FINALIST ― 2019 ITW Thriller Award (Best Paperback Original)WINNER ― 2019 Colorado Book Awards (Thriller Category)
How far are you willing to go for Mister Tender?
At fourteen, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn’t exist. His … by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn’t exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice’s own father in a series of popular graphic novels.
Over a decade later, Alice has changed her name and is trying to heal. But someone is watching her. They know more about Alice than any stranger could: her scars, her fears, and the secrets she keeps locked away. She can try to escape her past, but Mister Tender is never far behind. He will come with a smile that seduces, and a dark whisper in her ear…
Inspired by a true story, this gripping thriller plunges you into a world of haunting memories and unseen threats, leaving you guessing until the harrowing end.more
I knew it had twists, but still I was surprised. And when I thought I had it figured out, it fooled me. Surprises in many ways. Loved every minute of it. Also, its based loosely on a true story.
I won this in the late Fall last year, and didn’t receive it until February. To be honest, I’d forgotten about it – then it suddenly arrived. Then it sat on my To Be Reviewed pile – because, again, forgotten…
I’m SO glad I picked it up – I read it in a marathon over a couple of days (I don’t get hours and hours at a time to read anymore, Life constantly interferes, so my marathons these days are longer than they used to be) and the creepy feeling of being watched never left me from the first pages to the last!
Carter Wilson has created a seriously creepy tale of paranoia, fear, love, trust, and twisted emotion that was a marvelous read full of spiderweb corners and pictures with eyes that follow you around the room.
The inspiration (the Slender Man stabbing) offered an eerie background fog; Wilson’s version of a similarly-inspired attack whispers in the dark, creating a chilling sensation that something is coming, you just never know quite when or how. Then – BAM! – it hits, and everything is thrown into violent technicolor upheaval. Just when it seems like poor Alice is finally getting a grasp on things – BAM! BAM! – another one-two punch comes along to knock her off-kilter… She manages to remain standing (no small feat, that) and Wilson manages to keep both the knocks and the stand-stills engaging, entertaining, and page-turning (again, no small feat).
It’s not for the faint of heart. There’s a LOT of truly gruesome bits here, as well as an atmospheric creep-factor that is almost off the charts. The book brings to life not only Mister Tender and his graphic form of evil, but also the less obvious but no less insidious forms that are found lurking in the constantly-watching, constantly-connected modern technological era as well – and at times, it is difficult to say which creeped me out more.
This was a great, quick read full of surprises, shadows and switchbacks – I’ll be watching for more from Carter Wilson, and so should you!
My review copy was provided through BookishFirst.
easy read, pretty dramatic
knock off to a real tragedy
Cherie’
How far would you go to gain the thing you want the most in the world?
Alice Gray, formerly Alice Hill, knows the answer to that better than anyone. The idea is connected to her father’s graphic novels and one character in particular—Mister Tender. Alice hates the comic for all that it brought her. At age 14, her friends, convinced Mister Tender was real, tried to kill her. Because of that, Alice grows up trapped inside her mind. When references to Mister Tender begin to appear fourteen years later, she realizes that her past is catching up to her. Just because she ran away from it all, doesn’t mean she could hide.
This book was one of the best psychological reads I’ve encountered in a long time. Usually, I can guess who the bad guy is halfway through a book but this one totally took me by surprise. There were so many elements of different mental health issues that were touched upon in this book that made it all the more real, especially in Alice. The author gives the readers a very realistic look into how a survivor of violent crime thinks and feels. It’s because of this depth that the story really pulls the reader in.
A little overwrought and waaay overplotted. Didn’t finish.
Different. Very different