"A chilling, riveting debut"

This debut novel marks Patricia Sargent's entry into the chiller field. She gives you strong characters in a riveting drama, which kept me spellbound from start to finish. I was very impressed by the depth of her characters, not perfect people, but people with dreams, desires¯and faults.

Nicole Collins is a struggling writer, so she's thrilled when her first book is optioned to be made into a movie. A Sci-Fi thriller, it's Nicole's dream come true...until she discovers her former husband owns the company that is producing her novel. She still loves Malcolm Bryant, but she's gone through the crucible of loving a man and not respecting him. No matter how strong the love, the beauty and wonder soon fades under the continued disappointments. Unable to live with Malcolm and not respect him, Nichole had turned her back on this man who just wasn't there when she needed him.

Now she is facing a new terror. An obsessed fan turn stalker. Letters have reached her. She wanted to dismiss them; no one would want to think their novel¯and her¯have become the object of a deranged mind. The faceless man is out there. His obsession sees him blurring the line between reality and fantasy. In his mind, the character's Nicole created in her novel are real; they are his "family" and he's not pleased about his family being portrayed on film in a light he doesn't approve of.

Bad things are happening to Nicole. Malcolm's business partner is killed, and suddenly the horror is in her life, stalking her, wearing a mask that hides madness and blaming her for his "family" being under "attack". Only with her life in danger, can she depend on Malcolm to help her, save her from this unseen menace, or will he fold under the adversity as he has in the past?

I utterly loved the premise. Sargent breathes life into the stalker genre but giving you a less than heroic hero, and a woman who loves him despite him being less than she needs. A very interesting, visionary writer that I hope to hear more from soon.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted February 21, 2007

Summary

Sometimes Your Biggest Fan... Science-fiction writer Nicole Collins is delighted when she learns her first book will be made into a movie by Celestial Productions -- until she finds out who owns the company: Malcolm Bryant, her ex-husband. Nicole still loves him, but she knows Malcolm is still the same man who crumbles in the face of adversity. And then there are those threatening letters . . . Can Be Your Worst Nightmare... Somewhere out there is a deranged fan, one who has adopted Nicole's characters as his own family...and he's not about to see his loved ones distorted by the camera lens. Once Malcolm's business partner is mysteriously killed, Nicole realizes this is no movie script -- her life is now in danger. With a demented killer fan closing in, the only person who may be able to save Nicole is Malcolm -- the man she so desperately hopes will finally make a stand...