Customer Reviews

Stalker

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review is for the Kindle edition; the print version might be better. . .

I might have been able to give the book itself 3 stars, maybe 3.5, but the poor editing pulls it down to a 2 star rating in my mind. The storyline is plausible enough, but the characters had a bad habit of doing things no rational person would do. The character development was somewhat one-dimensional and what few plot twists there were seemed rather predictable.

Unlike other reviewers, I did finish the book, which allowed me to get to the twist at the end. But again, editing made the trip to the finish almost unbearable. You 'drive past' something, not 'drive passed' (numerous times) - a car has 'brakes', not 'breaks', someone is 'liable' to do something, not 'libel' - and this went on and on throughout the book to the point of distraction.

I'd be willing to give the author another try if he could find an editor that actually edits!

Oh, the cover artwork was very nice, too.

I thoroughly enjoyed STALKER. I needed a book to pass the time during a flight and downloaded this one. I was drawn into the story from the start. The characters were interesting and the premise compelling. I'm looking forward to any future books by Dave Dykema.

While I originally shared the opinion of the first reviewer, I have made a vow to myself to not put down a book once I have started it. With this book, I couldn't be happier with the results. The beginning is a little long winded, but it leads to the meat of the story, and you find yourself understanding why you were told bits and pieces of information earlier.

And to defend the writing styles of the author, one of the reviewers said that the character is very spacey, and one minute is one person, and the next is completly different. To me, this gave the character some personality and realism. Too often we are presented with characters that play one role, and leave all of us shaking our heads knowing that no one can possibly be that true to one nature. Dave Dykema hit a home run with the character development and I will be awaiting his next book.

Absolutely chilling. The fact that unstable, psychotic killers can blend into society so well is what made this story so scary for me. The writing was fast paced, the action suspenseful, and the plot very plausible. Dan's character and escalating instability was very well written. I do think Melissa's character could have been fleshed out a bit more as I really didn't get a very good understanding of her. Just when I thought the story was finished and I felt safe again, thinking Dan and Melissa could settle down into their relationship instead of running for their lives, here comes a surprising gut-punching twist that left my heart racing.

Very good first novel. Yeah, it's a bit rough around the edges, as some others have mentioned, but it kept me reading and I enjoyed it very much. Mr. Dykema has another book out called Wrong Number, which is a stronger novel. Both are recommended.

I will be right up front and state that I couldn't finish this book.

The viewpoint kept switching from one character to another from paragraph to paragraph. A few times it even switched to omniscient. This was not only annoying, but extremely distracting.

Also, one character seems to have some kind of secret that the author didn't want us to know, I assume until the end. However, some of the story was even told from her viewpoint. Now, if you are basically in someone's mind, wouldn't you know their secret?

One other point was that the emotions of the characters just seemed extreme. The main character would go from smiling & joking to an almost murderous rage from one sentence to the next. And, yet, no one seemed to notice his extreme emotional instability. They even referred to his 'boyish charm' or something like that.

He seemed to me to be extremely emotionally unstable. Which is fine, but he wasn't hiding it & yet, no one seemed to notice.

***Spoiler**** (not much of one since I didn't finish it, but wanted to warn)

At one point, the main character's girlfriend tells the guy's best friend a story that leads the friend to think the main character had RAPED her. At the end of that conversation, he asks the woman to 'look out' for his buddy while he moves out of town. Yeah, if I think a woman's been raped, I would definitely tell her to be sure to be good friends with and take care of her rapist. <sarcasm>

I'm sorry. The premise seemed good, but the writing was not.

I am giving 2 stars instead of one in hopes that perhaps the author will take this criticism and do some rewriting. I think he has talent; it's just very 'raw' talent.

Even though it may have needed more editing, the overall concept and surprise ending kept me reading to find out what happens next. After reading this book, I'll be watching behind me more often as I walk down the street.

I just finished reading Stalker and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The author did a great job in keeping the story moving, no real lags anywhere in the book and I just couldn't put it down. Loved loved the ending, which had my heart beating (but that's all I can say about it). :)

Dave Dykema is a very good writer and great at keeping a thriller moving along and I am looking forward to reading his next book, Wrong Number.

If you have a chance, you really should read this book because I know you'll enjoy it.

Thanks Dave and I'll be keeping my eye out for more of your work. :)

I really enjoyed this book. The main character was an odd one but it made the story interesting. At first you think he is kind of a nut (maybe this is an understatement), but then he starts to look closer to normal which makes the ending of the book very good!

All in all it is a good story, not too short not too long, and you don't want to put the book down because you want to know what happens next. What else could you ask for? I know the editing came up in other reviews but if I really like a book I don't even notice any problems.

I will definitely check out other books by this author.