I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for honest review.

DNF. Great concept, just not for me. A bit too slowly paced. I skimmed the majority through to the end. ( )

I am amazed how some authors have such twisted imagination to pen gory, creepy thrillers that slowly draw its readers deep into a fictional world and leave them speechless because passing time with them is such a thrill…yes this one is that good

“When did you last Google yourself”. Aren’t you a bit curious?

This is the story of a wealthy businessman, Will Frost, who after being woken up in the middle of the night by a mysterious caller goes online to find a site in his name showing photos inside his home along with six other houses he has never seen before. A murder was committed in the first house and then he is told his daughter has been kidnapped and to save her he needed to visit each of the houses before the police shows up. Given tidbits of information Will is then on a wild chase around the world and founds himself running the deserted streets and smack into violence and murder…..is it scary…maybe…maybe not…

What a read. This psychological thriller has kept my full attention throughout. This story is so full of tension and intrigue I simple had to push on to see what would happen next. There is so much action and so many unexpected twists and turns to keep us on our toes, I had little chance to get off. It is such a very hard story to put down. Vividly said, the images described are imprinted in my mind. I definitely wouldn’t want to be in Will shoes.

Mr. Parker’s background as a TV script writer shines in this story and shows how skilled he is in portraying action and his characters’ emotion with the right words. Ok, I admit this story is far-fetched borders implausible but it makes for a very entertaining read. I love how the suspense exceeds the last words….Maybe a sequel….hope so..

I received “Scare Me” as a complimentary book from Lume Books with no obligations to write a review. ( )

Scare Me is a standalone thriller that had quite an intriguing premise. Will, a successful businessman, has to go on a scavenger-type hunt across several countries in order to save his pregnant daughter, Libby, who is being held hostage. He's having to visit seven different houses, all of them horrific crime scenes. Poppy, the person behind it all, is known to the reader from the beginning. But who exactly is she, why did she target Will and his family, and what is her ultimate goal?
Scare Me has been optioned for a movie and I can see why. To be honest, I think it might work better on screen than it did reading/listening to this. It's fast-paced and quite entertaining; that is provided you don't start to pick it apart for its plausibility.
I enjoyed it in the way you can enjoy an action-packed movie that doesn't require any thinking or emotional involvement, but I didn't love it. The main shortcoming for me was the characters, who remained rather one-dimensional, which stopped me from really connecting with any of them. The story is told from several perspectives including Will's, his wife's, Libby's and Poppy's as well as a seven-year-old boy's and a reporter's. I felt the inclusion of the latter two didn't really serve any purpose as regards the storyline.
The audiobook narration by Rupert Holliday-Evans was pretty decent. He had a very pleasant voice.
Overall, this was pretty much average, 3 stars. ( )

I wanted this to be so much better than it was. The writing was sound and confident. The very kernel of the book - the logline of "have you ever Googled yourself?" - was the high water mark.

The rest of the book never lives up to the promise of its premise. Very fiddly as a page turner. The characters are all wafer-thin and don't act like people would act (even in the rarified stylized air of "serial killer beach book") and only serve the overcranked plot like checkers on a checkerboard. The irradiated doses of exposition were delivered in huge, skimmable chunks - violating Elmore Leonard's rule of writing to "leave out the parts that readers skip."

The plot point machinations were heavy on their feet and the entire exercise is a very shaggy dog of a tale, piling preposterous atop the already preposterous starting point. Which doesn't help because one is immediately criticizing every move the characters make. This serial killer is Rube Goldbergian, setting out a trail of bread crumbs that rely on so much complicated planning for no reason, and over-reliance on luck and timing for any of it to work. Complete with the killer's "before I kill you, Mr. Bond" manifesto at the end that explains the entire 380 pages that came before.

This would be better as a movie script (and reads like there's already a treatment or script in turnaround somewhere).

Thomas Harris' SILENCE OF THE LAMBS casts a long shadow over literate and well-done serial killer thrillers, especially when something inferior comes along. Which is 99% of everything else. This one is in the lower percentile ranges of that 99% for me. ( )

I couldn't put this down. I haven't read any of Parker's work; but I will be now. One of the best books I have read this year. I enjoyed this book. The leisurely pacing let me get to know the characters, so when the action started I cared about how they would react. The settings were interesting, and I liked the way there were little mysteries dropped in along the way that all came together eventually. Several of the plot developments surprised me, which is always good. I found the conclusion pretty satisfying.

Parker you're fantastic at getting the reader involved with the characters in the book.

Great storyline kept me on edge full of action good characters. Parker does a great job of pulling you into the story and keeps you guessing until the end. It's a page-turner with the usual unexpected twist at the end and I recommend it to everyone. ( )