Mister Tender's Girl by Carter Wilson

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I'm sure most of you have heard of Slender Man, or the Slender Man Stabbing. Slender Man is a fictional internet character, and a number of people over the years have attempted murders in his name. Mister Tender's Girl by Carter Wilson is a fictional thriller loosely based on the Slender Man Stabbings, in which two young girls tried to stab their friend to death in under the premise of pleasing a fictional character.

This story follows Alice, the victim of the attack, now an adult trying to move on with her life. Alice has panic attacks and is very untrusting, but she has changed her last name, moved to the US from London where the attack occurred, bought a coffee shop and embraced fitness, and is doing well enough for herself. That is, until characters from her past start to show up in her new life. First an old drug dealer comes to collect, bringing back memories of an unpleasant period of her life she'd like to forget. Then she receives an eerie present, an unfinished book featuring Mister Tender comics, some of which feature her in images that only someone who had private access to her life would see. Seeing that her father actually created this character, one would think he sent her the book, but he has been dead for three years and intentionally abandoned the comic after Alice's attack. 

Now, Alice must deal with the reality that she has a stalker, someone obsessed with her and her history, who has been watching her for all these years with a morbid fascination. With the help of her tenant Richard and her brother Thomas, Alice fights to discover who has been watching her, hoping to finally be able to put her past behind her once and for all.

This book was really good! It was a quick read, and easy to follow, with a fast moving plot and a good cast of characters. It was also not predictable AT ALL. The whole time I was trying to guess who was behind everything, and I didn't have a clue. My biggest problem with this book, and hence knocking off a star, is that it was unrealistic. Multiple murders happen in this book that are seemingly forgotten or ignored by the police, when in reality there would be an extensive search for the killer and many traces of evidence left behind.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks to Sourcebooks for early access to a digital copy of this book! Mister Tender's Girl hits shelves on February 13th, so be sure to pick up a copy!