As I'm reading this book, I had the same thought over and over. Gehrman and I must have some of the same friends on social media. You know the ones. They're constantly seeking a guy that will give them what they deserve, to be worshipped. "I want his every breath to be about me. I want him to fall so helplessly in love with me that he can't function." Every single one of those people should read this book. The distance between 'I live for you' and 'tied up in phone cord and handcuffed to someone committing suicide' is sometimes a simple nudge.
Because this book is told from the perspective of our two main characters, Sam and Kate, it gives us an in-depth look into their minds. The real value here is that we get to watch Sam grapple with his motivations. Not merely grapple, but make distinctions as well. The problem wasn't that they had sex. The problem was that he wasn't any good at it. Those distinctions make a difference in defining the character. For me, this study of humanity was absolutely fascinating.
The main characters are both aspiring writers, so it was really fun to see Gehrman throw in parts of the real writing/publishing world. There's a scene where Kate is teaching about using different points of view and the purpose of each. At the same time, you really connect with the reason Gehrman uses the point of view she does in the book. There are lots of interesting correlations like that in the book.
As a thriller, it was pretty solid. There isn't a lot of gore, but there's plenty of drama. The psychological aspect is really the key ingredient here. If you're a fan of suspense, you'll enjoy this one. However, if you've been traumatized by a stalker in your life, you may want to pass this one up for PTSD reasons.
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