Stalking You Now, Jeff Strand

A brilliant tale of a serial killer who ends up with more than he bargained for.

- Review by Cindi

Most who follow this blog and my reviews on the other site know the types of books I normally read.  I normally stay within the LGBT genre with emphasis on romance or family-type books.  On occasion I feel the need to step away from those books and go back to some of my original loves... thrillers and mysteries.  I admit to being somewhat hesitant to read Stalking You Now as I've never read anything from this author before and I would be going in blind, so to speak.  I needn't have worried.  This book was brilliant.  It's short (140 pages according to the book page on Goodreads) but a lot is said in those few pages.  Did I mention it is brilliant?

A man sits alone in a restaurant watching a group of men at another table.  He makes contact with one, a man he is stalking, but that contact is subtle.  He follows the men to a bar and makes contact again.  The man thinks the stalker is a gay man hitting on him so there are a few choice words aimed in his direction.  Being hit on by a supposed gay man would be the least of this man's problems.  The stalker wants revenge and he has had 25 years to plan it so the night will not end without him finally doing what he set out to do.  What he doesn't plan on is someone else screwing up his plans.

I can't really go into this story without giving one big spoiler and I refuse to do that because I want others to read it and I won't spoil it for them.  I felt like I was reading a Rick R. Reed book without the gay characters.  Rick R. Reed is the king of gay horror (and I'm a huge fan) so that is a major compliment to this author coming from me.  The author took a horrible serial killer and made him likable.  Yes, likable.  I found myself rooting for him as the story played out.  This is full of violence but it is also full of dark humor and I found myself smiling more than once before I got to the end.  The ending?  Perfect.   I will definitely be seeking out more by Jeff Strand.

This book was provided by Net Galley and Dark Fuse Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.