Published By: Scribner UK
Pages: 240
Released On: 11/08/2026
When Clarice broke up with P.T., he refused to be dumped. He sent non-stop emails and made hundreds of phone calls from dozens of different numbers. He showed up outside her office. He staked out her apartment. He sent her flowers and poems and, perhaps most sinister of all, a link to a Dido music video. Equal parts bewildering (who knew he listened to Dido?) and terrifying (am I going to die?), the harassment stopped only when Clarice filed a restraining order and bought a one-way ticket from New York to L.A.
Years later, as the restraining order is set to expire, Clarice spots a man who looks suspiciously like P.T. at a nightclub near her new apartment, flirting with the bartender. Clarice is certain her ex has returned to ruin her life, but with scant evidence pointing one way or another she spirals deeper in an unhinged, single-mined pursuit for the truth. As reality and paranoia start to merge, and boundaries start to blur, Clarice must decide how far she’s willing to go to wrest back control of her own life…
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner UK for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is the kind of book that shows why it’s good to be single 🙂
I’m really on the fence with this. I can’t decide if I enjoyed it or really didn’t, but I’m erring more to the latter. It’s weird, a bit unhinged and chaotic and all over the place, and yet strangely addictive and compelling.
It was a hell of a lot darker than I was expecting. And if I’m honest, it didn’t match the synopsis except for the absolute basic themes. Which made it a bit harder to get lost in because I was waiting for something else.
There’s lots of psychological thrillers about stalkers, but this one flips the narrative, looking at what happens when the stalked becomes the stalker.
I didn’t find any characters likeable at all, even the main characters who I wonder if we’re meant to have some sympathy for. But I didn’t like any of them and didn’t invest in any of them so really didn’t care what happened.
Some of the promo bits say it was darkly humerous, but I just didn’t get the humour at all. Maybe it’s just my sense of humour, but I found it more uncomfortable than funny, even in a dark way.
It’s slow and fast at the same time. It feels like a slog at times and yet there’s a lot going on which makes it feel rushed.
It flits between the present time and the past, which I quite enjoyed because we get to see the background as to why things are happening now. I enjoy multiple POVs and timelines so that was a positive for me.
I mean, it suggest a strange, alternative career in writing, but this didn’t really do it for me. If you’re a fan of books like The Lamb by Lucy Rose, you’ll like this, albeit it is less gruesome. But it has that dark, uncomfortable feeling to it that you’ll probably enjoy.
Books By Your Bedside 