An intrepid journalist confronts a small town’s dark secrets in Come and Get Me, a breakneck thriller for fans of Tess Gerritsen and Julia KellerAt Indiana University, someone’s been studying the female student body: their dating customs, nocturnal activities—and how long they can survive in captivity.When award-winning journalist Caitlin Bergman is invited back to campus to receive an honorary … back to campus to receive an honorary degree, she finds an opportunity for a well-earned victory lap—and a chance to face the trauma that almost destroyed her as an undergrad. But her lap becomes an all-out race when a student begs her to probe an unsolved campus disappearance: Angela Chapman went out one Friday night and never came back.
To find the missing woman, Caitlin must join forces with a local police detective and the department that botched her own case so long ago. But while Caitlin follows the clues behind Angela’s disappearance, someone else is following her…
Unearthing secrets hidden beneath an idyllic Midwestern college town, Caitlin must expose what really happened to Angela—before she herself becomes the newest addition to a twisted collection.
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I absolutely loved this book. It was such a good thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat almost from the very beginning. I loved the setting, characters, the realism of the story and all the feelings it gave. It was one that was impossible to put down.
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of this book. I highly recommend it.
A huge 5 stars from me.
Caitlin Bergman, the main character in Come and Get Me, is a complicated woman who returns to her alma mater to accept an honorary degree and resolve unfinished issues. The mystery of her past intertwines with the current mystery of a missing college student. Norman’s debut novel is fast-paced and complex. Even though the story had many characters, his compelling descriptions made it easy for me to keep track. Beware that for some readers the college partying and subject matter was pretty dark and disturbing. I look forward to the next in this series.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review. I love suspense/thrillers and this one certainly fits the bill in that category. This was my first book from this author, but I am sure it won’t be my last. I found the book to be very well written, lots of wonderful characters and a storyline that pulled me in and didn’t let me go until the end of the book. I was so engrossed in the book, and read most of the night. This is the first book in a new series, and I look forward to reading more from this series. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone that loves suspense/thrillers.
A smart, fast paced psychological thriller! Caitlin Bergman is my new hero. She’s a spunky journalist with realistic, relatable flaws. I can’t wait for her next adventure!
A high-octane thriller that tests the limits of friendship and dishes up a satisfying platter of karmic payback. It kept me emotionally taut from cover to cover.
An amazing read that builds throughout and ends with an unexpected climax.
Carefully crafted.
Intelligently written.
Looking forward to Norman’s next book.
I didn’t want this book to end, but I was worried my favorite characters wouldn’t survive if they had to endure one more page of surprises. I loved all the twists and had a great time trying to figure out what was coming next.
/ 5
Come and Get Me by August Norman is a wild ride that takes you through social issues like rape and lands you in a mystery that is anything but simple.
What it’s about: Journalist Caitlin Bergman has gone back to her college in Indiana to accept an honorary degree after leaving before she was finished due to an unimaginable horror. After being asked by a student to look into a two-year-old disappearance on campus, Caitlin will need to work with the police department that botched her case so many years ago and face her trauma, all while trying to find the missing girl before the person watching her… gets her first.
I’m not sure I would call Come and Get Me complete nonstop action, but man was this book good. There is definitely plenty going on, and Caitlin is a badass, even though her past trauma is threatening to hold her back while she is in Indiana. She is whip smart (I can’t even believe her fountain of knowledge) and a total smart-ass which at times made for some pretty funny reading. There were also other great characters in this book, and I was a huge fan of Caitlin’s friend Mary as well.
Most of the novel is told from Caitlin’s perspective, but there were also 2 other viewpoints that made for some chilling and action-packed reading. At times the book felt like a bit like a police procedural, which is something else I really liked although I know it isn’t a procedural. I think I am a big fan of journalists as main characters, and if you are too then you are going to have to add Come and Get Me to your must-read pile.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Won’t Look Back by Atmosphere (feat. Kim Manning)
Final Thought: Come and Get Me does have a trigger for rape, but besides that it wasn’t too bad. It definitely wasn’t as disturbing as some of the books I’ve read lately, but that shouldn’t downplay how important this novel is. I really enjoyed both the writing and the pacing, and even though it did take me longer to read than I thought it would for being on the shorter side, that didn’t discourage me at all. I actually found it rather hard to put down, and always wanted to know what would happen next. If I were still doing half stars this would definitely be a 4.5 for me!
This was an unexpected little gem.
To be honest, it had been at the bottom of my nightstand pile for a while, but I picked it up late last week and tore through it in about five days. The scenes toward the end were crazy intense—like classic Alfred Hitchcock—a great mix of thriller and horror.
The story follows a reporter named Caitlin Bergman who returns to her Alma Mater, Indiana University, to help find a missing college student and to put her own demons to rest. It was a very quick, fun read. Norman really excels at two things: pacing and dialogue. Chapters were short, clever, and linked well together even when switching points-of-view. The dialogue was truly outstanding. He expertly captured the voices of a wide cast of characters, from the caustic wit of the protagonist, to snarky college students, college professors, Midwestern cops, and a meticulously sadistic serial killer.
I’m definitely looking forward to the next one.
Caitlin Bergman is a woman with a dark past and a bright future. She leaves the bright lights of her LA home to visit her old college campus, receive a long-delayed journalism degree and sign a few copies of her book, but what she meant to be a brief stopover turns into an exhilarating and terrifying adventure. Faced with the mystery of a vanished student from two years ago, she faces the ghosts and demons of her past while investigating what sort of monsters might still prowl the Indiana campus.
August Norman has written a tight, fast-paced and exciting thriller filled with memorable and relatable characters. Caitlin is smart, savvy, and quick on her feet; she is also flawed, reckless, and borderline self-destructive. She refuses to let the trauma of her past define her, though it colors every decision she makes. A fantastic read; I look forward to her next appearance!
Wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to go away to college after reading this book! What can happen to girls away at school, drugs, alcohol and sex. Lots of characters, so if this is an issue for you you might not want to tackle it. It is a page turner with, of course, a surprise at the end.
Caitlin Bergman, an award winning journalist, returns to the university to receive an honorary degree. She missed getting it twenty years earlier because she bailed out of college weeks before earning her degree. In her thank-you address, she spontaneously reveals that she left because she had been raped.
Caitlin is a savvy independent female protagonist, but now that she’s back in town her panic attacks have increased. She realizes that she needs help and is able to find it with a former professor/psychologist.
While she is in town, a young woman vanishes, joining the one that disappeared two years ago. The local police seem loath to fully investigate. Caitlin determines that the disappearance of these two girls be fully investigated—unlike her own rape.
This story is written by a male from the first person female perspective. The current “own voices” clamor says that only those who have experienced a particular sexuality or torment should be able to write about that experience. My feeling is that any empathetic person can write about such experiences. Norman does a good job both with the female POV and handling the messy, distasteful details of abduction and rape. If you are an “own voices” proponent, you won’t care for this book. If you’re not, you’re in for a real treat of a thriller.
Come and Get Me by August Norman
Cannot believe this is the authors 1st book! This book and the characters were very well written and developed and the story, though uncomfortable subject matter did a fine job of bringing it all together. From beginning to end I did not want to set this down till I was done. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers of Crooked Lane for allowing me to read this in return for leaving my honest opinion. I do recommend this book and will be waiting for more from this author and Catlin Bergman!