IM
by Rick R. Reed
Published by Quest Books
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Reviewed by Maria Elmvang
In the 1980s gay men would meet at bars or bathhouses for anonymous trysts. With the introduction and spreading of the internet, it became much easier to find somebody in the comfort of your own home, by logging onto a gay dating site, finding somebody interesting to send an instant message (or an IM) and then hoping that person would find you interesting too.
The disadvantage of hooking up over the net is that you never know who you meet. The advantage of hooking up over the net, is that neither do they.
Chicago, 2007. A serial killer with a taste for homosexual men has hit the city. The only things linking the murders is the fact that there’s never any sign of breaking and entering, and the men are always killed in very bloody and violent ways. Police officer Ed Comparetto gets involved with these murders through his line of duty, but it becomes personal to him, as he’s let go from the force after his main witness of the first case turns out to be a man killed in much the same manner, two years prior.
Rick Reed manages to catch your attention from the very first page, and does not voluntarily give it up again. The weak-hearted need not apply, but if you enjoy a good thriller that will get your heart beating faster, IM is a good choice. The fact that the plot could only too well happen in real life makes IM even more chilling to read.
The only draw-back of the novel is the same as one finds in so many thriller books and movies—that the end is too sudden. A bit more conscious wrapping up would have been nice, as there were some loose ends that still needed to be tied up.
Armchair Interviews says: IM is an extremely fascinating book, and one that should not be read after dark.
Author’s Web site: http://www.RickRReed.com