Creep by Jennifer Hillier is a novel in a genre I don't read very often- mystery thriller- but the synopsis caught my eye and I decided to try out this debut novel about an obsession gone too far. It is the story of Dr. Sheila Tao, a professor of psychology who has a passionate affair with her much younger graduate student Ethan Wolfe, but when she breaks up when following her engagement to a loving and safe investment banker, Ethan isn't going to just take no for an answer. If Sheila is going to try to reject him, Ethan has just the plan to make her pay, and with a student already having been found dead there may be more than just Sheila's reputation at risk.
As I already mentioned, Creep is definitely a book outside of my normal reading, which consists mainly of literary fiction and YA, but Hillier did manage to keep my attention. She has a thrilling premise and the novel is certainly a page turner so overall I'd consider it a success. I especially enjoyed the last quarter or so of the novel, which is when I found it finally got that creepiness the title promised. Creep is heavy on the sex- Sheila's a recovering sex addict, after all- as well as violence, language, and all those other fun things. Still, I would have been surprised if it wasn't based on the summary. It did seem to take a little while for the story to get started, and the premise itself wasn't terribly original although Hillier does do her own spin on it.
When it comes to character development, Creep is a bit lacking but it's also not really the main purpose of this genre either (although it's still nice), the purpose is to keep the reader's attention and take them for a thrilling ride, and Hillier certainly manages that. That said, I didn't particularly care about what happened to Sheila, I never actually liked her as a character, but I was interested in finding out how the events would unfold. The mystery is more subtle and it sneaks up on you, as does the storyline. Overall, the characters in Creep are pretty superficial but it definitely manages to live up to its title and Hillier has written a book with plenty of twists, turns and intrigue to satisfy any mystery lover.
Release Date: July 5th 2011
Pages: 357
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Source: Simon and Schuster Galley Grab
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