Will I love You?

This is another book that I discovered after seeing the TV show. The Netflix adaptation is fairly faithful to the text, but I still really enjoyed the novel because the writing is witty, clever, and beautifully paced in a way that makes you want to keep reading when you know you should turn out the light and go to sleep.

The little character quirks add realism and some much-needed light relief to a pretty dark story. For me, the scariest thing about this book is, even though our lead character goes to extreme lengths most of us would never even… show more.

I’ve written horror all my career: seven novels, 100 short stories, and two feature films (based on my books). This book by Carolyn Kepnes made me want to switch genres.

I loved reading from the perspective of the antihero, being in his thoughts, and understanding why he was making such rash moves. 

This is the most original book I have read in years. I can hardly wait to read the sequels. I will confess that after reading You I watched the television adaptation and all the sequels. I was just not ready to say goodbye to Joe in much the same way he was reluctant to say goodbye to his girlfriend, Beck.

Joe Goldberg is the most likeable manipulative, homicidal stalker you will never want to meet. He makes Dexter Morgan look like an ordinary well-adjusted fellow.

The writing is brilliantly clever, and Joe comes alive on the page as we crawl… show more.

Okay, so this novel is technically about a deviant, sociopathic stalker. However, written from the first person perspective, you’ll find yourself oscillating between shock and admiration at Kepnes’ antihero Joe Goldburg, who’s on a Machiavellian quest to make Beck fall in love with him. Whilst, Joe is a sexual perpetrator, Kepnes also gifts him with fantastic wit, borrowable chat-up lines, and the ability to hold a glib mirror to the world of modern dating.