At the same time, Joe is wickedly smart and able to get away with several major criminal acts. He has a very dark and at times sick sense of humor, and I could not help but chuckle going through some of his rants. At some point, when I was probably about 70% done with the book, I did not think I could stay in Joe's mind any longer. It is just too lonely, dark, insecure and disturbing. But I pushed through and finished the book. It is totally worth it.
This book is also eye opening in pointing out how vulnerable many of us are. Our lives are easily accessible online (especially on social media): details about our work place, favorite places to frequent, hobbies, children, etc can be pulled up with a click of a mouse. In the wrong hands, this information can truly be deadly.
Now let's talk about Joe's obsession: a young aspiring writer/MFA student Beck. She is also a study in contradictions. She is flighty, insecure, selfish and constantly craving attention. In other words, even though Joe completely creeped me out, I also could not understand the choices Beck was making. So in a way, it was easier for me as a reader to get attached to Joe, rather than root for Beck.
The only weak point in the plot I thought was in the very end: the way Joe commits a perfect crime and frames Dr. Nicky. For a book that contained nauseating details about Joe's every thought and action, this last point was not well explained and felt a bit of a stretch to me. Even though Joe did live mostly "off the grid", Beck's friends knew about him so I find it utterly unbelievable that he was not called in for questioning of any kind. The book seems to imply that he completely evaded the radar of law enforcement.
Other than this last point that left me puzzled, the book does a great job describing Joe's sick thinking, I do highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers or is interested in a study of a stalker's mind. I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars.
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