The Hook:
While on the road with someone she met on her college’s ride share board, Charlie Jordan becomes increasingly convinced that the stranger in the car with her is in fact the serial killer who has been stalking the campus.
My Impressions:
It’s hard to make something scary and delightful, but this book manages it. I had a blast reading it, and that fun was only enhanced by the edge-of-my-seat state of suspense I was in. Just when I believed I had the plot figured out, more twists appeared and made me gasp out loud and whisper “oh of course” as the pieces fell into place.
Told in a cinematic style that practically begs to be adapted for film, Sager’s tense thriller had me hooked from the start. The themes of reality and self-doubt brought the atmosphere into an almost gothic space, and every scene advanced the story with such precise pacing it felt as if I were watching a movie in my head.
If you’re looking for a book to read on a long cold night that will compel you to finish it in one sitting, this is the book for you. Fans of Stephanie Perkins who are looking for slightly less gory fare than her horror YA will likely enjoy this book. Sager has a delicious authorial voice ideal for the fast pacing of the thriller genre, and this book really shines because of it.
Happy reading!
Kat Pollock 