The Sadist

The Sadist is one scary book.  It is described as a dark, psychological thriller.  This is an understatement. Carol McMahon is now one of my favorite authors and I cannot wait to read her earlier three novels.  The blurb:

"Things are going well for Sara.  She's starting to get lots of followers on her new You Tube series, True Crime Tea, where she does makeup tutorials while discussing true crime cases.  At first she isn't sure it will work.  It's just an idea to stand out from the crowd.  But her channel blows up, and she's thrilled. 

But stories are never anywhere near as frightening as reality.  Sara finds that out when her own life starts to fall apart, and the darkness she's always talked about seeps in.  Her life is starting to feel just like the stories she tells in her videos.  Along with the followers she gets unwanted attention.  She knows that's expected for a woman on the internet these days, but things are getting weird. Strange messages, a picture of her boyfriend's car at home when he's usually at work.  Then suddenly, she is willed a house by a father she never knew. 

In a desperate attempt to keep her career and life from falling apart, Sara moves into the musty, cluttered house.  As she goes through her father's possessions to clear space to do her work, she uncovers dark secrets she never wanted to know. Secrets about her father, mother, and about herself."

The twists and turns in the plot were unbelievable.  I was shocked by most of them as the truth was slowly revealed in the latter half of the book. The ending was as much a surprise as I have ever read in any book.  As I began reading the book I thought to myself that the author dreamed up one heck of a plot.  To come up with a main character who does makeup tutorials on You Tube along with true crime stories was creative.  How did she visualize a character who combined two different types of You Tube channels into one?  I couldn't imagine how that character could be involved in a dark, psychological mystery either.  Reading chapters that alternated between the points of view of three characters whose lives did not seem to be related only enhanced my curiosity.  I could not figure this one out.

I highly recommend this thriller but take my advice and don't read it in the evening.  5 out of 5 stars.