The Closer I Get
By Paul Burston
4/5
()
About this ebook
A compulsive, disturbingly relevant, twisty and powerful psychological, social-media thriller ... NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
'Brilliantly twisty. I loved it' Lisa Jewell
'Another dark banger from the Orenda Books stable... A brilliant, twisty cat-and-mouse book about fandom and obsession' Erin Kelly
'Effortlessly readable, intensely chilling. That ending floored me' Chris Whitaker
***LONGLISTED for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize***
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Tom is a successful author, but he's struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won't leave him alone.
Evie is smart, well read and unstable; she lives with her father and her social-media friendships are not only her escape, but everything she has.
When she's hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing.
But things aren't really adding up. For Tom is distracted but also addicted to his online relationships, and when they take a darker, more menacing turn, he feels powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he's letting on.
A compulsive, disturbingly relevant, twisty and powerful psychological thriller, The Closer I Get is also a searing commentary on the fragility and insincerity of online relationships, and the danger that can lurk just one like' away...
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'This book will make you rethink your social media obsession. Dangerous from page one, lit by bursts of black humour, ultimately honest about the frailty of ego and the masks we all wear. Terrifically readable' Sarah Hilary
So good. Such brilliant characters. Great premise and a thrilling read' Nina Pottell, Prima
'A sucker-punch of a twist that took my breath away! Absurdly gripping, and enough to unnerve anyone who has ever spent any time online' Angela Clarke
'As perfect a thriller as you'll read all year' Caz Frear
'A gripping ride through the heartlands of need and hurt. Even at his most thrilling, Paul Burston never loses his sense of real pain and suffering' Philip Hensher
'Chillingly recognisable. A delicious tour de force' Alex Marwood
'Compelling, creepy and completely believable' Mel McGrath
'Dark, devious and with a growing sense of dread' Neil Broadfoot
'Brilliantly written, tense and compelling' Amanda Jennings
'Dark twisty fiction at its very best' SJI Holliday
'One of the best books you'll read this year' Ed James
'Unsettling. Taut. Menacing. Burston puts the killer into killer twist' Jonathan Harvey
'Witty and insightful' Susie Boyt
'Brilliant, chilling, totally awesome writing' Miranda Dickinson
'An absolute stunner... with a deliciously twisted ending' Lisa Hall
'The book is a masterpiece in sustained suspense and smart literate contemporary horror. Bravo Mr Burston' Derek Farrell
'Very easy to read, certainly keeps you hooked in with plenty of twists. I suspect it will be a big read this summer' Fiona Sharp
'It's about a gay novelist who becomes the target of an online stalker and is dark, thought-provoking, and totally riveting. As comebacks go, it's on a par with Madonna bursting out of a giant disco ball in a pink leotard!’ Matt Cain
‘Gripped and terrified by Paul Burston’s new novel, bloody hell!!!’ Rowan Coleman
Paul Burston
Paul Burston is an award-winning, bestselling author and editor. He has written for many publications including The Guardian, The Independent, and Time Out, and was also the founding editor of Attitude magazine. His novels have been optioned for television and have been shortlisted for many literary awards. He is the founder and host of London's award-winning LGBT+ literary salon Polari and founder of The Polari First Book Prize for new writing.
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Reviews for The Closer I Get
4 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I found this a tedious read, and not particularly enjoyable. Great premise, but I did not find the execution compelling.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Closer I Get is a book with a very topical theme, one of social media and how something that is mostly positive can become very negative very quickly.Tom is a published author. His first book was incredibly successful but his second has bombed. Everyone is wondering if he's a one-hit wonder. But in amongst all those people is Evie, a fan who has become obsessed with him. Her infatuation has not yet turned into violence but she's harassing him online to the point that he has to get the police involved. But for all that he's concerned about her behaviour, there's a part of his ego that needs her attention. It's a fine line, don't you think, between courting attention and that attention becoming unwanted?This is such a good read. I thought the author did a fabulous job at portraying Tom as the victim and Evie as the perpetrator and yet also showed that sometimes it's not as clear cut as that. Tom also made mistakes. Nevertheless, Evie is a scary individual, measured and careful in her stalking, ensuring that Tom can never be sure she's not behind him in the street, on the other side of a fish tank in an aquarium, or responsible for a tweet that may or may not be aimed at him. I could see how Tom was beginning to question everything and in that way Evie was slowly breaking him down.This is a dark tale. I didn't know who to trust. Did I believe Tom was totally innocent? Did I think it was all down to Evie? What about Tom's best friend, Emma? And Colin, his neighbour when he decamps to Hastings to try and finish his third book. The waiter that Tom takes a fancy to whilst out to dinner with Emma. Such is the intrigue level that I suspected them all of being a bit on the dodgy side.There's a rather clever twist at the end, clever to the point that I had to read part of it again to really take it in. Sometimes, things aren't all they seem! This is a book that had me hooked, just wanting to know what was going to happen next. It's an excellent psychological thriller.