3.5 I found it a bit creepy and got frustrated with the main character at times ( )

Most of us are familiar with the stories of celebrity stalkers. Less publicized are accounts of everyday people being stalked. This is one fictionalized account of Clarissa, an office administrator at a university, who endures the unwanted obsession of a university professor, Rafe. After spending one night of non-consensual sex with him, which she feels is due to his having drugged her wine, she becomes aware that he is following her and leaving her unwelcome reminders of their evening together.

Meanwhile, she is serving jury duty for an intense criminal case, where she is intrigued by Robert, a fellow juror. Their interest in each other grows while Rafe's obsession accelerates. This is a cleverly-crafted, chilling debut novel. ( )

Found myself wishing something would happen already. No surprises. ( )

This is a very uncomfortable read. A woman is being stalked and she is keeping a diary of all he says and does as evidence. At times you wanted to shout that she had enough and she should get help. The book was well written but rather creepy because of the subject matter. ( )

So this is not a book that I would usually seek out but I have been reading more mystery/thriller books these days.

"The Book of You" written by Claire Kendal will cause your pulse to race and your hair to stand on end at times.

The main character Clarissa is dealing with an obsessive co-worker named Rafe. Clarissa is still reeling from a breakup with a man and attends an event for Rafe. Feeling lonely and a bit sorry for Rafe she stays and unfortunately one night which she cannot fully recall has caused Rafe to start stalking her everywhere she goes. Clarissa starts to keep a journal of everything that Rafe does hoping that she will eventually have enough evidence to provide to the police to keep him away from her. However, Rafe is able to twist things around to make it seem like he and Claire are in a relationship and she is just mad at him.

I really thought this book worked but I gave it 3.5 stars because including the jury trial that Clarissa was part of and the actually subject of that trial (gang rape) was just too much for me to read at times. I think that delving into two women's stories ended up taking away from the main story of Clarissa and what she was experiencing with Rafe.

Also I thought that the way the story was written with going back and forth between what occurred in the past with Rafe and also intermixing it with Clarissa's relationship with her ex and her friends was also hard to wade through. When the character of Robert was introduced I thought that it honestly didn't make much sense based on what Clarissa was experiencing with Rafe. I was surprised that as written the character would be okay with starting up a relationship with someone knowing that Rafe is stalking her and not going away.

Additionally, I can honestly say that there were some scenes towards the end I found very hard to get through and the ending was so vague that I was left perplexed by what it all meant.

Would warn potential readers that this book deals with stalking and rape. ( )