Creep: Jennifer Hillier

Pulsing  with the dark obsession of Radiohead’s song “Creep,” this taut thriller—Jennifer Hillier’s superb debut—rockets from its seductive opening to a heartpounding climax not easily forgotten.

If he can’t have her . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren’t, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she’s finally engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she’s taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won’t let her walk away.

. . . no one else can.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death.

Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn’t resist—who is now the monster who won’t let her go.

Good Reads Summary

An incredibly exciting read.  The first few pages will draw the reader into the novel and create the atmosphere that is perfect for a horror novel.  Sheila and Ethan were lovers that should never have been.  Sheila attempts to break off the affair, setting Ethan into an obsessive spiral where he just can't seem to let go.  Sheila works to keep her fiance in the dark about her affair and Ethan's obsession.  The reader will enjoy the dynamics between this awkward threesome; emotions run high, the fear Sheila feels will be tangible to the reader.  The events of the novel are fast-paced, the reader will not be bored.  The author skillfully creates the character of Sheila so that the reader ends up being on her side for the majority of the novel, a rare feat when the main character has an affair on the side.  This novel was interesting and will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat.  Recommended for adults who enjoy the horror and mystery genres. 

4 Stars