Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: ★★★½

A woman pushed to the breaking point by a stalker develops an obsession of her own in this shocking new novel of psychological suspense from the acclaimed author of The Perfect Son.

Jenna is a wife, a mother, a doctor. She’s also the victim of a stalker. Frightening “gifts” are left on her doorstep, her home is broken in to, and when she leaves her house to take her children to school, he’s waiting. She feels powerless, and the police are unable to help.

Then her stalker is brought into the emergency room after a terrible accident, and Jenna has to treat the man who’s been tormenting her for months. With her stalker in a coma, Jenna is desperate to understand the life of this seemingly normal man. When she finds startling images on his phone, she is consumed by her need for answers–and her own obsession leads her down a twisting path of destruction.

Just how far is Jenna willing to go to take back control of her life?

ONE STEP BEHIND presents an intriguing and difficult dilemma for main character Jenna, a mom, ER doctor, and victim of a relentless stalker. After a year of receiving threatening messages and disturbing “gifts,” Jenna is at the breaking point. The police have made no progress in the case, and Jenna fears for herself and family. Then one day her stalker is wheeled into the emergency room near death after an accident. Now that she has control over his life, how far is she willing to go?

This book is a fast-paced and tense domestic thriller that shows what can happen when someone is threatened and put under mental stress for so long. Jenna’s behavior gets a bit wacky as she investigates her stalker, but I can’t say I blame her. I enjoyed how Jenna’s chapters are written in second person, with the “you” she’s talking to being her stalker.

The author crafted several red herrings and suspicious characters that kept me guessing. I thought the alternating chapters with another character, particularly the backstory, dragged a bit. Another quibble I had was that I thought the final twist, the “reasoning” behind the stalking, was a bit unbelievable. Still, it was an intense ending to wrap up the story. Recommend to readers who would enjoy a cat-and-mouse mystery.

— 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.