“The Stranger” (Netflix)
Author Harlan Coben and Netflix have a mutually beneficial arrangement. He writes novels and then they are developed into TV series for Netflix. This worked with “The Five,” “Safe” and now “The Stranger.” This leads one to the assumption that it is a Harlen Coben world and we are just allowed to visit it.
“The Stranger” is the latest adaptation of a Coben novel and it can be streamed on Netflix if you have the time. I zoomed through all eight episodes without coming up for air. It is that good and that engrossing.
It starts with a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen) approaching an attorney named Adam (Richard Armitage) and telling him a secret about his wife Corrine (Dervia Kerwan). It is a “secret” strong enough to put stress on his marriage and family and eventually leads to a variety of assaults and even murders.
I had read THE STRANGER before I watched this series and I didn’t realize or remember how much plot there was stuffed into its pages. The show has a main plot and several subplots. Some minor ones flow out of the main story whereas others are just coincidental. But be prepared to have to keep track of numerous characters both large and small.
The best part of the series is the use of amazing twists and turns. Coben wants to keep us all off balance and he does so in many ways. Plus each episode ends up with a cliffhanger of sorts. You just have to move on to watch the next episode.
The story is set in England and features a group of actors who are not very familiar to American audiences. The person I was most familiar with is Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”). I was not familiar with Armitage and that worked to his advantage in playing an “everyman” sort of character. The storyline is a little Hitchcockian in that it takes one innocent person and plunges him into a complex dramatic situation.
If you look quickly in either the first or second episode you will see the great Harlan himself playing a computer operator. That too is a tribute to Hitchcock who always made an appearance in his movies.
“The Stranger” is a breathless rush of entertainment. It grabs you from the start and holds on to you for the entire eight episode run. Each episode is like the potato chips that said bet you can’t eat just one. Well I defy you to watch just one episode. You can’t. It is too compelling.
Harlan Coben has written a wealth of novels. His newest THE BOY IN THE WOODS will be out in April. Wonder which one of his books will be made into a Netflix series next? I am anxiously awaiting it.
“The Stranger” is available on Netflix.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
