Book Title: YouWhat did I think?
Author: Caroline Kepnes
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library
Amazon UK, Goodreads
Goodreads Summary: When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
I picked this book up on a whim because I like dark main characters. Not only is the main character dark, every character in this book is frankly unlikeable. I enjoyed reading about them but I'd rather cut a finger off than spend time with any of them, thank you very much.
The book is told in the 2nd person and tells the story from the point of view of the stalker, Joe, who is going after Beck, determined to make her his. The use of 2nd person makes it so Joe is addressing Beck directly throughout the book.
"You walk into the bookstore and keep your hand on the door to make sure it doesn't slam."
It's creepy. It's disturbing. It's gross. This book made me recoil in horror. To be in the mind of someone like Joe is horrendous. I winced more than once and I even closed the book a few times whispering, no, no, no!
Caroline Kepnes captures the thoughts of a sociopath like Joe well. Joe is convinced Beck loves him. He's convinced he's the good guy. Anything bad he does, Beck made him do it. Watching him justify his actions from up close is actually downright frightful.
I read this book in a single afternoon, I just couldn't stop and had to find out how it ends. Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't mind vulgar language, some sexual content and being inside the mind of a seriously deranged human being.