Every Move You Make

 

By C.L. Taylor

Review

Five victims of stalking become WhatsApp friends after meeting in an online support group. But tragedy strikes when one of them is brutally murdered shortly after their stalker is released from prison. At the funeral the friends receive an anonymous threat that one of them will die in ten days' time, thrusting their lives into even more turmoil and terror. However, they soon realise they must stand their ground and fight back. After all, the only way to stop a stalker is to become one yourself.  

Told through the four remaining friends' points of view, the story is fast-paced and gripping. Their paranoia ramps up as each day passes. Not knowing who the target is makes their situation all the more scary. For reasons that become clear as the story progresses, they're reluctant to involve the police; taking matters into their own hands instead. On several occasions I had to suspend disbelief but even so, I thought the plot was good and the main characters well-developed. It was insightful and that showed stalking can happen to anyone, irrespective of age or gender.

In the Author's Note at the end of the book, she tells us that she herself was stalked by an ex-boyfriend. What she describes is a truly nightmarish experience of continual phone calls, emails, text messages, letters in the post, unsolicited flowers and presents etc. The constant barrage wore her down, leaving her feeling isolated and frightened. I imagine writing Every Move You Make was both cathartic and healing. She deserves much kudos.

★★★★☆

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Avon
• Publication Year: 2024
• Author: C.L. Taylor
• Genre: Psychological Thriller

Synopsis

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…

Alexandra, Lucy, Bridget, River and Natalie. Five friends who wish they’d never met. Because the one thing they have in common is the worst thing in their lives: they are all being stalked.

When one of their group is murdered, days after their stalker is released from prison, time stands still for them all. They know their lives could end just as brutally at any moment – all it takes is for the people they fear the most to catch up with them.

When the group receive a threat that one of them will die in ten days’ time, the terror that stalks their daily lives becomes all-consuming. But they know they don’t want to be victims anymore – it’s time to turn the tables and finally get their revenge.

Because the only way to stop a stalker is to become one yourself…