I Follow You by Peter James @panmacmillan @peterjamesuk #IFollowYou

 I Follow You by Peter James

Published by PanMacMillan

Publication Date: 1st October 2020

Genre:Psychological Thriller

Book Description:

To the outside world, suave, charming and confident doctor Marcus Valentine has it all. A loving wife, three kids, a great job. But there’s something missing, there always has been. . . . or rather, someone . . .

Driving to work one morning, his mind elsewhere and not on the road, he almost mows down a female jogger on a crossing. As she runs on, Marcus is transfixed. Infatuated. She is the spitting image of a girl he was crazy about in his teens. A girl he has never been able to get out of his mind.

Lynette had dumped him harshly. For years he has fantasized about seeing her again and rekindling their flame. Might that jogger possibly be her all these years later? Could this be the most incredible coincidence?

Despite all his attempts to resist, he is consumed by cravings for this woman. And when events take a tragically unexpected turn, his obsession threatens to destroy both their worlds. But still he won’t stop. Can’t stop.

My Thoughts:

Peter James has long been a favoured author of mine and I have to admit that I even went so far as to order myself a signed copy of this book. Who says bloggers don't buy books?!

The location for this story, the Channel Island of Jersey, I found was a great setting to create a claustrophobic feel for this book. While the scenery is beautiful the area is relatively small so the opportunity to lose yourself in a crowd is pretty limited. Which is why our villain of the piece Marcus Valentine finds it easy to track his target's movements; together with technology of running trackers he can study her regular routes and time schedules - but even for a man who is obsessed with accurate time keeping he manages to miss her so many times.

Marcus and Georgie have their first encounter when Marcus is running late for work, zooming along the road in his flash Porsche while Georgie is out on her morning run.  He very nearly wipes her out on a crossing when he almost runs a red light and from that point on he is completely obsessed with having Georgie in his life.  Then when he finds out she is soon to be married to one of his friends things take a very sinister turn.

The creepy location of an out of season hotel, a rather random caretaker with a penchant for clown outfits and an unhealthy fixation on an event on Marcus's past all add layers to the story which have the hair on the back of your neck standing up. After all the thought and planning he has put into keeping tabs on Georgie he can't quite believe his luck when a situation involving her fiance plays straight into his hands. He genuinely feels he is able to play god and control exactly how he wants their lives to play out. I felt sorry for his wife and children - and for all his colleagues who he patronised and controlled at any given opportunity. Pretty much anyone who he came into contact with really.

I whizzed through this book in just over a day and enjoyed it as much as his other books - although I don't think anything will ever top that first book in the Dead Series.

The hardback and kindle editions are out now, but if you would prefer to wait for the paperback then you'll have to hang on until June.

About the Author:

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 17 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 20 million copies to date, and has been translated into 37 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career - which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter's novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.