.

This is another Lois Duncan book that was made into a movie, as this one was just made into a Lifetime movie last year. But from reading the synopsis, it appears that they changed the plot significantly so I'm not sure how true to the story the movie is. However I still would be looking forward to watching it. After reading all these books and catching up on Duncan's novels, I still have to say that Locked in Time is still my all time favorite of her books, but the ones I read for the challenge were all enjoyable. It was really cool going back and discovering one of my favorite authors again.

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