Scan barcode
A review by stephreadseverything
Mister Tender's Girl by Carter Wilson
3.0
The book, which is based loosely on the Slender Man case is about Alice, who was attacked by twin “friends” if hers in England at age 14. The terror twins were convinced that Mr. Tender, a character in a graphic novel created by Alice’s father, was imploring them to kill her. She survives and moves to the US, where she spends her days owning a coffee shop and her nights being (understandably) terrified of her past. Sort of predictably, she starts getting weird messages from a stalker who seems to be obsessed with her and her history, and she must figure out who it is.
.
There was a lot done well in this book: I was interested in Alice’s character, who wasn’t a typical victim/damsel in distress. She suffered debilitating panic attacks but was aware and worked through them in way I found to be described really well. Alice also took self-defense classes and would kick a dude’s ass if she had too, which was unique. The psychological relationship with her mother and brother was fascinating and terrifying, so much so that I wish that had been the novel. I honestly could have done without the “hey there’s a psycho stalker” angle, and would’ve enjoyed a book focus solely on how Alice was coping (and not coping) with what happened to her and coming to terms with things she failed to due to her trauma.
.
Where the novel got a little cheesy for me was the main point of figuring out who this stalker is that enters her life in the form of mail/texts/computer messages. The theme of “there’s no hiding in the Information Age” was interesting enough, and the novel did a good job of portraying people obsessed with true crime, but it went a bit...far. I can’t say much about the ending without spoilers, but it was eye roll inducing. It does have all the aspects of a good thriller: a terrible crime, creepy-ass twins, a psycho stalker, surprise sub-plots out of left field, and more! Still, overall, it was a creepy and fun thriller, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you read it!
.
There was a lot done well in this book: I was interested in Alice’s character, who wasn’t a typical victim/damsel in distress. She suffered debilitating panic attacks but was aware and worked through them in way I found to be described really well. Alice also took self-defense classes and would kick a dude’s ass if she had too, which was unique. The psychological relationship with her mother and brother was fascinating and terrifying, so much so that I wish that had been the novel. I honestly could have done without the “hey there’s a psycho stalker” angle, and would’ve enjoyed a book focus solely on how Alice was coping (and not coping) with what happened to her and coming to terms with things she failed to due to her trauma.
.
Where the novel got a little cheesy for me was the main point of figuring out who this stalker is that enters her life in the form of mail/texts/computer messages. The theme of “there’s no hiding in the Information Age” was interesting enough, and the novel did a good job of portraying people obsessed with true crime, but it went a bit...far. I can’t say much about the ending without spoilers, but it was eye roll inducing. It does have all the aspects of a good thriller: a terrible crime, creepy-ass twins, a psycho stalker, surprise sub-plots out of left field, and more! Still, overall, it was a creepy and fun thriller, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you read it!