Synopsis:
After some fitful nights waking up out of breath, Katherine worries she might have inherited sleep apnea from her parents. To investigate on the cheap, and following suggestions from her doctor, she decides to record herself sleeping for three weeks. When the doctor examines the tapes he discovers something deeply unsettling happens while she sleeps. A man has been getting into bed with her night after night, and leaving before she wakes up.
Scott Lynn, her stalker and unknowing sleep companion, works for security company and uses cameras to watch her. He’s a ghost – police have no information on him. The family hires a private detective, but nothing stops him getting close to her. We never know much of Scott and his motivations until near the end of the book. He’s a constant ominous threat which generates lots of gripping tension due to his elusiveness, the mystery of his motivations, and the stress that the situation brings to Katherine and her family.
As we follow Katherine and her fears not only for herself and her ill mother, we have great empathy for her and her situation. She’s a great character and progressively stronger as her experiences take their toll on her. Towards the end of the book, we get a huge twist and the story goes in an extremely unexpected direction. There is much more to things than it initially seems. I’ll avoid spoilers, but the direction the book went for the finale was excellent and I really didn’t want it to end. This is a story about obsession and family, and it’s a whirlwind read at 92 pages. I look forward to reading what Jack Follman comes up with next.
Reviewed by Andrew Tadman. @thebooksofblood
