Creep By Jennifer Hiller

       I guess there are times when you read certain reviews and think that this should be a good book especially when you get recommendations from Jeffrey Deaver and Lisa Gardner.  If there was one way in which they described the book that was true, it was frightening.  Unfortunately, I did not feel this way once I finished the book. 

        Maybe you could say that the characters are engaging and are interesting to follow.  Dr. Sheila Tao being a brilliant psychologist but hiding the fact that she is a sex addict seems intriguing.  The rest of the characters seem intriguing as well.  That’s where the story ends for me. 

         Basically, I thought the story fell apart.  The biggest turnoff for me was the kidnapping and the hostage situation.  I thought the whole thing made me cringe and difficult to read through.  Nothing suspenseful about it.  A book like Snowbound by Blake Crouch is a good example of not having to use a hostage scene like that and why you don’t need it.   Barry Eisler’s book The Detachment was a great example of how to portray a scene like this. 

          The biggest flaw to me was the real protagonist of the novel coming out of left field.  Throughout the whole book, this person is never brought to life until the end and that seems to make the whole thing a better mystery.  I don’t think you’re playing fair with the readier by doing this.  Let the character be part of the story and they can still be a shock at the end of the story.  Otherwise, don’t do that. 

           Were there moments of suspense?  Yes.  There were quite a few and that was the only reason I was able to get through the book.  Other than that, once the story finished, it wasn’t much of an ending to me.  

            While the story has great character development, I would say that the story could of been better if the one character who was hidden throughout the story would have made it a better story if her character was developed.  I can only give this book two stars.  

Ron Hummer