Fall Scavenger Hunt // Creep

I can't believe I did it but I am on my sixth book review for this scavenger hunt. I have completed all of my books by now so I'll release my last review for a favorite reread soon. But for this sixth book, it was a struggle to get started so I resorted to an audiobook. It was wild! I don't read thrillers. The last one I read was two years ago. I chose Creep because it seemed to have more of a psychological feel and I love that in movies and shows but I forgot that it freaks me out for days. So this was an experience... I'll let you know more in my review below:

Dr. Sheila Tao is a well-respected psychology professor at Puget Sound State University. She has recently gotten engaged to ex-football player and current financier Morris Gardner. Before she can get married though, she needs to break off her three-month affair with Ethan Wolfe, her teaching assistant. But Ethan isn't going to let Sheila go that easily. He plans to make her pay for rejecting him. If he can't have her, no one can.

Positives: As a person who doesn't read thrillers often, this book freaked me out and consumed my life for days. I needed to know what happened next but I was also so hesitant to continue with the story. I didn't expect the amount of sexual situations and the really dark nature of this book. I didn't expect how much the story would capture my attention and I don't know how to feel about that.

I really enjoyed that there were multiple POV's including Sheila, Ethan, and Morris. I love getting into everyone's head and seeing it from their perspective. I accidentally spoiled some of the book (or at least I thought I did) when I read the first sentence of the sequel's summary. I was trying to figure out how a particular person fit into the story and was still shocked at the end. It's funny because there is a point where I know kind of how this is going to play out after a certain point but the redirect with all the violence and sexual situations really through me. I felt like this book fulfilled its promise as a thriller and created an interesting deep dive into each character and their motivations.

I didn't remember that in the summary it mentions a murder which is probably why I didn't expect to go as dark as it did. It added a whole other layer to the story that paid off in the end.

Negatives: The sexual situations were a bit much, especially considering Dr. Tao's secret. I don't love how everything revolved around sex and violence but that is probably the norm in these types of thrillers. I also would have liked to know more about the murdered student and a certain person's thoughts surrounding her since she was described as pregnant.

Overall Thoughts: Very dark. You have to be in the mood for Creep but otherwise what a thrilling ride. I am excited to read the next book but I have to get in the headspace to do so.